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2020 Road Trip Plans

Started by thspfc, July 21, 2019, 12:30:56 PM

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Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.


hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

paulthemapguy

Quote from: hbelkins on March 05, 2020, 11:04:02 AM
Quote from: Rothman on February 29, 2020, 03:29:12 PM
Educate thyself:

https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/melting-glaciers.htm

Back at you...

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/06/07/glacier-national-park-quietly-removes-its-gone-by-2020-signs/

One of these articles displays evidence.
The other does not and is written reactionary to evidence.

QuoteShepard Glacier is now less than 25 acres in size and is therefore no longer considered an active glacier.

If the reactionary dumbass in the "Wattsupwiththat" article knew that a glacier less than 25 acres is no longer considered "an active glacier," he never would have made that bet that the glaciers won't be completely gone.  And no one took the bet because everyone knows he would just shift the goalposts by saying "Look!  It snowed once!  That means the glacier isn't completely dead!  Where's my $5000?"  Glaciers melt asymptotically, meaning you have to have a cutoff size below which you don't consider it a glacier anymore--you just consider it a bunch of snow in the shadow of a mountain.  That snow will probably never be completely gone, kind of like how a radioactive isotope never completely goes away--the concentration just becomes minuscule.

Even the title, "Glaciers Appear to be Growing, not Melting in Recent Years" is disingenuous.  If there's ONE year when climate change slows, or some metric of temperature is colder, dipshits think that's enough to disprove the entire trend of global warming.  Climate is a trend.  No trend of anything occurring in nature is an absolutely straight line.  To post that weak Wattsupwiththat article, you'd literally have to pretend the entire NPS page on the national park it operates doesn't exist.  Sorry, clear observation and photographic evidence don't care about your feelings.  One data point doesn't make an argument about or against climate TRENDS, and looks immensely weak in the face of dozens and dozens to suggest the contrary.

In fact, I'm not even sure it's worth it to hike Grinnell Glacier at this point anymore, because there's barely anything left. 
Avatar is the last interesting highway I clinched.
My website! http://www.paulacrossamerica.com Now featuring all of Ohio!
My USA Shield Gallery https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHwJRZk
TM Clinches https://bit.ly/2UwRs4O

National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

bandit957

I'm seriously considering going to North Carolina, Texas, or upstate New York in April or May.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

NWI_Irish96

Quote from: cabiness42 on July 21, 2019, 06:23:33 PM
Definitely still tentative at this point, but the only states outside of Alaska and Hawaii that I've yet to visit are RI, MA, NH, ME and VT, so next summer's family trip is scheduled to be from home to Boston via Providence, after a few days in Boston, on to Cooperstown via NH, ME and VT, then back home via Niagara Falls and Ontario.  None of the family other than me has been to Canada before, so the return trip through there is what's selling them on driving vs flying.

Trip is still scheduled for June, though it could be pushed back due to the coronavirus.  Plans have changed from a 100% driving trip to one that has us flying to Hartford and doing a loop through the New England states and then flying back.  Need to use the credit we got from Southwest after cancelling our Spring Break trip to Hilton Head.
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

Max Rockatansky

I might modify the length of some of my trips to cut out the family seeing portions of them short term but probably keep the "remote mountain road"  parts of them alive.  I'll have a good handle on that by Mid-April.  I suppose on the plus side I'll have surplus vacation if I shorten upcoming stuff in terms of number of days.  Most of the stuff I do is out in the mountains or desert already. 

I am pondering how viable it is to drive down to Los Angeles for the day and complete the freeway grid I haven't done.  It would be strange packing to be fully self sufficient like a hiking trip in a major urban area but I know others have pulled similar feats this past week. 

webny99

Quote from: bandit957 on March 20, 2020, 10:05:17 PM
I'm seriously considering going to North Carolina, Texas, or upstate New York in April or May.

As I mentioned in the coronavirus thread:

Quote from: webny99 on March 20, 2020, 08:30:42 PM
there are 10 different states (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NJ, PA, MD, DE) that are closer to New York City than I am right now. That's the way it always has been, of course, but it feels especially jarring right now, and it's something those looking at the statewide numbers should keep in mind: the 7,845 reported cases are incredibly concentrated downstate, while the numbers for the rest of state are more in line with what we're seeing elsewhere in the country.

So, not that I would recommend traveling anywhere right now, but it's certainly true that much of New York state is still far removed from the wild outbreak around the NYC area.

mrsman

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 21, 2020, 11:51:36 AM
I might modify the length of some of my trips to cut out the family seeing portions of them short term but probably keep the "remote mountain road"  parts of them alive.  I'll have a good handle on that by Mid-April.  I suppose on the plus side I'll have surplus vacation if I shorten upcoming stuff in terms of number of days.  Most of the stuff I do is out in the mountains or desert already. 

