For anyone driving long distances in the US, here are some tips:
1) Unless for serious reasons, ALWAYS travel on the interstate. It's safer, quicker, and MUCH less stressful to navigate.
2) Don't completely trust your GPS. Locations are constantly building roads, and when the GPS isn't updated and thinks you are driving through forests and such, it will often move your supposed location to another road, which can completely screw up your sense of direction.
These tips are brought to you by a current battle for my mate who was trying to heading up here while avoiding traffic due to bad weather and accidents. An eight hour trip has turned into a twelve hour one. I want to bust my phone against the wall. I can't imagine how he feels right now.