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Your planned 2016 Roadtrips

Started by US 41, December 19, 2015, 11:28:03 PM

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Bickendan

Planning a Portland-Rochester/Twin Cities trip in August to visit some friends.
Routing is still very much in the air.


D-Dey65

The NYC-LI trip is delayed once again. A bunch of circumstances at home threw off my plans, so now I'll probably have to set a date for sometime in June.


HTM Duke

I have the potential for four trips this year; two major, two minor.  As follows:

1) South Atlantic League (low A)all-star game in Lexington, KY, which opens up the opportunity to completely clinch I-64 and US-460.  I'm also considering following the final routing of old US-460 from St. Louis back to Frankfort, but the prospect of a drive through East St. Louis doesn't exactly fill me with glee.  Once back over the VA line, I would be looking to clinch the remaining primary routes in SW VA I have not done yet.
2) AAA all-star game in Charlotte; would also include a clinch of at least I-85 and US-29 in NC.
3) Following the JMU football team up to Orono, ME, and continuing on I-95 and US-1 to their respective termini.
4) Usual post-birthday mini-roadtrip, with this year's destination set for Hampton Roads, with the goal to finally clinch all non-facility state routes in VA.
List of routes: Traveled | Clinched

froggie

Minor roadtrip down to the Boston area this weekend.  Wife is along, so won't be able to do too much roadgeeking (dilly-dallying as she puts it), but it gets me out of Vermont for a couple days.

wanderer2575

Quote from: froggie on May 28, 2016, 10:31:11 AM
Minor roadtrip down to the Boston area this weekend.  Wife is along, so won't be able to do too much roadgeeking (dilly-dallying as she puts it), but it gets me out of Vermont for a couple days.

My wife is pretty tolerant of my roadtrip detours/stopping for photos/turning around and going back for another pass if I'm not happy with the moving photo I just took.  She always brings some needlepoint or cross stitch, several word puzzle books, and her Zune player on road trips to keep occupied while I'm wandering around in traffic.  Still, I try to be judicious because there eventually will be a point after a long day where she will say "Enough!" and want to just get the miles done.

KEVIN_224

I'm from central Connecticut. I'm typing this out right now in Brattleboro, VT, in a hotel room along US Route 5/VT Route 9 (south of the Exit 3 rotary). Maine was out, due to the sky high hotel prices on this holiday weekend (although my brother is there now with a friend). The long term construction is still going on with the high bridge over the West River and VT Route 30. The bus I was on took Exit 1, since their agent is a Shell station a short distance up US Route 5.

Max Rockatansky

Looking at heading up over Tioga Pass to Bodie in about 10 days if the weather stays good.  Tioga Pass opened early this year and it would be nice to get up over the hill on CA 120 before the tourist brigade hits in full force.  Probably going to check out what's left of Manzhar on the way home on US 395.  Basically I'm planning taking CA 41 into Yosemite to get over to CA 120 and Tioga Pass, US 395 and CA 178 to get home...have some hotel points to burn in Bishop.

US 41

I finally figured out my route for when I go to Williston, North Dakota in August. The trip will also include a detour into Canada.

Terre Haute - Williston (US Route) https://goo.gl/maps/obA1AGsLzTH2

Williston - Terre Haute (via Canada) https://goo.gl/maps/4AhHi7XkLV32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also might be going to Ontario, Canada for 4 days later this month or early next month along this route. https://goo.gl/maps/5HjBcm3KzgN2
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

froggie

QuoteTerre Haute - Williston (US Route) https://goo.gl/maps/obA1AGsLzTH2

Plan on a detour west of Mankato.  US 14 will be closed in the Nicollet vicinity.

noelbotevera

Goin' to Doswell (Kings Dominion), Petersburg, and Richmond, Virginia this summer!

US 41

Quote from: froggie on June 01, 2016, 12:08:27 PM
QuoteTerre Haute - Williston (US Route) https://goo.gl/maps/obA1AGsLzTH2

Plan on a detour west of Mankato.  US 14 will be closed in the Nicollet vicinity.

