Ideas for Safe Passage Through the US

[dooleyfan]

Hi Fellow Airstreamers! We are new owners and excited to be connecting with this community. We are looking for help with our travel plans.
Our original plans were to head from Canada down through the US with a final destination of the Florida Keys. Our plans were to travel during the months of October, November and December, meandering our way along the East coast. Due to an unexpected delay in our departure plans from Canada, we are now not able to leave until late October. With the devastating impact of the hurricanes on the US South and cold weather on the way, we are at a loss of where in the US we should now travel to avoid foul weather and the hurricane affected areas. Any ideas? Are there any airstream caravans that we can hook up with for our travels?

[AtomicNo13]

I don't think Florida, especially the keys is a great destination this winter....

[SailorSam205]

October thru December - temps haven't gotten all that cold yet. I would look at the area from about Lexington KY to San Antonio - avoiding the area close to the gulf. Lexington has the Bourbon Trail. Barnson MO can be a destination. I have a SIL in San Antonio - she said they have had more rain on a normal day than they got for the Huricane.

[pt.reyesfan]

Originally Posted by dooleyfan

Hi Fellow Airstreamers! We are new owners and excited to be connecting with this community. We are looking for help with our travel plans.
Our original plans were to head from Canada down through the US with a final destination of the Florida Keys. Our plans were to travel during the months of October, November and December, meandering our way along the East coast. Due to an unexpected delay in our departure plans from Canada, we are now not able to leave until late October. With the devastating impact of the hurricanes on the US South and cold weather on the way, we are at a loss of where in the US we should now travel to avoid foul weather and the hurricane affected areas. Any ideas? Are there any airstream caravans that we can hook up with for our travels?

Try southwest US. Lot's of warm and nice spots.
Also look into a stop at Big Bend National Park.

[Lily&Me]

Kentucky and Tennessee would be good for October, then head toward coastal Georgia and the Carolinas.

Maggie

[Jamespio]

Fall is a GREAT time to explore the American Southwest. The crowds are much reduced at the National Parks and Monuments, camping spots are widely available, and in contrast to driving down the East Coast, the highways are far less congested and much friendlier for towing a big trailer or driving a motor home. If I had three months off and wanted to escape the early part of winter, I'd build an itinerary that included fall in the Rocky Mountains (Montana, Idaho,Colorado), and headed west from there. I would spend November in Utah and northern Arizona visinting Zion, Bryce, Escalante etc., remembering that elevation affects weather conditions far more than latitude, and would likely finish up with trips to Red Rocks (outside Vegas), and Joshua Tree.

[Rich W]

Kentucky has been mentioned as a stopover. Since I live in Lexington I can tell you that I-75 from Cincinnati down to Tennessee is in very good shape. There is construction here and there but they are widening it from 4 lane to 6 lane in most areas. Traffic south of Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky is heavy, but it starts to thin out south of I-71. (If the motor speedway on I-71 is open, traffic will be heavy in the right 2-3 lanes.) Tennessee has some construction going on for widening and repair, but traffic moves along.

Our weather is starting to cool off (especially with the hurricane) with daytimes in 70s to mid 80s and nights in the 50s to 60s. Normally, our first snow doesn't happen until mid to late November and isn't much more than a dusting to an inch. Really cold and snowy weather starts around Christmas and lasts until the end of February, but we can have some 30s in mid to late October through November. Since we moved here in 1997, the kids at Halloween haven't had to wear heavy coats, a big change from my childhood memories.

As mentioned, around Lexington we have the bourbon trail tours in several of the distilleries. We also have the KY Horse Park at exit 120. The Horse Park was the host of the 2010 World Equestrian Games, the first time ever outside of Europe. There is a museum and a very nice campground at the Horse Park, check online for availability. Around Thanksgiving they have a Christmas light / display show that you drive though in your car.
http://www.kyhorsepark.com/visit/par...khp-campground

In the city of Lexington we have the childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln https://www.mtlhouse.org/

Also in Lexington is Ashland, the Henry Clay estate:
https://henryclay.org/

Around Lexington there are self directed driving tours of the horse farms. These are along colorful back roads, especially pretty in the fall of the year.
https://www.visitlex.com/things-to-do/tours/

Just south of Lexington, near Harrodsburg, KY is Shaker Village:
https://shakervillageky.org/
Home to the third largest Shaker community in the United States between 1805 and 1910. It involves a lot of walking so wear comfortable shoes. Depending on their schedule, there is also a boat tour of the Kentucky river.

