Things to do/beautiful places in knoxville/memphis/little rock/dallas/el paso/phoenix/las vegas (and places around there)

Planning a road trip next spring (late spring).

are the americanes awake yet?

I will meet up with all of this kens. Are you going to hit the Tunica poker rooms when you're in the vicinity of Memphis?

hey RH! would be good to meet up - whereabouts do you live? Poker would be ace too although it all depends on time - at the moment I might only have time to stop one day per city so if there's still loads of time after graceland (i will also probably be travelling with a bunch of girls so i'll need to like dispatch them maybe they can go shopping or whatever girls do..) should also go bowling, obv.

Ken! If you go to El Paso, I could totes meet you! I live 40 miles form there.

El Paso...what to DO there is another thing. You could visit he nearby White Sands Missile Range? You could walk from downtown El Paso to Juarez, Mexico? Which is a depressing little town so I guess you could get depressed?

Dallas has a pretty fucking awesome aquarium. I'm going there in a few weeks. Will give you the scoop. I'll ask my sister about hip shit in Phoenix, tho I'm sure others here will know better.

I'll figure out some West Texas shit to do. You could also visit Roswell on your way from El Paso to Phoenix! And hit up the weird fucking casino "The Inn of the Mountain Gods."

Your trip sounds pretty awesome EXCEPT for Las Vegas, which I fucking hate. Unless you mean Las Vegas, New Mexico, home of the state mental institution?

ken c u need to hit Gus's for a fried chicken fix

You could also visit the Very Large Array on yr way to Phoenix, which might have the best name of any observatory ever?

in phoenix you can also hike up camelback mountain (it's a short hike) and marvel at the layers of smog.

I'm liking the sound of all of these! particularly Inn of Mountain Gods, and this Gus's place! and all those dishes in a very large array! and gaying up on camelback mountain (although not sure if my friends will be up for hiking)!

wow this is sounding great already.

i was in las vegas last year and had a great time - although i *did* basically just spent 5 days playing poker non-stop and drinking free booze..

and also, totally in favour of FAPs

honestly my advice would to skip little rock and instead head down through mississppi (youll drive through the delta)to new orleans then over to houston and up to dallas. unless you have an unusual love presidential libraries, submarines or pedestrian bridges there really isnt much in little rock.

doing great with the typing today

uh, the Grand Canyon? (if you want to stay there, book now)

the Heard Museum in Phoenix and/or the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff

I second the notion of skipping Arkansas in favor of New Orleans. Unless you're going to see Christ of the Ozarks.

Knoxville->Memphis (or skip and follow Natchez Trace)->New Orleans->Houston->Austin/San Antonio->Marfa (Big Bend?)->El Paso->Tucson->Phoenix->Sedona->Flagstaff->Grand Canyon->Vegas

if you do go via Dallas, maybe skip El Paso and Phoenix and go through Jesusland/Tornado Alley, TX->Amarillo/Palo Duro->Santa Fe->choose between Mesa Verde/Monument Valley or Canyon de Chelly/Hopi Reservation or Petrified Forest/Meteor Crater/Flagstaff (and Sedona?)->Grand Canyon->Vegas

i missed the bunch of girls who want to shop part. uhhhh.

camelback 2nded. the VLA is kind of hard to visit.

how much time you planning to spend on this thing?

that's the problem - currently, thinking of a whistlestop tour in 9 days (hence picking a fairly direct route) but this may prove unrealistic cos that's like 7-9 hours of driving each day.. this can be extended though as nothing is booked so far! ideally want to spend a bit more time in each place but not sure if everyone can take so much time off.

even if you skip NoLA, it's probably going to be more interesting to go down the MIssissippi to Vicksburg and then over to Dallas, if you have the time to do 2 sides of the triangle

climbing up camelback isn't really "hiking" ie it only takes an hour or two and you don't need to bring/wear anything other than sturdy shoes and water.
Monument Valley is better seen in photos/films than in person.

a whistlestop tour in 9 days (hence picking a fairly direct route) but this may prove unrealistic cos that's like 7-9 hours of driving each day

yeah, that's kind of insane. some would say you shouldn't do much more than about 180 miles/day if you want to do anything other than sit in a car.