I am pondering how viable it is to drive down to Los Angeles for the day and complete the freeway grid I haven't done.  It would be strange packing to be fully self sufficient like a hiking trip in a major urban area but I know others have pulled similar feats this past week.

If you do venture forth it is an amazing opportunity to do so with low traffic.

Traffic level is like a major holiday like Christmas day most days.  It's unbelievable.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: mrsman on March 22, 2020, 05:44:01 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 21, 2020, 11:51:36 AM
I might modify the length of some of my trips to cut out the family seeing portions of them short term but probably keep the "remote mountain road"  parts of them alive.  I'll have a good handle on that by Mid-April.  I suppose on the plus side I'll have surplus vacation if I shorten upcoming stuff in terms of number of days.  Most of the stuff I do is out in the mountains or desert already. 

I am pondering how viable it is to drive down to Los Angeles for the day and complete the freeway grid I haven't done.  It would be strange packing to be fully self sufficient like a hiking trip in a major urban area but I know others have pulled similar feats this past week.

If you do venture forth it is an amazing opportunity to do so with low traffic.

Traffic level is like a major holiday like Christmas day most days.  It's unbelievable.

Its tempting to venture down to Los Angeles for the day to try to clinch as many freeways as possible.  About the one thing really holding me back is that freeways aren't my bag, but it is about the best opportunity to knock out as many routes possible in the California series on Gribblenation. 

Short term I have my eyes on Soda Lake Road next Saturday out in Carrizo Plain National Monument.  Given how far remote that area is I haven't even seen another person in past visits, seems total appropriate for the current situation.

US 89

Quote from: mrsman on March 22, 2020, 05:44:01 PM
If you do venture forth it is an amazing opportunity to do so with low traffic.

Traffic level is like a major holiday like Christmas day most days.  It's unbelievable.

Indeed. One day last week I socially distanced by clinching a bunch of routes I've been missing in the northern Utah area, and in the process drove through downtown Salt Lake City during the heart of evening rush hour and never dropped below 65 mph. That is unthinkable during non-pandemic times, when you can count on it taking 20-30 minutes to get from the Spaghetti Bowl to the Davis County line.

NWI_Irish96

Quote from: mrsman on March 22, 2020, 05:44:01 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 21, 2020, 11:51:36 AM
I might modify the length of some of my trips to cut out the family seeing portions of them short term but probably keep the "remote mountain road"  parts of them alive.  I'll have a good handle on that by Mid-April.  I suppose on the plus side I'll have surplus vacation if I shorten upcoming stuff in terms of number of days.  Most of the stuff I do is out in the mountains or desert already. 

I am pondering how viable it is to drive down to Los Angeles for the day and complete the freeway grid I haven't done.  It would be strange packing to be fully self sufficient like a hiking trip in a major urban area but I know others have pulled similar feats this past week.

If you do venture forth it is an amazing opportunity to do so with low traffic.

Traffic level is like a major holiday like Christmas day most days.  It's unbelievable.

My wife is a respiratory therapist thus obviously working a lot right now and my kids are home from school, so between my working from home and having to be with the kids, I'm not able to get out and do any clinching with the roads so empty and it's killing me. 
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

hbelkins

Quote from: mrsman on March 22, 2020, 05:44:01 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 21, 2020, 11:51:36 AM
I might modify the length of some of my trips to cut out the family seeing portions of them short term but probably keep the "remote mountain road"  parts of them alive.  I'll have a good handle on that by Mid-April.  I suppose on the plus side I'll have surplus vacation if I shorten upcoming stuff in terms of number of days.  Most of the stuff I do is out in the mountains or desert already. 

I am pondering how viable it is to drive down to Los Angeles for the day and complete the freeway grid I haven't done.  It would be strange packing to be fully self sufficient like a hiking trip in a major urban area but I know others have pulled similar feats this past week.

If you do venture forth it is an amazing opportunity to do so with low traffic.

Traffic level is like a major holiday like Christmas day most days.  It's unbelievable.

My brother said going through Atlanta yesterday was probably the easiest trip he's had there since he's been going south to fish and camp.

I may take the recovery/stimulus money I get, rent a vehicle (mine has 275K on it now and needs some work, so I don't trust it to go long distances), and go county collecting. Missouri and Arkansas would be the easiest states nearby to me to complete.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

D-Dey65

Even with this pandemic screwing everything up in the world, I'm still planning my NYC area road trip. It's all just a question of when, but it was like that before everything started shutting down.


bandit957

I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

Duke87

Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

hbelkins

Quote from: Duke87 on April 08, 2020, 12:51:49 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.

The last two Saturdays have been gorgeous. Both of those Saturdays, I planned to take advantage of the weather and low gas prices and do a little sightseeing. Unfortunately, I had car trouble each of the last two Fridays that immobilized my vehicle over the weekend.

