I was planning a trip to Texas, but some of my priorities in life have changed and I need to think smaller for right now. I have two objectives for 2019, one is to get to Wrigley Field and the second is to clinch every county in the lower peninsula.
Going to Wrigley isn't a road trip per se, because I plan on taking Amtrak and using public transport in Chicago. I have tried to get to Wrigley the last three summers, but things have not worked out (either emergencies or just poor planning on my part). Hopefully this is the year it happens.
As for clinching every county in the lower peninsula, I already have 35 done, mostly in SW, SE, Mid-Michigan, and the thumb. The only one I don't have in the thumb is Lapeer. My first county I would grab would be Montcalm and then I would go east to Gratiot and go over and snag Lapeer before going on US 23. I plan on going up and down each row of counties until I get to Manistee, as I already have Mason and Oceana. I would end in Newaygo and then take 131 home. I'm thinking about doing this the first weekend in October to make a fall color trip out of it.
I'm also hoping to make bigger plans in 2020, but these are my plans for 2019.
Got something planned for Florida in January. I'm looking at Idaho at some point mid-year and Arizona in October which will largely be road oriented.
Really hoping to make it to Alaska in 2019.
I would really like to do my Great Lakes road trip I couldn't do this year.
You know I have my home in the New York Tri-State Area, but it's going to have to be before the end of May 2019, due to the expiration of my MetroCard.
Some subway clerk claimed my card was no good and switched it with a new one during my last trip.
I keep trying to use up all the money on those things, but they just won't let me.
We've talked about a four- or five-day trip to Toronto (I haven't been there since 1986) to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. Might also go to the Original Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston on the same trip, which would allow me to knock off a big chunk of 401 I would probably otherwise never have reason to travel. Weather permitting we'd use US-219 between I-68 and Buffalo (or vice versa) in one direction so as to knock off most of that route and the new segment.
Otherwise the year is kind of up in the air due to various uncertainty as to some other issues.
We'll be making a trip to Folly Beach, SC in 2019. This time I want to avoid Atlanta via the Freeline Freeway. I just hope the missus doesn't mind.
I'd like to make a trip to New Brunswick (the province) in 2019. Otherwise, I haven't really sorted out what I plan to do for long trips in 2019. 2020 may be when I do a much longer trip (Alaska by boat, then drive from Vancouver to Winnipeg, then fly home).
My 2019 road trip plans are highly dependent on work. If I get sent overseas for some time (which is a possibility at this point), that will kill my chances at taking a long road trip.
As of now, the only significant trip I have planned is to/from the TRB Annual Meeting in January. Pretty direct drive down (with detours to see the new I-95 ramps and the US 301 tollway, and to clinch some roads on the Maryland Eastern Shore), but the return trip will involve a large amount of county clinching in north-central Virginia and a clinch of Skyline Drive (assuming weather cooperates) while I still have a National Parks pass. 3 pretty full days of driving with 4 days of a conference sandwiched in the middle. Worked well last year, but weather in January is always a crapshoot.
There will likely be a smaller trip to/from the Providence meet if my work schedule cooperates, but there probably won't be a ton of driving involved.
If I can take the time off, I'm considering a couple options for an August 2019 trip. One option (and currently the front-runner) is to fly out to Denver and take a loop through the plains and Mountain West, getting me to 48 states and allowing me to see more of the region. As to why I'd fly instead of driving out, it allows me to spend more time in new and interesting places, as I'd basically spend the first day of any long drive on roads I have previously driven. The other is a trip to the Upper Peninsula, possibly tied into the Pittsburgh meet. Both of these would be a week or longer.
If I can't take a big 2019 trip, I do plan to take a big 2020 trip, likely one of the above 2 options unless something else comes up.
Two trips on the back burner so far...
[1] I haven't started planning our annual mission trip. Our best friends, who are now living there full-time as missionaries, will be coming back to Wichita in December and not heading back down till March or April. They'll be having their second baby at that time, so they want to be close to the midwife for those last couple of months. When they're in town, we'll start planning next year's mission trip. There is a good possibility that it will be another trek into the desert–three to four hours of rocky desert roads into a land of no running water, services, or cell phone reception.
[2] I plan to start taking my older two sons on annual camping trips, probably starting in April or May of 2019. At the top of my list of possible destinations is Caprock Canyons State Park, in the Texas panhandle. It's not super far away, and the hikes appear to be easy to custom-fit to however fit for hiking we all are.
Quote from: kphoger on December 12, 2018, 05:06:34 PM[2] I plan to start taking my older two sons on annual camping trips, probably starting in April or May of 2019. At the top of my list of possible destinations is Caprock Canyons State Park, in the Texas panhandle. It's not super far away, and the hikes appear to be easy to custom-fit to however fit for hiking we all are.
That sounds like a fun trip. On my list of things to do is to get back to Texas. I haven't been back since March 2009.
Quote from: ce929wax on December 12, 2018, 10:37:01 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 12, 2018, 05:06:34 PM[2] I plan to start taking my older two sons on annual camping trips, probably starting in April or May of 2019. At the top of my list of possible destinations is Caprock Canyons State Park, in the Texas panhandle. It's not super far away, and the hikes appear to be easy to custom-fit to however fit for hiking we all are.