Monument Valley is better seen in photos/films than in person

otm

yeah, the standard view of the mittens in Monument Valley doesn't quite meet expectation (whereas the Grand Canyon exceeds them), but the road in and out (especially the classic view from the Southwest - looking backwards in this case) is worth it, there are some very interesting views if you get down into the monument (on rough dirt roads that you might want the locals to drive for you instead of taking your own car), and beyond the Monument you can detour to the Goosenecks of the San Juan

and it's a reliable stop for a navajo taco

i do like the sound of the mississippi route. will have to see whether i can get enough time off!

i'm just trying to imagine what it'd be like trying to drive to scotland from london every single day for a week, while trying to have fun.

tell me more about food, guys! eating is kind of the thing i'm most looking forward to in this.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Sorry, wrong thread.

I live in northeast Mississippi, 30 miles south of Tupelo. Unless you have an overwhelming need to see Elvis' birthplace, don't come near this area. Boring landscape, no shopping, no culture, no nothing.

are there places where there i will see tumbleweed? (so i can tell loads of bad jokes to the girls and justify it?)

another (more serious) question: how fast are cars allowed to go on the roads (highways? freeways? are they different?) and if i break down am i likely to get murdered?

sorry i'm probably being very britishes here

in my experience, if you break down you are likely to get locals asking if you need help every 30 seconds. Last trip I took in New Mexico, I stopped to figure out where to go next, and lady walking by asked if I was okay; and then the next day I was pulled over on very very rural road, eating graham crackers, and dude in pickup truck stops and asks if I'm okay.

tumbleweeds galore virtually any place west of Dallas. speed limits very but are around 70-75 in Texas and the Southwest.

another (more serious) question: how fast are cars allowed to go on the roads (highways? freeways? are they different?)

65-75 mph will probably be the speed limit for most expressways you'll encounter. People will regularly be doing 10-15 mph over the limit. The difference between expressways and most highways is limited-access on/off ramps. You may also encounter toll roads, though it'll depend on your route.

dude, honestly this is not a good idea. i'd recommend doing the following instead:
Day 1 - Knoxville->Nashville
Day 2 - Nashville->Memphis
Day 3 - Memphis->Greenville, MS
Day 4 - Greenville->Natchez, MS
Day 5 - Natchez->New Orleans
Day 6 - New Orleans->Jackson, MS
Day 7 - Jackson->Tupelo, MS
Day 8 - Tupelo->Huntsville, AL
Day 9 - Huntsville->Knoxville

(and add a day in New Orleans?)

actually, i'd recommend skipping anything East of West Texas and do a trip in the Southwest exclusively, like:
Day 1 - Las Vegas
Day 2 - Las Vegas->Grand Canyon
Day 3 - Grand Canyon
Day 4 - Grand Canyon->Flagstaff->Sedona
Day 5 - Sedona->Phoenix/Scottsdale
Day 6 - Phoenix/Scottsdale
Day 7 - Phoenix->Las Vegas (or to Lake Havasu City and continue to Vegas the next day)
Day 8 - Las Vegas
Day 9 - Las Vegas

People will regularly be doing 10-15 mph over the limit.

at least. please be advised that a driving test here consists of 4 right turns ie around the block. THATS IT. BE CAREFUL.

also all drivers talking on cellphone all the time

also motorcyclists w/o helmets doing 90

also 70% of truck drivers drunk or on meth according to local law firm advertisment

My only input about speed limits is if you find yourself on the Natchez Trace Parkway (between Nashville TN and Natchez MS), slow down. The speed limit is 50 mph, and while there aren't a huge number of troopers patrolling it, there are enough, and they won't let you off with a warning. But if you're on the Trace, you're probably there for the scenery and won't want to bullet through it anyway.

Hey on my driving test I had to parallel park in addition to the 4 right turns!

(also, my driving instructor taught me how to do reverse handbrake turns)

gabbneb makes some good points there -- unless you really want a *driving* tour of the south/southwest, it would make sense to condense things a bit.

I 40 is rotten with truckers who like to cruise side-by-side, clogging up the freeway.

xxpost - yeah, do not speed on the Trace.

yes 1-40 is the worst.