Thanks for the info. If that's the case I will probably just take MN 68 from North Mankato to New Ulm as my detour.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

1995hoo

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 12, 2016, 08:31:52 PM
....

Regarding our roadtrips this year, we don't know yet, mainly because replacing the roof of our house is on the to-do list and I haven't figured out how that will affect the budget. We've considered either a golf trip to PEI and New Brunswick or else a two-week drive to Florida in late June. Maybe I can figure out some way to detour to Alabama to play some of the RTJ Golf Trail courses.

I said this back in January. We decided to do the two-week drive to Florida, but we're going in July instead of June and, unlike our usual routine, we're driving both ways instead of taking the Auto Train. Since the travel between Virginia and Florida (and vice versa) will be on weekends, I think I may be using some more westerly routings to avoid beach traffic. But we need to make a stop near Green Cove Springs on the way down, so we have to cut east at some point. Strikes me as a good reason to use FL-9B to avoid all the traffic lights on the west side of Jacksonville south of I-295. Then we go from there to Venice, so it'll be a chance to explore some areas down the middle of the state that I haven't seen yet.

I'm thinking for the trip home, which will originate in Viera, it might be a chance to cut west on the Bee Line, bite off the last segment of the Turnpike mainline, then head home via some form of I-75 routing. Just haven't decided how to go once we reach Macon. Last time we passed through there, we were heading south and we'd come down the Fall Line Expressway from Augusta, so I imagine I'll find a different route this time.
"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.

kinupanda

I haven't had time to think about roadtrips, thanks to graduate school full-time, but I do have some time off the week after July 4, since my course doesn't meet that week, and might go to Memphis to visit a friend. I've done that trip several times, but I plan on taking US 79 (for the most part) to sight-see and to pick up a few counties in central Texas, northern Louisiana, and southern/eastern Arkansas. I might check out northern Mississippi while I'm there (both as a tourist and a roadgeek who needs to see I-22 and I-269 progress). I'd likely be coming back through Dallas to visit another friend, and would likely take my time across western Arkansas and extreme southeastern Oklahoma, once again to sight-see (Hot Springs?) and to county-collect.

Other than that, there might be a couple of trips to the Valley (Harlingen, McAllen, etc.) for my part-time job, but that's still in the discussion phase.

D-Dey65

My trip officially begins on June 20 and ends on June 30. There's no turning back now.

I also bought the I-95 Exit Info Guide app, despite some outdated info on both that and the webpage it originated from.

noelbotevera

For me, my trip is beginning on the 20th to the 26th. I just need to do some last minute planning however...

CNGL-Leudimin

I'm now planning to do a roadtrip across the USA... on Street View :sombrero:. I'm not sure where it will start, I was thinking somewhere in New England (Either Boundaryline Road in Hamlin ME, which is the closest point of the US to Europe; Boston or Cape Cod); nor where it will go.

As for actual roadtrips, next Saturday I'll be taking a day trip up to the mountains.
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.

kphoger

Our annual Mexico trip:  Google Maps link

Leave Wichita on July 30
I-35 to Oklahoma City
I-44 to Wichita Falls
US-277 to Del Rio (except for a San Angelo bypass)
Stay the night in Del Rio
Fed-29 to near Allende
Get tourist cards & import vehicles near Allende
Fed-57 through Monclova
Coah-114 (potholes!) and Fed-40 to Paila
Coah-112 to Parras (exact home base not mapped)

That's the easy part.  We'll stock up on groceries, water, and propane in Parras.  The next day, it's off the beaten path to the village of La Constancia, population 278.  The long way, which is mapped in the link, includes 38 miles of unpaved desert roads.  The short way, which is impossible to link to (and which I'm not entirely sure of), is entirely unpaved and goes directly through the mountains by way of a combination of desert roads and dry creek beds.  I probably won't know which way we're going till we get to Parras and talk it over with the locals.  Either way, it should take between three and four hours.

At La Constancia, we (and some ministry partners from Parras) will be tent camping for three days (two nights).  In the Chihuahuan desert.  In August.  Our friends' baby will be five months old.  Our youngest child isn't yet two years old.  Yes, we're crazy.  And we're super excited.

