Road Trip Observations

[SawyerTed]

A couple of weeks ago we made a trip to Missouri and this week we are headed to Arizona.

Here are a few observations looking out the windshield:  

It looks likes ATVs, SxSs and compact tractors are back in stock.   Multiple dealers appeared to have good inventory.

Between Wytheville, Virginia and Little Rock, Arkansas, passenger vehicles were out numbered by 18 wheelers.  There were easily twice as many 18 wheelers as cars and pickups between large cities.  At times my pickup was the only passenger vehicle in sight.  As we neared cities, numbers of passenger vehicles increased and so did the crazies. 

Beyond Little Rock the number of 18 wheelers decreased significantly.  There must be a larger percentage of trucking from the Gulf to the East Coast than the west coast.  Could it be the east bound freight traffic is greater in the beginning of the week and more west bound the end of the week?

Regular gas prices from NC to Oklahoma City (along I40) have stayed steady between $3.29 and $3.39.  In a couple of forays off the beaten path we've seen $2.99 cash a couple of times.  Diesel hovers around $5.15 to $5.23 or so.  I've not noticed diesel prices as much (I'm in a gas pickup). 

Gas prices don't appear to slow any passenger vehicles very much.  It is obvious that the truckers are driving with fuel mileage in mind.  I'm driving the speed limit plus 2-5 mph.  At 77mph in Arkansas, there were numerous passenger vehicles running 85 plus despite the " SPEED LIMIT STRICTLY ENFORCED NO TOLERANCE" signs.

The middle of the United States is very dry!  The Mississippi River, in particular, was significantly low in Memphis but other rivers and lakes are low - The Ohio, Tennessee, Clinch, and Arkansas all very low. 

The leaves reached their peak in the east the last of October.  Our leaves in the Piedmont of NC are almost gone.  The leaves in Arkansas were either green or brown.

There is some beautiful country in West Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma.  The trees species and sizes vary significantly.  I'm envious of the size of the cedars in the Ozarks. 

It was 81° driving through Arkansas on November 9, I think we are in for a big change tomorrow.  Albuquerque will be cold when we get there tomorrow evening!  

Why are we driving?  My wife wanted to.  Need I say more?  But I'm driving 3 to her 1. 

[Resonator]

The big trucking fleets have their trucks computer limited to speed, I drove 62mph truck for years. The independent owner-operator drivers typically don't have speed governed trucks. Also the big fleets have electronic logging devices (log book) to comply with federal laws.
The major "I" roads are typically what truck traffic is routed on, especially between big cities and to air/rail intermodal hubs. Never a shortage of freight to be hauled to the east coast. Doesn't surprise me that there are plenty of speeders, my opinion it's only gotten worse in the last few years. The interstates are good if you want to get from point A to B quickly. If you want to see the sights and small town America, drive on some 2 lane roads.

[doc henderson]

we are headed to Arizona on the 16th.  diesel pulling the 41 foot camper.  Wife and her friend from high school have a half marathon.  mike and i will be checking out the beer and fish.
we will have dinner with @Jim Thomas and his wife Cathy who are there for the winter. 

[SawyerTed]

Will be in Peoria/Phoenix until the 18th.  

Where's the race?   

[moodnacreek]

Truck traffic is all about the economy. We live on a state road and also drive 250 miles to camp ]I 87] .  I can here a recession if it happens.

[Machinebuilder]

Memphis is a major port, with the lower Mississippi so low I would guess more barges are being unloaded in Memphis and then trucked.
In West Memphis there is also a large Multimodal yard moving containers from rail to truck.

I drove from Knoxville to Crossville Tn this week, the amount of traffic is very high and the way people drive is much worse.

[kantuckid]

We have AZ parks CG's & Maricopa Co CG reserved for our February 2023 RV trip ending with some Catus league baseball, then home for March Madness.

