Well, we're fast approaching the end of 2015, and I was wondering where everyone on the forum has been this year. (Last year's thread can be found here. (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14310.0))
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As for me, it has been a pretty busy year, travel wise (counties in brown are the ones I've visited this year), with three 1000+ mile trips. Going off to college also had a big effect on my total mileage, as I've done the Blacksburg / Hampton Roads trip 9 times since July (4 round trips plus Winter Break). Aside for some day trips to Richmond and DC, my first major trip came in April, a bus ride out to St. Louis, MO for a convention. After that it slowed down until late June, where I drove down to Port St. Joe, FL for a family vacation, taking US-58, US-29, I-85, I-485, I-77, I-20, a bunch of other minor routes through south-central Georgia, and FL-71 on the way down, and US-319, I-75, the Fall Line Freeway, I-20, US-1, and I-85 on the way back, for over 1800 miles round trip. In August, I went on a camping trip in and around the Canaan Valley in WV, and also went down to Atlanta for a few days. In November, I went down to Savannah for Thanksgiving with my family, using traffic as an excuse to clinch a bunch of counties in central SC. I took a few day trips this past December to clinch a bunch of counties in SW Virginia and NE Tennessee.
Trip Log (All trips over 100 miles)
- March / April: Newport News to College Park, MD for a convention.
- April: NN to St. Louis via bus for another convention.
- June: NN to Columbia, SC to Port St. Joe, FL for a family vacation, with a side trip to Tallahassee.
- July: NN to Blacksburg #1 and #2
- August, NN to Davis, WV, with side trip to Weston, WV
- August: NN to Atlanta
- August: NN to Blacksburg #3
- October: Blacksburg to NN #3 and #4 (Fall Break)(
- October: Corridor B & Q day trip to Pikeville Kentucky (US-460 to Pikeville, KY, then US-23, US-58-ALT, and I-81 back to Blacksburg.
- November: Blacksburg to NN # 5 and #6
- November: Blacksburg to NN #7 and 8 (via US-58 and VA-8) NN to Savannah for Thanksgiving.
- December: Car battery-recharging US-58 day trip through Martinsville and Galax, via I-81, US-220, US-58, US-21, VA-42, VA-100, and US-460.
- December: Cumberland Gap day trip, via I-81, US-23, US-58 and US-25E to Middlesboro, KY; Then US-25E, US-11W, US-23, VA-71, US-19 and US-460 back.
- December: Blacksburg to NN #9 (Winter Break)
New Routes Clinched: I-16, I-26, I-495, I-520, I-485, I-440, I-581, Future I-785
New Segments Clinched: US-319 (FL), I-81(VA), US-460(VA, WV), US-58 (TN), US-48(VA)
My big road trips this year were to and from the Denver road meet (via Idaho and New Orleans), and the Extra Miler Club meet in Wal-Mart-land in northwestern Arkansas (via Canada's Northwest Territories, with intense county-snagging in Canada's prairie provinces). Other major road trips included my usual winter trip to south Florida (this time via Pensacola), and to froggie's northern Vermont meet (with quick side trips to Quebec and Prince Edward Island).
The Denver meet trip clinched US 24, US 40, and US 91 on the way out, and US 11 on the way back. Other trips took care of US 29, US 60, US 117, US 119, US 48 (again -- this one's a real moving target), and all the regular and bannered US routes in Virginia.
Just this year, I've been to all the states except AK, HI, WA. OR, CA, AZ, NM, and RI, and all of Canada's provinces except BC, NS, and NL.
I didn't get to go on as many as I would've liked too, but I am not disappointed.
Trip Log (Over 100 mi):
Trip 1: Danbury, CT-Waynesboro, VA and back, via Scranton and Hagerstown, MD.
Trip 2: Danbury-State College, PA and back, for a weather camp over the summer
Trip 3: Danbury-Seymour/Ava, MO and back via Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Springfield, MO, Indy, Columbus, Kane, and Smethport, PA.
Two "vacations" for me this year:
July 9th: Silver Spring, MD, Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD trip
October 10th: Doswell, VA and Richmond, VA trip
I'm planning trips to both Pittsburgh and Boston for 2016, along with more southern states, including a long-needed return to my hometown of Orlando.
I had my weakest year county-wise in a while. I don't think I'll even clear 200 this year. http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/corco.gif
My primary focus this year has been clinching- the big trip was back in May, where I combined the Denver meet with clinching the Delaware highway system. I then made several clinching trips in Montana - I'm well over 75% of the way done with the state highway system here now (including all the secondaries), so should finish that up next year.
I had three other trips - one following a conference in Seattle, where I clinched OR 99E and 99W, then five days where I drove up to Vancouver and saw a lot of interior British Columbia, then a trip in February to scout the Denver meet and also head down to Amarillo and New Mexico to get some new counties.
Next year will probably be similarly light on quantity, but as high as ever on quality. I'm going to spend three weeks in the Balkans in April & May, plan on finishing the Montana system, and will probably head back east for an as-yet-undetermined roadmeet next fall.
I took only one trip this year, my trip from Chicago to Florida to visit my grandmother, and also to collect as many states as I could along the way. It was a fairly long trip, about 4,000 miles when all was said and done, but not too expensive thanks to low gas prices. My favorite part, transportation-wise, was the ferry I took across Mobile Bay in Alabama, but I thought there were stunning views throughout, since unlike many here, I like flat landscapes as well as mountains. Along the way, I clinched I-57 and I-4 (to the envy of many, I'm sure). I also drove upon 6 new interstates, which completed my goal of driving on all of the major interstates, so that was nice.
