Downside of Blue Highways - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-22-2016, 07:32 AM   #1
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Downside of Blue Highways

I really hate superhighways, especially I 4 in Orlando. Too many hills that totally block the view of what the traffic ahead of you is doing. Too many rear end collisions at high rates of speed for me. So when I googlemapped the directions fromm Lake Placid FL to the LaQuinta and the Florida Trail Association 50th anniversary convention, I told it avoid tolls and superhighways.
It was kinda cool driving thru all the little towns that just are perfect time machines back to the 50s and 60s,when DH and I were growing up. But along with quaint downtowns, I forgot traffic lights. And locals who know better than to get on I4 or the Turnpike. And when the sun went down...and it was difficult to see the oad signs...and Google Maps had apparently last programmed the area about 5-6 years back and LOTS of new infrastructure is up and running...

Googlemaps optimistically thought this route would take 2 1/2 hours. Iit took almost 6, adding in rush hour traffic.

Next summer's trip to the Canadian Maritimes had optimistically been planned for blue highways. Since DH has taken off only the month of June I am totally revising my itinerary onto interstates where necessary, which will bemost of the way up to Olana in New York (Hudson) Blue Ridge Parkway will have to be another trip- possibly solo if DH doesn't get a hunk of time off.

Hoping that my Snoozy will fly without too much sway or vibration, some of the snoozy owners I have read absolutely brag about how well their rigs handle on the Interstates.
Well, off to the Convention now- via I 4
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Old 10-22-2016, 08:11 AM   #2
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I hate the blue routes, but take them when I have to, but not to long. I was heading south one time on I 81s the speed limit was 75 mph. I got on I believe was 345s running parallel to it and it was a very nice scenic 45 mph country road and little towns & traffic lights. Have a good trip.
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Old 10-22-2016, 08:22 AM   #3
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We normally tow our Snoozy on the interstate at 65. However there are times when it is safer to drive faster. The Snoozy tows like it is part of our Expedition. I much rather go slower on 2 lanes whenever possible but sometimes you just need to get there. The last time we drove through the lake area below Orlando it took three hours to go the fifty miles from Wachula to I-75.




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Old 10-22-2016, 08:47 AM   #4
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[QUOTE=Mitzi Agnew-Giles;614325]
I am totally revising my itinerary onto interstates where necessary, which will bemost of the way up to Olana in New York (Hudson) Blue Ridge Parkway will have to be another trip- possibly solo if DH doesn't get a hunk of time off.

Interesting as we live less than half an hour from Olana. Only been there once. Last year we went through Lake Placid on our way from Ortona COE campground to Highland Hammock for a couple nights until we could get into W P Franklin. So actually we went through twice. Will be back again this winter. If you need a place to stay overnight we have a big yard, are on a main highway, and just a few miles from Interstate 90. We also have a Lake Placid in NY, where the winter Olympics were held in 1980.
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Old 10-22-2016, 10:00 AM   #5
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Google alternative

For more up-to-date info and real-time road conditions, we use WAZE (ironically now owned by Google).
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Old 10-22-2016, 10:15 AM   #6
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Don't know if it's just me but a 4 hour trip on a superhighway seems longer than a 6 hour trip on a scenic secondary highway.
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Old 10-22-2016, 10:23 AM   #7
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Don't know if it's just me but a 4 hour trip on a superhighway seems longer than a 6 hour trip on a scenic secondary highway.
Agreed! You see the best stuff on the secondary roads. And that is precisely why we travel. Super highways make many of the states indecipherable from one another. Might as well stay home and camp in the backyard.
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Old 10-22-2016, 11:23 AM   #8
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Anyone ever read William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways travel book, he circumnavigated USA from Missouri and back. But that was in the 80's when you could boondock in most any small town church yard. A very interesting, well written book.
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Old 10-22-2016, 02:55 PM   #9
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Anyone ever read William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways travel book, he circumnavigated USA from Missouri and back. But that was in the 80's when you could boondock in most any small town church yard. A very interesting, well written book.
I have that book and did read it. He also wrote another book that I think was called "Riverhorse" where he went across country with a boat. I have that book too. Maybe got the idea for Blue Highways from Steinbeck's "Travels With Charlie"
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Old 10-22-2016, 05:02 PM   #10
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William Least Heat Moon River Horse

Yes, I have read River Horse also, very interesting as I am a boater also. My only problem with RH was that I had to look up about 225 vocabulary words! This had never happened to me before! I also recommend River Horse to the travelers out there.
He and a friend motored from Manhattan to the mouth of the Columbia River! with just a few portages. Quite a ride.
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Old 10-22-2016, 09:16 PM   #11
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Carl- did you mean you hate the RED highways, the Interstates? Blue highways are usually secondary roads- US 17 "Coastal Highway" instead of I95 et al. Believe me my preference is for back roads also. But sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. To drive from South Florida to the Canadian Maratimes is about 2,000 miles just to hit the border. I am going to have some extra "down" time while in Canada- a setting and resting kind of day. And then, on the way back home-another 2,000 miles.My father's rule of thumb was you be doing well to average 50 miles each hour, between traffic, which would would mean 40 driving hours just to reach the Canadian border. Both of us have arthritis, and I have chronic pain-which probably means only driving 6-7 hrs a day-or 300-350 miles. Yeah, going to have to do a judicious balancing of blue and red highways to optimize our travel conditions.


