Louisiana meet--March 17 & 18, 2018

[SSOWorld]

Which way are are you going from PB: AR 530?

Unsure; either US270 back to 30 or probably county-hunt toward Texarkana

[US 81]

About an 80% chance I can be there. IF my sister will come as a relief driver, I am definitely in; if not, well, I'll still probably come by myself as it will be my first road meet. At last, I'll get to meet some of "my people."

[cl94]

I think I have my route pretty much figured out at this point:

Day 1: Albany-Pennsville, NJ.
- Get to NJ 18 in New Brunswick. Exact route depends on traffic conditions
- NJ 18 south to I-195 west, with a short detour to clinch NJ 138. Clinch I-195.
- From here depends 100% how early I leave and if I have work I need to do. If no work, I'll grab NJ 68, NJ 3, NJ 77, and part of NJ 45 and 49 as I zig-zag down to the hotel. Else, I'll get to the Turnpike and take that down.
- Will probably get the rest of 45, 48, part of US 322, and secret NJ 324 after I check in

Day 2: Pennsvile - Helen, GA
Pretty straightforward here: straight route that maximizes new mileage
- I-295 -> I-95 -> DE 896 (using the business route) -> US 301
- Stay on US 301 until I-295 north of Richmond
- I-295 west to I-95 south. Take I-95 to the first exit south of I-295 (clinching 95 inside 295), backtrack up to I-85 south.
- I-85 south to GA 17. Detouring in Durham to see the 11'8" bridge.
- GA 17 to Helen

Day 3: Helen - Muscle Shoals, AL
This is where the fun starts.
- GA 17 -> GA 180 -> GA 180 Spur to Brasstown Bald. Hike to the top.
- Backtrack to GA 180; US 19, I-285, I-280 to US 431 in Alabama. May do a quick detour on 285 to grab an extra county.
- US 431 -> AL 281 to Cheaha Mountain. Drive to the observation tower.
- This is the only undecided portion of the trip: Either taking US 431 and US 72 ALT or I-20, I-65, and AL 157 to Muscle Shoals. Leaning towards the former, as it's less freeway and more new counties.

Day 4: Muscle Shoals - Clarksville, AR
- US 72 to the Memphis area. Detour to drive up Woodall Mountain. Stopping in Memphis to walk across the Harahan Bridge, see the Lorraine Motel, and get some BBQ
- I-55 and I-40 to Clarksville. Likely stopping in Little Rock to see Little Rock Central High.

Day 5: Clarksville - El Dorado, AR
- AR 109, 197, 22, 309 to Magazine Mountain. Hike to the summit.
- AR 309, 10, 27, 88 to Mena
- Talimena Scenic Drive over to US 271
- US 271 to Paris, TX, may detour to see the "Eiffel Tower"
- US 82 and I-30 to El Dorado. May detour a bit in Texarkana as time permits

Day 6: MEET DAY!!!
- US 167, I-20, LA 507 to Driskill Mountain. Hike to the summit.
- Hightail it to Shreveport via LA 507, LA 154, US 71
- The meet (duh)
- I-49 down to Lafayette for the night

Days 7-8: Lafayette, LA - Albany, NY
- I-10, I-12, I-10 to Jacksonville. Detour to Britton Hill in Florida.
- I-95 to US 13 in Fayetteville, NC
- US 13 to DE 1 in Dover
- DE 1, I-95, I-295, NJ Turnpike to North Jersey
- Least-congested route back to I-87 and Albany

[hbelkins]

- GA 17 to Helen

I never got the fascination with that town. It thinks it's special because everything has to look like it came out of an Alps village. Tourist trap in the middle of nowhere. I drove through there a few years ago, not knowing about it, and got hung up in a huge traffic jam that slowed my progress in getting through.

[cl94]

- GA 17 to Helen

I never got the fascination with that town. It thinks it's special because everything has to look like it came out of an Alps village. Tourist trap in the middle of nowhere. I drove through there a few years ago, not knowing about it, and got hung up in a huge traffic jam that slowed my progress in getting through.