Here is my route:
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Next year, I hope to take my trip to the Northwest, thus closing out my travels through the Lower 48. I plan essentially to take 94 out and 90 back, but I'm not sure of the details at all just yet.
All my trips were all to DC, using the same route everytime.
This is the first of what will likely be a long string of insignificant road trips for me.
No road meets this year, for the first time in 10 or 11 years, and no discretionary travel to speak of. That's what happens when it becomes a struggle just to pay the essential bills and keep food on the table and in the pet food bins (I currently have no home phone or personal cell phone; you have to sacrifice some things when you have more expenses than income.)
I did drive up to Pike County to check out the newly-opened segment of Future US 460, and stretched that trip out to include a run up US 119 and US 52 to Huntington. I did some exploring in north-central Kentucky after an eye doctor appointment last month. And just today, I did some traveling in south-central and southeastern Kentucky after having to go to Wayne County, Ky. on personal business.
When you only have the means to pay for gas for essential travel, such as to and from work, giving up pleasure travel becomes a necessity. Thank God that gas prices are so low, otherwise I would probably have to sleep at the office a couple of nights a week.
I have had occasion to travel for work, and used a trip to Elizabethtown to clinch a couple of Kentucky state routes because it was justifiable mileage-wise. And I drove to Annapolis, Md., for a conference, which was by far my longest trip of the year but only involved a very small amount of untraveled territory (the new portion of US 48 and a segment of MD 32; plus thanks to CPZ I got to clinch I-395 and the new portion of the ICC).
Unless a substantial sum of money falls in my lap, 2016 is going to be just as bleak as was 2015. I had a good run for a few years, but as of now it appears my days of attending meets, clinching routes and collecting counties are permanently over. X-(
Major one this year was a vacation to New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. My wife had a convention to attend in Albuquerque and she has a brother in Phoenix, so I joined her for the trip and we made a ten-day vacation out of it. Flew out to ABQ, rented an SUV, and drove a bit over a thousand miles through northwest New Mexico, Four Corners, southeast Utah (Moki Dugway!), and Arizona. (For the precise types, we crossed through far southwest Colorado too.)
I have not plotted out a Google Map because I have Lite mode enabled on my PC and it appears to balk at a multi-point itinerary and I haven't had time on a recent weekend to figure out how to overcome that.
lets see, there was Long Island to:
Feb - Nashua NH
Mar - Springfield MA (this was an interesting trip, I was watching my friend get gender reassignment surgery)
Apr - Lancaster PA
May - Nashua NH
Jun - Delmar DE
Aug - Kittery ME and Somersworth NH and back to Nashua
Nov - Delmar DE
In order. All trips start and end in Terre Haute, IN. These are the basic details of my major trips. (I might add a map link later when I have more time.) So I made it to both Canada and Mexico this year, both for the first time ever. It was a very successful year for me in the road trips category.
1) Drove north to Sault Ste. Marie. Drove all the way east to Ottawa (entered Quebec near Pembroke, ON). Drove southwest to Toronto and eventually Niagara Falls. Drove as far south as Washington D.C. Returned home. Side Note: Drove on US 40 from Hagerstown, MD, to Columbus, OH. (~2600 miles in June)
2) Drove to Madison, WI, via Milwaukee. (~700 miles in July)
3) Drove as far west as Springerville, AZ. Drove southwest through El Paso all the way to the Big Bend Nat'l Park. Crossed into Mexico at Boquillas (walking). Drove through San Antonio and Houston as far east as Lake Charles, LA. Drove northeast through Louisiana, Arkansas, MS, TN, and KY on my way home. (~4000 miles in November).
Did two of them, and both times ended up in Wichita.
One was a quick week in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas all because my boss would not give me the weekend off. Plus the airline being late in arriving in Houston for me to connect to my flight to Wichita ruined a good part of day one where I could have covered all of US 400 east of Wichita, I-44 from Joplin to OKC and then I-35 to Fort Worth in time for sunset so I could get all traveling done in daylight for pictures.
I ended up in Wichita six hours later and had to head directly to Fort Worth not being able to cover US 400 or side track to Joplin. However the sun went down just north of OKC so I never got I-35 from there to Denton, and I-35W from Denton to Fort Worth photographed for lack of light. I did make up for it but needed to spend another night in Tulsa instead as when I side tracked the very next day to Joplin it took me to nightfall just to reach Tulsa via US 75, and US 69 along with the Indian Nation Turnpike after spending all morning in the Metroplex and being tied up on a long jam on US 75 through Plano.
I ended up getting to Wichita a day later on the third day instead of the previous day thanks to the airports! Nonetheless, I got everything covered though.
Just last month I reconnected with my friend who lives in Wichita and we both met there and traveled to a conference in Vandalia, IL. So I went back, met him in Wichita, and we both drove from there to Illinois. I got to cover the Wichita area again and take pics of those I missed the first time there like clinching K-96 and the rest of I-135 I did not get to do in July.
I would have loved to clinch I-44 as I was with a non road geek, who insisted that we return to Wichita the same route going which was I-70 and I-35. I wanted to return via I-44 and US 400 and because he wanted to get back to his dog he left with the neighbors, he would not extend our 500 mile journey another day where as I had to travel I-70 W Bound in Missouri and I-35 S Bound in Kansas at night anyway.
I am one for traveling roads at daytime for pictures. Even though night driving is cool, for road geeking it is not so cool!