That sounds like a fun trip. On my list of things to do is to get back to Texas. I haven't been back since March 2009.
I grew up going camping with my dad in Colorado and the southwestern US. I want by boys to have some of those same experiences.
Everything is in a state of flux at this time. I'll be in Louisiana for the Jefferson Highway gathering in April, but I doubt I'll make it to the RMCA meet in Hershey , though I'd love to re-explore the National Road. Everything else is contingent on time and money.
Key West in April with one of my close friends. We picked out a list of places, evaluated a number of criteria, and went with that option.
I've been keeping an eye on the two potential meets in eastern Canada being bandied about, which depending on when they are and ultimately which one I might choose to attend I would love to spend time in New England which I've been telling myself now for 11 years that I want to get back.
Gonna visit my friend on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and clinch I-24, I-59, I-12, and I-55 in the process. This will be in mid-late January.
My 15-year college reunion coincides with Memorial Day weekend, so I'm planning on taking some extra time off both before and after and making the drive out there. I have a few places along the way that I want to hit, since I primarily enjoy visiting craft breweries/distilleries and relatively lesser-known historic sites, and will likely visit some friends/family. Outside of that... well, I've got a few months to figure it all out. This is a somewhat rough itinerary (clearly each leg does not correspond to a single day), so I'll likely post a separate thread about this closer to the date to solicit more precise advice/thoughts.
- Leg 1: San Antonio, TX > Montgomery, AL > Columbia, SC > Raleigh, NC
- Leg 2: Raleigh, NC > Virginia Beach, VA > Cape May, NJ > New Haven, CT
- Leg 3: New Haven, CT > Downingtown, PA > Martinsville, VA
- Leg 4: Martinsville, VA > Nashville, TN > Memphis, TN
- Leg 5: Memphis, TN > ??? > San Antonio, TX
I did a Denver trip in March of this year and a Little Rock/Memphis/New Orleans trip this summer, but haven't done anything this ambitious since 2010. I'm always counting counties, so this will likely clinch DE and NJ for me also.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 18, 2018, 11:13:12 PM
Key West in April with one of my close friends. We picked out a list of places, evaluated a number of criteria, and went with that option.
I've been keeping an eye on the two potential meets in eastern Canada being bandied about, which depending on when they are and ultimately which one I might choose to attend I would love to spend time in New England which I've been telling myself now for 11 years that I want to get back.
I'm trying to convince my wife to head down there with next month when I'm in Florida for 11 days. Really a Florida trip isn't complete without the Overseas Highway. So far I've only convinced her to knock Everglades National Park off to-do list, what she doesn't know is that there is a pretty chance that will be on the Everglades Loop Road.
Motorcycle trips: Some short ones in Texas and Oklahoma but my first real road trip planned by motorcycle is to Key West in March after riding to Jacksonville for the annual Iron Butt "Party". I already have reservations in Jacksonville. I have tried to make it three different years but something always comes up. In late July a ride to Prudhoe Bay with a dip in the Arctic Ocean. This one I have been trying to do for at least 5 years. I am sure there will be at least one more in the late fall. I will also try to squeeze in a couple of Iron Butt Association rides. www.ironbutt.com
Car trips: Maybe one to Orlando in April, might go car or by motorcycle or fly, if I go at all. I'm not sure it qualifies as a road trip but we will travel some by car and bus. It is a D-day 75th anniversary tour starting in Paris and ending in Munich with us at the beaches on June 6. We are arriving in Paris a few days early and leaving a few days after the tour ends in Munich so we can visit where I used to live and went to college. So we will drive some. We, The Wife and I, have another road trip for a few days somewhere but we haven't decided where. We have a free place to stay in San Antonio and Branson, MO so probably one of the two.
Oh, a family reunion outside Cincinnati at the end of June I will probably attend, traveling by car or motorcycle.
Our big trip this year is not entirely a road trip, but I'll get my fix of driving. It's in August. Flying from Boise to Boston, then renting a car and driving down to Washington, DC, taking Amtrak to Norfolk, VA (cheaper to drop off the car in DC than to keep it since were's spending a few days there), and flying back. Purpose is to visit some of my wife's friends in CT, and visit family in Hampton Roads area. Along the way, going to Six Flags in NJ and a few days in Washington, DC for general touristy things. Looking forward to driving a lot of the highways around the northeast, in particular the NJTP. Nothing like that out west. Whole trip is 11 days.
Other than that, we'll probably take 1 or 2 of our standard Seaside, OR trips to visit my family there, with the usual stops in Portland (Powell's Books, IKEA, etc.). Maybe make it to Seattle again too. I'd guess one in Spring, probably around April, and maybe one late in the year. These trips don't require a lot of planning or cost, pretty much just $~100 for gas. Hardest part is for my wife to get time off work.
my road trip is mainly about completing interstates and visiting states that I won't be able to normally. I'm planning on doing louisville, ky to los angeles and coming home via oregon and I 71. maybe. I might find a way to knock west virginia off my list too.
and this is all going to be a solo trip during the middle of june.
