The Road Not Taken - A Hoosier's Florida Route Choices

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth." Robert Frost

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From northern Indiana there are a number of different land routes to reach central Florida. The primary routes follow either an east or

west corridor of Interstates before consolidating at Chattanooga to make the assault on Atlanta. One path follows I-65 through Nashville for a distance of 1,093 miles over sixteen hours and five minutes. Another choice following I-74 out of Indy picks up I-75 at Cincinnati and follows it through Knoxville 1,122 miles to Orlando. It times at sixteen hours and twenty seven minutes. The whims of chance that might involve a conversation with a fellow traveler or a savored restaurant stop could easily account for the twenty two minute difference, so, over this span of time, they are virtually the same in distance and time.

There are other routes regular RV travelers tout as alternatives to the these primary roads. I've found numerous references to the Nashville - Birmingham - I-10 route as a way to avoid Atlanta's crushing rush hour traffic. Proponents, however, are quick to warn about bad roads at Birmingham that regularly slow your journey. Another driver leaves northern Indiana and heads east on US 30 to pick up I-75 in northwest Ohio in order to avoid Indianapolis and Louisville. They prefer the straight shot south through Cincy and Knoxville. You might like this thread on the iRV2.com site that lists the pros and cons of each route from regular travelers. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f42/in-to-fl-i-65-or-i-75-a-148628.html.

With regards to the primary routes to Florida, a simple survey of travelers reveals that bottlenecks of rush hour traffic are the most cited frustration for drivers. As rookies, we were cautioned about the Nashville Crawl if you don't time it right. We were told of the east side alternate route around Nashville but that adds miles and time that may make the diversion a wash. The next jam always referenced is Atlanta. On our trip through Atlanta, however, we routed through downtown at midday and didn't experience any bumper-to-bumper traffic as frequently referenced on websites. One additional comment from surveys notes the significant elevation change between the two routes. The eastern route through Knoxville presents more defined grades than the western route. This can affect gas mileage and sometimes bring windy conditions that are of concern to people driving the big rigs. These multiple rubs of the southern routes reflect personal preferences of the drivers but don't present a clear cut answer to which route is best.

For our most recent Florida trip, we opted for the Nashville - Atlanta route. We left a day ahead of our traveling partners and planned to meet up with them in Chattanooga after both having traveled through the Music City.

After admiring the attractive city scape across the Ohio River we easily passed through Louisville and headed to our first overnight stop at Cave City RV Campground near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. This clean, pleasant park met our need for a simple overnight stay as we were just traveling through. On a previous visit to the cave and its National Park, we stayed at the nearby Jellystone Park on the west side of the highway and found good accommodations there as well. Cave City RV, however, felt more convenient for easy in-and-out traveling.

The friendly staff escorted us to our pull through site. We found the park well maintained and it offers complete a dog park, fitness and game room, a small store and a variety of restaurants and small shops nearby. I can see us claiming this spot again on future passes south with it's easy access to the interstate and convenient location to Mammoth Cave.

The following morning we headed to the National Corvette Museum at Bowling Green, KY. This Jetsons inspired structure is visible from the interstate and is close to fast food and hotels if you're just curious about the attraction or just looking for a rest stop.

The various exhibits are well designed and informative. Many of the depictions were a trip down memory lane to see the old gas station and the town square reproductions. For Corvette enthusiasts the museum is especially rewarding with self guided tours that walk you through the history of this sports car's evolution to today's masterpiece.

One of the featured attractions tells the story of the sink hole that opened up in the middle of the museum in February 2014. The exhibit shows video of the actual collapse of the showroom floor from security cameras. In the next few rooms you can see the remains of a few of the destroyed iconic sports cars.

One of the neatest features at the Museum was the line up of brand new Vettes in the entry way. These beauties belong to the latest Corvette owners who were arriving that day to pickup their signature vehicles. It was a near breathtaking line up of these marvelous machines in a variety of colors and equipments. The new owners are the people wearing brand new Corvette polos as they tour the facility and prepare to drive away in their new dream machine. The Corvette Shop is a must see if only for the amazing variety of Corvette merchandise available. You don't have to be a Vette lover to appreciate the design and engineering that goes into this piece of Americana. I imagine we will visit again and likely make reservations to take the optional factory assembly tour nearby.

At Nashville we opted for the route that took us east around the Music City. The GPS took us on Route 155 to where we eventually joined up with I-24 south of the city. I'm not sure if it helped our travel times because of all the starting and stopping but it was largely a four lane bypass. We may opt for the through version on future trips based on the time of day.

With a few items on our shopping list we took a break at Murphreesboro,Tennessee at The Avenue at Murphreesboro. There are lots of chains in a mall type setting plus endless other strip malls nearby covering almost every thing one could need. We got off at Fortress Boulevard on the west side of town. This turns into Medical Center Parkway which can become quite congested. After shopping and lunch we reentered I-24 further east at Old Fort Parkway. I'm not inferring this is a stop for RV supplies, however, while we weren't looking for that it may very well be found there.

Side by side traveling companions looking over the valley

Our overnight stop was also our rendezvous point to meet our family members also traveling from northern Indiana. We followed the GPS and exited I-24 near Guild, TN and wound our way along the Tennessee River to finally reach the campground. We would have been better off traveling further east on I-24 and then backtracking a short distance from the US Rte 41 exit. We're learning in our rookie year to make the GPS a tool and not the definitive answer to getting where we want to go.

We arrived at Raccoon Mountain at dusk and easily found our way to the newer section of the campgrounds only recently opened. They did a fine job of laying out the sites and even planted sod to make these sites overlooking the valley attractive and welcoming. Our travel partners had run non-stop from northern Indiana and arrived at Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campground at 7 pm. We had a campfire going and enjoyed a late dinner with our daughter, son-in-law and four kids (ages 7-12). With a full day of travel ahead we made it an early night.

Early the next morning we quietly loaded up and left Raccoon Mountain to begin the long day's trek to northern Florida. Snaking through Chattanooga was a traffic challenge but soon we were in the open spaces of Georgia and simply marking the miles. At midday, we chose to go directly through at Atlanta and had no traffic issues. I was astonished at the size of the city. I had used the Atlanta airport many times but it had been forty years since I'd driven through it. The scope of its space was amazing. It just kept going and going. Soon, the afternoon miles clicked by and we began seeing the signs proclaiming Florida in our future. It was another long day with ten hours behind the wheel but we arrived safely at our unique Harvest Host which will be the subject of a future post.

Two roads diverged in an Indiana wood and I took the one through the Music City. I can't give a definitive assessment as to which route is best as I haven't traveled the full length of the eastern route with the Knoxville-Chattanooga leg. I have friends who swear by the Knoxville path and others who routinely travel via Nashville. The eastern route surely has more elevation change with its companion challenges but I would offer that the east route is likely more scenic with its sweeping Kentucky horse farms and more mountainous topography. In the end, we choose what felt more efficient in our quest to make it to the land of sunshine. On future trips south we will likely experience alternate routes just for a change of scenery as we travel Along the Pooka Trail.