My 2015 state count is at 12 plus Washington DC. All trips started from New Britain, CT. The exception is with Amtrak southbound. In that case, the trip would've started at their Berlin, CT station:
Portland, ME - January 1, June 12-13 (walked into Westbrook), July 13-15, September 14-16, November 13-14, December 3-4
Brattleboro, VT - August 5-6, 20-21, 27-28 (walked into either Hinsdale or Chesterfield, NH on all 3 overnight trips)
Holyoke, MA - April 8, June 1 [both via CT Fastrak from New Britain to Hartford, then Amtrak to Springfield, MA, then PVTA city bus to Ingleside Mall]
Boston - May 4, September 22 (Fenway Park with a friend driving to MBTA Newton Riverside), November 5
Providence, RI - March 19 (via Boston)
New York City - April 15
Philadelphia - February 6 (Amtrak to/bus back), April 28 (Amtrak to/bus back), November 27-28 (round trip bus)
Arlington, VA - May 29-30 (Amtrak to DC, Metro to Rosslyn/Arlington...also walked over Key Bridge into Georgetown/DC...bus back)
Quote from: roadman65 on December 13, 2015, 11:14:27 PM
I am one for traveling roads at daytime for pictures. Even though night driving is cool, for road geeking it is not so cool!
I really like driving at night through big cities. In rural areas I don't enjoy it that much. For starters you can't see as good and you really have to watch for deer. I almost hit one on OK 66 at around 9 P.M. between Tulsa and OKC. I was shunpiking as usual. Night driving is even worse when it is raining. As you can tell I'm not real big on night driving.
If you ever go to Canada my advice for night driving is don't, especially if it is raining. The lines are not reflective at all and are barely visible at night when its dry. When it's raining you cannot see any lines period. Canada doesn't put reflectors in on their roads either. I would even stay off the freeways in big cities at night. It's that hard to see the dashed lines that divide the lanes.
Funny story: My first mistake was entering Canada at 10 P.M. and expecting to find a cheap hotel in the next town over. The second mistake was thinking that the roads would be equal (as reflective) as the ones in the US. I felt like I was in a 3rd world country. The next town over is the funniest part. Towns are few and far between (a good 40 miles it felt like) in northern Ontario. Most are too small to have a hotel of any kind. Towns in those parts are a booming metropolis if they have a bank, gas station, and some kind of store. There is literally nothing but trees and forests. I ended up sleeping in a strip mall (3 or 4 businesses) gravel lot in some little town. My first night in Canada was sleeping in my car on a rainy night.
Small county-clinching year for me as well, but the one major trip I took was worth it: From my home in the Capital District down to the Outer Banks, across NC and through Cumberland Gap and back home.
Outer Banks included a trip down NC 12 from Kitty Hawk down across the ferry to Ocracoke and then across the ferry to Cedar Island (we also visited Portsmouth Island). Got some photos of the southern end of NC 12 and eastern end of US 70 in Atlantic. Spent a night in a cabin at Great Island on Cape Lookout.
Drove down to Wilmington just to walk the Riverwalk and see the USS North Carolina. Clinched I-140 as it was this summer, anyway.
Clinched I-485 around Charlotte, too.
Finally completed clinching all the counties in VA on our way to Cumberland Gap.
Anyway, 39 counties added in 2015, bringing my total to 1,606.
I've spent the last month running around the state to each of the NYSDOT Regions (except Region 6) on "business" (i.e., useless meetings), but I don't count that mind-numbing crap. Equating "road trip" with "drudgery" is something I'm just not willing to do.
2016 may be better for me, county-wise. Probably will be headed out to Utah to visit the in-laws again and I'm hoping to revisit Rocky Mountain NP, Dinosaur NM and Arches NP. Hoping to also hit Great Sand Dunes NP&P for the first time.
I also want to do a simple three-day trip to mop up some swiss cheese holes in my map in MI, IN, IL and KY.
Of course, if this winter does the same number on my house as last winter did, my plans will be changed as my funds are diverted to repairs. :/
My big road trips for the year were as follows:
Apr 17-19: Delavan, WI in order to attend the Madison road meet. Most of the territory wasn't really new to me, but seeing what had changed since I last visited the area in 2011 was interesting.
Jul 23-27: Chelsea FC had a preseason stop in Charlotte, NC, and I was fortunate to attend. On the way down, I stayed in Parkersburg, WV, and stuck to I-77 to get to Charlotte, and on the way back, I took a more leisurely route to a stay in Lexington, KY, allowing my to clinch US 421 in Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. This by far was the longest road trip this year.
Sep 3-7: The UP roadmeet trip. I stayed in Deerfield, IL, the night before so I could clinch I-41 on the Friday morning. I also was able to finish US 41 in Michigan, and of course the meet was a blast.
Nov 6-8: I joined a few of the Chicago Blues on a weekend trip to Des Moines. I got to get into Iowa quite a bit farther than before and stayed at a Hampton downtown which was close to the pub where we watched the match. I also got to take my first Uber ride as part of the post-match frivolities.
Nov 27-29: My mother and I ventured out to the Wilkes-Barre, PA, area after our original plan to spend Thanksgivng with her youngest sister fell through. While Mom visited and shopped with her friend who moved to the area nine years ago, I drove up and explored Scranton for a little while. We mostly took US 6 on the way back, diverting at US 62 so I could finish that route in Pennsylvania and clinch Forest County which I might not otherwise visit.
In addition, I did some brief trips to Chicago and an impromptu Presidents Day trip up to Petoskey, but those are relatively minor in comparison to the ones above.
I drove US-24 end-to-end in April. I live within an hour of the north/east terminus near Waterford MI; that made for an easy start for the venture. Other than a visit to Pike's Peak west of Colorado Springs (we couldn't go all the way up), we made no tourist stops -- this trip was strictly for the drive.
I didn't have too bad of a year for road trips this year, though I didn't do quite as much this year as I have done in previous years:
In May, I spent a long weekend driving out through Quebec and into New Brunswick
In August, I spent four days and drove around Lake Superior, which is the first time I had ever been to Minnesota.
