Summer 2012 road trips

[golden eagle]

For Memorial Day weekend, I'm taking a trip to Nashville. In the latter part of June, I'll be on the road again, this time to the Orlando area (though I don't know how much driving--if any--I will be doing). I may possibly take a day trip to New Orleans in July or early August with my girlfriend and her kids. We've only talked about it, but we haven't put together anything yet.

[vdeane]

Had one last weekend - clinched a few roads in the Adirondack area south of Potsdam.  Next Sunday is clinching the eastern end of NY 3, stuff on the I-89 corridor north of I-189, and border roads.  Maybe some stuff in Canada if the Montreal min-meet happens.  Hoping for the Ottawa meet as well.

I intend to use my existing trips between Rochester and Potsdam this summer to clinch some highways in the northern finger lakes and northwest of Syracuse.  Also expecting the Binghamton road meet in late summer/early fall (September).

[1995hoo]

Our summer trip to visit relatives in Florida may provide me the opportunity to finish off I-95 in that state. My brother-in-law lives in the Miami area and my sister-in-law lives in the Space Coast area and I'd normally use the Turnpike to go from one to the other, but since the portion of I-95 from the Golden Glades Interchange to Fort Pierce is one of the two major segments I have yet to cover, I might make an exception this time just to cross that off my list.

I've contemplated taking US-41 across the Everglades instead of I-75, but I doubt I ever will. We took that road west to go to Shark Valley last summer and it wasn't at all interesting. Prior to that trip I think I had an incorrect mental image of the Everglades as being more like a bayou than as miles and miles of, essentially, scrub.

I'd like to make a run down to the Keys but I doubt there will be time, and I think we'd rather spend the limited time with our relatives.

[hbelkins]

Depends on what meets are scheduled, and when. I've pretty much been combining road trips with meets the last few years, and taking an extra day for route and county clinching, as opposed to taking a trip for its own sake. Environment first, transportology second, you know. 

Had planned on going to the DC meet in a couple of weeks, but there have been no details announced so I may have to forego, especially since I have committed to a conference in Frankfort on the day prior.

I would like to get to North Carolina to clinch the counties there. I've had to postpone a couple of planned trips to accomplish that, but I still have my route prepared in case the opportunity presents itself. Next potential state county clinches are New Hampshire (if the meet that Doug and John have talked about doing comes together) and Illinois.

[kphoger]

We'll be co-leading a mission trip to México from June 2 through June 10.  It's not easy to stop for photo opps when travelling with a group, but I'll post what I'm able to get.  Not sure yet if I'll post everything together, or divide them up between the most appropriate threads.  I'm also planning to record all fuel stops and post the list to the oil/gas prices thread.

This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake.  Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.

[texaskdog]

Colorado for us!  Durango/Silverton train, whitewater rafting in Moab, Arches NP, Rocky Mtn NP, Colorado Springs, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak. 12 days/11 nights!

[ghYHZ]

Another adventure along the Trans Labrador Highway......lots more paving this summer (and construction too!!)

[Takumi]

I may go to Baltimore to see the "Battle of the Vowels" (Orioles vs. Athletics, aka O's vs. A's) the next time the A's are there in late July, and I'll be taking my usual day trips on off weekends. It also depends on meets; it's looking less likely I'll be able to make the DC meet but if any other regional meets are scheduled for the summer I should be able to make one.

[US71]

Most of my trips are to & from my Renaissance shows, but some of them I'll factor in an extra day or two to go exploring.

Ideally, I'd love to take a week and explore US71.

[Ian]

This summer will definitely include our annual pilgrimages to New Hampshire and Maine in late-June/early July, and upstate New York in August. I'm going to try and squeeze in a trip up to Montreal after New York is done, since I've been trying my hardest to get back up there. I also would like to try and get a meet going down in Wilmington, DE the first weekend of August.

Since I'll also be buying my first car very soon, I'll likely be taking numerous road trips by myself throughout the vacation.

[Alps]

Memorial Day: State routes of Maine's coast (tentative)
Weekend after: State routes of Maryland in northwest Delmarva
Sometime in June or July: Cairo, IL and Land between the Lakes, KY
July 7: To Detroit and back for a wedding
? (profit)
Labor Day: The entire old NY 17, up to Buffalo, and US 20A on the way back (tentative)

[corco]

For the next 6 weeks I'll be taking 9793 miles of roadgeeking trips to clinch the AZ highway system and then head over to the southeast

The big ones are the four day to clinch OK-3, US-371, US-266, and US-380, then another four day to get the NE Arizona highway system and then loop through Colorado,  clinching US-350 and then most of US-50 and US-160 in that state, then one up to Vegas to get the Arizona strip highways

I'll probably drive to Idaho and back in August too, but that will be under time constraint so new routes will be minimal

[kphoger]

Land between the Lakes, KY

Word to the wise:  The Land Between the Lakes isn't very pretty during a drought.  Enquire locally to see if it's worth the drive.

