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October 12, 2017 Roadtrips

Started by vdeane, October 09, 2017, 08:29:46 PM

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vdeane

Is anyone planning any roadtrips for this part of 2017 (noted in thread title)?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.


jeffandnicole

Just a wee bit specific??  :-D

As for me - no.

Max Rockatansky

Maybe I'll try to track down the dry Summit Lake bed just so I can have something to talk about.  I found an abandoned railroad close to Fresno I can make the excuse to go to see some pictures of on the 12th also.

kphoger

Just got back from Saint Cloud, Minnesota, for a family wedding.  700 miles up on Friday, wedding on Saturday, 700 miles back on Sunday.  Since we had no business in the twin cities for once, I didn't take I-35, thereby avoiding KC, Des Moines, and most importantly Minneapolis at rush hour.

Took the turnpike to Topeka, then went north from there to Nebraska City on US-75.  They are in the process of building a SPUI at US-75 under NE-2 there.

Over to I-29, then north to Sioux City.  Had planned to picnic at a rest area, but it was cool, rainy, and windy, so we ate in the car.  There was a fellow at the rest area who had just been released from the hospital with a broken pelvis; it took his sister and another man to get him from the wheelchair onto the john, poor guy.  Kind of weird to look under the stall wall and see women's shoes...

US-75 and then IA-60 northeast into Minnesota, continued on MN-60 to Windom.  The soybean harvest in southern Minnesota was well underway, and there were a lot of freight trains being actively worked along the highway, even in the wet weather.  The corn was still fairly green that far north, but I actually did see some poor fellows harvesting a green field of corn in the rain.

US-71 north to Redwood Falls, and then CR-101/1/5 north from there to near Willmar.  A new interchange not marked on Google Maps has been completed at CR-5 & CR-55 & MN-23; almost missed my turn, because I was expecting a stop sign.

MN-23 northeast from Willmar to Saint Cloud.  That corridor has warning signs with flashing yellow lights in advance of red stoplights, but also in advance of a couple of unsignalized intersections; there must be a sensor for the cross road, and the lights activate to warn of turning traffic.  Pretty cool.  The warning signs saying "Acceleration lane 500 feet", however, are pointless.  What hazard does an acceleration lane present?

Saturday morning before the wedding, we went Munzee hunting and found one pretty cool geocache near the Mississippi River.

Sunday morning, same route in reverse.

My oldest son and even my wife have gotten into the license plate game I've developed.  I break a long trip into two regions, then assign points to each state based on which region the license plate is spotted in.  They are weighted by distance, population, and shipping or border hassles if applicable.  When you spot a license plate, you have to decide whether to take the points or wait and see if you can more points by spotting the same state in the farther-away region.  For example, spotting Texas in Kansas is only one point, but you can wait till Minnesota and get three points for spotting one; it's a risk that usually pays off.  And we break into two teams to compete against each other.  The most surprising ones were Hawaii along MN-23 and a big rig dual-tagged with a Mexican plate on I-29 in northern Iowa.  I had actually forgotten that Mexican trucks are registered federally and not by state, so I didn't have any point value to claim for the latter one.  I'm also always reminded how over-represented Alaska plates are in the lower 48.  For example, Alaska has fewer people than Delaware, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire, and it's more than twice as far away, yet I probably see at least one Alaska plate a month.

North of Topeka, it was all roads I'd never driven before.  I do like the route better than I-35, even if it might take a little extra time.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

vdeane

Since a couple people asked about the very specific date, I should probably mention that this thread is basically a parody.  The "[time period] Roadtrips" threads have been becoming very prolific both here and on TravelMapping.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2017, 08:29:46 PM
Is anyone planning any roadtrips for this part of 2017 (noted in thread title)?
Yes.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=21233.0
(But only H.B. noticed)
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

1995hoo

We are on a roadtrip now, though to be super-precise as I type this at 10:37 PM we are in a hotel room watching baseball.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2017, 08:29:46 PM
Is anyone planning any roadtrips for this part of 2017 (noted in thread title)?

Nice pick. October 12th happens to be the National Day of Spain, and as such it is a favorable date for me. But I chose to remain home.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

Max Rockatansky

Ended up working instead of wandering around on a random October the 12th Thursday road trip....was a shame.

J N Winkler

Quote from: kphoger on October 10, 2017, 11:40:43 AMOver to I-29, then north to Sioux City.

I-29 is good for speed, but I liked my trip up US 75 between Blair and Sioux City on the other side of the Missouri River.  It is good for blufftop views.

Quote from: kphoger on October 10, 2017, 11:40:43 AMMN-23 northeast from Willmar to Saint Cloud.  That corridor has warning signs with flashing yellow lights in advance of red stoplights, but also in advance of a couple of unsignalized intersections; there must be a sensor for the cross road, and the lights activate to warn of turning traffic.  Pretty cool.  The warning signs saying "Acceleration lane 500 feet", however, are pointless.  What hazard does an acceleration lane present?

AIUI, those signs are used only when a divided highway has acceleration lanes that allow traffic turning left out of a side road to come up to speed before merging from the left.  This is fairly unusual provision (I think I have seen it only in Minnesota), so the signs mitigate lack of driver expectancy.

Quote from: kphoger on October 10, 2017, 11:40:43 AMMy oldest son and even my wife have gotten into the license plate game I've developed.  I break a long trip into two regions, then assign points to each state based on which region the license plate is spotted in.  They are weighted by distance, population, and shipping or border hassles if applicable.  When you spot a license plate, you have to decide whether to take the points or wait and see if you can more points by spotting the same state in the farther-away region.  For example, spotting Texas in Kansas is only one point, but you can wait till Minnesota and get three points for spotting one; it's a risk that usually pays off.  And we break into two teams to compete against each other.  The most surprising ones were Hawaii along MN-23 and a big rig dual-tagged with a Mexican plate on I-29 in northern Iowa.  I had actually forgotten that Mexican trucks are registered federally and not by state, so I didn't have any point value to claim for the latter one.  I'm also always reminded how over-represented Alaska plates are in the lower 48.  For example, Alaska has fewer people than Delaware, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire, and it's more than twice as far away, yet I probably see at least one Alaska plate a month.

I suspect the people in the Lower 48 (or just "South" in Alaska) with license plates from Alaska or Hawaii are either in the military or cheating on vehicle property taxes.  In the case of Hawaii, I'm especially suspicious of the latter because I have never heard of being able to ship a car for less than $1000 one-way.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini



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