Quote from: ctkatz on January 31, 2019, 04:00:35 AM
my road trip is mainly about completing interstates and visiting states that I won't be able to normally. I'm planning on doing louisville, ky to los angeles and coming home via oregon and I 71. maybe. I might find a way to knock west virginia off my list too.
and this is all going to be a solo trip during the middle of june.
Good luck and have fun!
Wife wants to drive to Maine. The great part is I've been to 33 states and this would get me to 47 (all of NE, NY, NJ, Phi, WV, Va, DE, MD) leaving only Hawaii (her brother is getting married there in the next couple of years), Florida & SC (very doable in one trip as well). My goal was by the time I hit 50 and while that won't happen I can do it by 51 or 52.
Not entirely by road, but we have a family vacation planned where we will fly to LAX, the drive a loop to Disneyland, San Diego, Tucson, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and then back to LAX for the flight home.
Kids want to go to DC this summer; I want to check out Cumberland Gap along the way up but not sure what to pick for an overnight on the way home.
Have a couple of short road trips in the near future, one to Hattiesburg and another in Clarksville. Work is always subject to change, of course.
Quote from: formulanone on January 31, 2019, 09:27:01 AM
Kids want to go to DC this summer; I want to check out Cumberland Gap along the way up but not sure what to pick for an overnight on the way home.
Maybe the kids would be interested in the Great Smoky Mountains or some Civil War battle location. Or maybe extend the trip a day, doing some things in Atlanta. (I assume HSV in your profile is Huntsville, AL.)
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Quote from: 1 on January 31, 2019, 09:32:13 AM
Quote from: formulanone on January 31, 2019, 09:27:01 AM
Kids want to go to DC this summer; I want to check out Cumberland Gap along the way up but not sure what to pick for an overnight on the way home.
Maybe the kids would be interested in the Great Smoky Mountains or some Civil War battle location. Or maybe extend the trip a day, doing some things in Atlanta. (I assume HSV in your profile is Huntsville, AL.)
Might take a side trip to Great Smoky Mountains, but it seems like a trip to Pigeon Forge (et al) in and of itself. I might just go back in one day depending on how many things they want to do in the capital.
My son has also been recently fascinated with the idea of visiting Four Corners, but that will be 2020 at the soonest. Not sure if they want to fly-then-drive that one, along with other sights that I've never seen. Both our cars are getting older and I'd rather rent something when population gets a bit sparse.
Quote from: cabiness42 on January 31, 2019, 08:11:22 AM
Not entirely by road, but we have a family vacation planned where we will fly to LAX, the drive a loop to Disneyland, San Diego, Tucson, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and then back to LAX for the flight home.
Sounds like you'll get some kick ass roads on your route of travel like AZ 89A, Oatman Highway and the Catalina Highway if you want them.
Speaking of trips, just got back from Florida this past week. I had some State Road and highway clinches in mind that I've been looking to finish in photo form. Probably the most relevant to the "roadgeeking" group was a photo clinch of the route of I-4, my personal favorite was FL 50 due to it being a route I used frequently in the past.
I've been hemming and hawing about whether I should try for a family vacation to Chicago this fall. I might wait till our youngest child is old enough to appreciate museums more, though. If we do it, I would plan to drive to a hotel near Midway, then use public transit exclusively during our time there.
Quote from: kphoger on January 31, 2019, 01:34:14 PM
I've been hemming and hawing about whether I should try for a family vacation to Chicago this fall. I might wait till our youngest child is old enough to appreciate museums more, though. If we do it, I would plan to drive to a hotel near Midway, then use public transit exclusively during our time there.
If you come, go to https://www.citypass.com/chicago where you can get admission to 5 attractions for one low price, plus you get to skip the lines at the Willis (Sears) Tower skydeck.
Quote from: cabiness42 on January 31, 2019, 04:21:51 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 31, 2019, 01:34:14 PM
I've been hemming and hawing about whether I should try for a family vacation to Chicago this fall. I might wait till our youngest child is old enough to appreciate museums more, though. If we do it, I would plan to drive to a hotel near Midway, then use public transit exclusively during our time there.
If you come, go to https://www.citypass.com/chicago where you can get admission to 5 attractions for one low price, plus you get to skip the lines at the Willis (Sears) Tower skydeck.
For the ones I'm interested in taking my family to, it's actually cheaper to buy individual tickets. But I agree that's a good deal, and I've looked into it a couple of times. I'm more in the dark about Ventra, which didn't exist back when I lived there.
Meeting up with friends in Gainesville this year; taking some time before that to visit Savannah and Charleston, pick up a lot of new US route numbers, 2 new 2di's, 2 new 3di's.
The only major driving trip I foresee is Utah, the only state besides Hawaii I've been to just once. That's still flying out there then driving, but there will be enough road miles to justify it. It'll include a side jaunt through NV and a dip into AZ.
Quote from: Alps on February 01, 2019, 03:54:41 PM
The only major driving trip I foresee is Utah, the only state besides Hawaii I've been to just once. That's still flying out there then driving, but there will be enough road miles to justify it. It'll include a side jaunt through NV and a dip into AZ.