PARALLEL PARKING?? you may be the best driver in america

parallel parking is kinda required in some parts of the country

It occurs to me that with gas at $2.01 and fall colors out in force, a trip up or down the Trace might be fun this week.

gabbneb otm. I would probably do the SW tour as I've never spent any time to speak of in the American Southwest.

if you choose the SE, though, I would definitely keep it to Knox, Nash, Mem, Vicksburg and/ or Natchez (only if you want some antebellum/ civil war par action. eh.), and NOLA

civil war park

i got gas for $1.79 last weekend! xp

^^^damn. bet I cna do is 1.99

*best I can

my god what is wrong with me

OK - if i make it 16 days for the same trip would that be more realistic?

it would be a lot, but yes, assuming you've got at least 2 people to share driving

Day 1 - Knoxville->Nashville
Day 2 - Nashville->Memphis
Day 3 - Memphis
Day 4 - Memphis->Little Rock->Hot Springs, AR
Day 5 - Hot Springs->Dallas (looong)
Day 6 - DFW
Day 7 - Dallas->Amarillo (looooong)
Day 8 - Amarillo->Las Vegas, NM (loong - Tucumcari would be shorter)
Day 9 - Las Vegas->Santa Fe
Day 10 - Santa Fe
Day 11 - Santa Fe->Gallup, NM
Day 12 - Gallup->Flagstaff
Day 13 - Flagstaff->Sedona->Grand Canyon
Day 14 - Grand Canyon
Day 15 - Grand Canyon->Las Vegas, NV (loong)
Day 16 - Las Vegas

Day 9 - Las Vegas->Santa Fe

looooooooooooong

that's Las Vegas, NM, bro

unless you mean Las Cruces NM? which i think you do

69 miles

ah gotcha

that's a lot of time in DFW--what's there to do there that's fun?

not drive

get a hotel sit by the pool

Kimball museum and the stockyards (?) is about all I can think of off the top of my head

are there any good bowling lanes around?

or um karaoke?

Day 1 - Knoxville->Nashville
Day 2 - Nashville->Memphis
Day 3 - Memphis->Little Rock->Hot Springs->Hope, AR
Day 4 - Hope->Houston (loooong)
Day 5 - Houston->Austin
Day 6 - Austin
Day 7 - Austin->Del Rio, TX
Day 8 - Del Rio->Marfa, TX
Day 9 - Marfa->El Paso
Day 10 - El Paso->Tombstone, AZ (loong)
Day 11 - Tombstone->Tucson->Phoenix
Day 12 - Phoenix/Scottsdale
Day 13 - Phoenix->Sedona->Flagstaff
Day 14 - Flagstaff->Grand Canyon
Day 15 - Grand Canyon->Las Vegas (loong)
Day 16 - Las Vegas

that's a lot of time in DFW--what's there to do there that's fun?

The Sixth Floor Museum

yeah, thanks, i think i've heard about that place.

Ultimately, the big question here is where you want to go in New Mexico. Tucson - Bisbee - Las Cruces - El Paso - Marfa - San Antonio is a great route, so is Amarillo - Santa Fe - Alamosa - Durango - (and either Bryce/Zion in Utah or Mon. Valley/Grand Canyon in AZ)- Las Vegas

Yet another route I took was Dallas - Abilene - Hobbs - Alamogordo - Lincoln Cty - Albuquerque. Some amazing thrift shops in Abilene.

and either Bryce/Zion in Utah
and either Bryce/Zion in Utah
and either Bryce/Zion in Utah

Seconded

Day 1 - Knoxville->Nashville
Day 2 - Nashville->Memphis
Day 3 - Memphis
Day 4 - Memphis->Little Rock->Hot Springs, AR
Day 5 - Hot Springs->Dallas (looong)
Day 6 - DFW
Day 7 - Dallas->Amarillo (looooong)
Day 8 - Amarillo->Las Vegas, NM (loong - Tucumcari would be shorter)
Day 9 - Las Vegas->Santa Fe
Day 10 - Santa Fe
Day 11 - Santa Fe->Mesa Verde, CO (or vicinity)
Day 12 - Mesa Verde->Mexican Hat, UT
Day 13 - Mexican Hat->Boulder, UT
Day 14 - Boulder->Bryce Canyon->Zion National Park
Day 15 - Zion->Las Vegas
Day 16 - Las Vegas

jesus christ

honestly i would skip the entire SW part and just go straight from hot springs to vegas in 2 crazy, caffeine-fuelled days of steering-wheel swapping, and add a day in each of your other places to hang out

i mean, you are going to be arriving at hotels after dark, going to eat something, sleep, and do it all again the next day!

actually ken maybe you should just stay in knoxville the whole time.

