X Country with Elan

[nomad]

Well, Ross, I've had the pleasure of meeting up with you and the Louts as well. You a couple of times and, like you, I'm a long distance wanderer. The description of your trip starts me salivating!
My own personal bucket list is to do a bunch of old US highways. Whats left of 66 doesn't interest me but there are plenty more that are just as interesting.
Don't imagine your route will come near me this time but sure wish you well and perhaps a meet up fits in. I know the best sporty car roads in the Black Hills and my way to Belle Fourche. My wife and I have been threatening a trip to Nova Scotia for years but we planned on doing it over the top of the lakes through Canada.

Hopefully the Covid won't interfere with your trip and will just be a memory.

Kurt

[1owner69Elan]

Hopefully your stop in Furnace Creek won't be this hot:

A real challenge for the Elan cooling system.

[rgh0]

Hi Ross
You are absolutely inspirational. When I get to a similar point in life I think what they call "The Big Lap" around Australia in my Elan or Plus 2 will be in order.

I wonder what the equivalent is in Europe

cheers
Rohan

[collins_dan]

For the ME to FL leg, you could hug the coast and go down route 1 in New England, you would have run through New York, but could follow the coast down NJ, hop on 95 for just a few minutes, then go down the eastern shore of MD and take the tunnel across to Newport, VA, then proceed down the coast the rest of the way. I now live in Annapolis, not far from where we meet for lunch on your last trip. I would certainly host you again if you decide to try this route. You may need to strap a go-pro to the rear view mirror for this one! Good luck with the planning. Dan

[mbell]

Texas is one of the states that I will miss based on the X shaped path I will be taking.

Shame you won't be in this neck of the woods but understandable, given the route.

Personally I think you should refer to it as the butterfly trip based on the route outline on the map. (Maybe my young kids do impact my thought processes...)

[MrBonus]

For the ME to FL leg, you could hug the coast and go down route 1 in New England, you would have run through New York, but could follow the coast down NJ, hop on 95 for just a few minutes, then go down the eastern shore of MD and take the tunnel across to Newport, VA, then proceed down the coast the rest of the way. I now live in Annapolis, not far from where we meet for lunch on your last trip. I would certainly host you again if you decide to try this route. You may need to strap a go-pro to the rear view mirror for this one! Good luck with the planning. Dan

So many fantastic back road possibilities on this leg, especially from ME to VA.

If COVID is a non-concern, I'm more than happy to buy lunch when you pass through this region!

[Ross Robbins]

Thanks for all the input and support for this quixotic adventure!

I would like to address two things: First, the route is a Google default created by their algorithm when the “Avoid Highways” option has been checked and the route will be modified to use non-Interstate designated highways that happen to be four lanes. And I may reverse the two loops due to weather considerations…stay tuned. In other words, this is NOT the final route plan; rather it is the first cut to provide proof of concept only!

The second thing I would like to address is a common theme which is to avail myself of this or that local scenic twisty road or landmark. While I would love to stop and smell all the roses, methinks that would make this a two or three month trip and add thousands of miles to an already too long a trip. I would really like to do all of that but time, finances, and my wife all have seniority of decision making ahead of your otherwise delightful recommendations.

And, finally, for this post at least, thanks to Kurt, 1owner, Dan Collins and MBell for your suggestions and encouragement…keep em coming! On the other hand, Rohan I question your sanity if you think I am “absolutely inspirational.” As my friend Tom said when I showed him this plan, “You are f***ing nuts! But I mean that in a good way!”

[denicholls2]

My input would be to spend some time on Vermont 100 and less on Route 17/2. 100 is a true Lotus road. Maybe cross into Massachusetts and take a drive up Greylock, then pick up 100 near Readsboro. 202 is also a bit of a bore though it is direct and better than the interstates.

Henry, did the woolly adelgid save the Blue Ridge? When it became a park, it was all grazing land with few trees. In 1980, it was still a ribbon of highway in the sky with incredible views, but by 2011 with "no cut" policies that applied even to the overlooks, there weren't more than half a dozen places to even see out to what lies below. So you wind up driving all day at 35 mph behind a fleet of sulphur-spewing Winnebagos to slowly traverse a winding two-lane through a hemlock forest, something you can do anywhere in most of northern New England. Hardly relaxing. I said on my last trip through years ago that the last best hope of that highway was the woolly adelgid. Was I right? (Adelgids kill off hemlock trees by the hundreds, and as an imported species have no serious predators, So it's possible they've killed off enough hemlocks that you can actually see out again).

[baileyman]

...

Henry, did the woolly adelgid save the Blue Ridge? When it became a park, it was all grazing land with few trees. In 1980, it was still a ribbon of highway in the sky with incredible views, but by 2011 with "no cut" policies that applied even to the overlooks, there weren't more than half a dozen places to even see out to what lies below. So you wind up driving all day at 35 mph behind a fleet of sulphur-spewing Winnebagos to slowly traverse a winding two-lane through a hemlock forest, something you can do anywhere in most of northern New England. Hardly relaxing. ...

Reminds me of hiking in the Whites, which is like stumbling on irregular cobbles in a green tunnel until you get above treeline. John

[SENC]

To be honest, most of my BRP experience is from the 90s and earlier, when there were patches of driving through dense forest but still phenomenal views. I've now asked a few who have been on it more recently and it does seem the little critters have had an effect - positive or negative depends on your viewpoint, I guess - on opening things back up a bit.

[baileyman]

Were I to do this trip I think I would look for a list of favorite driving roads around the country and thread some into the route. For Montana, Going to the Sun Rd. There are spectacular curvy ridgeline drives in Utah. Maine coastal routes. I'd probably want to get off the flats and into the low hills for Kansas to West Virginia. John

[sm03lotus]

To me, the best part of the Parkway is from Asheville west. It's higher in elevation, has more elevation change, has few trees, and consequently has more/better vistas. Some overlooks are still blocked by trees, but it's not as bad as Asheville east.