Brainstorming an alternative east-west travel route?

[Morgana]

So I’m set to leave Tuesday morning for a cross-country road trip, the highlight of which was meant to be two days in New Orleans, while a good chunk of it hugs the Gulf coast.

Hello, Ida.

I can figure out a practical point-A-to-point-B route, and it’s fine with me if it comes to that. But it would be nice to have some fun/interesting alternatives for various contingencies. In the spirit of brainstorming, does anyone have favorite places or recommendations in
• southeastern Mississippi?
• southwestern Alabama?
• western Louisiana?

How about for a somewhat scenic northern route (from, say, Beaumont, TX, to San Antonio) that totally bypasses Houston and all its tentacles? Feel free to be a little silly, but try to stay south of Oklahoma City

Only if it’s fun to think about, OK? It would be nice to have some alternatives in my pocket, and who knows, I might use them on a future trip too.

Thanks!

 

[Weight]

There is a fantastic museum at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Don't know if it is open during Covid-19. Speaking of, I would not go anyplace in the South East. Also don't forget IDA. NO may not be much fun this week. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?atlc

 

[Morgana]

I haven't forgotten Ida.
I'm looking for alternatives outside the Ida-impacted area, including a nice big paranoid margin to the east and west of its current track.

Just want to have as many Plan Bs in my back pocket as possible!

 

[Weight]

Ok . That is not exactly what I understood you to ask. Some place south of San Antonio is a restored, but original, operating, Spanish Mission. It was a good visit.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Avoiding interstates is my preference. If it's a US-## highway then it's good.

US-62, US-70, US-82, US-180, US-190, US-380...

There are several US highways, that can take you east or west across the mid-south US that don't involve monotonous interstate highways. 

Pick one and enjoy!

 

[user 423]

The Natchez Trace Parkway:

https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

 

[Morgana]

Great ideas -- many thanks!

 

[bullfrog]

I don't think you will be able to miss Ida or the damage that will occur. Might want to carry some extra fuel as some power outages could last up to a month the reports are saying and flooding all along its path. Many states are talking shelter in place as roads are jammed with people trying to evacuate. I would think seriously of waiting to travel.

 

[MrNoodly]

East — from where? West — to where?

 

[WanderingRose]

I would suggest a more northern cross-country route right now, because of the heat and because of the impact Ida has and will continue to make.

There will be chaos and scarce resources in the south for a long while.

I like US24 and US34, and there are lots of state highways that traverse individual states and take you through small town America.

Have a great time!

 

[Morgana]

By the cold grey light o' dawn (post-Ida), it looks like I'll be able to keep the itinerary except for the Louisiana stretch, and it looks like the responsible thing there would be to stay on I-10 (or any required detour) and get through the state quickly without getting in anyone's way.

So far (knock wood) it's not looking necessary to take a big northern sweep as I feared, but I will keep an eye on the news and the traffic ... and I will keep these suggestions in mind for future adventures, so thank you very much.

It's not a leisure trip, though I was hoping to have some fun side trips during it. And I still can, just not in Louisiana. All in all I'm pretty lucky. I  :heart: New Orleans and southwest Louisiana. Well, next time!

 

[WanderingRose]

Just to help in planning, the weather channel can provide current information on power outages and other weather-related issues.

https://weather.com/news/news/2021-...a-new-orleans-levee-mississippi-news-breaking

Millions of people are currently without power in Louisiana, southern Mississippi and Alabama.

 

[RvNaut]

If you stay on the Southern route.. consider Big Bend National Park...

 

[Morgana]

JJsimonds wrote:

If you stay on the Southern route.. consider Big Bend National Park...

That is so on my bucket list.

 

[MrNoodly]

If you stay on the Southern route.. consider Big Bend National Park...

If you time it right you could be in Terlingua for the big chili cookoff.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I am a traveling man myself. I have laid out 17 trips that will take me through each of the lower 48 states and visting nearly 95% of the national parks, forrests, and historic sites. Instead of picking my route first...I worked backwards. I bought a Rand McNally road map. I looked up each of the national sites using google earth because it allows me to see pictures and reviews by people who have been there. I circled each site I wanted to visit using a blue marker. I then searched for all the military bases (retired Army) in each state and circled them in red as possible places to stay at night. I ordered visitor guides for each of the states that I was planning to visit and looked for points of interest, located them and circled them in pink. Then I looked at each state and tried to find points of interest that I might want to see, circling them in pink as well. Then I plotted my course through that state. It works great for me!

My inlaws are from Lousiana and New Orleans is always a great place to visist.....but be careful after dark because theives are looking for druck tourists or people walking alone. There are several plantations that might spark your interest. If you are planning to go north into Arkansas, there is always the little shop for big foot. The town was the location of the movie Boggy Creek. It's about 20 miles north of the LA border.

 

[Morgana]

Just to update in case it's useful to anyone else down the line in a similar situation --

I found those traffic websites very hard to read (especially on a small screen) once the disaster-related info starts piling in -- too much to keep track of and too hard to know which bits are relevant. So I ended up calling the state police non-emergency number to get up-to-date conditions. They were super helpful. Advice included (I'm sure y'all know most of this already): do stay on the main highway because that's what's cleared and where people can get to you if you need help ... fill your gas tank before you enter the problem zone, and don't ever let it get more than 1/2 empty (no matter how long you have to wait in line at the gas station) ... and remember that you could lose cell phone coverage too.

So I chilled out and prepared for a svcky day, but it went miraculously smoothly. They did a yeoman's job clearing the highway quickly; I'm totally impressed. And while, obviously, they don't want people playing tourist in the hard-hit areas, they didn't have any objection to "legit" through-travel.

Even got to do a bit of proper road-tripping at the end of the day in far southwestern Louisiana, which wasn't really affected by the storm -- down by Holly Beach and the Sabine Pass. An odd and interesting area!

Thanks again for all the tips.