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Roadtrips 2009

Started by Chris, January 19, 2009, 07:49:39 AM

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Alex

Quote from: Chris on June 10, 2009, 02:03:51 PM
Where do you guys spend the night on roadtrips? Hotels are too expensive in Europe for me, I usually stay at campsites for $ 15 per night. I carry a three-seconds tent with me.

I arrange trips to head to places where I either have friends or know other road people that are willing to host me. All I really need is a couch or a slice of the floor to sleep on and a shower for the next morning, and I'm good.

Hotels tend to be the last option and I try not to go over $50/night. I usually get one of those if I am going somewhere where I know no one (like ID, Sierra Nevada, Las Cruces, etc.)


agentsteel53

Quote from: Chris on June 10, 2009, 02:03:51 PM
Where do you guys spend the night on roadtrips?

I try to keep deleterious behaviors like eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom to a minimum.  I can do all of those back at work on Monday.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

froggie

I've spoiled myself over the years, so I tend to stay at one of the major chain hotels where I can get wi-fi.  I can usually get in at the government rate somewhere in the $75-90 range, depending on location (sometimes higher...rarely lower these days).  Being active duty helps considerably in this regard...

Lately, when I've been doing my Vermont runs, I've been nighting-over at West Point, where I can get a really nice room in the $54-66 range.

ctsignguy

Quote from: Chris on June 10, 2009, 02:03:51 PM
Where do you guys spend the night on roadtrips? Hotels are too expensive in Europe for me, I usually stay at campsites for $ 15 per night. I carry a three-seconds tent with me.

personally, there is a coupon book for hotels that can be found in most any rest stop in New England...they have a website as well...

http://www.roomsaver.com/

They have saved me a small bundle on my trips...even got some nice hotels with free internet access so i can keep up with you guys while travelling!

as for the how my last roadtrip went...lessee....

Ohio  I-70 to state Line

W Va: US 250 s and back to 70

PA I-70, I-79, I-76, US 15/US 11, I-83, I-76, US 202, I-95, I-676, I-80, PA 209, US 22, I-78, I-81

DEL: US 202, I-95, Del 4, US 13

NJ: NJTPKE, GSPKWY, I-80, US 46

NY  I-87/287, Hutchinson Pkwy

CT: Conn 15, I-91, I-395, US 6, US 44, CT 169, CT 97, CT 138, I-95, US 1, CT 161, CT 156, CT 9, CT 154, US 5, CT 66, CT 82, CT 85, CT 83, I-691, I-84, CT 74, CT 195,

Mass: I-91, US 5, US 20, US 202, I-90, I-83, MA 2, MA 12,
US 202/MA 10, I-290, I-495, I-395

Man all that in just 4 1/2 days!   :wow:
http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/ctsignguy/<br /><br />Maintaining an interest in Fine Highway Signs since 1958....

Ian

Hey ctsignguy,
you went not too far from where I live  :sombrero:!

As for me for roadtrips, I don't have much comin up but we are taking vacations to...

-Lake Winnepesaukee, NH (lake house)

-Acadia National Park, ME

-Bath, Freeport, Brunswick, ME

-Lake George, NY

-going accross Vermont

-Albany, NY

-Goin through Connecticut (CT-15, I-91, I-84, may be I-95)

-May be some trips to Long Beach Island, NJ and Cape May, NJ

-not there yet, but I may take a trip to the Outer Banks, NC.

Ian
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

yanksfan6129

I'm definitely driving from NYC to Washington, DC this summer once, possibly twice. And there is some Canada potential for late August.

My family is also big on day trips, so there will certainly be a few impromptu day road trips/mini-vacations sprinkled throughout the summer.

Scott5114

Quote from: Sykotyk on May 30, 2009, 12:14:48 AM
Cherokee Turnpike, Chickasaw Turnpike, I-44 (all of it), Muskogee and Cimmaron Turnpikes. Just need Indian Nation. Already have been on the bypasses around Tulsa and Oklahoma.

The Chickasaw is tons of fun, isn't it? When I clinched it a coyote crossed the road in front of me. He didn't appear to be in any major hurry.

Although I want to know about this mysterious Oklahoma bypass! I was unaware you could manage to avoid the whole state now! ;)
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

AZDude

Quote from: Chris on June 10, 2009, 02:37:17 PM
The true roadtripper doesn't take the same road back  :)

Amen.

njroadhorse

Looks like I might be going to Pittsburgh in August, so looking chronicle either PA 28 or US 22 going there and back.
NJ Roads FTW!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 30, 2009, 04:04:11 PM
I-99... the Glen Quagmire of interstate routes??

OracleUsr

Riding the rails here.  Got two tickets for a round trip to Newark, NJ, from Greensboro, NC.  Renting a car then and heading up north.  Hope to get to Block Island, RI, and Cape Cod, MA, and a few points otherwise, too.
Anti-center-tabbing, anti-sequential-numbering, anti-Clearview BGS FAN

corco

I just finalized and made necessary arrangements to take this roadtrip in September

http://tinyurl.com/nxkgzp

Hellfighter

Don't have enough money for a roadtrip... :-(

SSOWorld

Quote from: corco on June 23, 2009, 10:06:54 PM
I just finalized and made necessary arrangements to take this roadtrip in September

http://tinyurl.com/nxkgzp
looks like if you were headed to Dubuque - I won't be there after all

I'll be in California - visiting family.

