Heading out in early November, rolling elopements and advice?

[IDG17]

Hey all,

My wife and I will be on the road from Michigan, officiating weddings and meeting people in our 87 31' Excella in early november, headed to these locations.
Memphis
Tyler, TX
Austin, TX
Asheville, NC
Beaufort, SC
New Orleans
Santa FE
Phoenix
and back to Michigan in April(ish)

Simply looking for any advice, locations not to miss, driveways to park in and people to meet along the way.

Cheers,

Ian & Emily

[Alumaholic]

One handy feature that you should explore are the "Campground Reviews" that are right here on these forums.
In the upper left quadrant of this page, beneath the Air Forums banner, you will find a tab labelled "More."
Under the "More" tab the second bullet is Campground Reviews.
Remember to add your own reviews as you make your journey.
Hope this helps!

[Bk Yd Safari]

Memphis TN--Peabody Hotel ducks and BBQ at Blues City Cafe, stay at Tom Sawyers RV Park in West Memphis AK on the banks of the Mississippi River opt for a river front site
Ashville NC--Biltmore Estate and Grove Park Inn especially nice during the holidays, stay at Ashville's Bear Creek RV Park which has a great view of the Biltmore Estate
Beaufort SC--stay at Hunting Island State Park if you can get an oceanside site
New Orleans--too many great resturants to list, but dont miss the beignets at the Cafe Dumont in the French Quarters
Santa Fe--Trailer Ranch is an OK place to stay and the location is close to Old Town and the square
Phoenix--115 miles north of Phoenix just off I-15 is the town of Sedonia, great scenery, stay at Rancho Sedonia and try to get one of the sites on the river
If you pass thru Nasville, TN dont miss music city row (Broadway) lots of good food and entertainment, stay at Two Rivers RV Park very near the Opryland Hotel.
Austin TX--If you are country music fan Luckenbach is 70 miles west--never been but I hear that the Big Bend National Park should not be missed.

Sounds like a great trip

[2Tex4Fun]

What a fun trip for you!

Luckenbach is fun & Fredericksburg is a great German town to explore & loves tourist.

Big Bend is awesome and a must see if you love nature and your will be amazed at the diversity of the terrain from desert to mountains..all in Texas!

Victoria

[Everonica]

I will absolutely note some of these suggestions for my future plans, too. I am wondering though, IDG, officiating weddings???? You have me VERY curious! Please explain!

[A W Warn]

Asheville, NC - do not miss the Blue Ridge Parkway, but, go south toward the Smokey Mountains (northward is closed for the winter due to road damage). Also, nearby on the parkway, Mt Pisgah Campground, one of my favorites, closes early Nov (if it re-opens before the end of the season)

Beaufort, SC - Hunting Island SC State Park - camping right on the ocean shore, short easy trails (kayak, hike, or bike)

[IDG17]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great list of suggestions, very much appreciated.
We will keep you updated here and will likely have many more questions.

Ian & Emily

[IDG17]

Hey all,

Just and update, per your tips, we have a reservation for Hunting Island SC in Jan are are pretty stoked about that.
Does anyone have any experience with the route from basically Austin TX to Asheville, I'm a little concerned about towing through the Smoky Mountains, I have driven before and remember it being pretty intense?

Also our first phase coming from Michigan will be stops in:
Indianapolis / Bloomington maybe / state park
Lousiville
Nashville
Memphis
Little Rock AK
Tyler

Any tips on cool places to stay would be great, we are down for anything from wilderness to a driveway.
The forums here have been really helpful, thanks in advance.

Ian

[panheaddale]

You don't have to go through the smokies if you don't want to. If you come up to little rock from austin you will take 40 all the way to ashville and it is all interstate with no major pulls. The steepest part will be where 81 and 40 split just east of knoxville from there to ashville on 40. If you want to go over the smokies you can take exit 407 on I40 and go through gatlinburg and over into cherokee nc. and then on to ashville but it will definitely be alot more of a whitenuckle drive but ALOT prettier and more things to do and see.

[lcurrie]

Check out this site:
An Airstream Adventure with a Crowd-Sourced Itinerary | The Democratic Travelers

They're crowdsourcing their trip. Here's an article that explains it:
Couple Embarks on a Crowdsourced Road Trip

Lynn

[IDG17]

Hey there,

I just saw your post on an Austin thread and realized you live there. It looks like Pecan Grove is booked when I'll be there, 11/18-29ish. Any recommendations on other places, state parks etc around Austin?

Thanks

[Beer Snob]

Austin: I've been content at McKinney Falls State Park. It's actually within Austin City Limits and you can easily dodge the traffic when you head into town by staying off 35. We actually ride our bikes into town from the park but then we pretty much ride our bikes everywhere.

Definitely spend some time out in the Hill Country. If you like good beer (and good food) hit the Pecan Street Brewing Company in Johnson City on the way out. Perdenales Falls State Park (approx 10-12 miles east of Johnson City is also nice. Lukenbach is fun and Fredericksburg is a must. There is a great flea market just east of Fredericksburg the third weekend of each month and you can actually stay overnight and have wireless at the VERY nice rest area along the Perdenales at the LBJ ranch.

As for getting to SC from there I'd be inclined to take the most southern route. Hit New Orleans and the redneck Riviera. And the beaches on the Florida panhandle are beautiful. If you go all the way to the coast and you are still in Florida check out Fort Clinch State Park north of Fernandina Beach.

[Beer Snob]

Between Phoenix and Austin you might enjoy Marfa. It's a bit east of El Paso. It's an artist colony with some seriously off the hook people and places. And you will be amazed at the mountains out there. Another fun little town is Madrid, New Mexico. If you get to Santa Fe be sure to check out Madrid. It's a bit south on the east side of the Sandia Range. While in Santa Fe check out the Santa Fe Brewing Co. Decent brew and great live music.

[IDG17]

Originally Posted by panheaddale

You don't have to go through the smokies if you don't want to. If you come up to little rock from austin you will take 40 all the way to ashville and it is all interstate with no major pulls. The steepest part will be where 81 and 40 split just east of knoxville from there to ashville on 40. If you want to go over the smokies you can take exit 407 on I40 and go through gatlinburg and over into cherokee nc. and then on to ashville but it will definitely be alot more of a whitenuckle drive but ALOT prettier and more things to do and see.

Hey just a question re this. I'm thinking ill be coming into asheville from the east now on 40. Anyone have experience with that route? It looks somewhat mountainous on the map near asheville?

[Captain Hank]

You must visit Charleston, SC. Historic homes and where the Civil war started.

If you join the WBCCI there is courtesy parking by many of the members. I have courtesy if you are interested and contact me.

[Bk Yd Safari]

Originally Posted by IDG17

Hey just a question re this. I'm thinking ill be coming into asheville from the east now on 40. Anyone have experience with that route? It looks somewhat mountainous on the map near asheville?

You will cross the Eastern Continental Divide just east of Ashville. The grade is steep enough for a truck warning (I dont remember the %grade), but not a white knuckle experience. You will encounter another steep grade west of Ashville in the vicinity of the TN state line. Very pretty scenery all thru the mountains of western NC and eastern TN.

[IDG17]

Hey all,

Any favorite spots from Wilmington NC north into the Outer Banks?
Thanks!