There are a lot of areas in central Tennessee too, Dollywood, Pigeon-Forge and others. In Georgia there are a lot of historical sites, including Stone Mountain monolith just north of Atlanta. The Roadside America site can help with those states. We've been to a number of places in both states but there is so much more to see.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com

Going south on I-75 you will end up in Florida where you can continue to Florida or take I-10 to the west. Maybe you can be in Louisiana for Mardi Gras.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck in your travels.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by dooleyfan

Hi Fellow Airstreamers! We are new owners and excited to be connecting with this community. We are looking for help with our travel plans.
Our original plans were to head from Canada down through the US with a final destination of the Florida Keys. Our plans were to travel during the months of October, November and December, meandering our way along the East coast. Due to an unexpected delay in our departure plans from Canada, we are now not able to leave until late October. With the devastating impact of the hurricanes on the US South and cold weather on the way, we are at a loss of where in the US we should now travel to avoid foul weather and the hurricane affected areas. Any ideas? Are there any airstream caravans that we can hook up with for our travels?

I would take 69 across from Port Huron and down to Indiana. I would avoid the Detroit-Toledo run down I-75 with an Airstream altogether. I have some amazing dash cam video of idiot drivers from just one single trip through Detroit.

[YippieKiYa]

Rich mentioned Lexington (do the Horse Park), and you could travel from there over toward Bardstown.

Also in Lexington, you might want to visit Keeneland Horse Track. Fall meet should be going. Bet on the ponies, or just watch them run in one of the oldest and most glorious horse racing facilities in the states. Fall colors should be in full effect here, too. Fall races through October only, but tours and such are available.

More stuff to look-up...
Heaven Hill Distillery and Bourbon Heritage center
Bardstown is a quaint village with antiques and a lot of bourbon heritage
Jim Beam is tucked into the hills and gorgeous. Tours available.
Beam's original offices and distillery site are the location where the movie Stripes shot their prison camp scene. It's up the road from the distillery and tourist center.
A mile or two away is is Bernheim Arboretum, and with the leaves peaking in late October, you should make the time to stop there. Hiking and such...gorgeous.
Zappos 6PM Outlet Store is located in Shepherdsville near a Loves if you like your shoes. Mens and women. Never know what you'll find...
KOA in Shepherdsville...some like them, some hate them...
West on KY-44 from Shepherdsville to Fort Knox gold depository and the General Patton Museum.
South on 65 an hour and then west 30 minutes to Mammoth Cave, which you really must see. Campground on site, National Park, dated but well kept. Ticket and history center are new.
Continue slightly south to the Corvette Museum with the factory next door in Bowling Green.
South from there into Nashville, where's there's tons to see like the Grand Ole Opry and you should stop at Gaylord Opryland just to see the greenhouse atriums, then back east to Knoxville and Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge (make campsite plans early - fall colors are a peak season) before venturing to Asheville, NC....

I used to live in the Louisville area until two years ago, and worked a territory from Indiana through Tennessee. Hard to go wrong down there, and the highways and byways are usually in good shape. I'd be happy to layer in some local restaurants with RV-friendly parking lots and access if you'd like, too. Can't beat southern cooking!

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

I would take 69 across from Port Huron and down to Indiana. I would avoid the Detroit-Toledo run down I-75 with an Airstream altogether. I have some amazing dash cam video of idiot drivers from just one single trip through Detroit.

Avoid I-65 north and south, starting just north of Elizabethtown, KY to about Bowling Green. This is a long term project, they are widening the road. There is heavy construction, irritable drivers and some very bad temporary lanes. We sat for 2 hours during an accident that blocked both northbound lanes. Then there was an accident on the southbound side that had it closed for a while.

[YippieKiYa]

Originally Posted by richw46

Avoid I-65 north and south, starting just north of Elizabethtown, KY to about Bowling Green. This is a long term project, they are widening the road. There is heavy construction, irritable drivers and some very bad temporary lanes. We sat for 2 hours during an accident that blocked both northbound lanes. Then there was an accident on the southbound side that had it closed for a while.

Good to know. I haven't been in the area in a couple of years, and that highway used to be good.

You could go over, do Fort Knox, take 31 into Elizabethtown, catch the Western KY Parkway, and come the back way into Mammoth Cave. Then come out of Mammoth using the southern road out. It's well-marked in the park. How's 31 from Mammoth Cave to Smith's Grove? It's a short trip, and 65 was already widened there (the McDonalds there was a far-too frequent stop). From there, you could get back on 65 to Nashville. The Corvette Museum is a couple exits south from Smith's Grove.

[Adiredneck]

All good advice given above. But, depending on *where* in Canada you are starting, a few bits of advice. By late October, most Canadian rigs have been winterized, as nighttime temps are around freezing. Ditto for Northeastern US. If it were me making the trip, I'd start out with tanks empty, and water pipes blown clean and dry. A little antifreeze down the drains is cheap insurance.

Head for South Texas and the Southwest with your Airstream in "winter mode" - i.e., no water, until you get far enough south that you don't need to worry about freezing temps. We've done this with late season travel, and spent a few nights in hotels/motels until we hit the Deep South and I was comfortable with filling the fresh water tanks. Camping from there on down. Another concern is that Northern and Northeastern campgrounds close after Columbus Day weekend - they have to drain their systems and winterize, as well. Motels are open all year in the North.

