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Driving Seattle to Houston in December. Good or bad?


Donstar

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16 hours ago, tundrwd said:

If you happen to be in Texas - and it even starts the faintest flurry - PARK YOUR VEHICLE WAY AWAY.  The middle of  a section (640 acres).  Texans drive the same speed all the time (15-20mph OVER the limit - or more).  And when you get in those spaghetti bowl interstates exchanges - its nearly suicide.

 

Texans do NOT know how to drive in any amount of snow/ice.

I have driven a rental in the Houston area but never experienced snow flurries.  It is interesting how driving cultures vary from place to place.  Previous advice I received for driving in Texas is,  "just don't piss anyone off and you'll be fine."   Since I started this post we have booked flights to Texas and will be renting a car.  It was proving to be far more expensive to drive all the way and would be more enjoyable in the warmer months.

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I've been in Houston a few times , work related

Yes they drive fast but I'm amazed how Houston designed there roads, they move traffic unlike were I live, our engineers need a lesson

 

And gots to say, the food is amazing

 

Grizzly

 

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  • MikeNH changed the title to Driving Seattle to Houston in December. Good or bad?
On 11/18/2017 at 8:29 AM, grizzlyltz said:

I've been in Houston a few times , work related

Yes they drive fast but I'm amazed how Houston designed there roads, they move traffic unlike were I live, our engineers need a lesson

 

And gots to say, the food is amazing

 

Grizzly

 

I agree on both!  I look forward to my trip!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry - been out of touch a while.

 

When I was talking about icing up and the roads/drivers - I was really referring to DFW area.  Not sure when the last time Houston got any ice snow (beaucoups years?)

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On 11/18/2017 at 7:47 AM, Donstar said:

I have driven a rental in the Houston area but never experienced snow flurries.  It is interesting how driving cultures vary from place to place.  Previous advice I received for driving in Texas is,  "just don't piss anyone off and you'll be fine."   Since I started this post we have booked flights to Texas and will be renting a car.  It was proving to be far more expensive to drive all the way and would be more enjoyable in the warmer months.

I think that’s what I would do in your situation.  Save the road trip for warmer weather when it’s enjoyable. Driving long distance over multiple days costs a lot when you figure in the lodging, meals, gas, not to mention the vehicle cost amortization of 5-6k miles. So, it has to be worth the extra $$ in enjoyment. 

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3 hours ago, Spurshot said:

I think that’s what I would do in your situation.  Save the road trip for warmer weather when it’s enjoyable. Driving long distance over multiple days costs a lot when you figure in the lodging, meals, gas, not to mention the vehicle cost amortization of 5-6k miles. So, it has to be worth the extra $$ in enjoyment. 

Yes, the road trip has to be part of the holiday experience and not just a way to get to the destination.  Otherwise, it is a very expensive and time consuming way to make such a trip.  Adding a huge amount of mileage to my truck in a short period of time definitely was a variable in the negative column! 

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Hey DonStar,

I have driven Calgary to Phoenix two times a winter for about 8 years. I go through two mountain passes (Monida and Malade)  that use to be very bad but now a days don't seem as bad. Global warming I guess. Just remember once you get into the US on the Interstate hwy's, they are not the goat trails that we have in Canada. You can make really good time. hahaha

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Yes, we are looking forward to the holiday and warm weather!  Going away at Christmas is quite a change for us but we will be with family so all is good.  I know that a white Christmas is no longer in the picture!

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  • 2 weeks later...
17 hours ago, tundrwd said:

Well, how's it going today?  Heard 5" at College Station, 2" at San Antone - I'll bet it's "fun" driving in that stuff for all ya'all.

This is hilarious!  We received pictures of my son's back yard with snow on the ground.  I know this is an anomaly but our plans did not include going all the way to Texas for a white Christmas!

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6 hours ago, Donstar said:

This is hilarious!  We received pictures of my son's back yard with snow on the ground.  I know this is an anomaly but our plans did not include going all the way to Texas for a white Christmas!

 

I'm sure it's all melted by now - but one of those things you never can tell about.  Parents from TX, relatives in/around Houston and Fort Worth, I grew up for a while in Big Spring - so I know what can happen.  NOT very often - but...

 

Froze my butt off a few times with one of those "blue northers" in West Texas...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Back home after spending Christmas in the Houston area. We rented a Nissan Maxima.  (Nice features but a pain for me when getting in or out.)  Maybe it was the spirit of the season but I couldn't get over how polite and courteous the other drivers were to this tourist in his rental!  Had a great time and certainly understand why Texans have such pride in their state!  Thank you, Texas!

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Funny how things workout.  Earlier, i said I'd fly such a trip.  Since then, i found a hunting dog up in northern Idaho,  just an hour south of Spokane.  I decided  to drive the trip to pickup the dog the first week of December.   Since there was a storm moving across the Pacific northwest,  rather than take the most direct route ,  we took I-15 from LA to Ogden, where we hit snow and spent the night. The next day was mostly uneventful on up thru Twin Falls to Nampa, then to Lewistown Idaho and we had blue skies for the remainder of the trip.  The return trip included a diversion up to Coeur de Alene, since my wife really wanted to see the lake.  5 years ago,  we were at the same kennel near Lewistown and i didn't  take my wife's hint that she wanted to see the lake just a bit further up the road, and I have regretted it ever since.  So, when we got that close, i didn't care if she still wanted to see it or not, we were going to Lake Coeur de Alene no matter what.  We saw the lake and walked the shore with the dogs, then hi-tailed it thru Spokane,  down thru Tri-cities, and spent the night in The Dalles on the Columbia river.   The next day, we heade west along the river to Portland,  jumped on interstate 5, and heade south, making it to the Sierra Nevada brewery restaurant in Chico for dinner. We made it home in LA the next afternoon.   Nice little unplanned 3000 mile road trip in 5 days

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