[hbelkins]

Land between the Lakes, KY

Word to the wise:  The Land Between the Lakes isn't very pretty during a drought.  Enquire locally to see if it's worth the drive.

I think he's more interested in the bridges, specifically the one that's being rebuilt and is supposed to be in service by Memorial Day.

[Scott5114]

This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake.  Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.

You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures.

[roadman65]

Last week in June, I plan to visit New Jersey (my home state) and also head up to Upstate NY and do some road trip hopefully to Thousand Islands during the trip. 

I would like some I-81 pictures and just to see it as its been years since I have been on it north of Binghamton, NY.  Hell, I want to see the horeshoe curve on NY 17 at Wurtsboro again and video it!

[pianocello]

I'll be going from a mission trip around Grand Rapids, MI to a music camp in Greensboro, NC around the end of June, and then back to Davenport when the camp is over in late July.

[kphoger]

This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake.  Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.

You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures.

It's OK as long a there are no cops around. 

[Sanctimoniously]

I'll be going back to Louisiana pretty soon, nothing too out of the ordinary, for my mom's college graduation. After that, I'd like to do some trips to the Outer Banks and maybe revisit Knotts Island with better photography skills.

[Takumi]

After that, I'd like to do some trips to the Outer Banks and maybe revisit Knotts Island with better photography skills.

That's another general area I've been meaning to visit for awhile; I have family in Currituck County and I haven't been down there in 2005. Maybe we could coordinate something.

[kkt]

This Saturday, my 4-year-old and I are going camping with some friends out at Toronto Lake.  Since he and I will be driving out there by ourselves that afternoon, I'll try to stop for some photos.....assuming I remember the camera, that is.

You know you're a roadgeek when you make your 4-year-old drive so you can take pictures.

[kkt]

Early June, from Seattle to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.  Primary purpose is to see the Transit of Venus -- Yellowknife should have a view of the whole transit from beginning to end just before sunset, and a reasonable chance of clear weather.  Science project for the 10-year-old!  Also it should be a beautiful drive, and the farthest north I've ever been.

[kphoger]

A group of nine from our church (our family of four plus five others) went on a short-term mission trip from Wichita, Kansas, to Parras, Coahuila, México.  We left June 2 and returned on June 10.  We made the drive in two vehicles.  On June 6, our family and one other guy made a side-trip to Saltillo.  Here are the road-related pictures from our camera.  I'm hoping our friend Adam has more on his camera, but I'll have to wait until he goes through his 2000+ pictures before I can start cherry-picking them.

SCENES FROM TEXAS

Southbound I-35 in Texas.  I believe it's just south of the Oklahoma line, though I'm not certain.


Southbound I-35W in Fort Worth.  I was trying to capture small green sign on the bridge, but took the picture too soon for it to be legible.


I believe this is the interchange of I-35W and I-20 in Fort Worth.


I-35W passing under I-35E right before they merge near Hillsboro, TX.


After the I-35W/I-35E merge, the roadway remains four lanes for a while.


Southbound I-35 passing under TX-6 on the south side of Waco, TX.


I'm not exactly sure where this one is.  Somewhere in Texas on southbound I-35, possibly the same interchange as the one right above it.


Southbound I-410 passing under I-37 on the southeast side of San Antonio, TX.


I love having bridges named after me.


ROAD SIGNS FROM OKLAHOMA & TEXAS

Southbound on I-35 in Texas, approaching the Camino Colombia.  Notice that México is listed as a destination.


A sign for Bigfoot.  If you look closely, you can see Bigfoot coming out from behind a tree.


On westbound FM-462 in Moore, TX.  My, that weight limit is very specific!


An example of two exit numbers for one exit.  Northbound I-35 in Texas.


Exit sign, meet warning sign.  Northbound I-35 in Texas.


Northbound on I-35 in Oklahoma.  JCT should have been omitted from the sign.  The advance guide sign also had it on there.


THE U.S.—MEXICAN BORDER at COLOMBIA, N.L.

The official boundary marker over the Río Grande (a.k.a. Río Bravo).


Seven out of nine of us, on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge.


Looking back at the tollbooth and U.S. immigration before heading to Mexican immigration.  You can tell by the pavement where the border is.


SCENES FROM MÉXICO

The new Mega distribuidor vial EL SARAPE, which replaced the old CFI interchange known as EL INDIO on the east side of Saltillo, Coah.  Sorry about the poor quality of these photos.  There was no place to stop, we were in traffic, and my wife (not a roadgeek) didn't really know what to take pictures of.






