I know we are all thinking about the trip to Austin, but we should also begin planning for our trip to the GOTF the following weekend.
Last year, Serk (Brian) put together a good route that was scenic and not too hard on the bottoms. We even saw dolphins riding the ferry (no, we were riding the ferry - the dolphins were swimming next to it) across in Galveston. Below is his route info from last March:
"(Anyone else that wants to take a different route please feel free to speak up too, I don't wanna totally take over this thread, but...)
If I leave my place in Rowlett at 9AM, here's a basic timetable:
(I made the following assumptions - 15 minute of break for every hour of travel, average travel speed (Although I like to go about 10-15 over at least most of the time) I put these in that way because I'd rather have a scheduled arrival at 5 and arrive at 4 then scheduled arrival at 5 and arrive at 6.
Time Mile Instruction For Toward
Summary: 380.6 miles (8 hours, 3 minutes)
9:00 AM 0.0 Depart Serk's House, Rowlett, TX 75088 on Cascade Ct (South-West) 109 yds
9:00 AM 0.1 Turn LEFT (East) onto Indian Trail 0.3 mi
9:01 AM 0.4 Turn LEFT (East) onto Chaha Rd 0.5 mi
9:03 AM 0.9 Turn RIGHT (South) onto Rowlett Rd 3.1 mi
9:08 AM 4.0 Road name changes to Local road(s) 10 yds
9:08 AM 4.0 Turn LEFT (South) onto Broadway Blvd 0.4 mi
9:09 AM 4.4 Turn RIGHT (West) onto W I-30 W [W US-67 S] 0.1 mi
9:09 AM 4.5 Take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-30 [US-67] 1.7 mi I-30
9:11 AM 6.2 At exit 56C, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-635 [Lyndon B Johnson Fwy] 9.5 mi I-635
9:21 AM 15.7 Merge onto I-20 [Lyndon B Johnson Fwy] 0.1 mi
Construction near Balch Springs (WB) (January 10, 2011 - April 28, 2011)
9:21 AM 15.9 At exit 479B, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto US-175 [CF Hawn Fwy] 32.3 mi US-175 / Kaufman
9:53 AM 48.2 Keep LEFT onto Ramp 0.3 mi TX-274 / FM-1391 / Seven Points
9:53 AM 48.5 Road name changes to US-175 7.3 mi
10:00 AM 55.8 Rest break (15 mins)
10:15 AM 55.8 Stay on US-175 [E US-175 Hwy] (East) 0.8 mi
10:15 AM 56.6 Keep LEFT onto Ramp 0.5 mi
10:16 AM 57.0 Road name changes to US-175 1.1 mi
10:17 AM 58.1 Keep STRAIGHT onto Ramp 0.2 mi
10:17 AM 58.3 Road name changes to US-175 [E US-175 Hwy] 15.5 mi
10:31 AM 73.9 At 6137 US Highway 175 W, Athens, TX 75751, stay on US-175 (South-East) 2.4 mi
10:35 AM 76.3 Turn RIGHT (South) onto SR-19 [S Palestine St] 30.9 mi
11:03 AM 107.2 Keep STRAIGHT onto US-287 [SR-19] 1.9 mi
11:05 AM 109.1 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto SR-256 Loop-Truck [N TX-256-Loop] 4.8 mi TX-256-Loop
11:10 AM 113.9 Turn RIGHT (South-East) onto US-287 [SR-19] 5.6 mi
11:15 AM 119.6 Rest break (15 mins)
11:30 AM 119.6 Stay on US-287 [SR-19] (South) 25.7 mi
11:54 AM 145.3 Turn LEFT (East) onto SR-304 Loop 3.5 mi
11:58 AM 148.8 Turn LEFT (South-East) onto US-287 [US-287 S] 32.4 mi
12:31 PM 181.2 Rest break (15 mins)
12:46 PM 181.2 Stay on US-287 (East) 39.6 mi
1:22 PM 220.9 At US-287, stay on US-287 (South-East) 2.5 mi
1:25 PM 223.4 Turn RIGHT (South) onto US-287 [US-69] 21.4 mi
1:46 PM 244.8 Rest break (15 mins)
2:01 PM 244.8 Stay on US-287 [US-69] (South) 10.4 mi
2:10 PM 255.1 Bear RIGHT (South) onto Local road(s) 98 yds
2:10 PM 255.2 Keep STRAIGHT onto SR-326 [Munro St] 24.4 mi
2:32 PM 279.6 Road name changes to FM-365 5.1 mi
2:37 PM 284.7 Bear RIGHT (South) onto FM-1406 11.1 mi
2:48 PM 295.8 Turn RIGHT (South) onto SR-124 [Gulfway Dr] 2.8 mi
2:52 PM 298.5 At Gulfway Dr, Winnie, TX 77665, stay on SR-124 [Gulfway Dr] (North) 0.1 mi
2:52 PM 298.7 Turn LEFT (West) onto Local road(s) 21 yds
2:52 PM 298.7 Turn LEFT (South) onto SR-124 [Gulfway Dr] 8.8 mi
3:01 PM 307.5 Rest break (15 mins)
3:16 PM 307.5 Stay on SR-124 (South) 9.2 mi
3:27 PM 316.7 Merge onto SR-87 12.3 mi
3:42 PM 329.0 At SR-87, stay on SR-87 (West) 14.9 mi
4:03 PM 344.0 *Check timetable* Take Bolivar Free Ferry (South)
4:27 PM 344.0 Take SR-87 [Ferry Rd] (South-East) 1.4 mi
4:29 PM 345.3 Bear RIGHT (South-West) onto FM-3005 [SR-87] 0.2 mi
4:29 PM 345.6 Keep RIGHT onto SR-87 [Broadway St] 4.0 mi
4:36 PM 349.6 At exit 1A, road name changes to I-45 30.2 mi
5:02 PM 379.8 At exit 30, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto Gulf Fwy 0.8 mi FM-1959 / Ellington Field / Dixie Farm Rd
5:03 PM 380.6 Arrive Howard Johnson [15313 Gulf Fwy, Houston TX 77034, United States, Tel: +1 (281) 484-1500]
SUMMARY
Driving distance: 380.6 miles
Trip duration: 8 hours, 3 minutes
Driving time: 6 hours, 24 minutes
Here's the basic route:
And here's a little more detailed view of the southern part of the route (Going on the assumption most of ya'll will be more familiar with the northern end of it)
"
Where we meetup is a question. A good meetup point would be the Shell station at the Silverado Drive exit, which is on 175 just south of I-20. It appears to be the first exit after the mixupmaster at I-20.
Last year, we left at 7:45 to meet MP. Hoser and Clintsdivco in Athens at 9:00am.
So, there's one way to get there. Disco led a group down I-45 last year, not sure what he'll do this year.
RainMaker