This might be overkill on being cautious, but a burst pipe puts an awful ding in a trip, as well as a dent in the wallet!

Tim

[white laker]

I have to agree to avoid the keys for a while, but there is still a lot of Florida that needs our support. Give it some time and they will bounce back. Then look around and see where things are getting back to normal. The people in the tourist industry need us to come back to spend dollars and help rebuild what has been taken from them. Lets not write them off this year. They need us.
Pete

[HHPJ]

Beautiful, sunny Palm Springs.

[HiJoeSilver]

I would have to second or third the skipping the Keys this year. I talked to a buddy flying helos off the ABE looking for survivors down there and delivering supplies. He says he hasn't seen anything like it and can't imagine getting things remotely back to normal for a long time. It's devestated!
As far as the rest of Florida they'll probably still be in recovery mode so if you don't have a specific place to go you'll probably find many places full of local people still trying to recover. Might be a good plan to avoid it.

Most campgrounds in the north east close by the end of October. So you might have a hard time finding places from NY down to MD. Once you get to VA things should be available as long as you're not up in the "mountains".

As a New Yorker I'd say have a plan to winterize the trailer just in case. Know how to do it in case you need to. If you're in it and it's heated is ok but towing in below freezing weather can cool the trailer down quickly. Just keep an eye on temps. We had a winter a few years ago, from first week of November through winter I don't think it got back above freezing.

[mimiandrews]

All good advice above. Come on down, most of the country is just fine.

I'll just chime in with the general statement that the southern part of the US barely has winter at all by Canadian standards. Fall weather is usually great, and the list of good places to visit almost endless. I agree with the advice above about being capable of winterizing on the road, because we do get the occasional cold spell. Any Walmart can sell you the antifreeze, just come with the knowledge and skill to do the job.

The hurricanes have affected Florida, except perhaps the panhandle area which I understand has some beautiful beaches. Check ahead to see what's open.

The Texas coast has been affected, but is recovering fast. 100 miles or more inland from the coast, and Texas is as normal as can be. The hurricane just brought us a nice rain and some cooler weather. Our state parks are housing evacuees from the coast, but I don't think many of them are full--check with reservations on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept's website. If you come this way, don't miss the Hill Country. Beautiful area, no matter what time of year.

[paiceman]

If one is planning of FL this winter I would make a decision as to what area and start trying to lock up some reservations as many places are all reserved. The spot we go to is basically all reserved by April of the previous year.

Good Luck

Bud

[kdickinson]

Having lived in Houston for 23 years and experiencing first hand the devastation of a hurricane event on a macro level I reluctantly support the input to avoid the Florida Keys at least for a few months. It's tough because business owners will want to return to their tourist trade especially in the winter and early spring months as soon as possible and telling people to avoid the area is probably not what they want to hear. But - the reality is that area is now changed in all ways (vegetation, infrastructure, buildings, etc.) and will be so for awhile. The posters talking about seeing the western states and national parks have some good points if you have the time. We'll start seeing snow in the Colorado mountains in 6-8 weeks so perhaps pushing south to go west on I-10 could be a way to consider - Big Bend in Texas is awesome, Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands, Tucson and the surrounding area and I've never known anyone to complain about San Diego.

[demijac]

Head south to Big Bend National Park in South Texas where the days are nice and the nights are cold. Then work your way west to Arizona and Southern California. There are plenty of places to winter along this stretch if you wish to stay stationary for awhile. We especially liked visiting the State Parks in Arizona and Joshua Tree National Monument in California. And finally, this route will be alot less expensive than crowded Florida in the winter months and offer much more in the way of spectacular scenery.

[TCwheels]

Originally Posted by dooleyfan

Hi Fellow Airstreamers! We are new owners and excited to be connecting with this community. We are looking for help with our travel plans.

Our original plans were to head from Canada down through the US with a final destination of the Florida Keys. Our plans were to travel during the months of October, November and December, meandering our way along the East coast. Due to an unexpected delay in our departure plans from Canada, we are now not able to leave until late October. With the devastating impact of the hurricanes on the US South and cold weather on the way, we are at a loss of where in the US we should now travel to avoid foul weather and the hurricane affected areas. Any ideas? Are there any airstream caravans that we can hook up with for our travels?

If you still have three months to travel avoid interstates in the US altogether.

We have very good secondary roads - often better surfaces than interstates- and you can get anywhere you want to go without the stress, construction, traffic, and crazy drivers.

Our decision to stay off x-ways was the BEST travel decision we've made traveling with our AS. We do have the luxury of time and I understand not everyone has that luxury.

BTW - The second huge change we've made to our travel habits: While traveling the blue highways we have created the "always turn around" rule. If we drive past something that causes either of us to ask: Do you want to turn around? The rule is we always do! I'm not exaggerating when I say that this rule has increased our enjoyment of traveling the byways of the US by at least 50%

Wherever you decide to go and however you decide to get there, have a safe and enjoyable journey!