2013 Wichita Road Meet, July 20

[route56]

Should be easy.  Those attending:  what are your top three picks for cuisine or type of restaurant?

BBQ, Gourmet Burgers (NOT 5 Guys), steak, chicken.

Mexican and Chinese make me ill, unfortunately.

What about Pizza (noting US 71's .sig)

[hbelkins]

Working on my route. I figure I will get at least four new counties in Missouri (Douglas, Ozard, Taney, Stone, Dade and Barton) by using US 60 and US 160, generally, across the southern tier of the state.

From there, I'm hoping to get a bunch of counties in both states along the Kansas/Oklahoma border, and could stay two to three hours out of Wichita on Friday night, and then drive in Saturday morning. I'm already 100 percent sure I'm staying in Lawrence on Saturday night.

At this point I don't know if I can take a leisurely drive back home on Sunday and try to grab a few more counties in KS or MO, or if I will need to make a power run home.

[corco]

I'm probably going to stay in Joplin on Friday night and drive in in the morning using 400->75->54->K-254 (so I can finish my clinch of US 400). If I leave at the crack of dawn I should make Wichita before 10- meets usually start at what? 11? If the meet starts before then I can potentially adjust.

Saturday night I want to make it to at least Hutchinson before sunset, possibly (but less likely) as far as Dodge City before sunset, since I need to get as far as possible on Sunday (using US 56->NM 58->US 285->US 24->the I-70 corridor in Colorado)- I'm planning on Leadville but if I could make it to Glenwood Springs or even Grand Junction that'd be amazing, since I need to get back to Montana on Monday and would like to have time to not have to take I-15 all the way through Salt Lake for the fifth time in the last six months.

Right now I've got the time off and am planning on:
Wed night- Gordon, NE via I-90, US 212, SD 79, US 20
Thurs night- Keokuk, IA via US 20,  US 275, US 136
Fri night- Joplin MO via US 136, IL 96, IL 100, US 67, IL 111, IL 255, I-255, I-270, MO 21, MO 32, MO 39, US 60, I-44
Sat night- Wichita/Hutchinson/Dodge City depending on sunlight via MO 66, K-66, K-26, US 400, US 75, US 54, K-254
Sun night- Leadville/Glenwood Spgs/Grand Jct depending on how far I make it Saturday via K-96, US 50, US 56, I-25, NM 58, US 285, US 24
Mon night- home via US 24, US 6, I-15, US 189, UT 114, US 89, UT 145, UT 68, US 89, UT 93, I-15, I-90

This'll be my first trek east of the Mississippi on a roadgeeking excursion and I'll pick up my 1000th county along the way. I think I'm shooting for 51 new counties, but since I rarely get that far east where counties are small, it's like shooting fish in a barrel for me.  I'll get to eat at In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake on the same trip, so that's a neat kind of thing.

Elkins- I don't know where you're planning on staying in Lawrence but I know from experience that the Motel 6 is awful- stayed there 2 nights in 2010 with a group for a geography conference at KU (we had about 4 rooms) and all rooms were dirty, linens in horrible perma-stained condition (I have fairly low standards).

[agentsteel53]

I'm surprised that people have their routes planned so far in advance.  I tend to never do that; just get a general guidance for which areas I want to go to, old signs I want to check out, counties to clinch, etc... and then the exact route is determined at most a few hours in advance, and sometimes at the spur of the moment. 

"let's take US-67 for a little while", "this sectional road looks like it could be the old alignment of US-81", "ya know, if we head north on K-25 we can catch up to that thunderstorm", etc.

[US71]

I'm surprised that people have their routes planned so far in advance.  I tend to never do that; just get a general guidance for which areas I want to go to, old signs I want to check out, counties to clinch, etc... and then the exact route is determined at most a few hours in advance, and sometimes at the spur of the moment. 

"let's take US-67 for a little while", "this sectional road looks like it could be the old alignment of US-81", "ya know, if we head north on K-25 we can catch up to that thunderstorm", etc.

On my trip to Kansas City a couple weeks ago, I had my route up planned, but allowed for detours (old alignments, etc). My route home was thrown into disarray due to bad weather, so I improvised.

[corco]

I'm surprised that people have their routes planned so far in advance.  I tend to never do that; just get a general guidance for which areas I want to go to, old signs I want to check out, counties to clinch, etc... and then the exact route is determined at most a few hours in advance, and sometimes at the spur of the moment. 

This is actually more flexible than I usually am initially.