In October, I went on an aborted trip to Kansas City where I ended up going down to Nashville for the night
In November I flew to Texas and spent a few days down there, enjoying the warmer weather. I also went up to Oklahoma City for a night, which is the first time I had ever been to that state either.
This is in addition to a variety of more local trips where I stayed in Ontario. I have been to Ottawa, Sudbury, North Bay and up as far as New Liskeard this year as well.
I had a pretty consistent year riding around. No new national clinches that weren't re-clinches (US 48, 221, 521) and picked up only 19 US Counties, along with 5 in Canada.
Jan - trip to Charleston then round trips from there to Melbourne FL; separately to Tallahassee, FL; separately to Columbia SC
Feb - NC route clinching trip to south-central NC east of Charlotte
Apr - NC/SC route clinching trip to finish all mainline US route mileage in SC
May - PA route clinching trip
Jun - trip to Toronto (still no ETR407 bill)
Jul - trip to Columbus OH/Indianapolis/suburban St. Louis (picked up US 40 from Cambridge OH to St Louis and US 50 from St Louis to Athens OH)
Aug - Oneonta NY BBQ chicken run
Sep - NJ route clinching trip north-central NJ
Oct - PA route clinching trip, northern tier
Nov - trip to Charleston (no new mileage at all)
Dec - trip to Blacksburg, VA (no new mileage at all)
Mike
As always, I had a few trips to Rochester and Canandaigua Lake for family gatherings. Also a few work trips for pavement sufficiency, HPMS, the rail inventory, and conferences in Kingston and Saratoga Springs (NYSAMPO Bike/Ped Working Group and the Highway Data Services Conference). Also a roadgeek's 40th birthday party in Ilion.
As for other things:
-Baltimore Roadmeet
-Scranton Roadmeet
-Clinching trip focusing on western MA and I-91 from the CT line to VT 9
-Utica/Rome Roadmeet
-Lyndon, VT Mini-meet (including an unplanned clinch of all of VT's interstate mileage and counties)
-Clinching trip focusing on US 7 between Rutland and Pittsfield, MA and related routes, including Mt. Equinox Skyline Drive
-Buffalo/Niagara Falls Mini-meet
-Clinching trip focusing on NY 80 and NY 13 and the routes in between there and US 20
-Clinching trip out of Rochester focusing on southeastern Livingston county
-Clinching trip finishing up the "hole" in VT northwest of Bennington to VT 4A
-Long Island Roadmeet (including clinch of NY's interstates and counties, and a trip out to Montauk Point)
-Clinching trip out of Rochester focusing on western Livingston county
Big year for meets. Not so big year for furthering my goal of clinching every NY touring route (plus an assortment of parkways and other things), though that was partly intentional; had some stuff in VT and MA I wanted to grab, and I was able to clinch Region 2 in one trip since I was mostly done anyways.
Quote from: mariethefoxy on December 13, 2015, 10:07:32 PM
Mar - Springfield MA (this was an interesting trip, I was watching my friend get gender reassignment surgery)
One can do that in Springfield? Wasn't aware of that.
I had a few (all were started from the east side of Cincinnati)
April - Brevard NC; London KY
May - Chattanooga TN (plus Northwest GA & Northeast AL); Georgetown KY
June - Frankfort and Louisville KY; Hatteras NC
July - Wheeling WV (plus extreme Western PA)
August - Nashville TN (business)
September - Elizabethtown KY
October - Nashville TN (business)
Quote from: rawmustard on December 14, 2015, 10:05:05 AMclinch US 421 in Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky.
The Virginia portion of 421 is, for the most part, a pleasant and interesting drive. I'm not a fan of the section between Bristol and Gate City. In general, if I'm going to Bristol, I either take Alternate US 58 to Abingdon or US 23 to Kingsport.
Most of 421 in Kentucky is pure torture. Harlan to Manchester is awful. Manchester to Kingston isn't a lot better except for the rebuilt route at Bighill. And Frankfort to New Castle is agonizing.
But most of those segments are like the route approaching Harlan compared to Mountain City to Bristol in Tennessee.
This year broke a four year streak of trips to Canada for me. I did not leave the US in 2015. I certainly did plenty within the US, though:
- Cross country trip number 2 (number 1 was in 2012), featured attendance of the Denver Road Meet and got me seven new states (NE, SD, WY, OR, ID, WA, MT, ND, MN) which means I have now been to all of the lower 48. Also featured a clinch of the western US 2, which is now the longest US highway I have clinched in entirety thus far.
- Missouri baseball trip (KC and STL), got me a bunch of new counties in IN, IL, IA, NE, MO, and KY along with a few in KS and OH. Of fun note is that I went from never having been to Nebraska to having visited it on two separate road trips within the same year. Welp!
- Clinched the entire state highway system for New Jersey, so I have now done that for two states (I achieved this for Connecticut last year)
- Added a fair amount of mileage in New York as well. Did not finish off any more regions although I did finish off one more county (Greene). Best part is I got to add a bunch of this mileage while traveling for work.
Travelled on many routes. Didn't go into the US this year. Hopefully soon (I want to clinch MB 75 to the border, then onto I-29 and US 81 but have to renew my passport).
Central Manitoba - July
*Clinched MB 9
Western Canada Trip - August
*Clinched MB 16, SK 1, AB 1, AB 5
-Saw the Rockies, as well as some road projects along the way.
-Travelled almost 4000 km (2500 mi), mostly along different roads.
I have covered over half the Trans Canada now (still gotta clear a massive gap in BC). Next is Ontario, and east of Quebec city.