We'll be leading a three-day vacation bible school thing-y in partnership with the local church there in Parras.  The church has recently begun reaching out in La Constancia, and they've asked us to lead a VBS there, similar to what we did last year in Parras itself.  La Constancia is a very poor town in a very dry area.  Very little grows there; I've seen a picture of a refrigerator with a single tomato as its only contents.  One year, the water tower ran dry and the people had to get their water from the tanque along with the animals.  We'll also be donating some hand-made pillowcases (along with pillows), some clothes, and probably some food while we're there.

The lesson materials were all developed by a friend of ours at church and translated into Spanish by yours truly.  Other than groceries, water, and propane, we'll be hauling pretty much everything down with us from Wichita.  This is why we bought a 4WD Pathfinder in February, and also an old rooftop cargo box (the big kind, like this one.  I probably could have squeezed another year out of our old minivan (204k miles), but there's no way it could make this kind of journey.  The Pathfinder and cargo box just got a good test run for a family vacation in Nebraska earlier this month.  With a tailwind, I got about the same mileage as city driving.  With a moderate headwind, it dropped by a further 2-3 mpg.  I don't bother with crossbars, which happens to help reduce air turbulence:  less turbulence means less drag, which means better mileage.

For the return trip...
Leave La Constancia late on August 4
Leave Parras on August 6
Same route in reverse, this time staying the night in Sonora, TX
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.

Tom958

I'll be leaving Atlanta on the 1st to help my daughter and son-in-law move to Austin. We'll be taking the inland route via a pet-friendly motel in Tyler, so not much in the way of obvious roadgeek interest other than the impossibly badass I-35-TX  interchange in Waco, unless someone has some suggestions.

US 41

Quote from: kphoger on June 22, 2016, 10:50:24 PM
Our annual Mexico trip:  Google Maps link

Leave Wichita on July 30
I-35 to Oklahoma City
I-44 to Wichita Falls
US-277 to Del Rio (except for a San Angelo bypass)
Stay the night in Del Rio
Fed-29 to near Allende
Get tourist cards & import vehicles near Allende
Fed-57 through Monclova
Coah-114 (potholes!) and Fed-40 to Paila
Coah-112 to Parras (exact home base not mapped)

That's the easy part.  We'll stock up on groceries, water, and propane in Parras.  The next day, it's off the beaten path to the village of La Constancia, population 278.  The long way, which is mapped in the link, includes 38 miles of unpaved desert roads.  The short way, which is impossible to link to (and which I'm not entirely sure of), is entirely unpaved and goes directly through the mountains by way of a combination of desert roads and dry creek beds.  I probably won't know which way we're going till we get to Parras and talk it over with the locals.  Either way, it should take between three and four hours.

At La Constancia, we (and some ministry partners from Parras) will be tent camping for three days (two nights).  In the Chihuahuan desert.  In August.  Our friends' baby will be five months old.  Our youngest child isn't yet two years old.  Yes, we're crazy.  And we're super excited.

We'll be leading a three-day vacation bible school thing-y in partnership with the local church there in Parras.  The church has recently begun reaching out in La Constancia, and they've asked us to lead a VBS there, similar to what we did last year in Parras itself.  La Constancia is a very poor town in a very dry area.  Very little grows there; I've seen a picture of a refrigerator with a single tomato as its only contents.  One year, the water tower ran dry and the people had to get their water from the tanque along with the animals.  We'll also be donating some hand-made pillowcases (along with pillows), some clothes, and probably some food while we're there.

The lesson materials were all developed by a friend of ours at church and translated into Spanish by yours truly.  Other than groceries, water, and propane, we'll be hauling pretty much everything down with us from Wichita.  This is why we bought a 4WD Pathfinder in February, and also an old rooftop cargo box (the big kind, like this one.  I probably could have squeezed another year out of our old minivan (204k miles), but there's no way it could make this kind of journey.  The Pathfinder and cargo box just got a good test run for a family vacation in Nebraska earlier this month.  With a tailwind, I got about the same mileage as city driving.  With a moderate headwind, it dropped by a further 2-3 mpg.  I don't bother with crossbars, which happens to help reduce air turbulence:  less turbulence means less drag, which means better mileage.