It's solely a place to sleep for me. It's the closest I can get to Brasstown Bald and it's cheap this time of year.

[Alps]

everything has to look like it came out of an Alps village.

A what now?

[cl94]

everything has to look like it came out of an Alps village.

A what now?

Nah, that town doesn't have enough full-service gas stations to be an Alps village. 

[Sanctimoniously]

I'm actually going to be moving back to West Monroe this very week, however, my work schedule means there's a slim-to-none chance of me attending. 

[cl94]

I may be able to swing over to Vermont at some point in the next week to pick up a stack of VT maps to pass out. Depends on if I end up hiking in Williamstown, MA this weekend, as the welcome center near Bennington isn't too far out of the way. VT maps are some of the easiest state maps to find, as every state facility has a ton of them (I actually got the stack I passed out at my meet from a state park), but since I'm the only attendee with easy access to those things...

I haven't seen any more of the elusive NY maps (the local rest areas have none) and I strongly doubt I'll come across maps for many other states up here, as CT, MA, and NJ maps are damn near impossible to find.

[Brandon]

I may be able to swing over to Vermont at some point in the next week to pick up a stack of VT maps to pass out. Depends on if I end up hiking in Williamstown, MA this weekend, as the welcome center near Bennington isn't too far out of the way. VT maps are some of the easiest state maps to find, as every state facility has a ton of them (I actually got the stack I passed out at my meet from a state park), but since I'm the only attendee with easy access to those things...

I haven't seen any more of the elusive NY maps (the local rest areas have none) and I strongly doubt I'll come across maps for many other states up here, as CT, MA, and NJ maps are damn near impossible to find.

I found a bunch of new Massachusetts maps at the welcome center on southbound I-95 last year.

[cl94]

I may be able to swing over to Vermont at some point in the next week to pick up a stack of VT maps to pass out. Depends on if I end up hiking in Williamstown, MA this weekend, as the welcome center near Bennington isn't too far out of the way. VT maps are some of the easiest state maps to find, as every state facility has a ton of them (I actually got the stack I passed out at my meet from a state park), but since I'm the only attendee with easy access to those things...

I haven't seen any more of the elusive NY maps (the local rest areas have none) and I strongly doubt I'll come across maps for many other states up here, as CT, MA, and NJ maps are damn near impossible to find.

I found a bunch of new Massachusetts maps at the welcome center on southbound I-95 last year.

Which is the one place in the state that reliably has them. Of course, that's also the only welcome center in the state.

[oscar]

I stopped by the welcome center in Fredericksburg VA this morning. It still had the 2016-18 Virginia maps with the former governor's face on them. Unless the maps are updated with the new guy's face or (in keeping with somewhat of a recent trend) no face at all, by next week when I might be back that way (depending on my yet-undecided itinerary), I'm not going to pick up copies in addition to the one I'm using right now.

[US71]

.

Day 5: Clarksville - El Dorado, AR
- AR 109, 197, 22, 309 to Magazine Mountain. Hike to the summit.
- AR 309, 10, 27, 88 to Mena
- Talimena Scenic Drive over to US 271
- US 271 to Paris, TX, may detour to see the "Eiffel Tower"
- US 82 and I-30 to El Dorado. May detour a bit in Texarkana as time permits

Visit the Texarkana Post Office which runs down the middle of State Line Rd

[jpi]

Tennessee 2018 road maps are out, picked up over a dozen at a rest area on I-40 on my way to Memphis yesterday so they will be coming to the meet.

[oscar]

I'm about 100% in for the meet, with hotel reservations set on the west side of Shreveport. But a summons for jury duty the week before complicates my itinerary, and off chance I'll get picked to serve on a jury (unlikely, in my area lawyers usually get passed over, though as a retired lawyer I'm not automatically exempt from jury selection) for a prolonged trial.

