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[Dan_Lockwood]

I have to fly down to Corpus Christi on Friday the 4th to drive my dad and his lady friend back to St. Louis.  He's 94 and she's a spring chicken of about 82 or so.  They drive around home when in Michigan and also when they winter in Texas, but are not up to the long drive from TX to MI.

My brother and sister in-law are driving down on Saturday to my house in St. Louis and they will tag team drive them home to central Michigan.

So I'm flying down and they are picking me up at the airport.  I've gone the GPS route and it says the quickest way is up towards Dallas and then on to Oklahoma City then north east to Kansas City and then straight east down I-70 to my home just west of St. Louis about 1.5 miles south of I-70.

My dad says to do whatever I want to do, BUT they usually take the easterly way up towards Little Rock I guess and then up 55 to 57 east to Effingham IN. area.

I think the fastest way is the best way for me.  I'm sure all the roads north are going to be better than the easterly route.

So, I ask, is this the best approach to getting them to St. Louis?  I'm not against driving through or slightly around big cities.  If we leave the Corpus Christi area around 11:00 am, would it be rush hour traffic in the Dallas area or would I not even be close to that time by the time I got to that area?

Let me know what y'all think.

Right now I'm in a Holiday Inn in Sidney OH doing e-mails and such for work.  I've been here since Friday and will leave for St. Louis Thursday morning so I can go BACK into work for the afternoon before my flight out at 6:00 am the next day to Texas.

Any advise on this trip will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Twolanerider]

If you're coming from OK City toward St. Louis definitely do not take 71 north out of Joplin to Kansas City then 70 across to St. Louis.  Just stay on I-44 diagonally across the state.

Going to KC and taking 70 across would turn an otherwise 260-275 mile route from Joplin to St. Louis in to a route of about 425.

[iski]

I have to fly down to Corpus Christi on Friday the 4th to drive my dad and his lady friend back to St. Louis.  He's 94 and she's a spring chicken of about 82 or so.  They drive around home when in Michigan and also when they winter in Texas, but are not up to the long drive from TX to MI.

My brother and sister in-law are driving down on Saturday to my house in St. Louis and they will tag team drive them home to central Michigan.

So I'm flying down and they are picking me up at the airport.  I've gone the GPS route and it says the quickest way is up towards Dallas and then on to Oklahoma City then north east to Kansas City and then straight east down I-70 to my home just west of St. Louis about 1.5 miles south of I-70.

My dad says to do whatever I want to do, BUT they usually take the easterly way up towards Little Rock I guess and then up 55 to 57 east to Effingham IN. area.

I think the fastest way is the best way for me.  I'm sure all the roads north are going to be better than the easterly route.

So, I ask, is this the best approach to getting them to St. Louis?  I'm not against driving through or slightly around big cities.  If we leave the Corpus Christi area around 11:00 am, would it be rush hour traffic in the Dallas area or would I not even be close to that time by the time I got to that area?

Let me know what y'all think.

Right now I'm in a Holiday Inn in Sidney OH doing e-mails and such for work.  I've been here since Friday and will leave for St. Louis Thursday morning so I can go BACK into work for the afternoon before my flight out at 6:00 am the next day to Texas.

Any advise on this trip will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

 

Born & raised in Texas & made the trip from Ft. Worth to Corpus more times than I can count.  Take I-37 out of Corpus & then I-35 north.  At I-35 split north of Hillsboro, TX take I-35W north to Ft. Worth, the western split - its quicker than Dallas.  You have about a 6 hour drive from Corpus to Ft. Worth so it will be rush hour if you leave at 11. Ft. Worth traffic is less than Dallas but it still sucks from 4 pm until after 6.  I would leave earlier than 11 if possible, or wait until 1 pm or so.  Or stop for a long lunch in San Antonio maybe, depending on your schedule.

Travel safe.

[56FLE]

I-35 through Austin these days is no picnic either. You also did not say what you are driving; Motorhome, small car, truck?

Depending on what you drive, the secondary highways in Texas are really nice, big roads with big shoulders. You may want to consider Highway 183 up to Austin, then take the highway 45 toll road on the East side of Austin to bypass I-35 through Austin.

[Gettinold]

Take the longest route you can find. It will give you some quality time with your father and your future step mother. God Bless them. 

[Dan_Lockwood]

I-35 through Austin these days is no picnic either. You also did not say what you are driving; Motorhome, small car, truck?

Depending on what you drive, the secondary highways in Texas are really nice, big roads with big shoulders. You may want to consider Highway 183 up to Austin, then take the highway 45 toll road on the East side of Austin to bypass I-35 through Austin.

I'll be driving a late model Dodge Caravan loaded with stuff for the winter and just enough room for three people to sit.