Sounds like US 163 is probably part of the route if not some of the more notable stuff in Southern Utah? Fairly strong chance I'll be out that way myself in April or around early October. If it's the former I'll be re-clinching UT 9 and UT 12 again since we would be camping in Escalante.
Quote from: ce929wax on November 13, 2018, 01:27:54 AM
I was planning a trip to Texas, but some of my priorities in life have changed and I need to think smaller for right now.
I'm a former Michigander living in Texas now. If you make it down this way in the future, hit me up and I'll take you to the best taco place in Fort Worth.
My plans this year are tentatively small and local-ish:
- Do US-287 from Fort Worth northwest for as far as is feasible within the state.
- Look up the historic Bankhead Highway which apparently runs right along where I live and see more of it westward from home.
- Late last year I went to see the historic Possum Kingdom Bridgeon TX state hwy 16 and I might try to go back and do TX-16 from I-20 northward.
- Budget permitting, there's a conference in Boulder I'd like to attend, and I'm considering driving and roadgeekery on the way.
Sounds great on the taco place. Where in Michigan are you from? I graduated high school from Waxahachie High.
I live in Kalamazoo, but am from Allegan.
Quote from: ce929wax on February 08, 2019, 09:38:14 PM
Sounds great on the taco place. Where in Michigan are you from? I graduated high school from Waxahachie High.
I live in Kalamazoo, but am from Allegan.
Grew up in Saginaw, MI, lived in Grand Rapids for a bit over 7 years.
I'm planning on driving to Yellowstone this summer. Then from there making a stop in Twin Falls. From there I will drive to Walla Walla and take US 12 to Minnesota before heading back home.
This spring (probably in April) we may simply head west to Tallahassee to check out a museum or two there.
I'll be heading to Chicago and Detroit next month for a week. Since I knocked out most of the road stuff I wanted in Chicago in 2017 I'll probably be focusing on more city related stuff this time around. The only real destination I have on the list is the Indiana Dunes since they were elevated to a National Park. In Detroit I'm definitely doing all of M1 but the rest is open ended.
In May I'm probably heading to San Diego. That will likely be another highway mega trip like I did recently in the Bay Area. I primarily want to focus on the Inland Empire over the weekend after San Diego and the mountain highways.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 09, 2019, 05:45:16 PM
I'll be heading to Chicago and Detroit next month for a week. Since I knocked out most of the road stuff I wanted in Chicago in 2017 I'll probably be focusing on more city related stuff this time around. The only real destination I have on the list is the Indiana Dunes since they were elevated to a National Park. In Detroit I'm definitely doing all of M1 but the rest is open ended.
In May I'm probably heading to San Diego. That will likely be another highway mega trip like I did recently in the Bay Area. I primarily want to focus on the Inland Empire over the weekend after San Diego and the mountain highways.
If you use 80/94 to cross the state line from Illinois to Indiana, make sure to wave as you go by.
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 10, 2019, 11:03:10 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 09, 2019, 05:45:16 PM
I'll be heading to Chicago and Detroit next month for a week. Since I knocked out most of the road stuff I wanted in Chicago in 2017 I'll probably be focusing on more city related stuff this time around. The only real destination I have on the list is the Indiana Dunes since they were elevated to a National Park. In Detroit I'm definitely doing all of M1 but the rest is open ended.
In May I'm probably heading to San Diego. That will likely be another highway mega trip like I did recently in the Bay Area. I primarily want to focus on the Inland Empire over the weekend after San Diego and the mountain highways.
If you use 80/94 to cross the state line from Illinois to Indiana, make sure to wave as you go by.
I might actually be heading that way this time. When I went through last I used the Skyway and got photos I was happy with. Granted this will be a weekday unlike last time.
I'm just starting to plan a roadtrip sometime middle to end of April from Metro Detroit to Atlantic NC to get a photo of the END US-70 assembly -- I hope it's still there after the hurricane. I'm looking into routes with possible good sign photo opportunities; I'm hoping to come across some good sine salads in NC.
Quote from: wanderer2575 on March 10, 2019, 12:40:51 PM
I'm just starting to plan a roadtrip sometime middle to end of April from Metro Detroit to Atlantic NC to get a photo of the END US-70 assembly -- I hope it's still there after the hurricane. I'm looking into routes with possible good sign photo opportunities; I'm hoping to come across some good sine salads in NC.
Lots of cutouts in Norton, Va., which could potentially be on your route. Several salads in Bristol, Va., which would be a short detour off US 23.
When I go to the Jefferson Highway Conference in April, I'll probably try to clinch it in Louisiana and also look for lost sections of 71.
I already mentioned I may try to finish US 79, but beyond that, I'm not certain. I'd like to go back to South Dakota again (last time was 2009)but I don't know if I'll make it this year. Now that the time has shifted, maybe I'll be more inspired.
I mentioned my proposed trip to the New York Tri-State area in May, but somebody has been trying to persuade me into taking a second one in October.
