Bay area - Nashville road trip

September 10, 2018 11:10 PM

A friend of mine is relocating next weekend and looking for a second driver. I think this sounds a little crazy but also could be fun. The plan is SF-Flagstaff Saturday, on to Oklahoma City Sunday, and into Nashville Monday. I can either stay in Nashville for a day and relax, or catch an early flight home so I can work on Tuesday. Recommended worthwhile nearby sights on the route? Is this doable in anyone's experience? What could I do with most of a day free in Nashville?
posted by OneSmartMonkey to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

It's possible to do a trip to the Parthenon, Hattie B's, the Frist Art Museum, and the greenhouse/gardens at Opryland in less than 12 hours and I found it worth the time. That said, you may find yourself too exhausted from a grueling drive to want to do sightseeing, especially if there's lingering rain from the hurricane.
posted by Candleman at 11:36 PM on September 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Meteor Crater between Flagstaff and OKC off I-40.
posted by exogenous at 4:33 AM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Petrified Forest National Park is right off I-40 and is really neat. If you are a meat eater, you should also strongly consider the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, just on principle.

I’m not sure how seasonal they are, but we encountered tumbleweeds on I-40 in western Oklahoma. Blowing across the highway, for real.

Wave to Memphis as you drive through. The Pyramid you see is a Bass Pro Shop and you can go inside and look around. It costs like $10 to go up to the top, and there’s a restaurant up there.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:15 AM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Bless you for being interested in nearby sights along the route. Google Maps shows that SF to Flagstaff is 11 hours; Flagstaff to OK City is 12 hours; OK City to Nashville is 9 hours. Are you sure you will have time to stop for sightseeing? Or that once you're in Nashville you will feeling like doing anything other than sleeping?

Candleman offers good ideas, but you may just be too tired to enjoy doing much of anything.
posted by John Borrowman at 8:21 AM on September 11, 2018

if you want a steak, skip the big texan and eat at Cattlemans when you get to okc sunday night or Monday morning for breakfast. Not a fancy steak place, but reliably good steak, lamb fries and a historic western atmosphere near the local stockyards. The murrah building memorial is beautiful in the evening. Musueum would be closed but it is a wonderfully done memorial.

Cadillac Ranch is a classic tourist photo op easily accessed from i -40. it would be a short stop that wouldn't take much time.
posted by domino at 8:52 AM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

RoadTrippers is pretty helpful for finding interesting stuff near where you're driving.

In Nashville, going to Cheekwood and doing the art trail would probably be nice after being in a car for three days.

Previous Nashville Ask.
posted by gregr at 9:26 AM on September 11, 2018

you can get brains and scrambled eggs at the Cattlemen's
posted by brujita at 10:30 AM on September 11, 2018

Maybe go see the Grand Ole Opry show or visit the Bluebird Cafe (known for performing songwriters). Both would be night activities, though.
posted by tracer at 11:58 AM on September 11, 2018

I've done a similar drive, and 3 days is an intense but doable trip. I was definitely not up for sightseeing (and we didn't have time with our schedule anyway), so unless you want to space out the trip a bit you might want to scale back on what you see / do and focus on having a poke around Nashville instead. Those 12 hour drive times don't include traffic, pit stops, getting food, or stretch breaks. You should budget an extra hour or two of travel time and plan accordingly.

Do keep in mind that Nashville is currently and may still be full of hurricane evacuees tho.
posted by ananci at 12:00 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]