Western Ontario Mini Trip - August
*Clinched MB 1
-Travelled to Kenora; got to see Northwestern Ontario
I have covered ON 17 from the MB border to Kenora, and from Sault Ste Marie to its eastern terminus, plus its freeway brother ON 417 to the QC border. Just 1190 km (740 mi) to go on that one (it's a long highway) :)
I have two major entries for this year.
The first was May 28 to June 5, including the Denver roadmeet on 5/30. I left the Twin Cities and drove through South Dakota on my way to Denver. Then after the meet I drove west through Colorado, did a loop through eastern Utah returning to Colorado via Cortez and Durango, then the highlight (besides the meet) of driving US 550 over the San Juan Mountains. I drove through Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota on the way home. I also finally clinched Minnesota's Interstate mileage on this trip, getting the rest of I-90 west of MN 4 and the single mile of I-94 I was missing in Moorhead.
The second was October 9 to November 1 (yes, that long). I spent a week-plus in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before continuing south to Laredo to clinch I-35, a goal of mine ever since I became a roadgeek. Before this trip I was missing most of the route in Texas but had it clinched everywhere else. After clinching 35 I then drove to New Orleans so I could then drive US 61 from New Orleans to Grand Portage, MN and spend a few days in Duluth and on Lake Superior where I feel my home is. I had never clinched a US route before clinching 61, and 35 is now by far the most significant Interstate I have clinched to this point.
There were a couple weekend getaways, such as going to SSO's Madison meet in April and then the Upper Peninsula meet over Labor Day weekend. All in all this year was absolutely fabulous and unlikely to be equaled anytime soon.
This was a relatively tame year for road tripping, for me. The One Big Road Trip never really materialized, only a Pittsburgh --> Indianapolis --> Louisville --> Cincinnati --> Pittsburgh round trip over Labor Day weekend. I did manage to continue my habit of taking unnecessarily long routes to and from intermediate destinations (Pittsburgh to DC via Johnstown and Morrisons Cove, DC to Pittsburgh via U.S. 50 and WV 28, returning home from Allentown via the heart of the Coal Region), and towards the end of the year I also upped my impromptu day trip game which is something I will look to continue into the new year. Only 15 new counties per mob-rule (though if the weather holds I will try to knock off a few counties in Ohio one of the days after Christmas), so overall not a particularly expansive year.
Quote from: vdeane on December 14, 2015, 01:03:36 PM
One can do that in Springfield? Wasn't aware of that.
Yes, but that surgeon does not do bottom surgery, only the top (chest) surgery for transgender males to have their chests reconstructed to look masculine (i.e. remove breasts)
My only overnight trip was to go to the Utica/Rome Road Meet back in May. I carpooled with Patrick, and we took a really cool route back. We took I-90 west to Syracuse; then I-81 and I-476 south through the Appalachian Mountains, including through the Lehigh Tunnel, to the suburbs of Philadelphia; out I-276 to where they're building the new I-276/I-95 interchange in Bristol, PA; and then up US 1 to Hamilton, NJ, where I got on a train to return to NYC. I also had a batch of major day trips, including:
* NYC to Cape May to attend the Cape May Mini-Meet, clinching NJ 35 on the way back
* NYC to Scranton via Beacon, NY
* NY/NJ/PA triple point going via NJ 15 and returning via CR 521, CR 519, and NJ 29
* Two clinchathons with Anthony to cover a lot of South Jersey
Along the way, I got Hunterdon and Cumberland counties, the two that I was missing for NJ, so I've now clinched all 21 counties in the state. I'm also going on a Central Jersey loop tomorrow that will cover parts of the Delaware River Valley and the Jersey Shore.
I've done a lot of roadtrips this year. I'm listing those overnight trips. From Huesca, Spain:
Mid April: Forests of Northwestern Soria province. I got a section of A-15 on the way back, it would have been difficult for me to get it otherwise.
Early August: Bordeaux, France. The only one I didn't drove but instead I was the GPS (:sombrero:), I clinched some additional French autoroute mileage. This was the second Northernmost point I've ever reached.
Late October: Rioja. Once again, I got to clinch a hard-to-get-for-me-due-to-being-transversal-as-I-see-it route, N-111 between Soria and Logroño.
Mid November: Teruel province. I'm sure the province exists, but it's not the same with the town.
My longest trip was AR 530 from Pine Bluff to Star City, then US 425 and 165 to Monroe, coming home via US 80 and US 79. Was supposed to be two nights on the road, but turned into three.
I just did a show in Kansas City a week ago and came home via MO 7 and 13 to Springfield, then old 66 to Joplin. I managed to locate most of old 13 south of Clinton.
Also drove US 69 from Lumberton, TX to Eufaula, OK (couple old sections I want to to back and find)
Also drove US 62 to Salem, AR then US 63 &60 to Springfield
Those were my long trips. I've done several short trips around Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Only one big trip this year, in October. Went back to RI with a side trip to Danbury, CT, which got me all counties in Connecticut (just BARELY got Tolland on the outbound leg). I also gained new mileage for I-84 and I-91 in CT along with I-90 in MA, plus finished a clinch of 95 in RI on the drive to Boston Logan (I flew there, connections via DCA both ways).
Quote from: US 41 on December 14, 2015, 12:14:40 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 13, 2015, 11:14:27 PM
I am one for traveling roads at daytime for pictures. Even though night driving is cool, for road geeking it is not so cool!
If you ever go to Canada my advice for night driving is don't, especially if it is raining. The lines are not reflective at all and are barely visible at night when its dry. When it's raining you cannot see any lines period. Canada doesn't put reflectors in on their roads either. I would even stay off the freeways in big cities at night. It's that hard to see the dashed lines that divide the lanes.
