ShapeShifter
Buffalo, NY
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Joined: 04/03/2007
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Help please! My plans are changing, and I need fast route planning advice.
Here I sit at a campground in Lake George NY (just above Albany) getting ready to continue our vacation into New England, but our plans are changing.
It now turns out that we will need to be in Crossville TN (West of Knoxville) on Wednesday. I figure it's a bit under 1000 miles, and leaving Sunday I will have 3.5 days to get there. That averages to around 300 miles per day, which is right at the limit of what I like to do. (After all, this is vacation, I don't want to spend it all on the road.)
This has taking me by surprise, and I've had no chance yet to do much research into this diversion. I'm looking for suggestions of roads to take, or roads to avoid. I'm not afraid of rolling hills, but would rather avoid narrow twisty steep mountain roads. Also, rather than take Interstates the whole way, I'd like to take spend a few miles on scenic routes. And I'd really like to avoid the really bumpy and bone-jarring rough roads (like I-86 -- the old routhe 17 through Southern NY)
It looks like I can take I-87 down towards NJ, cut over West on I-78 to PA, and then pick up I-81 down through MD, VA, and into TN. If I do that, it looks like I will parallel Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I would love to take the time and drive them end-to-end, but I think I will have to be more selective. I also understand there is a tunnel near the middle of Skyline Drive that I will not be able to fit through (I'm at 12' 10" high.)
So does anybody have any route suggestions that will let me make good time, yet still cover the more picturesque portions of some scenic routes? Are there any roads in the area I should be sure to avoid because of poor road surfaces, long construction zones, height/weight restrictions, chronic heavy traffic, or because it's just not an appropriate road for a lumbering beheamoth with toad (things like very steep/narrow/twisty?)
I would greatly appreciate any and all suggestions and warnings (including places to stay along the way and in Crossville.)
edit - Definitely diverting the trip, no longer just a possability.
* This post was
edited 10/05/08 05:58am by ShapeShifter *
2007 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40PDQ
400 ISL Cummins/Allison
2002 Chevy Avalanche toad
Inside: Him, Her, and a pack of little furballs...
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jimhaz2402
Crossville, TN USA
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Joined: 09/17/2004
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I don't have the maps with me to help you with your journey but can help you with campgrounds in Crossville. The easiest to get to is the Bean Pot CG off of exit 322. The details are in Trailer Life or Woodalls. There's also a KOA in the area--and that can be reached from exit 322, but it's a little farther away from I-40 on which you'll arrive in Crossville. Hope this helps a little.
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blueflash
East Tawas, Michigan
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Joined: 05/05/2004
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I am staying at KOA presently. If you like open sites with good mountain views, this is a good spot. It is a little easier to get into than Bean Pot. There is a quary operation next to BP which is noisey durring the day. The sites at BP are very shaded by oak trees. The KOA is no longer afiliated with KOA but the signs are still up. Only one or two rvs are here daily so you have lots of sites to choose from.
Blueflash
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ShapeShifter
Buffalo, NY
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Joined: 04/03/2007
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Thanks, guys! I had checked out Bean Pot last night, and it looked like it will do nicely. I was afraid of the KOA since I've noticed many of them really going downhill over the uears. I tried to reply last night, by my computer was being cranky and locked up on me. Rather than try to get it going again, I just went to bed. 
But now that I wake up this morning and see the good coments about the KOA, I will have to check that out.
As it turns out, after a round of phone calls last night, we are definitely diverting south for this trip. It also turns out we may be able to driveway-dry-camp at our destination, so it's all up in the air.
We will be breaking camp soo, and I guess I will just head down I-87 and see where it takes us. Hopefully we'll make to the MD/VA area and will find a place there for the night.
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