I have been officially let off the hook for jury duty, so barring emergencies I'll be at the meet. Still need to work out my itinerary, though I'm leaning to a southern/Texas route to Shreveport, and snagging US 79 from Shreveport east on the way back.

[SSOWorld]

I assume you used this tactic oscar?


 

JUST LIKE THAT!

[oscar]

^ It was a little easier than that. Court management decided, sight unseen (with a county population over 200,000, unlikely anyone there knows me), they won't need my services at all tomorrow, which is the only day for which I was summoned.

[cjk374]

I'm about 100% in for the meet, with hotel reservations set on the west side of Shreveport. But a summons for jury duty the week before complicates my itinerary, and off chance I'll get picked to serve on a jury (unlikely, in my area lawyers usually get passed over, though as a retired lawyer I'm not automatically exempt from jury selection) for a prolonged trial.

I have been officially let off the hook for jury duty, so barring emergencies I'll be at the meet. Still need to work out my itinerary, though I'm leaning to a southern/Texas route to Shreveport, and snagging US 79 from Shreveport east on the way back.

How much of US 79 are you snagging east then north of Shreveport?

[oscar]

How much of US 79 are you snagging east then north of Shreveport?

Hopefully, everything I haven't already covered, including a little in Shreveport, Clarksville TN, and Russellville KY, and a lot in central and eastern Arkansas and in the Memphis region:

http://tm.teresco.org/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=oscar&rte=US79

[US71]

How much of US 79 are you snagging east then north of Shreveport?

Hopefully, everything I haven't already covered, including a little in Shreveport, Clarksville TN, and Russellville KY, and a lot in central and eastern Arkansas and in the Memphis region:

http://tm.teresco.org/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=oscar&rte=US79

If time permits, the Business Routes on 79 are far more interesting than the mainlines, especially the Ouachita River at Camden

[cl94]

If time permits, the Business Routes on 79 are far more interesting than the mainlines, especially the Ouachita River at Camden

It appears that Arkansas has a ton of weird bridges like that. Makes me excited to drive around on some of the back roads next week.

[oscar]

If time permits, the Business Routes on 79 are far more interesting than the mainlines, especially the Ouachita River at Camden

I already covered the US 79 mainline WB from Fordyce to I-20 via Camden. Was planning on taking US 167 from I-20 to Fordyce, to pick up the rest of US 79 there.

[brianreynolds]

I've been keeping this meet in my back pocket to see if the stars would line up favorably.  Today, the alignment looks good, so I can say with 80% certainty that I will attend.  I have no counties to conquer between here and there, but there are two notable Mississippi River crossings I have not yet made.  I will be aiming for the Missouri to (Hickman) Kentucky ferry, and then the Canal Street to Algiers ferry in New Orleans.  If I get both, I will have clinched all of the current Big Muddy crossings from the gulf all the way upstream to Quad Cities.

[cu2010]

I haven't seen any more of the elusive NY maps (the local rest areas have none) and I strongly doubt I'll come across maps for many other states up here, as CT, MA, and NJ maps are damn near impossible to find.

I found a bunch of NY maps a few weeks ago at the northbound High Peaks rest area on the Northway. They have published a new one (I-781 is shown as complete), but its still crappy. Hell, it doesn't even show the Utica-Rome Expressway running all the way to the Thruway!

[jpi]

I've been keeping this meet in my back pocket to see if the stars would line up favorably.  Today, the alignment looks good, so I can say with 80% certainty that I will attend.  I have no counties to conquer between here and there, but there are two notable Mississippi River crossings I have not yet made.  I will be aiming for the Missouri to (Hickman) Kentucky ferry, and then the Canal Street to Algiers ferry in New Orleans.  If I get both, I will have clinched all of the current Big Muddy crossings from the gulf all the way upstream to Quad Cities.

Nice! No new counties for me going to Texarkana but during the meet and the drive back will be new counties, parishes and new interstate mileage on I-20 and I-49, will probably clinch I -369 too.