Three days until my drive across the USA!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/29/2017 at 13:17 • Filed to: None

Brick, NJ to Los Angeles, CA in about ten days in a Miata. Should be exciting! The time is finally upon me to head out on this journey on Wednesday. I’m not getting my car back until Tuesday but at least it will most likely be fully painted! Body work is done, primer definitely going on shortly, and most likely paint since it really doesn’t take that much longer to do the painting, versus all the other crap. Fingers crossed that gets done.

Anyways, here is my tentative itinerary! Each location shown is the ending location for the day.

NOVEMBER 13 START DATE

Drive from Home to LA

W - Day 1 : Asheville, NC

Driving

Whole BRP

Camping - NEED TO FIND A CAMPGROUND THATS OPEN!

Th - Day 2 : Deals Gap, NC

Short Hike in the morning

Fun driving day down to the Dragon

Camping - Simple life !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

F - Day 3 : [limited travel day - end at same location] Deals Gap, NC

Fun driving day at the Dragon

Camping - Simple life !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Sa - Day 4 : Memphis, TN

Drive across TN via non interstates

Airbnb in Memphis

Stock up camping supplies for 5 days

Su - Day 5 : Ozarks, AR

Driving

Camping - Shores Lake Campground !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

M - Day 6 : Wichita Mountains Wildlife Preserve, OK

3 days of driving

Hiking in AR in the morning

Mount Magazine

Seismic meerburger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Camping - Doris campground !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Tu - Day 7 : Capilla Peak, NM

Find some Texas BBQ

Camping - Capilla Peak Campground !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

W - Day 8 : Tonto National Forest, AZ

Hiking at Capilla Peak in the morning

Gila National Forest

Tonto National Forest

Camping - Tonto, lots of choices !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Th - Day 9 : [limited travel day - end at same location] Tonto National Forest, AZ

Hiking in Tonto

Camping - Tonto, lots of choices !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

F - Day 10 : Big Bear, CA

Maybe check out Phoenix in the morning?

Joshua Tree Nat’l Park

Hiking

Airbnb in Big Bear

Sa - Day 11 : Los Angeles, CA

Leave Big Bear Early

Take Angeles Crest Highway

Arrive before 5pm (most likely earlier)

DISCUSSION (18)

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/29/2017 at 15:10

Is anyone meeting you out here or will you be all by your lonesome?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness
10/29/2017 at 15:47

Moving in with my girlfriend in Woodland Hills! We’ve had the apartment set up for about a month now. Nice to finally be seeing all of my stuff again.

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/29/2017 at 16:32

Have you just been waiting for your Miata to get finished then?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness
10/29/2017 at 16:48

No, I’ve been waiting for a start date with work. Now that I have a date about two weeks out, I can plan my drive out and about 11 days made sense for me. It just so happened to work out that the Miata would be done on time for that.

Stephenson Valve Gear > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/29/2017 at 21:30

Looks like a fun trip! I look forward to seeing posts on your progress.

I did another coast-to-coast road trip earlier this year... I’ll try to get something written up and post it in a couple of weeks.

LastFirstMI is my name > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/29/2017 at 22:12

Awesome itinerary! The Meers burger is the perfect conclusion to a hike (or drive) in the Wichitas.

The food options along I-40 in Amarillo are.... not great unless you like truck stop food. The Big Texan offers mediocre food with a heapin’ helpin’ Of kitsch. Tyler’s BBQ is probably your best bet for a meat fix.

Of course, as you are leaving Amarillo look to your left on I-40 and you’ll see the Cadillac Ranch. Worth a quick stop for a photo. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Ranch

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stephenson Valve Gear
10/30/2017 at 09:30

Gotta write while it’s fresh on your mind. I’ve had plenty of stuff that I’m like oh wow this would make a great OPPO story! And then I forget to do something about it because I get busy with something else. But this trip should provide me endless content to think about.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/30/2017 at 09:32

Truly epic. Smooth sailing!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LastFirstMI is my name
10/30/2017 at 09:35

Well I planned on avoiding i40 through there. I wanted to just take local roads from Wichitas to my next stop in NM. I know there’s not much to see there but that whole desolate rural area thing is kind of interesting in its own way. I’m hoping I can find more interesting local options that way too. But I’ll have plenty of food to make my own meals either way.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/30/2017 at 11:11

This looks awesome. Bring your cold weather gear for camping Capilla Peak. It will be cold at night at 9200 feet.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
10/30/2017 at 15:40

Perfect! I hate when it’s hot out while camping. I’ve woken up to it being 29 degrees outside and was perfectly comfortable. 20 degree sleeping bag, closed cell sleeping pad, and a nice thermal layer of clothing. I was nice and toasty! Of course I’ll have plenty more clothing if needed along with extra blankets. So I’m well prepared for cold. Plus a nice big tarp and rain gear for some rain. Only problem would be snow due to my summer tires lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/30/2017 at 15:43

Hopefully of course! My Miata is going to cross 200k on the way across and I’ve not been able to drive it or work on it for a month since it’s been getting all the body work done. At least it will be really shiny for the trip. I changed the oil at least and nothing else is imminently due within the next 10k miles but who knows. Should be an adventure either way! I’ve got enough tools to get me out of any jam pretty much at least.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/30/2017 at 15:56

I’m very much looking forward to all your updates!

CaptDale - is secretly British > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/31/2017 at 16:19

Woo Hoo, another LA Oppo soon!

Stephenson Valve Gear > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/09/2017 at 22:28

Here ya go: http://oppositelock.kinja.com/cannonball-1820136159

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stephenson Valve Gear
11/09/2017 at 23:07

That sounds insane lol. What was the motivation for the trip?

Stephenson Valve Gear > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/10/2017 at 20:27

I enjoy long road trips, and my wife and I did a cross-country run last year from Neptune Beach, FL to San Diego, CA: http://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-great-2016-coast-to-coast-roadtrip-1790725939

After making that trip, I realized that the original Cannonball was only 400 miles longer, and I started planning the run. It sure is cool to see so much of the country in a short amount of time. I enjoy the challenges of making these type of long-distance drives... don’t know if I can really explain it beyond that.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stephenson Valve Gear
11/10/2017 at 22:31

I definitely get you on that! I just have a hard time comprehending it with just my Miata. Not the most comfortable on long distance for more than 5-6 hours lol