Gives me a chance to clinch some Sacramento (and hopefully more San Fransisco) freeways - though the clinching will be 'limited' :no: and incognito.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

corco

Yeah I ended up cutting Dubuque out because I've been to Dubuque, but I've never been to Louisiana, Texas (outside of Houston), or Arkansas

Chris

I see you also skipped El Paso?

corco

#65
That was a tough call- I really wanted to check out El Paso, but I really want to drive US 84 clear across Texas.

This calls for another road trip though maybe in the spring, where I'll clinch US-84 in Colorado and New Mexico (leaving me with just the section from Natchez to Georgia) and also finish up I-25 (taking a detour down to El Paso)

The decision was a tricky call- the drive I originally outlined would have allowed me to clinch US 54 in its entirety and also hit up Dubuque and El Paso. The new one doesn't let me clinch any major US routes in their entirety (I will clinch US-425), but allows me to spend more time in parts of the country I know nothing about. Going to Dubuque would have been a trip back to my past as we would vacation there when I was a little kid, but I've never even been to Louisiana or Arkansas, and have barely seen any of Texas. The drive I'm taking is more of a perfect square, too, as opposed to the one I had before where I end up driving clear east to Illinois, and then spending most of my time in New Mexico

The tiebreaker, strangely, was that I pick up 82 new counties with the drive I'm taking and 78 new counties with the El Paso drive.

mefailenglish

Looks like this combo roadtrip/sightseeing vacation is going to happen next month.

http://tinyurl.com/l76oqd

It's not exactly accurate (for example, Google Maps doesn't seem to allow you to select the Beartooth Highway) but you get the gist of it.  Lots of stops along the way too.

Any suggestions of interesting things to see or do (whether roadgeek-related or not) are appreciated.

Sykotyk

Quote from: mefailenglish on July 13, 2009, 09:48:59 AM
Looks like this combo roadtrip/sightseeing vacation is going to happen next month.

http://tinyurl.com/l76oqd

It's not exactly accurate (for example, Google Maps doesn't seem to allow you to select the Beartooth Highway) but you get the gist of it.  Lots of stops along the way too.

Any suggestions of interesting things to see or do (whether roadgeek-related or not) are appreciated.

I'd suggest cutting up the future PA-43 instead of I-79. You can see Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville, PA. Or, take US-40 as it diverges to Uniontown, take the bypass, follow PA-43 along the toll section to I-70 (and therefore, Brownsville).

Get off after the Wheeling Tunnel and go south on WV-2 to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge (oldest operating suspension bridge in the world). In Zanesville, follow US-40 through town and cross over the famed "Y-Bridge".

If you want to go slightly out of route in Colorado, take US-40 west from Colby, KS through Kit Carson, Colorado where it meets US-287 and follow that back to Limon, where you return to I-70. Or, just after Kit Karson, take CO-94 west to Colorado Springs and get to see Pikes Peak on approach. Taking US-40 to CO-94 has exactly one stop sign/signal the entire way until the east side of Colorado Springs.

Cutting southwest from Colorado Springs to Canyon City, and the Royal Gorge Bridge (World's Tallest Bridge, 1053 feet above the river). If you're looking to go through Eisenhower Tunnel, you can either go US-50 west to US-285 north (nice drive) or just return to I-25 north to I-70 west.

Also, in Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods, pretty nice area. Nice hiking trails through the park.

Arches NP and the San Rafael Swell are both well worth seeing as you've routed yourself there. Have a clean windshield when you drive through Glenwood Canyon, it's quite amazing. If you want to bypass I-70, take US-50 west to Montrose from Colorado Springs, see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (haven't been there yet, but it's at the top of my list once I clinch Utah and Colorado counties). You also get to drive on the Million Dollar Highway if you go south towards Silverton, another at my list of places.

I-15 north in Utah isn't that impressive. Dry landscape with the Wasatch to your east. Be sure to drive west on I-80 to see the Salt Lake (follow the smell  :colorful: ) You can then take the Legacy Parkway north off the I-215. Or, take I-80 east through Parleys Canyon to Park City, past Echo resevoir, to I-84, and take that through another set of winding canyons. You'll also get to see Devils Slide on the south side of I-84 in the second canyon heading west.

Now, I-84 to I-86 to I-15, if only to clinch I-86 has some merit. But, it's a rather mundane drive. I've driven both before several times. I-15 north to Pocatello is much more scenic. Since you're not entering Yellowstone from the south, detour east of Idaho Falls to see the Grand Tetons (well worth the detour, take ID-30 east to ID-32 north. You also clinch Teton County that way if you're so inclined).

US-20 north to West Yellowstone is a great route, beautiful, but there is heavy truck traffic, it's a major shortcut to I-90 east. Haven't taken the Beartooth Highway yet, but will the next time Im in Yellowstone.

