Road Trip, yes or no?

As most of you know, at least until now, I travel a lot. This year, once I got back from Scottsdale and the SCCA convention in January, I have been home working on projects and stories. Initially, I was loving it and am still not going as stir crazy as many of you probably are as I had a lot of catching up to do.

Still, the urge to get back out on the road is calling me. Plus, we need to keep finding interesting stories. 

On another note, I bought a 52 Morgan Flat-rad, rat rod project. The car awaits me at a friend's shop in Stockton, Ca which is more than a strong day's drive from our office in the Daytona Florida area. Shipping the car is pretty much out, because it comes with three Triumph engines (none of which are in the car).

And on yet another note, Hagerty's Barn Find Hunter, Tom Cotter is an old friend of mine and he wants to join me on this back road trip. I'll pick him up at his home near Charlotte NC, where we will head first to Las Vegas, where a Peter Brock designed Aerovault trailer awaits, for us to borrow to go get the Morgan and then bring it home to the east coast.

We are planning on being very careful and social distancing, but are talking about still looking for cool stuff to stop and see and photograph and write about. 

So my question to you is what do you think about this trip and do you have or know about anything cool to do or see or write about that fits into the restricted world we are now living in? And lets keep this within a couple of hundred miles either side of I-40. Thanks for your ideas and input.

For tacky roadside attractions, I'm guessing you've already been to Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, but have you been to Slug Bug Ranch?

Edit:  Also in Amarillo is a cool RV museum at one of the dealerships there, assuming it is open.  When I went there mid-week, I had the place almost to myself.

We've road tripped a few times since Covid.  We've always been careful to avoid others even to the point of sleeping on Gumby's shop floor.

The answer to the question "Road Trip?", although it's not really a question, is never "No."

In all of the travels, have you had a chance to see the national parks in Utah and Arizona?  Bryce, Zion, and of course, Grand Canyon are all spectacular, and some can be just driven through.  The smaller ones require hikes....

And on a different route- stop at Bonneville Salt Flats.  

In terms of where to stay- we had heard about some hotels being super careful about room- like skipping a day between people to clean, and running partially full.  Not sure which national chain is doing that- but it's an idea.  Or camping.

The nice thing about road trips is that you can take routes that nobody else is on.  Which makes it easy to minimize interactions with people you don't know.

I once stopped for gas and snacks in Texas along I-40.  It was hot as hell.  Majority of the town was abandoned, so much nothing going on that even the dogs watched me drive through there.  The store I stopped in for gas an grub was some creepy combination antique store/gas station convenience store/feed and tack store.  The guy behind the counter was made of leather and moved like a reanimated zombie.  The only thing I got there that wasn't bad was the fuel, I've never tasted a pepsi that had gone bad before.

Driving out of there I felt like I had barely escaped with my soul.

So I don't recommend stopping there.

Route 66 parallels I-40 for a certain distance, doesn't it?  Huge amount of parks and such once you pass Texas, but that may be too much to really enjoy.  That big ole pyramid shaped Bass Pro Shop is somewhere around Memphis.

I enjoyed what little time I spent in Albuqurque, I'd go back there and wander around, but I don't have any specific places to recommend there.

I'm not much for roadside attractions, so my knowledge is limited, but I'm a little over an hour from Vegas if you end up needing anything. Or if you just want to get out and stretch the legs I know of some great hikes around here. Good camping spots too, lots of little lakes and reservoirs for fishing. And I'm only an hour from the afore mentioned Zion Canyon. It's a good drive even if you don't want to hike. 

Do it. 

I-40...............stop in El Reno, OK. Go to Robert's to get THE classic onion burger, depression-era invention where they used cheap onions to stretch the beef out further. The way the onions get fried on the griddle is great. Mustard and pickles, cheese is up to you. His chili and coleslaw are pretty damn tasty as well. Sid's down the street is more famous, but not anywhere near as good. Both have been on numerous food shows.

Depending on the weekend, they also hold drag boat races at Lake El Reno, about 2 miles from said delicious burger place.

You should check out the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff,  AZ.   The run to Southern California is a days drive, but remember keep it at 76, 77 buys you a ticket in Kingman. 