Actually, the best advice I have here is to ignore the previous posts on this thread and just drive somewhere where it looks interesting to you. Once you get past the mid-way point of the country, you really can't go wrong with anywhere you are. Stop anywhere it looks interesting

Day 7 - Dallas->Amarillo (looooong)

Dallas to Amarillo is "loooong?" You're completely out of your tree...

i guess you missed my post about 180 miles/day

No I didn't miss it. 180 miles/day is ridiculously conservative for the Western half of the states.

somehow i think you have a little more experience with this than ken and his companions

another good thing about NOLA in late spring is that you could happen on the Jazz & Heritage Festival (last weekend of April, first of May). While the festival itself can be hit-or-miss, there are boatloads of bands and goings on all over, decent size crowds (as opposed to the sheer insanity of Mardi Gras), and the weather is typically the best it will be all year.

nola is pretty great. my moms went on a road trip after my wedding. she was planning ark -> memphis -> savannah -> atlanta -> dallas -> ark in 5 days. I talked her into ark -> memphis -> nola ->dallas -> ark and she didnt regret it but she does enjoy that kind of party atmosphere though.

but, yeah, even then they were driving most of the time and a lot of it is really really boring after 5-10 minutes ie delta

unless you mean Las Cruces NM? which i think you do

I sure hoooope you do bcz that is the town in which I live!

And THEN you can go to Chope's which is justly known for fucking amazing chile rellenos (chiles relleno?).

If you're in NM at all, get stuff with green chile. It is amazing and delicious and beloved (and it gives you perfect bowel movements).

NB I am terribly biased & wld secretly just like to meet ken c. But Chope's IS awesome!

chiles rellenos

On a personal note, if you're in NM and can get that dish DO IT.

Also here is a hilarious giant-assed bar called Graham Central Station, which has country, rock, dance and karaoke in different rooms.

You will feel at home because they won't let you wear hoodies. (When I discovered this, I said, "What is this, England?" and then walked home bcz I was not wearing any shirt under my hoodie & could not remove it before entry.) (Don't go to the one in El Paso.)

Actually the best place to do karaoke in town is in the bowling alley. Well, a bar called Jose Murphy's, in the same building as the bowling. This bowling alley apparently was the site of a massacre?

Abbott, you live in the same town my grandparents do (for half the year!)
But yeah, the food (incl rellenos) is amazing.

I ate rellenos once or twice a day when I first moved here! (Rellenos burrito for lunch, sometimes rellenos platter @ restaurant kitty-corner to me for breakfast or dinner.)

I will still eat them ANYTIME.

for 9 days, I would do this instead - and leave the western stuff until another time

Knoxville - Memphis 382 miles
Memphis - Shives, AR (via route 1) 162 miles
Shives,AR - Kisatchie National Forest, LA 239 miles
Kistachie, LA - Lufkin, TX (via Toledo Bend) 108 miles
Lufkin, TX - Holly Beach, LA 165 miles
Holly Beach, LA - Weeks, LA (via Pecan Island) 146 miles
Weeks, LA - New Orleans 132 miles

Shives?

needed a halfway stopoff point between Memphis and Kisatchie

where do you recommend staying in Shives?

Any motel on 82. It doesn't really matter where. It's a long drive for Ken between Memphis and Kisatchie. He can stay anywhere he likes. The thing about Ken is this. The world is actually his oyster

over to houston

If driving this route, drive straight through. NOLA, Austin, West Texas would be interesting, but long.

Second (third?) Marfa but ignore the artsy-Euro crowd.

DFW, as said, FW-fantastic art museums, Dallas-aquarium and Dealy Plaza agreed. Unfortunately I have nothing else to recommend of my hometown off the top of my head. More to do if you're not just passing through.

is there anything worthwhile to do in downtown Phoenix or not too far from downtown by public transit or Uber or whatever