The desert road approaching the Outreach Center (where we stayed) just outside of Parras, Coah.  I couldn't remember exactly which road led to the Outreach Center, so this was actually the third desert road we drove down when we got in on June 3.


Here's a view of the road from the Outreach Center where it spills out onto Coahuila state highway 103.


The road to Ganivete.  If you want to search for Ganivete on the map, you're going to have to use Bing Maps.  It's six miles down a desert road, with a population of about 180.


Driving through a dust storm (shortly after driving right through the middle of a dust devil) on the way to Ganivete.  It was worse than a blizzard, especially since I couldn't watch for obstacles on the road.


Ganivete in the distance.  The six-mile drive took about 20 minutes.  A lot of our driving on this trip was on desert roads; that kind of average speed with the air conditioning on gave us some really crappy gas mileage.


Entering Ganivete.  We actually drove around the west side of town on what I don't think was really a road; I guess in the desert it doesn't really matter.  Sorry about the poor picture quality; you may have noticed that the road was a little bumpy.


As you can see, "street" is a relative term.  Basically, if it's dirt, you can drive on it.  Our church's children's department had sent $200 with us to donate to a school in México, and you can see the school in this picture.  The red building in the foreground is the bathrooms.  It has toilets, but they're not hooked up to running water.  To flush the toilets, the kids get water out of a holding tank with a bucket, then manually flush with that.  When the water is below half-full, the youngest children can't reach the water with the bucket.  The money we gave will be used to install plumbing works, allowing for true flush toilets.


Here we are actually giving the money to the president and treasurer of the school parents' association.  I include this picture because I'm usually not in any of the pictures.  I'm the white guy  .


A new flyover on the north side of Monterrey, NL.  This is eastbound on the free bypass (municipal route 910, signed as federal highway 40) at its interchange with Nuevo León state highway 1.


Passing over a train outside of Nuevo Laredo, Tamps.  This is on the outer bypass on the west side of the city, signed as federal highway 2, at its interchange with Tamaulipas state highway 1.


ROAD SIGNS FROM MÉXICO

J N Winkler, these are for you.  Real-life examples of tertiary route shields.  These are all along the two-lane free portion of federal highway 40 between Saltillo and Paila.

Most major highway intersections have overhead signs like this.  This one appears to be a new installation, as GMSV doesn't show any overhead.


Here's the ground-mounted one below it.


Some miles down the road, I found this beauty.  The great thing is that I remember the sign being in this condition back in March 2011, and it's still standing.


AND NOW. . .

This is our youth pastor's car.  He was in SUV heaven down there, with all the mud puddles and off-road opportunities.  He was so disappointed when a gas station attendant cleaned the windows while he was in the bathroom, because the layers of dirt were like a badge of honor.


He was worried that having an expensive SUV in México would make him a target of vandalism or violence.  They funny thing is, having a really dirty expensive SUV ended up making him a target of close police/military scrutiny.  Apparently that's one of the things they look for.  Instead of being a target of the drug cartels, he wound up looking like one of them.  At one military checkpoint between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, they even saw one guard nod to another, who then radioed ahead; then their car was flagged over and everybody had to get out for a thorough vehicle search.  Even in central Texas, he had a state trooper eyeing his car carefully.

[agentsteel53]

awesome post!

I had no idea those tertiary route shields existed.  at some point, could you get us some extreme closeups for the shield gallery?

[kphoger]

awesome post!

I had no idea those tertiary route shields existed.  at some point, could you get us some extreme closeups for the shield gallery?

I don't know when our next time down there will be, but I'll get some extreme closeups of route shields whenever that is.  Our goal is to go there to serve long-term, but we have to get out of debt first.  Until we figure all of that out, you'll just have to wait until the next short-term trip.

The route shield pictures were taken during our side trip to Saltillo.  I wasn't about to stop both cars on the drive down or back just so I could take a picture of a highway sign.  Well, OK, I did stop everyone for the Bigfoot photo, just because I knew at least one person would happily volunteer to play the part of Bigfoot, and we were stopping for gas anyway (at the Shell station in the next picture).  I had meant to get a closeup of the Loop-82 reassurance marker right by our motel in San Marcos on the way north, but I forgot.

I'm really hoping our friend Adam got some film footage of Coahuila state highway 103 between General Cepeda and Parras.  I'll never take that highway again if I don't have to, because much of it was a sea of potholes.  I mean, in a few places, it was literally impossible to avoid them because they stretched across the entire width of the roadway.  The 16.8 km that Google Maps says we saved definitely did not translate into a faster drive.  I'm glad we did it once (my wife would disagree), just for the experience and the closeup mountain scenery, but it's definitely on my list of highways to avoid in the future.