Tulsa to RTR, I-40, I-10 or ???

[mpruet]

I will be leaving from Houston Texas  and would prefer not to drive the fast interstate. I came down from Iowa and keeping up with the traffic was hard. 55 or 60 miles per hour would be fine with me. Any suggestions coming from Houston? Older rig 29 footer. Doesn't like inclines.

I should mention that leaving Houston, I'd take I-10 to San Antonio and then US 90 on the west side of San Antonio.  You'll have to get on I-10 again to get around El Paso however. 

The traffic on i-10 past El Paso is not too heavy. 

There is a really nice rest stop on US-90 at the Pecos River that allows overnight camping.  It's really cool because the Pecos has cut a rather large channel as it merges into the Rio Grande.  You will run into a lot of boarder patrol stops on I-90 since you are within 30 miles of Mexico, so be prepared for that.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Mercy200, You don't need to keep up with traffic. Just caravan behind a big rig at a pace you're comfortable with. I would start out early and stop by 3pm. I like to travel an hour before sunrise and done by 1-2pm.

fyi, I-10 is very flat. US90 jumps on/off I-10. Getting yourself southside of San Antonio is recommended or the northern loop 1604. Timing yourself through big cities is less stress.

 

[tx2sturgis]

US 90 as posted above will work for about 3/4 of the way across Texas. It's a meandering, rural route, mostly level. Of course you still have San Antonio traffic to deal with.

You will still have a few good 'pulls' on I-10 after Van Horn. But out on the 'giant side' of Texas, the traffic is much less congested, except thru El Paso. If you can, try to get thru El Paso either mid-day, or after about 7 PM. Morning and evening commutes thru El Paso are very congested. 

Then after that, its mostly smooth and flat, with a bit of a pull westbound out of Las Cruces, and then again in Arizona at Texas Canyon. 

Unless you have business in Phoenix, I recommend you take I-8 to Gila Bend then AZ 85 to I-10...avoiding Phoenix traffic. 

Have a good trip!

 

[mpruet]

fyi, I-10 is very flat. US90 jumps on/off I-10. Getting yourself southside of San Antonio is recommended or the northern loop 1604. Timing yourself through big cities is less stress.

Well - maybe once you get past Junction, TX...   ;-)

 

[CautionToTheWind]

^ thumbs up

 

[mpruet]

One thing that I would suggest is that if you decide to take the US-90 route, I'd take I-410 south of San Antonio.  The north loop of I-410 has far more traffic on it than the south loop.  You might consider taking the south loop of I-410  even if you decide to stay on I-10 leaving San Antonio. 

San Antonio has more than doubled in population during the past 15 years and most of the growth has been on the north side of the city.

 

[Stymie]

US 90 does provide better scenery then you get on I-10 again to go through El Paso.. Timing does matter going thru large cities..

 

[tx2sturgis]

San Antonio has more than doubled in population during the past 15 years and most of the growth has been on the north side of the city.

When I lived in San Antonio in the early 80's, loop 1604 was just a little two lane road out in the country! The apartment building I lived in, on Randolph Blvd, which was kind've in a rural area then, is, according to google maps, still there but surrounded with urban sprawl.

 

[mpruet]

When I lived in San Antonio in the early 80's, loop 1604 was just a little two lane road out in the country! The apartment building I lived in, on Randolph Blvd, which was kind've in a rural area then, is, according to google maps, still there but surrounded with urban sprawl.

I lived there until the mid 1990s.   My home was off of Thousand Oaks on the north side of town - about a mile inside of 1604.  I could ride my bike from there up to New Braunfiels with no problem.   Now the city has spread so the outskirts are near Canyon Lake and in no way would I attempt to ride my bike there...

 

[tx2sturgis]

At the risk of further thread drift, I used to ride my Yamaha XT 250 all over San Antone, but back then the speed limit was 55...and that's about all that little bike would do. 

I once got a speeding ticket in Windcrest, I was out riding on the dirt trails in some construction area, and the cop radared me from the pavement, doing 45 mph on some dirt that wasn't even a public road! It was parallel to the road and technically, city 'right of way'. At the time, the speed limit in the little 'bedroom' community was 30 mph everywhere. 

Yes I had to pay it....

