How to hurry

RickLIght wrote:
Sometimes one has to hurry, rather than doing it "properly"!

DW & I have to drive from Georgia to Washington state in December. The kicker is no RV, camping, or time for (extended) fun. Neither are we as young as when we did those all night crazy road trips...

So I'm looking for tips, beyond not driving as long as possible.

To your question -- keep in mind that December is a snowy month, particularly for the mountain states. And you'll need to go through the mountain states somehow. The DIRECT route is I-75/I-24/I-64/I-70/I-29/I-90. And depending on your timing it could work. However, you'd need to be prepared to either hole up in a hotel in case of a bad storm, or chance it driving through the storm IF the roads are open. Depending on how bad this winter becomes, you could lose several days. How does that fit into your timetable?

A viable option, again weather dependent, would be to take I-40 (or even I-20/10) all the way across to CA, and then one of the many routes north from CA to WA. Yes, there could also be problems in northern CA, but probably not as many as a northern route. But being able to go straight through without having to stay overnight (or longer) in a hotel, makes up the difference in the length. And if two of you are driving, so much the better, making better time this route.

If the forecast for the days you're planning to travel make it look like the northern route is not viable. then the southern route would be an option. I'm fully aware that there can be problems on I-40 (or I20/10) as well, but they are probably less of a chance than the northern route where your odds of running into snow/ice/freezing rain are likely much greater.

Either way, it's going to be up to the weather gods as to what will work for you and what will slow you down.