Hope this is the right forum, it doesn’t feel serious enough to go in GQ.
We’re planning a road trip for next year. We’re looking to do something like drive from New Orleans to Chicago (or vice versa) via Dallas, Denver, and Wyoming to see the eclipse.
We’re from the UK. We did a road trip back in November 2001 round the west coast and didn’t have any trouble finding motels to stay in without booking ahead. In Europe, August gets busy with kids off school, prices go up and accommodation is harder to find. Would this trip in August be a good idea? It would be nice to see the eclipse, but going in June would be an option too.
America, particularly the parts not in the north east,…is big, really fucking BIG…so big most Americans don’t realize how big it is.
Any travel plans that involve see X, drive a bit, then see Y, then drive a bit more, then see Z…needs some serious actual research on time/distances involved.
PS I really hope you enjoy the visit and eclispes!
New Orleans to Chicago is AT LEAST 2 days. Via Dallas, add another day. BUT august should be fine. Most Americans will be done with their vacations because most schools start mid-to end of August. That part of the country will be hot and very humid at that time of year.
You realize that’s like driving from Italy to Austria by way of Denmark?
My husband and I drove from Indiana to Arizona with a stop in Texas once, and it was a five day trip, then three days back using a more direct route. We had stops planned all along the route, though. On the way back, it was a marathon drive, with us sleeping in shifts.
Do you really have that many places you want to see along the way to justify that long a drive?
Also, the temperature varies over the country. Texas is going to be hot in August-- it may well be over 100’F, but it never really gets below 50’F in Texas; however, Texas will be dry. Wyoming will not be so hot, even in August, and Chicago may be hot and muggy, but probably it will be breezy, because it gets cool air from the lake. New Orleans, from what I hear, will be sweltering, but that is the one place on the list I haven’t been. I just know it’s famous for humidity. And alligators. Don’t go wading.
Really fucking big. New Orleans to Dallas is about 500 miles and 7 hours driving time. Dallas to Denver is 800 miles and 11 hours driving time. Denver to Jackson, WY is another 500 miles, 7 hours driving time. Colorado and Wyoming are two fucking huge states. Jackson to Chicago is the longest leg yet. 1400 miles and 20 hours to drive. You don’t want to drive 20 hours at one time, you’ll want to stop halfway and stay overnight. You’d be hard-pressed to do that in a week, as you’ll spend two solid days driving. Give yourself two, so you can relax and take in some sights. That’s assuming you’ll fly home from Chicago.
There is no need to book lodgings within the path of totality, since the eclipse will be around 6 pm. Aim for a place that would normally have lots of hotel rooms, a couple of hours dfive from the path of totality. Then get up in the morning and look at the weather forecast, to make sure you will be in a spot with a very low risk of cloud. Then you have ten hours or so to drive to a suitable spot.
In the USA in August it is almost always sunny and clear, except when an afternoon thundershower develops. These can be forecast well in advance. Better chances for clear skies further west, say, Nebraska – which by itself is a fascinating region of Americana that few Americans have even seen up close.
Just did a trip in August this year (and have done three). Airport are going to be full (fun) and teh weather is really hot and humid.
As for you plans.
Here is a map of the US with drive route from New Orleans to Chicago. You have understaimated how lorge the country is;like most Europeans. Its nearly a 1000 miles or three islands of Great Britain end to end. Now just check where Dallas and Wyoming are.
Missed Edit: Dallas is 500 miles from New Orleans (more than Southampton to Edinburgh). Dallas to Jackson Wyoming is 1350 miles (London to Minsk). As is Jackson to Chicago.
I think it sounds like a fantastic trip…as long as the OP has 4 days *minimum *to make the trip…and more like 7 if they want to actually see much along the way. New Orleans -> Dallas -> Denver -> Wyoming -> Chicago is a little over 2,500 miles (> 4,000 km).
Where in Wyoming are you wanting to go, by the way? The state is almost 400 miles wide, and almost 100,000 square miles in area (just a bit larger than the country of Hungary).
This sounds like an English friend of mine. He should have known better, having been to America a couple of times including driving cross-country through the southern half, from California to Florida or somewhere. But he planned a three-week road trip once with his Thai girlfriend that would have included all of the Pacific Northwest, the northern part of the Great Plains and a great deal of the Southwest. Slightly less than three weeks actually, I think it was 19 days. I warned him his itinerary might be a tad ambitious, but he didn’t really understand … until he was there and had to do the driving. Quite a bit got trimmed off in the end.
The good news is, what passes for “stop’n’go traffic” in US urban areas is what’s called normal on A1; from Chicago to NOLA there will be whole stretches you’ll just set the cruise control and steer a little. But as you already did a road trip in the US, I expect you know that. Keep in mind that trip planners don’t account for pit stops, and as has been mentioned you may actually book something for when you’re going to be close to the eclipse area.
I can tell you that every hotel anywhere near the totality in Oregon has been booked for months now. I made my reservation in April and just managed to get the last room at a hotel in Silverton that was charging $300 per night.
Texas is a damn big place. Patterns for Austin and Houston show hotter temps for August which in the case of Houston have the max going from below body temp in June to above in August.
Anywhere indoors that you visit will have A/C; I’d recommend having light knits handy as often it’s at temps I found uncomfortably cold. But outdoors, keep to the shadows as much as you can and make sure to stay hydrated.
No, it’s about the same. And, unlike Europe, your car will definitely be equipped with AC – cars in America, even Canada, do not exist without AC. Same goes for hotel room. Don’t worry, the heat is not so bad. It’s just summer weather.
There’s not a significant difference for New Orleans. Temps and humidity in Texas will vary considerably depending on what part of the state you’re visiting (the area around Big Bend, for instance should be cooler than Houston). In Dallas, early June typically features days you’d find very warm (upper 80s to low 90s), but you are unlikely to be hit with the 100+ days that are relatively common in August there.
Despite the fact that many schools start classes in the second half of August, it’s still a big vacation time, and the most popular attractions/state and national parks will be crowded then.
My parents did a retirement road trip. Minnesota through the Blue Ridge Mountains down to Florida, through Texas and over to Arizona, up through Colorado and home. Three or four weeks. They did cut it a little short because they were beginning to get on each others nerves in close confinement.
There are plenty of hotels in most places. If you want to stay down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, you might want to have a reservation - if there is a convention in town, it can book up.