Road Trip Advice>>DFW to Upper Peninsula Michigan

[dfwtbear]

I am planning on driving to see my Dad in the UP of Michigan, Houghton from the DFW area. Looking for advice for routes and places to avoid.
I keep thinking its best to follow I-35 most of the way north to Duluth, MN and go across US-2 although I am considering Going north on US-75 out of Dallas thru Oklahoma and hit I-44 northeast of Tulsa and go up to KC using the new I-49 and hook back up with I-35 there. I tend to dislike non-freeway roads because of slow downs for towns, but I am also trying to get where I am going as fast as I can.

Also, not sure if I should make reservation for a halfway point motel for the night or just go as far as I can and stop and find motel then.

Any and all advice will be welcomed.
THANKS!!

[agentsteel53]

I tend to dislike non-freeway roads because of slow downs for towns, but I am also trying to get where I am going as fast as I can.

did you make a typo here?  i.e. "but I am not trying to get..." - because that's the only way the "but" would make sense in that sentence.

reason I ask is, that greatly changes your ideal routing.  if you just want to blaze along the freeways, then Google Maps will give you good answers.

if you're looking for a good set of scenery without too many suburbs and WalMarts and what have you, I would recommend:

1) to get to Kansas City, ask someone more familiar with that area of the world.  Bugo maybe?  I-35 through the Flint Hills of Kansas is quite scenic, but you may instead want to do 75-44-49 or 69-44-59. 

north of KC, I'd recommend doing some of US-71, which is less direct than I-35 but gives you lots of nice rural scenery without any "large towns" (aka Wal-Mart districts) until Willmar, MN.  Willmar is pretty terrifying, so I'd get off on really any east-west US route, like maybe US-212 to the MSP area, which you can get through on freeways.

after the Twin Cities, the Google recommended WI-29/US-51/US-8/WI-17/US-45 route is a perfectly cromulent one.  but maybe if you wanted to skip the 29 expressway and see something more rural, consider jogging up I-35 to US-8.

[NE2]

A route that slows down at the occasional town may still be faster due to a shorter distance. In this specific case, 75-69 is shorter than I-35 from DFW to KC. The question is whether the Goog's times are accurate (10-15 minutes saved using I-35). (Also, is avoiding the towns on 69 in southeast Kansas worth the extra distance of going to Joplin for I-49?)

Another route to consider: I-30/US 67/I-55/I-39. Same distance but an hour longer per the Goog, but they may be underestimating speeds on US 67.

[Brandon]

Once you leave Duluth/Superior, or US-51 if you come that way, there is nothing but non-freeway routes the rest of the way.  Here are a few route ideas to/from Houghton:

1. I-35 north to I-94, cut across Wis-29 (near Eau Claire) to US-51 in Wausau.  North on US-51 to US-8.  East on US-8 to Wis-17 in Rhinelander.  Follow Wis-17 north to US-45 in Eagle River.  Then take US-45 north to M-26, and M-26 north/east into Houghton.

2. I-35 north to Duluth/Superior.  Get across the river and use US-2 east to Wakefield and pick up M-28 east.  Follow M-28 east to US-45 at Bruce Crossing.  Then take US-45 north to M-26 as above.

3. If you want to see more of the Midwest, Illinois and Wisconsin, then follow I-35 to I-44 to St Louis.  At St Louis, pick up I-55 north to I-39 in Bloomington-Normal.  Take I-39 north to Wisconsin.  In Wisconsin, you can follow any of these:

3a. I-43 north to I-894 north to US-41.  Follow US-41 around Appleton to Green Bay.  At Abrams, take US-141 north to Iron Mountain.  Then follow US-2/US-141 to Crystal Falls, and US-141 back to US-41 (with M-28) near Covington.  Follow US-41 north into Houghton.

3b. I-43 north to Green Bay.  Then, at the end of I-43, take US-41 north as in 3a.

3c. I-39 north to Wausau and go as instructed on the first routing.

[deathtopumpkins]

Moved this to the Road Trips board.

[dfwtbear]

I think I am just going to follow I-35 north to Duluth, then east across US-2 using Brandon's #2 advice, thank you for all of your advice. If anyone is interested, I'll tell you how i liked it and if i took another route back.