For the return trip...
Leave La Constancia late on August 4
Leave Parras on August 6
Same route in reverse, this time staying the night in Sonora, TX

Wow La Constancia is way out there. Good luck with your new vehicle.

I'm highly considering traveling to Mexico again sometime this winter when work is slow. I only work part time and in the winter when things are slow I usually only get between 15-20 hours a week (I work at a hardware store), so they have no problem giving me time off in the winter. I'm thinking about driving down MX 57 from Piedras Negras all the way down to Queretaro and back. I know by the time January hits I'll be tired of sitting around inside and I'll want to feel some warmer weather. From what I've heard MX 57 is a pretty safe drive, so it seems like something that I could probably do by myself without too much concern. It would also give me a chance to see my friend in New Braunfels, TX, again.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

kphoger

Quote from: US 41 on June 27, 2016, 09:01:42 PM
Wow La Constancia is way out there. Good luck with your new vehicle.

Thank you.  Plans are still coming together, got the propane and drinking water situation figured out recently, finishing up the budget this week.  My only wrinkle right now is that our companion is still trying to buy a new vehicle before we leave.  Not sure that his 1999 GMC Sierra would survive the trip, plus someone stole the license plate off of it recently and replaced it with an expired tag from a different county.  The exchange rate is off the hook right now, consistently above 17 pesos to the dollar.  I remember it being 9 to the dollar back in the 1990s.

Quote from: US 41 on June 27, 2016, 09:01:42 PM
I'm highly considering traveling to Mexico again sometime this winter when work is slow. I only work part time and in the winter when things are slow I usually only get between 15-20 hours a week (I work at a hardware store), so they have no problem giving me time off in the winter. I'm thinking about driving down MX 57 from Piedras Negras all the way down to Queretaro and back. I know by the time January hits I'll be tired of sitting around inside and I'll want to feel some warmer weather. From what I've heard MX 57 is a pretty safe drive, so it seems like something that I could probably do by myself without too much concern. It would also give me a chance to see my friend in New Braunfels, TX, again.

I'd like to travel to the Querétaro area at some point with my parents, because I think they would enjoy it, especially points a little farther north like Guanajuato.  One of our friends and ministry partners in México lives in Querétaro with his family, so I've got a built-in tour guide and possible accommodations.  Still haven't approached my folks about the idea yet, though.  If we ended up planning that kind of trip, they would probably fly to México while we would drive down and meet them there.

As for safety, most of México is safe, especially for just driving through.  The narco-violence is highly concentrated in specific areas (although it has shown some sign of dispersing a little bit), and overall crime remains decently low.  But yes, among American ex-pats living in México, the 57 corridor is considered the safest option for cross-country driving.  Coming from New Braunfels, it's not a bad option to cross at Colombia and skirt around Monterrey; we've talked about that crossing before.  That route to Querétaro is 50 miles shorter than through Piedras Negras.  The toll road from Laredo to Monterrey is only about 7 USD more expensive than the one from Allende to Nueva Rosita, but it's a smoother highway and (last I knew, two years ago) they still hand out free 7-day tourist cards at Colombia, unlike at Allende.  I know you dislike toll roads, so I'll say that the free Monterrey bypass and 40 to the west are both decent-enough highways.
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.

US 41

Quote from: kphoger on June 28, 2016, 12:17:40 PM
As for safety, most of México is safe, especially for just driving through.  The narco-violence is highly concentrated in specific areas (although it has shown some sign of dispersing a little bit), and overall crime remains decently low.  But yes, among American ex-pats living in México, the 57 corridor is considered the safest option for cross-country driving.  Coming from New Braunfels, it's not a bad option to cross at Colombia and skirt around Monterrey; we've talked about that crossing before.  That route to Querétaro is 50 miles shorter than through Piedras Negras.  The toll road from Laredo to Monterrey is only about 7 USD more expensive than the one from Allende to Nueva Rosita, but it's a smoother highway and (last I knew, two years ago) they still hand out free 7-day tourist cards at Colombia, unlike at Allende.  I know you dislike toll roads, so I'll say that the free Monterrey bypass and 40 to the west are both decent-enough highways.

