Posted on 03/31/2008 9:52:50 AM PDT by mpackard
My precious daughter is driving from San Diego CA to Austin TX via Interstate 8. I was hoping that some local Freepers could give me some pointers on this route. I'm, of course, a nervous wreck and I'm interested in knowing whether there is adequate lodging and gas. Is this interstate well travelled or is it mostly desert? Is it a popular trucking route or will they go for miles without seeing anyone? Any information will be very helpful.Thank you
How old is she?
Why is she doing this?
Going to school?
Changing jobs?
Getting married?
I've been on I10 a lot between San Antonio and Junction and it is a good road with good signage - tell her just to keep an eye on her gas level and not to let it get below a 1/4 tank.
I would definitely route her away from Squantos and Eaker.
Just make sure she knows that if she sees a town and thinks she has enough gas to make it to the next town she should pull over and fuel up. It is not a bad drive just make sure she keeps her eye on the temp gage, as the car can overheat quickly, and keep plenty of water in her vehicle. I have driven that stretch around 15 times and she will see some amazing sights but it does get redundant after 300 miles.
Once the 8 turns into the 10, she’ll go through a few large and a few smaller size cities. It might be a good idea to MapQuest out the mileage between these:
Tucson, Arizona
Lordsburg, New Mexico
Deming, New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico
El Paso, Texas
Van Horn, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Even though W Texas is empty, the worst leg of that trip is Yuma-Tucson. Get gas every 200 miles. Drive to avoid the rush in Tucson and El Paso. Carry a shotgun in case of breakdown. Junction Tx is out there. Good news is you can’t miss I-10, no way to get lost.
Especially Squantos!
Is she a hippie? Only hippies live in Austin.
Ohh, I did that one time. Between Kerrville and Junction. When I finally found a gas station, I was running on fumes.
Anyway.... keep this telephone #: TEXAS ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE: 1-800-525-5555
Don’t go all the way to San Antone, turn east on U.S. 290 once you are south of Junction.
I’m in SD. Wind warning in the mountains east of SD today but it isn’t bad. Once over the mountains and into the desert it’s pretty boring and flat. Then she will hit El Centro, lots of food, gas, etc then another hour or so into Yuma. Can’t help you much after that, been too long. Supposed to have some rain move in SD tomorrow will will go east, hopefully she is leaving before that.
Tell her to keep her cell phone charged and pay attention to the service signs just prior to many off-rams. Also, look at the billborads to see what businesses are up ahead. Stop every two hours or so at stations/food marts.
My, you are rather nosy today, huh?
(lolol - J/K)
Mpackard, don’t listen to these guys - On I10, at ElPaso, your daughter would be almost as far from Squantos as she would be from you in San Diego... ;^)
If she doesn;t have GPS tracking on her phone...get her one that does.
You have to love the increased speed limit during that stretch though!
From what I’ve read, would suggest she take the I-8 portion during daylight hours. Apparently the ‘coyotes’ have been known to drive the wrong way on that stretch late at night to avoid the law.
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