 

[Gordon Lockwood]

I too, will be attending RTR from the Tulsa area, but have opted to leave I-40 at Amarillo and head South on US 60 to Clovis, NM. (all 4 lane). From Clovis on US 70 (4 Lane) to Las Cruces, NM is a beautiful stretch where I'll pick up I-10 in town. Using I-10 through Tucson to Gila Bend, but bypassing Phoenix, I'll be taking Arizona SR 85 North to I-8, and on to Quartzsite. My reasoning is to head SW on flat terrain ASAP to avoid winter weather, and enjoy NM natural beauty on the way. By The Time I Get To Phoenix, I'm hoping It'll be warm enough to roll the windows down. I hoping to meet you and other Okies at RTR.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Gordon, that is a perfectly good way to get there...and I can tell you all the good eating places along the way!

One in particular is Cooks Restaurant in Clovis. Home style cooking for the locals and the truck drivers, plenty of parking, and pretty waitresses!

I especially like the Chicken Enchiladas...

 

[Mercy200]

I should mention that leaving Houston, I'd take I-10 to San Antonio and then US 90 on the west side of San Antonio.  You'll have to get on I-10 again to get around El Paso however. 

The traffic on i-10 past El Paso is not too heavy. 

There is a really nice rest stop on US-90 at the Pecos River that allows overnight camping.  It's really cool because the Pecos has cut a rather large channel as it merges into the Rio Grande.  You will run into a lot of boarder patrol stops on I-90 since you are within 30 miles of Mexico, so be prepared for that.

Wow! Great suggestions  and routes. 
I like that it's only a couple of routes to take.
Keeping all this in mind for the trip west.
Thanks for all the info.

I lived in San Antonio about 15 years ago. Never went west of that in Texas.

 

[Mercy200]

US 90 as posted above will work for about 3/4 of the way across Texas. It's a meandering, rural route, mostly level. Of course you still have San Antonio traffic to deal with.

You will still have a few good 'pulls' on I-10 after Van Horn. But out on the 'giant side' of Texas, the traffic is much less congested, except thru El Paso. If you can, try to get thru El Paso either mid-day, or after about 7 PM. Morning and evening commutes thru El Paso are very congested. 

Then after that, its mostly smooth and flat, with a bit of a pull westbound out of Las Cruces, and then again in Arizona at Texas Canyon. 

Unless you have business in Phoenix, I recommend you take I-8 to Gila Bend then AZ 85 to I-10...avoiding Phoenix traffic. 

Have a good trip!

Looking forward to meeting all of you. 
Must confess,  after the drive to Texas I am not looking forward to driving for several days,  but am looking forward to seeing all of you.

Boondocking for a  couple of days will be interesting,  I like my electricity and don't have solar yet.

City girl  here lol.

 

[mpruet]

Looking forward to meeting all of you. 
Must confess,  after the drive to Texas I am not looking forward to driving for several days,  but am looking forward to seeing all of you.

Boondocking for a  couple of days will be interesting,  I like my electricity and don't have solar yet.

City girl  here lol.

You might want to take your time through Texas, especially if you take the US-90 route.  Here are some things to see on the route...

San Antonio - of course.... 

Langtry - check out the Judge Roy Bean historical Site - law west of the Pecos...

Alpine, Marfa - Look for the ghost lights at night....  Also there are several artist colonies out there...

While in the area you might want to make a quick detour to Fort Davis.  It's an old fort that was protecting the San Antonio to El Paso stage route.  You can still see some of the ruts that the stage coaches made.  I've been there twice and enjoyed it.  It's been refurbished with a lot of the furniture and tools of the period - and is quite interesting.

Also you are not too far from Big Bend national park in that area so that's another thing you might want to check out.

From there you might want to join up with I-10 or head north to the Guadalupe Mountain area...

If you have the time (and gas money) you might want to make West Texas a multi-day trip.  There's a lot to see and the winter months are the ideal time to be in that part of the country...

 

[dkw68]

I too, will be attending RTR from the Tulsa area, but have opted to leave I-40 at Amarillo and head South on US 60 to Clovis, NM. (all 4 lane).  From Clovis on US 70 (4 Lane) to Las Cruces, NM is a beautiful stretch where I'll pick up I-10 in town. Using I-10 through Tucson to Gila Bend, but bypassing Phoenix, I'll be taking Arizona SR 85 North to I-8, and on to Quartzsite.  My reasoning is to head SW on flat terrain ASAP to avoid winter weather, and enjoy NM natural beauty on the way.   By The Time I Get To Phoenix, I'm hoping It'll be warm enough to roll the windows down.   I hoping to meet you and other Okies at RTR.

sounds like a mini okie rtr is about to happen. LOL
we will be leaving from Coweta around the 10 also, drive safe, if you see a Maroon Winnabago class A with a green kia soul tow car....stop by fellow okie!