Frederick Maryland to Tucson Arizona--advice please

_____ Falls State Park

McKinney Falls State Park--a very nice place to stay.

On the other hand, unless Austin is my destination (and if it is I'd try to stay in McKinney Falls) I try to avoid driving through Austin. I'd rather drive through Houston, Dallas, or maybe even Atlanta, than through Austin. Maybe I've just had back luck with the traffic.

Me I would go to Nashville, TN (via Skyline Drive if that interests you) spend a day in Nashville and see something at the Ryman auditorium. From there the NATCHEZ TRACE ( Free campgrounds with no services)to Jackson, MS ). Stop off in Tupelo if Elvis Presley home town interests you.
From Jackson take I55 south to New Orleans. Take all the street cars through town. There is a CG right in town but it is $$$
Then to Lafayette, La and stop at Randol's restaurant for great food and Cajun music and dancing. Ask the manager where to park overnight if you do not need services.
Then drop down through Abbeville to Louisiana SR 82 which runs across Louisiana on the gulf. Take the really small ferry in Cameron, LA watch for the Dolphins in the water.
Just past Cameron is Holly Beach where you can stay on the beach for a night or 2 great sea shelling. At Port Aurthur Texas get on I 10 through Houston (THAT IS A BIG CITY), Just after Houston get on 290 to Austin, TX. See a rodeo if one is in town or watch the thousands of bats come out from under the bridge. Nice Texas park Campground just outside Austin. _____ Falls State Park (Name escapes me) See Texas band and learn to two step.
From there continue on 290to Fredericksburg, TX for some great German food. Your DW and daughter will love the shopping. Lady Bird park has an adequate CG. Continue on 290 to I10 spend a night at Fort Stockton, TX.
Then I am afraid it is basically I10 to Tucson but EL Paso is interesting and if you have passports a DAY trip via bus to Ciudad Juarez or walk across.
Through New Mexico and Arizona there are still some kitsch type roadside attractions that are fast disappearing from the American scene and a few of these must be seen before they are gone. Just like the OLD MOTHER ROAD places a gone.
BTW WHAT ARE YOU driving on this trip?

From Frederick we prefer to take I-70 West to I-68 West to I-79 South to I-64 West. Usually better road surface and less traffic than I-70. At Saint Louis if you do not stop to see the Arch, take I-265 to I-44 West. Take US-50 West to US-54 West. Take the expressways around Topeka and then US-54/400 West. If you want to see Dodge City it is just North of Minneola on US-283. US-54 will take you to Tucumcari,, which is an old Route 66 town now on I-40. From there you can take I-40 West to Albuquerque or take I-54 West from Santa Rosa to Carrizozo where there is Valley of Fires. Roswell is not too far back to the East if it interests you. From Carrizozo take US-380 West to I-25 North to US-60 West. At Globe, AZ AZ-77 South will take you to Tucson.

If you go South to take I-40 West from Oklahoma, There a lot to see along I-40. In Amarillo, there is Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Big Texan on Old Route 66. In New Mexico, Tucumcari still has dinners along Historic Route 66 and numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

On the way to Flagstaff along I-40 are Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater and Homolovi Ruins State Park. You can stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona.

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument.

Headed South from Flagstaff, Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South. In that area you will find Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park, Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, and Jerome State Historic Park.

Well its kinda hard to forecast for ya, but there are ways to do things that you just dont plan for. When we travel we really dont 'plan' for sightseeing events nor do we 'reserve' campgrounds. It all depends on what you WANT to see. Have you been to gattlinburg tn? How about any of the smoky mountains? Going west there are many possibilities to stop and smell the roses as they say, just watch for the billboards on the highways. In east st louis area there is a nice church which you can visit and relax, in tulsa area there is lake of the ozarks, tulsa is a fairly big town to visit and has historic areas, OKC has cowboy hall of fame, amarillo is just a nice cowtown with the cadillac graveyard (and Big Texan restaurant, but I havent been there for years so dont know if it exists anymore). If ya stay on I40 to Abq, you can go north to santa fe and see all the tourist spots, if not what ya want from tucumcarri take I think its 54 south nice quiet little highway. take hatch exit off 25 to deming stop for some chillies if so inclined. Yes even off the interstates you can find unusual attractions. Get out a US map and just look to see what is there. I know its old fashioned but it will give you a better idea of wht to look for than any computer generated system IMO. Find what looks interesting then use the computer to refine what ya saw.

look here to see if it helps:

https://roadtrippers.com/?utm_campaign=roadtrippers&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lat=40.80972&lng=-96.67528&z=5

It seems that you have crossed purposes there.
You do NOT want to "see cities" by taking a motorhome through them on a secondary road.

But between cities, many of the major Interstates have US routes that run roughly parallel that usually are scenic, in good condition and with almost no traffic. Without looking, US 40 and 50 come to mind going east and west.

Use your favorite electronic trip planner or GPS and set it for "avoid highways" and see what it suggests. Then when you get close to a major city, start it over again allowing "highways" to get you through or around town better.

Note: Unless you have a GPS that will route specifically for RVs or trucks, pay attention to the route it selects. In my experience it often will pick some "short cuts" that aren't the best.

Put her to work doing a Google search for `______ tourism' and put the state, city, area or whatever in the blank space and read what the specialists recommend for their area.

jayfeather4fam wrote:
Hi there, I'm planning a trip mid July from Maryland to Tucson and would like to take some smaller, prettier, secondary roads...is this possible. My 15 year old daughter wants to "see some cities" (we live in a more rural area), any suggestions for fun things along the way. Planning on driving no more than 6 hours per day. Any and all suggestions welcomed! Thanks!!

Not sure if this is what you are after - but - I've got a few hundred thousand miles under my belt and I would say that on the east Coast to the Mississippi River you are really best staying on the Interstates.
and most are crowded, so MY route would be Frederick to Columbus to Indianapolis to St Louis. (I travel a lot to Denver and usually go through Hannibal and take RT 36 to Boulder) You might look at Rt 50 as a side road to Kansas City then on to Wichita to Dodge City to Oklahoma City Amarillo to Albuquerque to Tucson.

If that works it's easy and includes a lot of cities.

If not let us know and we can change it up.

BOL,