Funny story: My first mistake was entering Canada at 10 P.M. and expecting to find a cheap hotel in the next town over. The second mistake was thinking that the roads would be equal (as reflective) as the ones in the US. I felt like I was in a 3rd world country. The next town over is the funniest part. Towns are few and far between (a good 40 miles it felt like) in northern Ontario. Most are too small to have a hotel of any kind. Towns in those parts are a booming metropolis if they have a bank, gas station, and some kind of store. There is literally nothing but trees and forests. I ended up sleeping in a strip mall (3 or 4 businesses) gravel lot in some little town. My first night in Canada was sleeping in my car on a rainy night.
I guess that is what happens when you drive on a 2000 km highway which has an average population density of 2 people per square mi (over the entire area of northern Ontario). The Prairies are similar, make sure you have lots of gas if you plan to travel at night.
Most routes in southern Ontario have reflectors, again due to population density.
^ Or going up north after a particularly harsh winter before the lines have been re-striped.
Not as many highway miles as last year. Our major trips were:
1. Winter cabin fever trip (car, moteling) through NM, AZ, NV and CA. We stayed in Socorro NM, Tucson (with day trips), Yuma, Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, San Diego, Phoenix and Albuquerque. Part of it was to revisit areas I traveled frequently with my parents (Lake Havasu). I saw Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (on the Mexican border SW of Tucson) for the first time; spectacular vegetation. Interesting last leg of the trip - Albuquerque north to home on I-25 - involved the immediate aftermath of a winter storm that left snow the entire way.
2. Family visit by car to SE South Dakota, via Kansas and Nebraska. Then, I decided we should visit North Dakota, since I haven't been there for over 15 years. We stayed at Dickinson and drove through Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Then, we passed through Mt. Rushmore before heading home. Total states visited: KS, NE, SD, MN, ND, WY.
3. Took what turned out to be our last trip in our old travel trailer to the Monument Valley area. Over Wolf Creek Pass, through Cortez to Bluff, UT. Then, day trips and up to Moab, and finally stayed at Delta CO.
4. Not planned early in the year, but we replaced the travel trailer and took the new one on a week-long shakedown trip to Albuquerque and then to Bayfield CO, located between Durango and Pagosa Springs.
5. The last trip of the year was a 20th anniversary cruise that we took out of Galveston. We drove to Galveston, and instead of the direct route through Amarillo, Fort Worth and Houston, I picked a more westerly route through Abilene and College Station. On the return trip, we stopped in Fredericksburg, in the Hill Country west of Austin, then drove home from there through San Angelo and Clovis, NM. On this road trip, I clinched U.S. 290; the only major route clinch of the year. Also, I drove through what I think is the last county in New Mexico I hadn't been in, Harding. Oh, and the cruise took us to two new countries / territories. We had stops in Mexico (where I've been before), Cayman Islands and Jamaica. I didn't drive in those places, of course.
I apologize for the crappy cell phone pic, not sure how to get this from my screen to you any other way:(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi703.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww34%2Fslorydn1%2FRoad%2520Photos%2F20151224_182318_zpsfusiiiab.jpg&hash=54228c3c9af9cffdc0d4a50c43e573a5ebc8f5b2)
2015 was a good year for long cruises with my wife. Gray lines are my Mustang, Blue lines in my wife's. Basecamp says we did 9,751 miles worth of road trips this year, and reached 6,576 feet (parking area at Mount Mitchell). We basically wore out a groove in I-40 in both directions this year, including two back to back trips to the mountains within a week at the end of November, beginning of December.
This was the year we finally did the length of Skyline Dr and the Blue Ridge Parkway together in one trip back in May (it took 2 days).
Just this past weekend we did a day trip to Cape Hatteras and back.
I took some trips of varying length, but two of them stand out as my favorites from 2015:
1. Heading from the suburbs of Chicago to Toledo, IA to see this:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Froads.mattmajewski.net%2Fimages%2Ftoledo2.jpg&hash=f4ff5acb88264e8e3d1318898ad6f38f3a0d7318)
2. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. I had never been to either before this. I took I-80 to I-65, then around the Indianapolis Beltway to US 52, IN-9 back to I-74 east until US 52 joined it. I took I-74 to Central Parkway (US 27/127 and maybe 52?) south to downtown Cincinnati. Took US 42/127 to Kentucky so I could add US 25 to the list of US routes I've been on.
At the beginning of the year a road trip with a friend I have known for a long time, real long time, like since 1962 long time. He was drawn out on an Elk hunt in Colorado and I volunteered to go with him in case he needed help. He didn't need help as we only saw two elk. One almost ran into his pickup on the highway and one was dead in the back of a pickup. We had fun visiting people he knew when he worked out there.
In May The Wife, daughter, and I road tripped to up state New York to visit historical places and enjoy the scenery plus attended her nephew's West Point graduation. Afterwards we toured around the northeastern states. Later in the summer The Wife and I went to Santa Fe to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Had to cancel two early motorcycle trips because of some unexpected issues. However, I did make a solo motorcycle/camping trip to southwest NM and southeast AZ in April. Then another motorcycle trip to northern NM with a buddy. In late July a solo motorcycle/camping trip to the northwest US before riding up to Hyder, AK then to Watson Lake, Yukon via the Cassiar, before heading down to Dawson Creek then up to Yellowknife, NT. In October a buddy and I made our annual motorcycle trip to Terlingua and Big Bend National Park. The day before Thanksgiving (returned Dec 1) my daughter and I took a motorcycle trip to south of Tampa, FL.