 We've been able to get AZ campground spots when in FL they are nigh on impossible and that was using the 11 month reservation window when we returned last spring from a trip there. Now, of course, there's the storm damage and all. Certain Az parks are very tough to get in, the worst is near Tuscon & Sedona as people use them as "parking lots" for an affordable means to stay near the toney towns nearby. 

We go when the it's snowbird time in KY. Now here, it's been in 60's & 70's for days & days! 

 We have been in AZ a bunch of times but miss the many FL bike trails and water activities in FL. We've tried NM some but given the elevations and cold it's a tough winter trip to keep camper from freezing up in late fall or early spring.

Dry as a tinderbox as very little rain for weeks on end. Eastern KY is very ripe for fires, had some already and air quality warnings away from us now.
 
Ozarks have never been short on ERC. Lots of acid ground below I-70. 
 It's a different kind of mountains there and the forests grow differently than further east. I've spent many, many outdoor trips to the Ozarks dating back to the early 1950's. Before KS had any Corp of Engrs lakes, the Ozarks lakes & steams were the premier fishing trip and still are for that matter.
 As a motorcycle rider, the Ozarks have a special kind of appeal with their scenery and roads. Lots of roller coaster roads and a two wheel mecca for sure. 

My 5k & 10k days are long gone. I have enough old race freebie T-shirts to last me. Got a free Lipitor T-shirt on this minute :D -I used to get asked if I took the stuff and explained it was a freebie race shirt, now, guess what,yes, I'm taking the generic version. 

[Texas Ranger]

The big trucking fleets have their trucks computer limited to speed, I drove 62mph truck for years. The independent owner-operator drivers typically don't have speed governed trucks. Also the big fleets have electronic logging devices (log book) to comply with federal laws.

Except on I-45 in Texas, I drive 75 to 80, only to have 18 wheelers blow by me.

[SawyerTed]

We decided to stop in Oklahoma City for the night.  We stayed in Jackson, Tennessee the first night.  Avoid the LaQuinta in Jackson, it is a dump.  Our accommodations in Oklahoma City are very nice and a bargain in comparison to LaQuinta.  We are at the Holiday Inn and Suites.

It's 66° this morning but the weather people are predicting snow this weekend.  The last time I stayed overnight in Oklahoma City was in December of 1983. The high temperature was 2°.  

We are getting a late start this morning so we will be getting to Albuquerque after dark. Of course the elevation there will make a difference so it will be cooler there. Add in this cold front and Albuquerque will feel like winter time after the mild weather.

[scsmith42]

Sounds like a great trip!  Enjoy.

[Walnut Beast]

Have fun and stay safe!!! Thanks for the updates 👍. Don't be shy about taking and showing us pictures!! Maybe you will run into somebody random running a sawmill and you can say LET ME SHOW YOU HOW TO RUN IT 😂

[Resonator]

Except on I-45 in Texas, I drive 75 to 80, only to have 18 wheelers blow by me.

Like I say, I drove for a company that limited truck speed, some others don't. I used to run with a guy that had hauled refrigerated freight out west to L A back in the day, said he would frequently hit triple digit speed in his Pete. Only reason he would let off the throttle is if the turbo got to hot and started melting things. 
Pro driver tip: If you hear a trucker talking about the "Smokey bear" hiding ahead, watch your speed. ;D

[SawyerTed]

Today we traveled I-40 West out of Oklahoma City toward Amarillo Texas.

The most impressive things included the wind turbines.  We've seen them several times before by they still are a sight to behold.  The individual blades are 116 feet long and the towers are 200ish feet tall.  They dwarf the cotton picking combines in my photo.  

Of course western Oklahoma and the eastern Texas Panhandle were farming country and cattle country.  We saw cotton, grains, milo and sorghum.  

In the cattle areas there were great mounds of haylage or silage.  It was difficult to tell if it was corn silage or sorghum silage.  Whatever it was, the great mounds were close to the feed lots.  


