Driving help, Oregon to Tenn in Feb/April

[slydog]

Hi all,
I need some help in planning a route the 28th of February. I am moving my daughter from Salem, Oregon to Memphis, Tn and will be driving a U-haul truck towing a car dolly.

Map Quest says the shortest route is 84 east, then 80 east through Boise, Idaho to Cheyene, Wyoming, then east. But I am worried about ice/snow road and blizzard conditions that time of the year heading through the mountains due east of Oregon untill I get east of Cheyene that time of year.

I don't want us to be stranded in the middle of no where in a blizzard or with no fuel or no shelter near by that time of year. Does anyone know what the highways are like via that route that time of year? Should I worry?

Or would it be best to head south through California, then pick up I 40 and come east from there?

I'd prefer a shorter drive, but I want us to get home safe and sound. Can anyone who has driven this or with some knowledge about the highways that time of year please help me out?

Thanks in advance!

 

[cowboydoc]

Driven that route way too many times too count!! You will have little problem. You will occassionally get a bad snow but it's usually pretty good roads. They are the MAJOR highways in the country so they do a good job keeping them plowed. The highway patrol is constantly on the roads. They are very well traveled so the odds of being stranded are slim at best. You probably have just as much chance getting carjacked by someone down CA way.

You are not out of the woods though once you get passed Cheyenne. You can pretty much hit snow all the way until about 300 miles from Memphis.

 

[ronjhall]

<font color="blue"> 84 east, then 80 east through Boise, Idaho to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then east. </font>
Ran that same route last March. But going west. Had no problems the whole trip. Plan on doing same trip late next March.

 

[Phils]

I've done that route many times too. It IS the shortest BUT...

I would be monitoring closely the weather reports and either modify my route or travel dates if blizzard weather is striking Wyoming. One time I got hit in Laramie: it was supposed to get down to 10 degrees that night so we got a motel room. It got down to 10 below and the diesel gelled, the truck wouldn't start, and it was an unpleasant memory altogether. Factor in some long icy roads and that's why I'd modify my planning to reflect the current weather through that part of the country. I've made many other trips across Wyoming in snowy weather and that is very low on my "favorite drives" list.

If the weather was bad and I couldn't put the trip off, I'd head south, taking the southern route across I-40. The fuel costs would be somewhat more but it wouldn't take much (if any) longer time if you consider time lost for being crashed into on the ice by someone or spending a day or two unable to travel in a blizzard.

You are going to be working your way south and could do it where you like. Make the trip an enjoyable one, not a frozen one. Have fun -- how many trips like that will you have with your daughter?

Phil

 

[KentT]

I agree with the I-80 recommendation, and to watch for snow on the mountain between Laramie and Cheyenne. I had to follow a snowplow across that one in May once...

Also, I-40 in New Mexico and the Texas panhandle can often be worse in the wintertime than I-80...

 

[slydog]

Thanks for all the responses. I just love this website! I can get a good, honest answer to just about anything I post on here. You guys are the greatest.

 

[Rayder]

As was mentioned, these are major highways. The stretch of I-84 from Portland heading East takes you through the Columbia River Gorge, which is beautiful (stop off at Multnomah Falls, which is right off I-84, and take in a little Oregon beauty).

The only thing I would mention that I haven't seen in the other posts is that we tend to get icy conditions in the gorge (I-84) because of cold air blowing in from the East side of the Cascade mountains, coming through the gorge to Portland. They do occasionally shut down the gorge when things get bad, but it is not too common. Just have a plan B.

Enjoy the drive.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

I'll second Rayder's comments. For that time of yr you really do need to look into the weather forcast/reports to see what the potential is for bad weather.

I'm thinking for the time of yr and purpose of the trip, sightseeing is not on the schedule. Using my maping prgm, going S and catching I40 and then on E is not much further or longer time wise than going I84-I80 and once you get past Southern Ore and Northern Calif the chances of bad weather is going to go way down.

Made a sim journey last Feb, OKC to Salem. We wanted to go N but weather predictions didn't look good. Took I40 instead and didn't really have any snow/ice on the roads for the whole trip. At Kingman went N into LV and on to Reno and on up to Susanville then across to the Mt Shasta area and caught I5. Found a few places in the high country of Az with snow along the road side and again in Reno and in the mts of Calif but not on the road. Heading N at Kingman added a lot of time and some distance over staying on I40 and then I5 but it was a nice trip.

 

[slydog]

Thanks again for all the responses. It isn't really a sight seeing trip, but I don't really have to be back in memphis untill 6 days after leaving Oregon.

I was planning on making it a 4 day trip, but am a little flexible, and as was stated It will be nice to spend this time with my daughter, so I imagine we will do a little sight seeing along the way.

I've been doing a little research on the route via I84/I80, and learned it follows the oregon trail, and at several places crosses the route of the Donner party, during their fateful westward migration.

I have never been in the upper midwest at all (Oregon included), so I am hoping the routes via the north will be clear enough, but my Plan B will definitely be south to I-40. I'll just have to check the weather and route reports before leaving Salem.