Only one good trip this year. Flew to SLC, rented a car, and did a big circle in the northwest quadrant of the USA. Visited a bunch of NPS units (got past the halfway mark), clinched thousands of miles of highway (finished the interstates in Washington and Idaho, and almost finished Oregon, Utah, and Montana), and saw a few minor league baseball games.
Besides that, just some small weekend trips around Florida, visiting all the home stadiums in the Florida State League (high A).
Drove to Shreveport for a work trip, which let me clinch a bunch more of I-49 including the future segments down toward the New Orleans area, and US 84 heading back east.
The only other trip of note was a week in Tokyo, but there wasn't a lot of roadgeeking other than the bus ride between downtown and the airport in Narita.
Quote from: mefailenglish on December 27, 2015, 11:27:07 AM
Only one good trip this year. Flew to SLC, rented a car, and did a big circle in the northwest quadrant of the USA. Visited a bunch of NPS units (got past the halfway mark), clinched thousands of miles of highway (finished the interstates in Washington and Idaho, and almost finished Oregon, Utah, and Montana), and saw a few minor league baseball games.
The only other trip of note was a week in Tokyo, but there wasn't a lot of roadgeeking other than the bus ride between downtown and the airport in Narita.
The trip you took out of SLC is what I would call an awesome trip.
No roadgeeking is OK. At least you got to go to Tokyo.
In case anyone's interested, I just finished processing the pictures from my trip to Utah/Arizona/Nevada from October.
http://www.teresco.org/pics/utah-20151001-05/ (http://www.teresco.org/pics/utah-20151001-05/)
May - Spontaneous trip up to Delaware/Ocean City (wife had to work and I had the rental car on Sunday). Drove the Bay Bridge Tunnel for the first time along with some other cool ones (Nice/Bay bridges). Also my first drive in Delaware.
October - 10-day trip to see family in Dayton, OH, near Chicago, and near Owensboro, KY. Drove in Illinois, Michigan, and Alabama for the first time. Drove the Tail of the Dragon (US-129 at NC/TN border), that road is no joke. US-52 in WV as well, but otherwise stuck to Interstates/Parkways.
Other than that, some minor drives around NC/VA. Bunch of state routes cilnched, along with I-485 (Ikea run this past weekend). I'm starting to run out of alternate routes to seeing my family back in Hickory. I've been on everything between US-158 and NC-24/27, and with a pregnant wife the longer trips are out of the picture for the time being.
New clinches: I-140 (TN), I-471 (KY/OH), I-640 (TN), I-485 (NC), US-35, US-113
Quote from: Super Mateo on December 24, 2015, 08:33:37 PM
2. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. I had never been to either before this. I took I-80 to I-65, then around the Indianapolis Beltway to US 52, IN-9 back to I-74 east until US 52 joined it. I took I-74 to Central Parkway (US 27/127 and maybe 52?) south to downtown Cincinnati. Took US 42/127 to Kentucky so I could add US 25 to the list of US routes I've been on.
Two notes (and I hope you enjoyed your visit to my home area):
1) As long as you actually crossed the river, you did officially add a small amount of mileage on US 25. US 25 is signed only to the Ohio state line, but the state logs indicate it exists to the north end of the Clay Wade Bailey.
2) As far as US 52, yes, it joins US 27/127 -- but not until near Exit 3 on I-75 south, which is Hopple Street. Once you turn left on Hopple, you then use a new connector road to get to Central Parkway to go south on US 27/127 and east on 52. So, unless you did that (or followed the reverse on the return trip), you're technically missing a piece of US 52 necessary for a clinch.
Quote from: Jim on December 29, 2015, 07:29:31 PM
In case anyone's interested, I just finished processing the pictures from my trip to Utah/Arizona/Nevada from October.
http://www.teresco.org/pics/utah-20151001-05/ (http://www.teresco.org/pics/utah-20151001-05/)
Awesome pictures. I'm hoping to go to Utah and Nevada next year (2017).
Quote from: JMoses24 on January 17, 2016, 09:58:18 PM
Quote from: Super Mateo on December 24, 2015, 08:33:37 PM
2. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. I had never been to either before this. I took I-80 to I-65, then around the Indianapolis Beltway to US 52, IN-9 back to I-74 east until US 52 joined it. I took I-74 to Central Parkway (US 27/127 and maybe 52?) south to downtown Cincinnati. Took US 42/127 to Kentucky so I could add US 25 to the list of US routes I've been on.
Two notes (and I hope you enjoyed your visit to my home area):
1) As long as you actually crossed the river, you did officially add a small amount of mileage on US 25. US 25 is signed only to the Ohio state line, but the state logs indicate it exists to the north end of the Clay Wade Bailey.
2) As far as US 52, yes, it joins US 27/127 -- but not until near Exit 3 on I-75 south, which is Hopple Street. Once you turn left on Hopple, you then use a new connector road to get to Central Parkway to go south on US 27/127 and east on 52. So, unless you did that (or followed the reverse on the return trip), you're technically missing a piece of US 52 necessary for a clinch.
1. Yes, I did cross the river. I went to where US 42/127 split from US 25 in Florence. I did enjoy the area, and I hope I can get back there during the summer to check out a Reds' game.
2. The whole routing of all the US routes there was very confusing. From I-74, US 52 is signed on I-75, but when I got off I-74 to Central Parkway, there were markers for US 27, 52, & 127. I took a different way home so I could see some different scenery. Thank you for clearing up the routing of US 52. Having it signed in conflicting places threw me off.
JMoses24,
I was born just east of Cincinnati, Williamsburg in Clermont County. Still have a couple of hundred relatives there, seriously. Been to Florence.