The (lack of) toll roads is why I was planning on entering at PN rather than at Colombia. There's also the added benefit of being able to avoid Monterrey. Strangely enough, as cheap as I am, I'd actually rather have the $20 180 day FMM than the free one just in case something happened (like a breakdown). I think the TIP end date matches the FMM end date, so I'd hate to risk losing $300 if I had a breakdown. As much as I don't like taking toll roads I do plan on using the Saltillo Eastern Bypass (57D). It's 90 pesos (about $5) and the libre option through Saltillo just looks way out of the way. Plus there's a tunnel on the bypass if you're heading northbound. https://goo.gl/maps/hmA9uAbABZk
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

inkyatari

Nothing but a short trip from the far SW Chicago suburbs to the Illinois side of the St. Louis Metro for a charity bike ride.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

kphoger

Quote from: US 41 on June 29, 2016, 12:16:01 PMThere's also the added benefit of being able to avoid Monterrey.

We've talked enough for you to know that I have switched away from driving through Monterrey, but that's in order to avoid Fort Worth not Monterrey. I find driving the bypass around Monterrey no more of a headache than driving straight through Monclova, with the added benefit of there being zero stoplights. Both roads are full of diesel exhaust, services along both have entrances right on the road (read: tricky to pull out from), both are well signed, both are toll-free. And, actually, I've been reading on skyscrapercity that the main drag through Monclova will be under various stages of road construction for a while as they convert stoplighted intersections into grade-separated interchanges.
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.

oscar

#73
Quote from: US 41 on June 01, 2016, 10:16:50 AM
I finally figured out my route for when I go to Williston, North Dakota in August. The trip will also include a detour into Canada.

Terre Haute - Williston (US Route) https://goo.gl/maps/obA1AGsLzTH2

Williston - Terre Haute (via Canada) https://goo.gl/maps/4AhHi7XkLV32

The Canada part of your route mostly bypasses the Trans-Canada Highway, on highways where lodging is scarce until you get to Winnipeg, and even gas availability is thin on some stretches. Also, make sure you leave Williston on a full tank of gas, as you might not be able to refuel until Weyburn SK (in particular, don't count on gas in Fortuna ND, last town before the border). EDIT: I saws a Pilot travel center north of Williston at the US 2/85 split, which might be your last chance leaving Williston to refuel before crossing the border. Also, on SK 13 east of Weyburn there's a large Co-op gas station (open to non-members) on the west side of Carlyle.

Before crossing the border, check road conditions in SK, where even the paved primary highways like the ones you plan to travel can have crappy pavement. The MB highways on your itinerary are better-maintained. EDIT: I've driven this month or last most of the SK part of your itinerary, except SK 13 east of SK 9. No worries on pavement quality.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

SignGeek101

Quote from: oscar on June 30, 2016, 09:38:45 PM
Quote from: US 41 on June 01, 2016, 10:16:50 AM
I finally figured out my route for when I go to Williston, North Dakota in August. The trip will also include a detour into Canada.

Terre Haute - Williston (US Route) https://goo.gl/maps/obA1AGsLzTH2

Williston - Terre Haute (via Canada) https://goo.gl/maps/4AhHi7XkLV32

The Canada part of your route mostly bypasses the Trans-Canada Highway, on highways where lodging is scarce until you get to Winnipeg, and even gas availability is thin on some stretches. Also, make sure you leave Williston on a full tank of gas, as you might not be able to refuel until Weyburn SK (in particular, don't count on gas in Fortuna ND, last town before the border).

You'll get to see the advanced freeway system here in Winnipeg.  ;-)  :rofl:

Admittedly, the south side of the Perimeter (MB 100) is in much worse condition than the north side (MB 101). It would be a bit of a detour, but at least you wouldn't be sitting at traffic lights every 4 km or so.



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