On my way up on at least one of these, I've been considering stopping in the Point South-Pocotaligo area of South Carolina. Speaking of which, I took a GSV of that and much to my surprise, I saw an abandoned southbound lane of US 17 in the interchange with I-95. I'd try to find evidence of it on Historic Aerials Online, but that website hasn't been letting me scan any locations lately.
Looks like I'll finally follow through on my Iowa/Illinois Lincoln Highway trip (aka Columbus-Omaha-Chicago-Columbus) in April.
I'm also taking the scenic route from C-bus to Lexington, Ky. in a couple of weeks. This trip should finally clinch every county in Ohio for me (after 44+ years).
And of course whatever roadmeets come our way.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 12, 2019, 10:23:49 PM
I'm also taking the scenic route from C-bus to Lexington, Ky. in a couple of weeks.
And what route would that be? US 62 and US 68?
Quote from: hbelkins on March 13, 2019, 09:58:19 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 12, 2019, 10:23:49 PM
I'm also taking the scenic route from C-bus to Lexington, Ky. in a couple of weeks.
And what route would that be? US 62 and US 68?
For the return trip.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 13, 2019, 05:31:47 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 13, 2019, 09:58:19 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 12, 2019, 10:23:49 PM
I'm also taking the scenic route from C-bus to Lexington, Ky. in a couple of weeks.
And what route would that be? US 62 and US 68?
For the return trip.
My preferred route to your area is US 23. The construction of KY 67 several years ago, and the existence of the Portsmouth bypass now, will only serve to reinforce that preference.
Several years ago, I did use US 62 out of Maysville to a certain point; I can't remember where I got on I-71 to complete the trip.
My last trip to Dayton, I used US 68 and OH 73. I'm becoming increasingly intolerant of Cincinnati-area traffic.
I think we've ruled out driving to the beach in NC, and the chances of that trip actually happening seem to dwindle by the day, so...none, probably. Though I might do some extensive driving in England in May, and nearly all of that would be new mileage, since I drove there for the first time two years ago.
Sounds like I'll be heading to the Baltimore area in June. It's been a few years since I've headed down that way, so I'm super excited to drive the US 15 corridor again and check out the progress on the CSVT!
My May trip to the New York Tri-State Area is now being pushed into April. Which means I'll be gathering new things to do early before I leave.
I'm leaning towards going to the Lincoln Highway Conference in Wyoming, taking US 24 from KC, then US 85 from Denver.
I need to make time to check on some forgotten bridges in Arkansas I've yet to visit, then...who knows? Maybe a random trip somewhere. Maybe El Paso, maybe someplace else.
I really made some decent time getting to my destinations on every leg of my trip except the first one.
On the way down from NYC, I was so early before I got to my motel in Rocky Mount, that when I was in southern Virginia, I actually thought about getting off at Exit 4 on I-95 and going the long way down Moore's Ferry Road (VSR 629) to the North Carolina State Line!
And then I'd get back on I-95 via NC 48.
My Key West trip wraps tomorrow. Nothing special about the routing on the way down, although I-24 from Nashville to Chattanooga is a fantastic drive. On the way home I did take I-75 through Alligator Alley up through Tampa because I was going to go crazy driving the same suggested route back.
I made a half-joking quip recently about I-94 in Wisconsin being "the most enforced route in the nation" . Having now driven I-75 in Georgia and US 1 in the Keys, I rescind that statement.
Going to Cincinnati area at the end of May, first of June. It will be my mom, my uncle, and myself to see my 94 year old great aunt. I probably won't do any county clinching, but we will be going to a Reds game on June 2.
Planning on driving up to Newfoundland from here in upstate NY this August. It will include side trips to PEI and Saint Pierre, France.
Me and my parents are scheduled for a family visiting trip on the third weekend of May (next month), the same weekend as the Portsmouth OH Road Meet (which we kindly backed out of with a kindly declination). We will be flying from JAX to EWR and back with our round-trip plane tickets for United Airlines' small-airplane shuttle service, United Express. We will be staying at the Embassy Suites Piscataway Somerset (Embassy Suites by Hilton has been our hotel chain of choice as of late, along with Hampton by Hilton) for that weekend in order to attend my sister's graduation ceremony at the Louis Brown-Rutgers Athletic Center at the Livingston Campus of Rutgers-New Brunswick that Saturday. Either Sunday or Monday we will be visiting my father's mother in the Crestwood Village retirement community of the Whiting section (formerly an important railroad junction serving various lines of the CRRNJ aka the CNJ and the PRR) of Manchester Township in Ocean County.
At some point in either late-May or June I want to take a day trip to Ocala National Forest and the vicinity, but I also have to plan for my October 2019 NYC area trip.
But right now, there's a chance I'm going to unplug my internet router, because a thunderstorm is coming.
:-o
Something I'm just throwing together as I go, I'm considering a Dakotas/eastern Montana trip in the next couple weeks. I'm running out of new territory near home, but I didn't visit the Dakotas period until I turned 25 and still have spent very little time exploring them. It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 05, 2019, 04:36:41 PM
Something I'm just throwing together as I go, I'm considering a Dakotas/eastern Montana trip in the next couple weeks. I'm running out of new territory near home, but I didn't visit the Dakotas period until I turned 25 and still have spent very little time exploring them. It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.
