Nashville Drive 2023 Planning

It is good to get an idea of what things there are to see and do along the route. But, once on the road, I feel free to divert and explore something totally unexpected. Sandy will do the first part of the drive with me, and then I will drive back solo. When solo, I expect to do a more disc golfing and sleeping on the side of the road. And maybe waste more time on side trips.

Deciding where to go

  1. Use Google maps to plot the fastest route.
  2. Use the internet to find various attractions for the states and cities which we will be going through. Add these attractions to Google maps as “Want to Visit”.
  3. Rank these attractions, and modify the route to go through them, taking into account how much I want to do it, and how much time and distance it adds to the overall route
  4. Add some potential disc golf courses to the plan.
  5. Estimate how far I am willing to drive each day and find possible camping sites along this route. Then think about food.

Saskatoon to Nashville

Sandy is the primary planner for this portion of the drive. And Sandy likes cities. This is our expected route:

Schedule has been firmed up, lots of reservations made:

  • June 28, Wednesday
    • Stay at Velva Campground in Velva, ND
  • June 29, Thursday
    • Drive 7.5 hours Velva to Sioux Falls
      • Fargo
        • Moorhead Visitor Center in Fargo, ND
        • Wood Chipper
        • Drekker Brewing
      • Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD (walking tour? scavenger hunt?)
    • Stay at Sioux Falls KOA
  • June 30, Friday (to July 2, Saturday)
    • Stay 2 nights at Secret Place in Kansas City
    • Union Station, Fountains, War Museum, BBQ, Jazz
  • July 2, Monday
    • Drive 7.5 hours, Kansas City to St, Louis in MO
    • Stay at Cozy Style Downtown Loft
    • MLB, breweries, arch, art monument, Westport Plaza , City Garden sculpture park
  • July 3, Tuesday (to July 5, Wednesday)
    • Drive 5.5 hours, St. Louis to Memphis, TN
    • Stay 2 nights at Best Western Plus GenX in Memphis
  • July 5, Wednesday (to July 9, Sunday)
    • Drive 3.5 hours, Memphis to Nashville in TN (5 days)
    • Stay 4 nights at Alexis Inn and Suites in Nashville
  • July 9, Sunday
    • Sandy flies out of Nashville on WS 1429 at 17:30
    • Warren drives a few hours south to Henry Horton campground

Nashville to Kansas

Now driving solo, I will start blundering west, stopping at caves, rocket stuff and some wilderness. I had to divide this portion into 2 parts because Google Maps will only let me add 10 destinations.

My schedule is pretty much up in the air. However, since I drop Sandy off at the airport fairly late on Sunday, I have booked a campsite en-route to Huntsville for my first night: Henry Horton State Park. Looks nice. Other than that, I am avoiding booking anything else too far ahead. I want to be able to stop and smell the roses.

These attractions intrigue me:

Kansas to Saskatoon

At this point, I start going north. Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and finally, Saskatchewan.

This part of the drive will be mostly in scrub lands, the drier rain-shadowed foothills.

Other Lists

  • Possible Tenting Sites on Google Maps are HERE (open in new tab)
  • Possible Disc Golf Courses are HERE (open in new tab)