wow thanks a billion on the heads up here is an update route... how does that look?

and this will be about 2 weeks befor thanksgiving day so yeah i hope the weather holds up.

updated route

 

Unless you really wanna see Huntsville and the NASA stuff at the Space and Rocket Center (which IS sorta cool....I grew up and went to HS there, family still is all there and I'm back a few times a year, and the museum is pretty badass if you're into space stuff), then just take I-40 from Memphis to Nashville instead of US-72 E and I-65 N. You have ZERO reason to detour to Decatur AL on a "just because" basis

Also a non-factor (I think) in your case, but trucks/trailers aren't allowed over Hoover Dam. If you're driving the MR, you'll be fine. If you're towing it in an enclosed trailer, you'll have to go down US95 to Hwy 163, then east (thru Laughlin) via Hwy 163 and Hwy 68 to Kingman instead of down US93 across Hoover Dam.

If you have an extra day or two, some sites along the route :

AZ : Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater

NM : Green Chile Cheeseburger at the Owl Cafe, on Eubanks just north of I-40 at exit 165 (east side of Albuquerque). Only do this if you like hot food. Thank me later

TX : Big Texan Steakhouse on the east side of Amarillo

OK and AR : just drive thru, not much to see....

TN : Graceland in Memphis, country music stuff (if you're into that) in Nashville, Smoky Mtns Nat'l Park

NC : Asheville is a pretty chill town, lotsa coffee houses and such.

If I were gonna 4-day this trip, I'd overnight in Vegas, Tucumcari NM (or Amarillo), and somewhere on a little east of Memphis. Be aware that a lot of Memphis itself is a bit, ummm, well let's just say not somewhere you'd wanna park an Evo MR overnight and have realistic expectations that it'd still be there in one piece the next morning.

 

hmmmm....


I got 100+ in a 35 zone along with about 6 other violations once...but it was a pure harassment case. The cop never submitted the ticket. Sucked I had to call the DA office like once ever 2 weeks for a year to make sure I wasn't have a police car roll up to my house one day. Ended up selling my car.

I always thought they had the option of impounding your car and tossing you in jail...felony. Up to the cop and the situation.... Have to brush up on my code book.

 

yeah it is up to the cop, if he wants to bust you for the violation......but its a hassle for him to bring you in so.......

I think 2 days would be way too much, definitely not an enjoyable trip. Id play on 3-4 days.

 

you can have it shipped enclosed for about 2100, 1200 for non enclosed. I was looking at a car in NC

 

where did you find for $1200?

I was trying to buy a car in NY and the best I could find was closer to $1700.

 

i drove 10 across from san jose to savannah..and took the 40 back....great drive.

i thought graceland would be a waste of time but it was actually hella cool. check it out!

continental divide was boring but interesting all the same.

OK...stop at some of the native american stands..they have some trippy stuff to look at

NM has a cool stuff at the university

AZ...near Flagstaff on the business loop/historic 66...gotta stop at transportation central...theres a really good mexican restaurant near this intersection


if youre making this trip give yerself 4-5 days and stop and see everything you want to...its well worth it!!!!! i miss a lot because i just wanted to get home after 2 weeks bring on the road.

 

drove from reno to southern arizona and back in under 24 hours. that last few hours of driving was the hardest. surprised i didn't get pulled over for a dui check.

 

YOURE PASSING BY THE TAIL OF THE DRAGON! somewhere near Tennessee

Google: Deals Gap/ tail of the dragon...one of the top roads in the USA hundreds of turns.
Just realize its a popular road and the locals probly hate tourists passing thru, especially if you arent on a streetbike...so play nice

and yeah 2 days would be pushin it, id say 4 days if you even want to think about look out the window at stuff/ turning around...

 

If you're going in late November, you had better consider alternate routes to Tioga Pass through Yosemite (Rt. 120). There are 3 other roads you can take if you are heading north on Rt. 395 - Rt. 108, Rt. 4, or Rt. 88. All three routes are fun to drive. Your other option is to head south west out of Vegas on I-15 and then north on Hwy 99 - but that is so boring.

 

4 and 108 are seasonal too, if Tioga is closed, chances are neither of them are going to be open either.

Plan on either I-15/40 from Vegas/Arizona to Barstow/Mojave/Bakersfield, or else figure you'll be going to Tahoe (89 will close from 395 to Markleeville too) and then over the crest on either 88 or 50.

That way, if any of the others happen to be open, you luck out.

 

I'd forgotten that 4 and 108 are seasonal too. Explains your choice of 88 coming back from the Grand Canyon rallye in multiple blizzards all those years ago!

 

I drove from Oakland, CA to Rochester, NY back and forth 2x. It was roughly 5 days of 9 hours of driving, so without stopping 2 days is about right.

 

Tail of the dragon

 

FWIW, I've driven Tail of the Dragon. What it made me realize is that CA is blessed with a TON of cool twisty backroads.

Don't get me wrong, it was "fun" but it'd be nothing that spectacular (versus the other options on roads) if it were plunked down in Northern CA...