Somewhere west of Amarillo, someone flipped the switch and we went to climbing into the High Plains.  32,000 square miles of plateau plains and not a sawlog to be found.  

We reached about 7,500 feet above sea level before dropping down in to the valley where Albuquerque is located.  I say valley because we are surrounded by mountains even though we are at 5,300 feet above sea level. 



Wind Turbines



 Looking north across the lower edge of the Staked Plains.



 The school across the street from the hotel.  How about those mountains in the background?!?!

[SawyerTed]

I've been thinking about the trees I've seen since leaving the Piedmont of NC.

I've been wrong on an occasion or two but this is my observation about what I've seen last three days.

The cedar/juniper family has to be the most wide ranging variety of tree/bush in the United States. 

There have been cedars about everywhere along the way.

[Walnut Beast]

Great hearing about everything  and seeing the pictures!!

[Peter Drouin]

Thanks for the info.

[moodnacreek]

Northeastern New York has those wind mills also. Way back in '72 I drove from here to El Paso Tex. Out through Oklahoma [the Will Rogers Turnpike] heading for Amarillo I remember feed lots, cowboys and oil wells. We moved to El Paso in 1959 [Fort Bliss] and there where no interstates then. I am enjoying 'Road Trip Observations'.

[SawyerTed]

Did the drive from Albuquerque to Peoria/Phoenix today. 

It is an interesting drive out of Albuquerque because for many miles the interstate climbs but it's sometimes hard to tell until you reach the Continental Divide at around 7,200'.  

The number of West bound trucks increased today back to around 2 trucks to every passenger vehicle.  

When we left our hotel this morning, the sunrise ballon rides were in mid flight. 

Outside of Albuquerque we saw a truck load of logs.  The logs were the full length of the flatbed they were on so 50' or so. The largest were 28" plus in the butt.  I was driving so I couldn't study them much.  

We stopped for lunch in Winslow.  It's just a sleepy little town along side the interstate.  I recall having enjoyed some Arizona wines at a little wine shop there in 2019.  We had camped in a state park that was a joint preservation effort with the Hopi Nation.  Homolovi State Park has some very old Hopi artifacts and structures.  I've never been anywhere I could see artifacts laying on the ground beside the paths through the ruins.  

Before we got to Winslow we could see the mountain rising up in the distance.  It is Mount Humpfries about 12,000 in elevation.  It rises about 7,000 above the surrounding terrain. 

The drive from Flagstaff to Peoria was mostly in construction so not much sightseeing to be done.  

I did see an elk that had been hit by a vehicle on I-17.  It was a grown bull.  Imagine hitting a horse with a car!  

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[Resonator]

Clear blue sky, looks like a good day to fly. Albuquerque is popular with hot air balloons because of the predictable opposing winds. They are able to ascend in one place, float in one direction, then ascend further and float the opposite direction and return to where they started. Also know as "flying the box".

[Walnut Beast]

Thanks for the report 👍

[SawyerTed]

There were 8 or 10 flying over the resort tonight.   

Some were low enough we could hear the pilot and passengers talking and hear the burner cycling.  

[doc henderson]

Ted, I had to ask my wife and we will stay in Pheonix, and the race is in Peoria.  is that close?  :Dwe are pulling campers as mentioned.  PM me if you will be around still.  we are leaving on the 15th.  get to OK. then on the 16th.  will see how far we get.  get there late the 16th or late morning on the 17th

[SawyerTed]

So the road trip had a destination in mind.  We are in Peoria Arizona enjoying some Arizona sun. 



 

[Walnut Beast]

Lucky!! You wouldn't be doing that here at 12 degrees now 😂

[69bronco]

Great thread! We are headed down the I95 corridor next week, headed to southwest Fl. It's usually a semi white knuckled trip with the traffic. We usually tow a small camper, but with the fuel prices this year we will be hitting the hotels. To you seasoned travelers, any recommendations on a hotel chain that is reasonable and clean?