That said, over a trip this long I'd bet a decent amount of money there will be a substantial on-the-fly routing change at some point mid-trip. There pretty much always is, either due to unforseen issues (US 90 is closed in south Texas due to forest fire!), something non-road related that's more interesting happening that causes me to take a shorter route, traffic/driving speed being faster/slower than I anticipated, or something. I plan the route to the minute and try to stick with that, but what I feel like doing mid-trip is often a lot different than what I feel like doing while looking at maps from the comfort of my own home. This gives me a guide as to how many miles I can go in a day/need to cover to get to the destinations on time (keep in mind I try really, really hard not to be in new territory after sundown, which puts substantial limitations on routing), allows me to at least research in depth the "default" route, and gets me prepped for the trip.

[US71]

Should be easy.  Those attending:  what are your top three picks for cuisine or type of restaurant?

BBQ, Gourmet Burgers (NOT 5 Guys), steak, chicken.

Mexican and Chinese make me ill, unfortunately.

What about Pizza (noting US 71's .sig)

If you can find a local place that's decent, go for it

But no Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, etc.

[apeman33]

I'm hoping that I can get to the meet in time for lunch since I'll probably have to work until midnight the night before. I'm seriously considering leaving work right after and then going as far as I can get and spending the night somewhere. That would be easier for me than getting out of Pittsburg on short rest. I like the date, but other circumstances make this a wait-and-see for me.

[WichitaRoads]

I just stumbled upon the thread... der....

I can maybe meet up for lunch, but I don't think I can do a whole lot else. If we make lunch at around 11:30- 12 ish, I'm in.

Auntie Mae's has good grub, but I'll defer to the honorable old-timers.

ICTRds

[US71]

I just stumbled upon the thread... der....

I can maybe meet up for lunch, but I don't think I can do a whole lot else. If we make lunch at around 11:30- 12 ish, I'm in.

Auntie Mae's has good grub, but I'll defer to the honorable old-timers.

ICTRds

Hey Richie: he called you old! 

[WichitaRoads]

I just stumbled upon the thread... der....

I can maybe meet up for lunch, but I don't think I can do a whole lot else. If we make lunch at around 11:30- 12 ish, I'm in.

Auntie Mae's has good grub, but I'll defer to the honorable old-timers.

ICTRds

Hey Richie: he called you old! 

Highly esteemed? Seasoned? I know I'm older than a lot of posters, but still in the newbie-ish category. LOL

ICTRds

[route56]

[makes unintelligible noises, à la Gene Rayburn's "Old Man Periwinkle" on the classic Match Game]

Auntie Mae's has a website with the menu: www.auntiemaescafe.com

I'll leave it to feedback from the rest of the crowd. If it sound's OK, we'll go with it. If not, we'll think of something else

[US71]

Auntie Mae's has a website with the menu: www.auntiemaescafe.com

It's a possibility.

[okroads]

At this time, I am planning on driving up Saturday morning, and then possibly heading west to Dodge City Saturday night. That way, I could collect a few counties in west Kansas and then 3 counties in the Texas Panhandle on my way back to OKC.

[corco]

Heh, my outbound route already just changed a lot- I'm going to go to Laramie to see some friends on Sunday night which lessens the total outbound trip mileage considerably, meaning I'm under no time constraints that afternoon. I'll probably still shoot for Hutchinson, maybe Great Bend, but no need or desire to go further than that.

[US71]

Heh, my outbound route already just changed a lot- I'm going to go to Laramie to see some friends on Sunday night which lessens the total outbound trip mileage considerably, meaning I'm under no time constraints that afternoon. I'll probably still shoot for Hutchinson, maybe Great Bend, but no need or desire to go further than that.

If it's not on the agenda, there are a couple abandoned railroad bridges just west of Newton, if you're into that kind of thing

[kphoger]

My usual work schedule has me working until 2:00 on Saturdays, but I could try to have someone come in a little early for me that day.  If anyone is staying in Wichita that evening and would like something to do, a bunch of us from church are going over to a friend's house for a game night–a local bridge engineer who is planning on attending the meet, believe it or not.  I'm not sure what the games are going to be, but his family lives on the west side of town.  It starts at 6:00, and y'all would be welcome to come.

Of course, I could always skip the lunch and meet up with you guys for the actual driving around.  I'm not familiar with Auntie Mae's, and neither are the coworkers in the office right now, so I can't speak to its quality.  As far as pizza goes, we usually "take and bake" Papa Murphy's, or we get it from a joint right down the street (Po' Boy) that has excellent pizza but not the greatest atmosphere to eat in.  The place mentioned by J N Winkler is probably the one in town to be worth going to for pizza.