Kentucky has a prohibition against going to another state unless it's for essential items like groceries. If you go out of state for recreational purposes, you're required to self-isolate for two weeks. (I don't know how they would track that unless they're spying on every one of us.) I may find it necessary this Saturday to go purchase groceries at Sheetz in Huntington, WV.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: hbelkins on April 08, 2020, 11:42:52 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on April 08, 2020, 12:51:49 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.

The last two Saturdays have been gorgeous. Both of those Saturdays, I planned to take advantage of the weather and low gas prices and do a little sightseeing. Unfortunately, I had car trouble each of the last two Fridays that immobilized my vehicle over the weekend.

Kentucky has a prohibition against going to another state unless it's for essential items like groceries. If you go out of state for recreational purposes, you're required to self-isolate for two weeks. (I don't know how they would track that unless they're spying on every one of us.) I may find it necessary this Saturday to go purchase groceries at Sheetz in Huntington, WV.

Do they even try to enforce that with major highway checkpoints?  If not you could make up any old excuse you wanted about going to grocery shop or just pay cash if you were worried about an employer asking for receipts. 

hbelkins

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 08, 2020, 12:24:57 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 08, 2020, 11:42:52 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on April 08, 2020, 12:51:49 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.

The last two Saturdays have been gorgeous. Both of those Saturdays, I planned to take advantage of the weather and low gas prices and do a little sightseeing. Unfortunately, I had car trouble each of the last two Fridays that immobilized my vehicle over the weekend.

Kentucky has a prohibition against going to another state unless it's for essential items like groceries. If you go out of state for recreational purposes, you're required to self-isolate for two weeks. (I don't know how they would track that unless they're spying on every one of us.) I may find it necessary this Saturday to go purchase groceries at Sheetz in Huntington, WV.

Do they even try to enforce that with major highway checkpoints?  If not you could make up any old excuse you wanted about going to grocery shop or just pay cash if you were worried about an employer asking for receipts.

Not in Kentucky, they aren't.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

D-Dey65

I'm not saying I'm planning to do anything now. I'm referring to when this is over, or at least dies down enough. Hell, even if the pandemic were to end tomorrow morning, I still wouldn't start my big trip right away. But I still have an itinerary for my trip and I want to get it just right.




ctkatz

I'm still planning on taking a road trip. however my destinations are largely based on sports events happening.  right now these events are scheduled in june and august. one event isn't canceled yet but it's in upstate new york. the other's baseball in toronto and baseball doesn't look like it's happening (at least in the home cities)which sucks.

I could just get a car and see where the road ends but lots of places have patchwork policies so even that's up in the air.

ftballfan

If I lived on my own and not with my parents, I would probably be doing some solo highway and county clinching. From Manistee, I've thought of a round trip that would take me on M-55 all the way to Tawas, then US-23 to Standish, then M-61 and M-115 back to M-55 and home. This would clinch M-55 and M-61, as well as add two counties to my count (Gladwin and Iosco).

Some more hypothetical trips that would involve highway clinching:
M-72 between Empire and Kalkaska (likely the closest stretch of state highway I'm missing parts of)
M-66 between Kalkaska and Lake City (which could be done on the same trip as M-72)
M-120 between Holton and North Muskegon

Ketchup99

Quote from: Duke87 on April 08, 2020, 12:51:49 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.

Also, even without restrictions, I'd hope everyone realizes this virus is contagious and deadly...

Rothman

Quote from: Ketchup99 on May 17, 2020, 11:29:07 PM
Quote from: Duke87 on April 08, 2020, 12:51:49 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 08, 2020, 12:11:36 AM
I'm glad to know not everyone is terrified of this virus.

It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the fact that there's an allowed cloud against traveling right now.

Also, even without restrictions, I'd hope everyone realizes this virus is contagious and deadly...
Frankly, with all my friends that are traveling - including one that's going from NY to the Outer Banks this weekend, I think a second wave is inevitable.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

D-Dey65

For my 2500th Post, I'm announcing that my first big day trip will be happening this month. I just have to fix some minor annoyances on my car, and make sure I don't have to take care of any animals on whatever day I take this trip. It will be a Wiki-photography crusade of Ocala and the vicinity. I wanted some sites further away, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold off on those for a while.

And since this is my 2500th post;


(Yeah, I really wanted one with reversed colors.)


ctkatz

so next week I'm actually taking a road trip. there is no final destination, it's just me taking a rental car and driving up to and through new england and the mid atlantic states.

as for watching myself on possible virus exposure, I'm only hitting gas stations, hotels restraunts, and travel plazas because I'm going to be rolling on some toll roads with my ezpass. plus I've got some masks too. I should be okay.



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