Carolyn I'm sending you a pm
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Old 10-23-2016, 04:25 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles View Post
Carl- did you mean you hate the RED highways, the Interstates? Blue highways are usually secondary roads- US 17 "Coastal Highway" instead of I95 et al. Believe me my preference is for back roads also. But sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. To drive from South Florida to the Canadian Maratimes is about 2,000 miles just to hit the border. I am going to have some extra "down" time while in Canada- a setting and resting kind of day. And then, on the way back home-another 2,000 miles.My father's rule of thumb was you be doing well to average 50 miles each hour, between traffic, which would would mean 40 driving hours just to reach the Canadian border. Both of us have arthritis, and I have chronic pain-which probably means only driving 6-7 hrs a day-or 300-350 miles. Yeah, going to have to do a judicious balancing of blue and red highways to optimize our travel conditions.


Carolyn I'm sending you a pm
Yeah, the big highways, I guess i got confused with the blue routes as they say in pa, meaning turnpikes. Carl
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:14 AM   #13
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I really enjoyed William Least Heat Moon's books.
The final afternoon presentation was by a representative of ZPak, an ultralight equipment company started by serious hikers for serious hikers. Only camping equipment company headquartered in Melbourne, FL. Their 2 person tent 21 ounces without poles, 31 with poles. They are using cutting edge fabrics and material. Website is www.zpack.com
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Old 10-31-2016, 11:17 AM   #14
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Interestingly enough, I 4 just got named the most dangerous highway in America
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Old 10-31-2016, 11:31 AM   #15
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Thanks to the Interstate highway system, it is now possible to cross the America from coast to coast without seeing anything.

In my Garmin navigator I usually select "shortest" rather than "fastest" route, this helps to avoid Interstates while driving from point A to point B.
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Old 10-31-2016, 11:54 AM   #16
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Years ago, we used to take US 27/19/98 to the FL Panhandle from Miami, but that was before all of central Florida became a suburb of Orlando. US 27 is still a good route between Miami and Sebring, and we use Alt 27 from Ocala to Tallahassee. These routes still have some uncongested stretches.

However, if traveling after dark, we stick with Turnpike/I-75/I-10. You can't see anything in the dark, anyway, and gas, food, bathrooms and assistance are never far away.

FL DOT has a website as well as a hotline and iphone app (Florida 511) that includes a map of accidents on major routes throughout the state, and other official announcements of road closings, etc. We use it and Waze.

Also, when you map a route on Google Maps, you can specify the departure time and date, that will give you more reliable information than if you, for example, requested a route at midnight but didn't leave until 8:30 AM.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:05 PM   #17
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We've crossed the country on two lane highways. While I prefer it to riding on the interstate, there are two things I don't like. The first is people who should be on the interstate but are on my bumper instead. They pass when they feel like it and I often must brake to avoid being hit. The second is folks that are too busy doing other things to watch the road and wander into my lane. I've had a number of close calls.

We were in Kansas a couple years ago. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. One car emerged from a line of oncoming cars right in front of me. How we didn't hit head on is a mystery but we didn't. As the guy passed I looked into the side mirror to see him zig zag back and forth. Later I discovered a black mark on the trailer where his bumper grazed the trailer. I've yet to remove it.


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Carl- did you mean you hate the RED highways, the Interstates? Blue highways are usually secondary roads-
Rand McNally, Michelin, and American Map road atlases all use blue lines for non toll interstates and red lines for secondary roads.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:53 PM   #18
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To sokhapkin: Thanks to the Interstate highway system, it is now possible to cross the America from coast to coast without seeing anything.

In Iowa a tour buss stopped in the middle of nothing and some Asians got out and took a picture. When the bus driver asked what they were taking a picture of their reply was "Of Nothing" I guess they could not see that far of nothing in Japan.
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Old 10-18-2022, 11:18 PM   #19
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I have that book and did read it. He also wrote another book that I think was called "Riverhorse" where he went across country with a boat. I have that book too. Maybe got the idea for Blue Highways from Steinbeck's "Travels With Charlie"
William L.H.M. wrote extensively about his love for Steinbeck's travelogue. He saw himself as exploring in his tire tracks. Aping Steinbeck's method, he even took along a dog, which served as a most effective social lubricant with strangers. It's a great, essential book. "Riverhorse" is an improbable journey into uncharted waters, in the middle of the continent. Can he take his little motorboat all the way from the Atlantic to the pacific by water? Almost...
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Old 10-19-2022, 08:27 AM   #20
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Thanks to the Interstate highway system, it is now possible to cross the America from coast to coast without seeing anything.

In my Garmin navigator I usually select "shortest" rather than "fastest" route, this helps to avoid Interstates while driving from point A to point B.
I wish there was a "Most Scenic" choice.

Now that we're retired we have all the time in the world to get where we want to go.

Since retirement, we leave Minnesota January 15, plus or minus 4 days for snowstorms, and the first day we take I90 to I35 to Cracker Barrel in Kansas City, Kansas driving 62 mph and then to Wichita, KS, also at 62 mph, where we then hit 400/54 at 56 mph to Meade State Park for night two. From then on it's 56 mph on two lane roads as much as possible.

If you're going to Yellowstone try Highway 212, "The Yellowstone Trail." I grew up in Hector, Minnesota on the Yellowstone Trail, and would see families in the 50's and 60's heading west for vacation to either Yellowstone or the Black Hills. I told myself, "someday I'll be heading west too." Now over the years I've easily taken 212 at least 30 times or more, Bearstooth Pass probably 15 times (3 times on my recumbent bikes), and 8 times on the way to TOT in Kellogg, ID.

Like many here, I could go on and on. For us it's avoiding Interstates as much as possible, thus enjoying the scenery and getting to embrase the real America.

Enjoy,

Perry
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