The stretch from US-212 to Billings to I-94, to me, isn't worth the mileage. Cut across 308 to MT-72 south. Take that to Wyoming. It turns into WY-120, follow to Thermopolis, and see the world's largest mineral hot spring (turn northward on US 20 aka west). You can then also go south through the Wind River Canyon towards Shoshoni.

Along I-90 in Wyoming, there's Devils Tower, before you reach SD and Rapid City. In Mitchell, SD you can see the Corn Palace. Haven't ever been there, but may stop on one of my future trips through. Instead of i-29, you can go east to Albert Lea, MN and take I-35 south. follow the signs for Avenue of the Saints and IA-27. It overlaps onto US-18 east, and US-218 south. You can either diverge onto US-20 east to Rockford to I-39 south to I-55/I-74 in Bloomington, or continue on IA-27 as it overlaps I-380 to Cedar Rapids to I-80 to I-74 east.

If Indianapolis isn't important two times, take US-41 south past Vincennes to Evansville. You can either proceed east on I-64 (a less heavily trafficed interstate through southern Indiana compared to I-65), or go out of route south on US-41 or south of I-164 to the Breathitt Parkway in Kentucky. Take the Audubon Parkway west to the Owensboro bypass, take the Natcher Parkway south to the Bluegrass Parkway and follow to the Western Kentucky Parkway. You get to take the New Circle Road around Lexington, and then follow I-64 east. As a detour from Natcher, you could take that to I-65 and see Mammoth Cave, and then either east on the Cumberland Parkway or back north on I-65 to the Western KY.

There's either the Hal Rogers Parkway (east of London, if you bypass to Mammoth Cave) or take I-64 east to the Mountain Parkway. You can cut east to US-119 and see one of the Appalachian Highways to Charleston. There you can get on the WV Turnpike south to I-64. Make sure you stop and see the New River Gorge bridge northeast of Beckley, WV on US-19. You also cross the New River Gorge on I-64, but its not as impressive (still beautiful).

You can also take I-77 south to Bluefield, take US-460 east to I-81. I-81north to Roanoke. Cut east on US-460 to Lynchburg, get to drive some of their convoluted freeway system, and then follow US-29 north all the way towards DC. Less traveled than I-81, more scenic. More relaxed, etc.

Sykotyk

froggie

- 8.5 miles from the I-90/MN 23 interchange is the Minnesota/Iowa/South Dakota triple-point, which is marked by a USGS marker in the middle of a paved county road T-intersection.

- If you continue east of Albert Lea on I-90, there's the infamous SPAM Museum in Austin, off Exit 178B (also can get to it from 178A).

- Unless you have a pressing need to take I-35 and US 20, using the Avenue of the Saints along US 18 and US 218 between Cedar Lake and Waterloo is shorter and faster.

- Both Covington and Staunton, VA have a lot of cutout shields.

- Lexington, VA is a neat town, which besides being the home of VMI (Virginia Military Insititue...lots of neat architecture) also has the Stonewall Jackson cemetery (not a big deal unless you're a Civil War buff).

Bickendan

I'm doing a Portland - Lake Wallowa in a couple weeks. See if I can hit up US 30 in Hood River and The Dalles, but I doubt I'll be driving.

Hopefully I'll be able to do a Portland - Minneapolis/St Paul later in the year. Probably be on Greyhound...

mefailenglish

Quote from: Sykotyk on July 13, 2009, 12:40:47 PM
Now, I-84 to I-86 to I-15, if only to clinch I-86 has some merit. But, it's a rather mundane drive.
Yeah, the business with Idaho is strictly to visit family.  Not that clinching another 2DI isn't a good thing too.  Ditto the stop in Billings--to visit folks there.

The trip started with the idea of driving I-70 from one end to the other at once.  Then a few other things to keep the wifely person entertained (Salt Lake, Yellowstone, Rushmore, Minuteman Missile, Badlands, etc.) on the way back.

I'm not wedded to the return trip at all (basically anything from Sioux Falls east/south), other than hoping to stop in Louisville to visit some folks there, and maybe finally clinching that piece of I-64 between 77 and 81 (the only piece I'm missing).

Thanks to Sykotyk and froggie for the suggestions; I'll certainly incorporate many of them.

rawr apples

end of september, Portland,Ore to Omaha, NE via US26, US20, I-86, I-15, I-80

sometime in october, Portland,Ore to Lake County, CA

Halloween Weekend, Portland, Ore to Seattle WA
Now shut up and drivee

agentsteel53

having just moved to New Mexico, and done a southwest trip that included Antelope Canyon, it looks like I'm returning to California for Fred Stoke's transportation collectible show.  I have not yet decided on the route out or back.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

deathtopumpkins

Hampton Roads, VA to Philadelphia/Trenton area (don't recall the town) September 25-27, taking US-13 to US-113 to DE 1 to I-95 to I-295 to I-195.

Hampton Roads, VA to Boston, MA October 15-18. Click for route.
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

Clinched Highways | Counties Visited

yanksfan6129

Hmmm, for the rest of 2009, I don't know. No big major road trips, but a trip up for one more road meet that's fairly close by.



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