I appreciate all the help on this guys.  I'm currently in Sidney OH in a Holiday Inn working in Jackson Center.  I'll be done here Wednesday night and flying back to St. Louis by noon on Thursday.  I've got an early morning flight, 6:00 am I think, that ends me up in Corpus Christi at 10:00 am.  They're going to be waiting for me there so I'll not be spending much time there.

I don't mind lots of traffic, as long as I know where I'm going.  In St. Louis I have a parking lot on I-70 about every morning and then at night about the same thing.  It's kind of a challenge getting home so I listen to the traffic every 10 minutes and take alternates if necessary.  But in TX I will not know of the alternates so I'll be stuck if I'm someplace I shouldn't be.

Just for the record, my dad's way would be the following:

Take 77 north to Victoria
77 north to Rockdale
79 at Rockdale to Henderson picking up 43
43 up to Marshall picking up 59
59 to Texarkana picking up 30
30 northeast to Littlerock picking up 40
40 east to Memphis to pickup 55
55 north to 57 north

At that time he's already too far east to go up directly to St. Louis.

I think 35 north to the Fort Worth side and then 35 on to Oklahoma City hitting 44 north east and I'm on my way to my home in O'Fallon, MO.  At that point my brother will be there to take them on to Michigan.  This is quite the tag team driving marathon, don't you agree?

So does my 35 north to Oklahoma City to 44 sound about the best way?

Any short cuts to miss traffic in the major areas would be appreciated.

Thanks to all on the help here.

 

[aushog]

I'm one for the back roads anyway, so I would probably take your dad's route.  I run from Austin to Tyler and Little Rock 3 or 4 times a year, and from Rockdale on, that's the best route i've found.

Even so, Interstate may be faster, if you go that way:

San Antonio-Austin can be very busy but tolerable. 

Agree with 56FLH, I35 through Austin is no picnic, depending on time of day.  The bypass of Austin is SH130 but it won't connect to 183 until late April.  It would be a quick way (if you dont mind the tolls).

Austin to Dallas can be a B**** also, especially on holidays or weekends.

iski is right, at the Y in Hillsoboro, take 35W through Fort Worth.  Much less traffic, and a couple miles shorter than going through Dallas.

After all that, North Texas, Oklahomely (i can say that, i grew up there), and Missouri should be a piece of cake.

You might also consider a split plan, 77 north to Waco, Interstate from there on.  That way you miss most of the bad I-35 spots.  Might be a happy compromise with Dad as well.

Good luck!

[rednectum]

i like your dads way, except keep 59 to mena ar, 71 to fort smith, 540/71 to 44 . very scenic, low traffic and many easy  stop points for the old bladders.  you also make very good time on this route.

[iski]

I think 35 north to the Fort Worth side and then 35 on to Oklahoma City hitting 44 north east and I'm on my way to my home in O'Fallon, MO.  At that point my brother will be there to take them on to Michigan.  This is quite the tag team driving marathon, don't you agree?

So does my 35 north to Oklahoma City to 44 sound about the best way?

Any short cuts to miss traffic in the major areas would be appreciated.

Thanks to all on the help here.

 

It does sound like a marathon.  Quickest way is your 35 to 44 route. 

Scenic way is Aushog's route. If that's the route you choose, I would go north through Aransas Pass, then Victoria up to Schulenberg & stay on 77 until Waco.  Loop 820 takes you around Ft. Worth, but it's usually not any better than going straight through on I-35.  WBAP 820 AM radio gives regular traffic reports for the Dallas-Ft. Worth area & has a loooong reaching signal.

However you choose, hope you have a safe trip.

[Dan_Lockwood]

Thanks to all the help from everyone.

My goal will be to do the this the fastest way, not necessarily the most scenic route.

I can handle the bladder quite well, but at 94 my dad may be a bit different story.  My brother told me that on the way down he'd ask my dad if he had to go and all is good, then a few miles later stop or I'll wet myself.  Now if my wife was with me I'd know what to do, stop and say I have to go and she will too.  This may be an option I take with my dad as well.

Thanks again and this Friday will tell the tale.  I'll probably make my decision on the flight down to TX.  No since in planning too far in advance....

I'll let you all know what happens on the trec home.

[Dan_Lockwood]

Thanks to everyone on the suggestions on my trip from Corpus Christi up to St. Louis.

I'm home and my dad is now on his way on to Michigan with my brother at the wheel.

I got in late to Corpus Christi, about 11:30 am instead of the 10:00 am I was supposed to arrive.  We made it up through Dallas/Ft. Worth to Ardmore Friday night.  What we didn't know was that it was NASCAR weekend at the speedway.  The rooms were far and few between.  We finally found ground floor rooms and sacked out.

We got on the road about 8:00 am Saturday and made it up to St. Louis by about 6:30 pm.  This included a 1 hour service call I had to make at one of our customers in Joplin MO.  I took the toll road from Oklahoma City to MO and it was a great road which I made great time on.

All in all things went very well.  I had all day Sunday to spend with my dad and I was grateful for that.

Thanks again for all the help.