Roosevelt NP is a kick ass place to go if you want a quiet summer season hike. The southern branch of the park is incredibly accessible from I-94 and IMO I enjoyed it just as much as anything in the Black Hills in South Dakota.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 05, 2019, 04:36:41 PM
It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.
I agree with Max that Roosevelt NP is a good choice.
If you go on US 12 in eastern Montana, you might take a short detour to the small town of Ismay. In the late 1990s, it renamed itself Joe, Montana as a fundraising ploy. Once the town residents got a snazzy new town building out of it, and even a trip to Kansas City to watch the quarterback play, the renaming might've been dropped. But you might see remnants of the rename.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alaskaroads.com%2Fjoe-montana-welcome-sign.jpg&hash=6659aac353d12a34b10f896d3bb795419ff19cdf)
(back when the town and I were more than two decades younger)
See also http://www.alaskaroads.com/roadgeek-souvenirs-page1.htm for the souvenirs I bought on my 1996 visit.
Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX. Everything except the first couple of hours (Wichita to OKC) was all new roads for me. We left Wichita early on Tuesday morning and got back home Friday for supper.
We didn't see the sun at all on Tuesday except after about 7 pm, and we drove in and out of rain all day. OKC was terrible, pouring cats and dogs, with standing water on the highway and traffic moving at about 35 to 45 mph due to the weather. I-44 through town might be a nice highway (so I'd heard), but for me it was a white-knuckle experience. We also drove in and out of rain coming back north through Texas after packing up. But our weather camping was great–with one warm sunny day, one cool overcast day, and some rain overnight while we were snug in the tent. It was drizzling when he had to pack up camp, but nothing terrible.
To make things a little more interesting, I drove one route southwest and another route northeast. You can see the GPS track of the drive here (https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1sPooaxV0Cqy5w6xqVy36VtV_ZBbZstIB).
Between OKC and Texas, we explored a little bit of old Route 66. Top on my list was the William H. Murray bridge over the Canadian River (currently US-281). This is a Camelback Pratt pony truss bridge with 38 spans, with a total length just a hair shy of ¾ mile. We also took a short section from Erick on through Texola (OK), then into Texas, where the four-lane highway narrows to become a two-lane frontage road of I-40.
Total distance on the trip odometer = 931.7 miles. I'm not used to driving more than 300 miles without a second driver, so 450 each way took a bit of a toll on me–mainly my lower back, but also my ability to stay alert.
(https://i.imgur.com/XFUww84.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/VzagLK7.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yESacX0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ATbZDgb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LmhHWoA.jpg)
Caprock Canyons State park is home to Texas' official state bison herd, which are the last remaining Southern Plains bison. They roam freely throughout the park. We personally encountered them at our campground (in the parking lot and also walking through site #56), blocking the road, and even during a hike we took up a small river canyon. They don't care if you want to get by in your car, either. If they're not in a hurry, they'll just stand there and look at you. One evening, as we took a drive to charge my phone and see if I could find cellular service to call my wife, I eventually gave up waiting for the bison to move and just turned back around.
(https://i.imgur.com/EHrQzQU.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/cxSLKRP.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/B5LK4wD.jpg)
I won't post a whole bunch of non-road photos on here, but I'll give you a few just for fun.
(https://i.imgur.com/qCnlgau.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Gg8ZTO9.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fM1pUrJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/snX8uAw.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/pl3TsOi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Tgldlty.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IcDZ2QX.jpg)
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 25, 2019, 12:28:47 PM
I made a half-joking quip recently about I-94 in Wisconsin being "the most enforced route in the nation" . Having now driven I-75 in Georgia and US 1 in the Keys, I rescind that statement.
US 1 in the keys is ridiculous and it honestly took a lot of the fun out of the trip for me. You would've thought that the Cubans were invading or something when I was down there.
Quote from: kphoger on May 06, 2019, 02:25:19 PM
Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX.
(https://i.imgur.com/XFUww84.jpg)
Caprock Canyons State park is home to Texas' official state bison herd, which are the last remaining Southern Plains bison. They roam freely throughout the park.
Looks like that was a fun trip. I had no idea that there still any Bisons left anywhere besides up near Yellowstone. I've also always loved the design of those types of bridges.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for me, I had thought about going to Idaho and maybe as far west as Oregon, but I now doubt that will happen and officially have no road trip plans. I am planning on putting my 2 weeks notice in at my current job so that I can attend truck driving school next month and get my class A CDL. I figure once I get that, I will be road tripping all over as I fully intend on doing OTR anywhere in the US and Canada (I'm also willing to do Mexico, but going there is extremely rare).
Quote from: US 41 on May 12, 2019, 08:48:51 AM
(I'm also willing to do Mexico, but going there is extremely rare).
Well, yeah. The Cross-border Trucking Pilot Program was canceled back in 2014. So, unless you get a job with one of the companies that is already grandfathered in, then you won't be driving a rig into Mexico at all, ever.