Very familiar with US 52, man does it ever twist and turn. I haven't clinched it but I have traveled many miles of it. Was on it at the Canadian border in ND and down through MN, a lot in Ohio and Indiana, some in Illinois and Iowa, probably some in Kentucky but not for sure. That would be a fun one to travel from end to end if I had the time.
Had a couple of road trips - well I don't know does flying somewhere, then getting in the car over 1000 miles count?
We went to the Pacific Northwest on vacation, flying in to PDX and leaving from Seattle.
Portland to Eugene out to Florence back to Eugene then back to Portland. Day trip out the Historic Columbia River Gorge highway to Hood River, then around and up Mount Hood and back to Portland.
Out to Canon Beach, Seaside, Astoria and Ilwaco, WA - back to Seaside for the night. Left Seaside and up to Mount St Helens followed by a trip through Mount Rainier NP the next day - ending in Seattle and turning the car back in.
Loved the Gorge, driving the roads in Rainier was amazing - could not believe the lack of guard rails in some spots. Liked the roads out to the Oregon Coast.
Trip 2 back in Indy was out to Newton, Iowa for the Indy Car race and back to Indy - let me clinch I-74. Detours in to Iowa City and Champaign-Urbana for the Big Ten portion of the tour.
Quote from: ysuindy on January 28, 2016, 09:36:48 PM
Trip 2 back in Indy was out to Newton, Iowa for the Indy Car race and back to Indy - let me clinch I-74. Detours in to Iowa City and Champaign-Urbana for the Big Ten portion of the tour.
I'm a big Indy Car fan when it comes to ovals. TK is my favorite driver even though I'm not a big fan of Chip Ganasi. I couldn't care less about the road / street courses. The California 500 race was one of the best races I had seen in a very long time. I go to the Indy 500 every year and sit in Turn 3 NE Vista. I used to go to Joliet when they had races up there. I miss the days of all oval races and 1 or 2 road courses. Indycar ovals are better than Nascar anyday.
Had a lot of good road trips last year, but three that stand out.
>> Selected Pics << (http://lonelycrowdedwest.net/pictures/2015roadtrips/)
- To Reno and then into the State of Jefferson in early March, perfectly timing a light snowfall. My first time in Ashland, Klamath Falls, Redding and Chico. And I've now almost clinched I-5, CA 99 and US 395.
- A trip to visit what I call "Lost California", on the eastern side of the Sierras. Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, a wonderfully preserved ghost town, and the powerful Manzanar National Monument. Bishop has become one of my favorite little towns.
- Driving from Baltimore, where my wife had a conference, to Honesdale, PA and onto Milford in order to clinch the modern US 6. Just that last little segment.
When I got back from that last trip, my mother-in-law told me this crazy story that I haven't been able to verify, but I don't know why she would lie about it. She saw the picture of the courthouse in Honesdale, and told me that my wife's aunt, whom I've met, was shot there by her estranged husband during a divorce proceeding, and then went on to kill himself. The bullet only grazed her head and she was mostly fine. I wish I had known that story before because I feel like, in a small town, that's not something that's easily forgotten from the collective consciousness, and I could have asked some of the older folks in town.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flonelycrowdedwest.net%2Fpictures%2F2015roadtrips%2Fwaynecountycourthouse.jpg&hash=d37196a38cc9332f9d7852e1a650cacede2a0767)
As always for me, it's the northern suburbs of Tampa Bay to Eastern Queens, New York City. And as it has been for the past three trips, I took I-75 towards FL 40 to Marion County Road 314 to FL 19 into Palatka, then to FL 20 to US 17 and north on FL 207 to I-95.
On my way there though, I took that detour to US 17 into Charleston, South Carolina so I could take some pictures of the Amtrak station, and I-26 back to I-95, as I had asked about on a previous thread.
I also had to stop in Florence to get a new SD card for my camera, because the damn thing was randomly deciding not to recognize the one I had.
I stayed in the same cheap motel north of Fayetteville, North Carolina where I saw that gorgeous motel clerk in 2014. I found out she quit, but I didn't let that bother me. However the air conditioner was so cold I had to turn the thing off at 1 in the morning. Also a bunch of kids ripping up the parking lot with motorcycles (or the parking lot of the Exxon station across the street, I really didn't bother to look) woke me up around 2 in the morning.
The next day I tried to get a picture of the unopened Spotsylvania VRE station. My screwed up SD card failed me again.
I took another detour from the Capital Beltway onto US 50 and tried to rush to Middletown, Delaware without getting a ticket so I could see the extremely limited release movie "A Sort of Homecoming."
After that, I just bolted up the Delaware Expressway and New Jersey Turnpike into New York City.
While I was there I took subway, train and bus trips into the Bronx, New Rochelle, Hell's Kitchen, Brooklyn and Nassau County, and road trips through both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including the east end, mainly consisting of the North Fork, Western Hamptons, the Moricheses, and parts of the northern Town of Brookhaven.
I'm not sure what else I care to say about this trip.
Last year's main (MAINE) attraction was a trip to the northeast.
Yes, we ended up at Acadia NP in Maine, which is one of my new favorite places in America.
The route began in Chicago and went by way of Columbus OH to pick up my friend/road trip buddy, featuring stops at Boston, Mt. Washington, Vermont, and the Adirondacks. The route and our activities are all laid out in this colorful map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z_NYVtn9ISaE.kbKT3_4FtaMU&usp=sharing
Other road trips this year for me included:
Chicago to St. Paul for the MN state fair
Chicago to Omaha
Chicago to Munising and the Porcupine Mtns in da UP of Michigan
Vallejo, CA to SF, San Luis Obispo, Napa, and Lake Tahoe.