[kphoger]

I-235/13th Street flyover

My engineer friend suggests that climbing the levee would probably be best.

[US71]

I-235/13th Street flyover

My engineer friend suggests that climbing the levee would probably be best.

In a Chevy? 

[hbelkins]

Checking my county-collecting route, looks like I may be southwest of Wichita in Alva, Oklahoma, on Friday night. Is there anything there? I see it's a college town.

Hope to see an itinerary and timetable soon.

[J N Winkler]

I-235/13th Street flyover

My engineer friend suggests that climbing the levee would probably be best.

I carried out some reconnaissance last week (as promised) and here is what I have found:

*  East of I-235, the construction site is accessible both from the south (via Hoover Road) and east (via 13th Street).  Hoover has already been relocated to the east, on right-of-way purchased from Berean Baptist Church, and the oxbow length of abandoned alignment is being used for access to the abutment for the northbound-to-westbound flyover bridge.  I think the intention is later to pave Hoover and 13th, since the grade of the relocation is currently slightly below the top of the pavement of the intersecting roads.  Both streets are closed to public vehicular traffic but are walkable (expect a thick coating of dust on your shoes).

*  The construction site is also accessible through the Sandpiper Bay subdivision on the west side of I-235.  (This HOA-controlled townhouse development went up around 1985, a few years after Clean Water Act requirements for stormwater storage kicked in around 1980.  "Sandpiper Bay" is thus a stormwater storage pond.)  Lakewind Street and Bayshore Drive form a closed loop around the pond, and overlap the construction site at the north end.  The overlapping length is now closed and plans call for it to be realigned to keep it clear of the eastbound-to-southbound flyover bridge.  The most convenient access from the south is via Lakewind Street, east of the pond; it is possible to park just outside the barricade and make a short hike to the top of the east levee, which gives a good view of the total project.  Unfortunately, at present the levee is covered all over with a type of weed that drops barbed seeds wherever it comes into contact with clothing and shoes.  I don't know if these seeds will be gone in a month.  (As an aside, I think Lakewind Street and Bayshore Drive are both technically private streets, and Sandpiper Bay in general has a marked police-state vibe with lots of signs saying "Private" this and "Private" that, but I don't think a group coming on a weekend midafternoon and staying briefly would attract attention.)

Do others who have looked at active construction projects as part of road enthusiast meets have any opinions as to whether these nuisances (dust, seeds, etc.) qualify as show-stoppers?

[US71]

Checking my county-collecting route, looks like I may be southwest of Wichita in Alva, Oklahoma, on Friday night. Is there anything there? I see it's a college town.

Hope to see an itinerary and timetable soon.

Appears to be a pony truss north of town on 281 (or was in 2009). Also a concrete "fence rail" as Bugo calls them.

[Scott5114]

Checking my county-collecting route, looks like I may be southwest of Wichita in Alva, Oklahoma, on Friday night. Is there anything there?

There is absolutely nothing in Alva, nor in much of northwest Oklahoma aside from Woodward, for that matter. Now, as for roadgeeking things...maybe. I would advise using Google Maps to suss out possible old alignments if you're into those. If you're into bridges http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/ might help you find something worth detouring for.

As for the meet, I would love to go, since Wichita is close to home but yet I haven't ever really explored it, but as luck would have it I'll be in Kansas City, KS the following week, which will deplete my vacation time. Hopefully there will be a sequel at some point!

[hbelkins]

There is absolutely nothing in Alva, nor in much of northwest Oklahoma aside from Woodward, for that matter.

I was thinking more along the lines of a decent motel/hotel and a few places to eat. I would probably try to find a route through Barber, Harper, Kingman and maybe Pratt counties to get from there to Wichita on Saturday morning.

Plans now are to enter Kansas on US 160, go south on US 69 to US 166, then take it all the way to its terminus, dropping into Wowata and Washington counties in Oklahoma on the way. Then I'd dip south into OK after I clinched 166 and go west through Kay, Grant, Alfalfa and Woods counties.

[US71]

There is absolutely nothing in Alva, nor in much of northwest Oklahoma aside from Woodward, for that matter.

I was thinking more along the lines of a decent motel/hotel and a few places to eat. I would probably try to find a route through Barber, Harper, Kingman and maybe Pratt counties to get from there to Wichita on Saturday morning.

Have you checked TripAdvisor?