Quote from: cabiness42 on January 31, 2019, 08:11:22 AM
Not entirely by road, but we have a family vacation planned where we will fly to LAX, the drive a loop to Disneyland, San Diego, Tucson, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and then back to LAX for the flight home.
This just occurred to me. We will be flying out of MDW, about 12 miles from the east end of Route 66, and for the first 3 nights we are renting a condo in Santa Monica, about a mile from the west end of Route 66. Has any of you ever visited both ends on the same day? It would add about 30-45 minutes to our trip from home to MDW to accomplish this but it seems worth it.
In the case that the upcoming and planned Pittsburgh Road Meet doesn't actually happen, and/or we decide not to attend after all, I have come up with some back-up road trip plans for early-mid August. Some ideas are:
Atlanta-Piedmont and back (though we may fly there and back instead)
Charlotte-Piedmont and back (though we may fly there and back instead)
Miami-Key West and back (though we may fly there and back instead)
Ocean Highway and back (partially how we ended up in Jacksonville)
Tampa-Gulf Coast and back (last went in May 2014)
Any other ideas for a two-week-max (one-week-minimum) road trip?
I recently got back from a county-clinching trip that took me through Ontario, Michigan, Ohio (finished its counties), Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, a loop from Albany with the far corners roughly at Jackson, MI and Cincinnati, OH.
In a little under 4 weeks, I'm going to be taking a trip up to Montreal for the meet centered on the new bridge. Not a ton of driving, relatively speaking, as I plan to not even use the car one of the days.
My big car-centered trip this year will be in the mountain west. Flying to Albuquerque in August, then visiting several things in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. I figure I'll put 2-3,000 miles on the rental car in a week and a half.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York west of I-87!
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 18, 2019, 05:34:06 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York east of I-87!
Congratulations! Hope you enjoyed it! :sombrero:
Quote from: kphoger on May 06, 2019, 02:25:19 PM
Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX. Everything except the first couple of hours (Wichita to OKC) was all new roads for me. We left Wichita early on Tuesday morning and got back home Friday for supper.
That trip looks like it was a lot of fun. In my limited experience driving through the TX panhandle, it's much more pretty than most would expect, especially when the cliffs start showing up in western OK. Palo Duro Canyon is somewhere I'd really like to check out.
Quote from: webny99 on July 19, 2019, 09:00:58 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 18, 2019, 05:34:06 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York east of I-87!
Congratulations! Hope you enjoyed it! :sombrero:
Yeah, I got to see I-88 and the NYS thruway which was cool.
My second road trip of the year is still going to happen, but it could be anywhere between September and December. A lot of it depends on when many of the places on my itinerary are going to be open. This will include Montauk Point State Park (specifically the canteen), the Danbury Railway Museum (assuming they'll let me take pictures of specific trains), and even the New York City Transit Museum (if they have the bus I want to see).
In late September and early October, my lady and I will be touring eastern Canada, plus Maine! We will have stops in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton NB, Halifax, PEI, and Acadia NP. If there are recommendations you have or any travel advisories I should be aware of, let me know.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on July 22, 2019, 02:51:51 PM
In late September and early October, my lady and I will be touring eastern Canada, plus Maine! We will have stops in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton NB, Halifax, PEI, and Acadia NP. If there are recommendations you have or any travel advisories I should be aware of, let me know.
Montmorency Falls, a huge waterfall partially in Quebec City (the river defines the city boundary). It's taller than Niagara Falls, though not as wide.
If you're thinking of adding Nova Scotia to the itinerary, it's cheaper to take the ferry to PEI from Nova Scotia and leave via the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick, than vice versa. You get charged a lot for leaving PEI either way, but not at all for arriving, as if to tell you not to be in such a hurry to leave.
PEI is a little too perfect for me. But if I marry someone who prefers something less tropical than Maui for the honeymoon, PEI would be a plan B.
You might consider adding the CAT ferry (operated by Bay Ferries) from Yarmouth NS to Bar Harbor ME (not Portland ME, the west terminal in previous years). IF it's running during the timeframe for your trip, it could be a nifty shortcut to Acadia NP. Alas, the Bay Ferries (https://www.ferries.ca/thecat/schedule/) website says that the Bar Harbor terminal is not yet ready for ferry service, and no firm timetable for when it will be but no earlier than "late summer".
Quote from: oscar on July 22, 2019, 03:15:01 PM
If you're thinking of adding Nova Scotia to the itinerary, it's cheaper to take the ferry to PEI from Nova Scotia and leave via the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick, than vice versa. You get charged a lot for leaving PEI either way, but not at all for arriving, as if to tell you not to be in such a hurry to leave.
According to the website, this is only true if you show up without a reservation. Reservations charge full price for both directions.
Quote from: oscar on July 22, 2019, 03:15:01 PM
If you're thinking of adding Nova Scotia to the itinerary, it's cheaper to take the ferry to PEI from Nova Scotia and leave via the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick, than vice versa. You get charged a lot for leaving PEI either way, but not at all for arriving, as if to tell you not to be in such a hurry to leave.
