Get me out of here! PLEASE

[xmush1620x]

So, I am the wife of the motorhome driver.... I'm the one closing my eyes and literally crying on our way up to Cherokee from Florida. I love my flat land. We are staying at River Valley Campground in Cherokee.
Now, it's time to leave and I do not want to go back the way we came which was from Murphy/Blue Ridge area. The 2 lane narrow road ways were stomach churning.
So, looking at the map, here is my question/thought:
In a nutshell, Cherokee to I40. But, I have two options to get to I40 from here....
1) Blue Ridge Parkway to Soco Rd, which turns into 19, go through Maggie Valley and take 276 to I40
OR
2) Go back thru the town of Cherokee, to 441, to 74 thru Sylva, straight to I40

So, which one keeps my eyes opened the most and crying the least? I could careless time lines.... We have a 30 ft ClassA with tow dolly/vehicle.

[Horsedoc]

John Hicks is right. Get on 441 and stay there. There is a bit of a hill coming south just before Franklin NC but the rest is pretty much 4 lane to well below Athens. Much better than even coming close to Atlanta. Numerous places to stay along that route - CGs and parking lots.

[ReneeG]

. . . and this is why we have a fifth wheel. We almost bought a Class A back in 2010. In the test drive, with me in the passenger seat, I was dizzy!!!! Hubby said, we could put stabilizers to keep it from rocking and rolling. For other reasons we didn't buy it and instead bought a FW.

[Trackrig]

Drive the toad on the sections you don't like. Or, go in the back and take a nap.

Bill

[johnhicks]

You get on/stay on US-441 at Cornelia. Don't follow US-23 to Atlanta. Follow US-441 down to Athens, take the eastern bypass, take US-129/441 south from Athens to connect with I-75 at Macon. It's slower but calm, peaceful, not 85mph etc.

I don't do Atlanta any more.

You can get over this by taking trips to the foothills, say Cleveland Ga., Lake Hartwell up near Clemson, or on the west up to the Rome or Calhoun Ga. area. BTW, do not camp anywhere north of Cleveland or northwest up US-129. (see Mountain Directory).

Once you've done a few trips and gotten over the wild willies then push farther into the mountains, small steps.

This is supposed to be fun, remember?

I don't know if you drive the rig at all, but it would help if you do, not necessarily in the mountains but a few hills at least..

[schlep1967]

Go with number 2. 74 is nice road.
If you would do number one do not take the BRP to get around Cherokee. There is at least one low tunnel on that section of the BRP.

[Seon]

jdc1 wrote:
LOL....I would tell her "Look. Part of motorhome is hanging over the cliff."

That's just wrong. Almost like saying, "Quick, pull my finger" :B .

[xmush1620x]

Some of yall got me cracking up! We think everyone not from Florida sucks at driving too!
My husband is great at driving the rig - I just have high anxiety and even have issues in a car. My motion sickness doesn't help....
But, I'm a trooper and I just grit my teeth with the tears 🙂 LOL!

Estes, CO didn't bother me this much - I think my anxiety is just peaked a bit as my husband has hurt his back and we are leaving early.

I just assumed I40 to I26/I95/I75 would be a different route home than our typical I75. Is 23 really a good route although through Georgia. I was hoping to bypass Atlanta for once. 🙂

[Lwiddis]

Flat land can be interesting but the mountains or seashore are so beautiful! You will miss so much. I cry when going home...but not because of the road! lol

[pianotuna]

The blue ridge is a low speed route with wonderful scenery.

[johnhicks]

To get out of there, get on US-441/23 and go south into Georgia.

You didn't say where you're going next. If home to Florida stay on US-441 until you pick up I-75 at Macon or you might prefer to stay on US-441 all the way.

There's a book called Mountain Directory https://www.mountaindirectory.com/
Before doing any more mountain anything the navigator needs to read it.

[TexasShadow]

I don't like being on the outside edge of a mountain road, either, but I love crossing those passes and being in the mountains, sooooo...I just close my eyes when I need to. The only stretch of road that really got to me was highway 12 in Utah...the hogback ridge part, but that only lasts about 3 minutes.
As others have stated, move back to the dinette and pull the shade, or turn your chair away from the side window or close your eyes.

[jdc1]

LOL. My wife use to turn her seat around wen we drove in the mountains or PCH near Big Sur. I would tell her "Look. Part of motorhome is hanging over the cliff."

[ajriding]

19/129 is scenic, but twisty.

If you go over to Asheville through Maggie Valley you will get crazy roads too, maybe a few less miles, but more twisty. 19 is not bad, you are just from FL, who are known to be the worst drivers in the mountains, I mean, scary bad drivers. We don't need to see the FL plate to recognize a FL driver, you are so bad, so I understand your fears.
You are right in the middle of the mountains, there is no easy escape back to flat straight, level roads.

DO NOT get on 276 from the Parkway under any circumstances! I wouldn't want to do that with a big rig. That last section next to i-40 is fine, the parkway is on a mountain and coming down 276 is hairy on a motorcycle.

Going through Sylva on 23 to 40 then Asheville is an easy route, though longer.

I would go 23 south into GA. There is one big mountain pass with a low-gear descent, but mostly straight. It will not be difficult and once you get near Franklin the roads are easy. The GA section is almost interstate. This is the best route to FL anyway, you came the long way to begin with.

[pigman1]

Sorry, I have little sympathy for you. When we were first RV'ing with class C's and then A's, DW had similar issues. Her solution was to sit at the dinette and pull the shade. We drove some side-of-the-mountain western roads with switchbacks, drop-offs and very narrow roads. Az89 from Prescott Valley to Clarkdale and AZ89 from Apache Junction to Tortilla Flat campground with a 40' rig pulling a 22' pickup. Since then she has learned to drive the rig and has driven such roads both in the lower 48 as well as in northern Canada and Alaska. Learn to drive your rig, and get comfortable on easy roads. then when things get more challenging, you drive (with some coaching, at first). Now DW drives, I sleep and visa-versa. And do I get an ear full if I exceed my 2 hours in the seat.