Favorite and least favorite stretches on interstate to drive on?

That's what puts hair of women's chests and 'rocks' in their socks!! ha ha

 

I know I have alot yet to see, but for now;

Favorite: I-77 through Fancy Gap

Dislike: I-70 Missouri, Illinois, Indiana
Pick 1, it's all boring and all the same

 

Absolute worst: I95 from Boston, MA to Petersburg, VA. On Friday evenings or holidays this entire stretch is one big, slow, maddening traffic jam.

Honorable Mention: the stretch of I57 from the I24 split In Goreville, IL to the I70 junction in Mount Vernon, IL. Without a doubt the longest stretch of highway in the entire world!

Honorable Mention #2: The Gorge, I40 from TN line to Waynesville, NC. Right lane restriction the entire way and I allways get stuck behind a very slow truck. Once got caught behind a Swift truck that traveled 25 mph the entire way.

Favorite: I10 from AZ to LA, you get to watch the land change as you travel, desert to grasslands. Yeah, I'm an easterner with a chub for the desert.

Honorable Mention: I77 through Fancy Gap, really interesting when you have a light load and the wind kicks up in the gap.

 

i like most of the tennessee interstates because they are smooth and well constructed, lots of scenery with a good mix of country and cities.
i drove through birmingham again last week for the first time in a while and had forgotten how rough it is...almost shook me out of the truck.

 

A bad road doesn't come to mind.

I've come to enjoy the solitude of I10 thru & past W.TX & looked forward to it. It is good cruising road after dark. Nothing like taking a nap & waking to the sun trying to peek over the hills. The ground has a light dew covering. There's a cool crisp freshness to the air mixed with the faint scents of the indiginous plant life.

I enjoy 80 west of Joisey to Cali. NE gets a bit boring as does WY. But, when the sun goes down in WY, you can see the headlights of other trucks coming at you from around each mountain bend for miles. It looks like a "snake" wending it's way across the desert. Usually I'm with a talkative group on the cb & it just gets to feelin' good. The hours pass without notice. That's "playtime" for me.

I like hitting the Iowa 80 & a few other places out there. Remember Lil' America? I do, when there was only one. That was back before Gay Johnsons sold out to someone. That was another great place to eat & stay for the night.

I like to stop at Cabello's in NE. They have to follow me around with a mop to catch the slobber off my lip.

90 is another great ride. I was cruising those "dangerous hills & gaps" before I was told to fear them so they don't hold much of a threat to me. A little boring through Mt but still a good ride. And I found that while others were struggling at 35-40mph with snow & slush on 40 & 80, I was cruising 60 & better in the powdery stuff on 90.

40 suits me well too. It's not the best in the east but head west & it's fun. Many places to stop & shop. Being an ol desert rat at heart, 40 out west works for me. Luv it thru TX, NM, Az etc. Even hittin Ca is ok.

There's not too many better scenes than passing thru a gap on a hill in NM & seeing Alberquerqe slowly open up in front of you at night.

As for the east coast..well...I got along with 95 just fine. Had ok times running to Port Newark & out from there. Nothing like those street vendor hot dogs & sammiches. The best ones come out of that "dirty water" that has been cooking barkers all day.

There's plenty of "hole in the wall" bars that serve great sammiches around the port. It's not the Ritz but hey! It's Joisey. What did you expect for free?

The Golden circle of WDC & Va suk at rush hours but don't all big cities at that time? It's just part of the job so I ease thru there with the minimum of friction & minimal stress. Having spent a bunch of time at the port in De, I found some neat places to hide & eat.

I can't say I took too much exception to 95 thru Ct & RI or Mass. I grew up in CT & cruised those roads as a kid.

I didn't spend any real time in NYC because we didn't have any customers there. I did spend a lot of time in upstate NY though. Another nice ride in the park. A little tricky in the winter sometimes but...I was prepared & there's some nice mom & pops along the way to hide out or wait out the weather.

Wow! I didn't mean to make this as long, sorry.

 

Are you kidding? It can snow in June and July!

 

Lordy, BobC, but you make me want to just get in the car and drive. It's always been my peace... my "escape", so to speak... to just pack up and hit the road for a few days. See new scenery. Meet new people. And suck up the scenery as the mile markers pass by.

I'm rarely intimidated by roads and traffic, but I've never been in LA traffic... and I-95 around Baltimore/DC scares the bejesus outta me. It's a white-knuckle ride all the way. And I avoid NYC at all costs, too. And that's with my little Subaru. I can't imagine driving a big truck there. Those folks are just plain crazy.

Right now I'm sitting here green with envy of you drivers. I think I need to read some of the Crap We Encounter threads now to bring things back into balance...

 

About the only time I recall being "white knuckled" is when I crested a hill in WY one morning
& suddenly found it was still shaded from the top down on the other side.

I expected that all the way to that point & shoulda' been expecting that but it was such a sunny day up to that point.
I got lulled into a false sense of security.
It turned out to be not too bad.
I got slowed down before the real slippery stuff.
It was a little slick & the trailer did try to come around a time or two but nothing unmanageable.

Just one of those lil' learning experiences.

Outside of that, the rest of my time on the "stool" was pretty easy going.

I guess I'm just not the easily panicked type.

VA, MD, WDC really don't bother me.
I mean the traffic can be slow going and tiring but you just do the best you can & that's all that anyone can expect of ya.

I never wear myself out trying to stay with traffic in stop & go situations.

If you're late, so what?
If I'm late, it'll be for a good reason.

The most anyone can do is fire me;They sure can't eat me.

Besides, It's very difficult for a dispatcher to intimidate someone who just doesn't care about their control freak issues.

LA rush hour traffic? No problem.
Your biggest task is knowing which lane to be in & getting to it before your exit.
You're not going fast enough to get into any real trouble.
When the traffic is moving well, the same applies.
Just ease your way thru with the least amount of friction & stress.

Yes, I do understand your "peace".
I've always considered my time in a truck, or otherwise, on the road as my "escape from reality."

I am the quintessential "commercial tourist" even after some 2 million+ miles in a big truck.

 

Slow going? I was stuck in the far left lane doing 85 mph. Every time I opened an extra carlength of space in front of me, someone would dart in. And the car behind me was right on my tail.

I couldn't wait to see open highway again!

Thanks for your response, BobC. I've often wondered if truckers ever lost that sense of peace and tranquility... the appreciation of the ever-changing scenery... after being out on the road for years and years and miles and miles. It is reassuring to know that, despite the occasional irritations, the beauty remains.

 

No one has mentioned the New York Thruway yet. I used to work at one of the service areas on the Thruway, and a lot of truckers complain about it (I think because they find it boring). I've driven the entire stretch of the Thruway many times (in a 4-wheeler) and though it can be boring at times, I don't think it's anywhere's near as bad as a lot of the truckers I met seemed to find it.