That was the plan, anyway! So it's good to hear that's the cheaper option. I like to keep ferry crossings at either the start or end of driving days on a road trip, so we're thinking of jumping on the ferry to PEI first thing in the morning on our way back west, after staying in New Glasgow. The other ferry crossing on the trip will be across the St. Lawrence from Quebec City to Levis, at the end of our day in Quebec City. I may detail the trip further in my own separate thread for further discussion.
I have a day trip planned for Northeastern Florida (DeLand, Bunnell, Palm Coast via Ocala National Forest) this coming Tuesday, but I heard there were going to be a lot of thunderstorms east of Ocala National Forest, so I'll probably have to cancel renting a bike when I'm there.
This is of course, before my big NYC road trip for the fall of 2019 either in late-October or November.
This year's mission trip to Mexico has been pushed back several months due to scheduling conflicts. However, my wife and I had already made arrangements to be gone that week, so we've decided to visit family up in Iowa instead. From KC, I plan to take a different route–up through St Joseph and Maryville, then a combination of state and county highways through Iowa to I-80. I usually avoid doing so, because the 55mph speed limit gets old after a while, when you realize you could be cruising at 70-80 on the Interstate. But we've got all the time in the world to get up there this time, so why not!
My northeastern Florida day trip was carried out earlier today.
Nothing new to report as far as signage goes.
The northbound I-75 Marion County truck weigh station is under reconstruction.
I can add Florida State Road 11 to the list of roads I've clinched.
Tonight as I was going back I drove along FL 200 and saw a huge traffic jam on I-75. Assuming it was regular rush hour traffic in Ocala (especially after a traffic jam I wound up in on FL 40), and despite my better judgment, I took I-75 anyway. As it turned out a tractor trailer caught fire in the truck parking area of the southbound I-75 Marion County Rest Area. With the amount of smoke they had there and the excessive fire trucks on the scene, it looked more like the whole rest area blew up.
The big NYC Tri-State Area road trip is still on, but more than likely for November.
My wife wanted to go to Portland this past month and it pretty much went off without a hitch. Ended up seeing a ton of bridges, all of US 26 on the Sunset Highway, US 101 from Cannon Beach over the Astoria Bridge into Washington and a good portion of the Historic Columbia River Highway.
We had planned to go Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park and Redwood National Park this past weekend Unfortunately an early snow storm in the Cascades jammed up said plans so we went to Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs in instead. Had a nice meaty 9 mile hike around the Lost Horse Mine but came away with a haul of road photos that I needed to recover post hard drive crash. Some of the areas we traveled on were; Old US 66/91/395 in Cajon Pass, CA 371, CA 74 on the Pines to Palms Highway, CA 111 in Palm Springs, CA 62 from Whitewater to Joshua Tree National Park, Pinto Basin Road, Old US 60/70 on Box Canyon Road, Old CA 231, the new CA 86 expressway, I-10 from CA 86 to CA 60, CA 60/Old US 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands, part of CA 243, CA 189, CA 173 near Lake Arrowhead and the crown jewel with all of CA 18.
Another update; The NYC-LI Road trip is now planned for two weeks from now.
I'll be headed to east-central Texas and back for Thanksgiving...if I can some mechanical issues taken care of in the remaining two weeks. Thinking I'll head south/west down through Springfield into Arkansas and down into NW Louisiana and head west from there. May head back through Oklahoma if I have enough spare time/gas money.
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on November 10, 2019, 08:53:31 PM
I'll be headed to east-central Texas and back for Thanksgiving...if I can some mechanical issues taken care of in the remaining two weeks. Thinking I'll head south/west down through Springfield into Arkansas and down into NW Louisiana and head west from there. May head back through Oklahoma if I have enough spare time/gas money.
I'd advise the routing through Oklahoma as the primary and the Arkansas routing as the backup–the roads on the OK side of the line tend to be a lot less twisty than they are on the AR side, so if you need to make up time, it will be easier to do that in Oklahoma.
I might be taking a road trip around X-Mas to Murfreesboro, TN because my Mom wants to go visit my uncle because he is having surgery. She has decided if she wants to go, because we only have one car and she didn't want to leave me without a car for a month, while she takes care of my uncle. I told her that that wasn't a problem that I would drive her down there and then when she was ready to come home, I would come and get her. She hasn't decided if she is going to go or not.
Quote from: kphoger on September 30, 2019, 01:27:34 PM
This year's mission trip to Mexico has been pushed back several months due to scheduling conflicts. However, my wife and I had already made arrangements to be gone that week, so we've decided to visit family up in Iowa instead. From KC, I plan to take a different route–up through St Joseph and Maryville, then a combination of state and county highways through Iowa to I-80. I usually avoid doing so, because the 55mph speed limit gets old after a while, when you realize you could be cruising at 70-80 on the Interstate. But we've got all the time in the world to get up there this time, so why not!
Just remembered... I intended to post my GPS track of the drive up but never did. It also includes a GPS track of a tourist train excursion.
MAP HERE (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Xb4dkNhaaC4WjnpXKPqzwN2VvU5YklE1&usp=sharing)