I've done one coast to coast trip and two drives to Indiana from Florida. The traffic isn't as clear as it was at the beginning of the pandemic, but still better than 'normal.'

I like road trips for the driving as much as the destination. In my 911 I look for the twistiest route between two given points, but most of the driving has been in my completely milquetoast truck, so making good time becomes the enjoyable feature. What I don't typically enjoy is stopping. For just about anything. 

The biggest concern I would have would be using public restrooms honestly. There's strong evidence of fecal transmission and toilets do an excellent job of atomizing water into the air. 

But I admit I'm playing ultra conservative on exposure risks. We're still having groceries delivered and only eating takeout, never going inside. 

I'm a bit cautious about road trips right now - as mentioned on this board I have a few leads on Caterhams and most of those would require a road trip. Some of these are through states that require travelers to quarantine themselves, which obviously doesn't make things easier.

So right now I'm trying to keep my road trips to those where I don't have to stay away overnight and preferably don't have to interact much with other people.

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

Both of us are willing to camp, but the idea of communal bathrooms is a bit troubling. And yes, I have been to all of those national parks as well as Moab, which is just fantastic. Thansk for the relply.

In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :

Same here!

If you guys are picky on bathroom quality then I don't suggest Gumby's shop bathroom.  Let's just say it's interesting.

oh man. You got a Morgan? I can't wait to read about that!

As for the road trip, I wouldn't worry. I'd bring masks, and wear them every time I had to stop somewhere. But takeout food, camping, and rest stop bathrooms seem like low risk places with proper PPE (HAHA PPE for rest stop bathrooms). 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

I'd add hand sanitizer to the list, just in case like.

Now, just saying, if you did the trip in a motorhome you would eliminate most of the problem issues.  Just saying.

In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :

LOL, just sent a note to Rob Moran, head of PR at Mercedes to see if he might loan us one of those nifty camper vans they have for the trip. I'll have Margie's trailer done by then, but if I tow it, I can't pick up the Morgan, unless I take the ramp truck. So, so much bad ideas coming on strong here.

I did 40 from Vegas to Durham on March 21st this year. Not sure how things have changed since then. I will say, the rest stops were the cleanest I've ever seen. The roads were pretty quiet too back then. Mostly tractor trailers and motorhomes. Only thing that sucked was the food situation. Since then I assume there's at least options for takeout.

I don't know any car related stuff, but the painted desert and petrified forest are just off of 40. It was a fun little drive and walk through for us.

Here's a bad idea...  I pulled up a pic to verify that the ramp truck is generally a flat bed.  

Load Margie's camper/trailer onto the flat bed so that rolling westward you are two axles (truck only) on the ground and when you arrive, load the Morgan onto the flat bed and hitch on the trailer thereby rolling back eastward with three axles (truck and trailer) on the ground. 

It sounds super stressful to me since you have to worry about getting COVID every time you use a public restroom or go inside any closed space.  Particularly since you will be traveling from and through global-level hotspots.

I guess you could tell yourself you are doing it to generate material for the magazine, but anything more than a few hours on the road sounds unpleasant.  

I'm taking CV-19 transmission as seriously as anybody and this sounds like a great trip. The person you'd be most likely to get it from is your driving mate (and vice-versa) because you'll be cooped in the same space. If possible take extra precautions for 10 days before the trip so you know you're both clear. 

After that I'd concentrate on outdoor stuff like state or national parks. Check to see their status online and maybe take bikes/canoe/kayaks to get away from crowds. Racetracks are safe if everybody plays by the rules, and outdoor sports like golf, trap/skeet are as well. Quaint downtowns with food trucks and outdoor seating? Probably fine as well.

It's a really interesting and and important question right now-how do we do fun/awesome things like road trips while making sure we don't get ourselves, or others, sick. Can't wait to hear what you guys come up with. 

More power to you for doing this.

Myself, I am not seeing a time when I would ever be comfortable road tripping again.

Here is another bad idea...  

You already have a high roof Ford Transit.  Here is a link to 5 companies that offer DIY van to camper conversions.  Put Tom on this task.  Get a kit in as a "marketing sample" and have Tom show us how easy this really is to install and you then show us how easy it is to travel with.