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2020 Road Trip Plans

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

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rawmustard

As of this moment, my mother and I are planning to attend my cousin's wedding next weekend in Crofton, KY. (We have a reservation in Hopkinsville for two nights.) I'll get to see the progress on I-69 near Martinsville, IN, and any part of that route south of US-60 will be new to me.


Max Rockatansky

I'll be trying for Crater Lake and Redwood National Park soon provided there isn't issues with fires.  I'll likely be heading to Lake Tahoe for Veterans Day weekend.  In December I have plans to take my wife to Big Sur and Cambria to see some sort of winter light show. 

TravelingBethelite

Probably just drive around more collecting counties in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. That is, when I have the gas money and time away from homework and school.
"Imprisoned by the freedom of the road!" - Ronnie Milsap
See my photos at: http://bit.ly/1Qi81ws

Now I decide where I go...

2018 Ford Fusion SE - proud new owner!

A.J. Bertin

Despite the pandemic, I've been fortunate that I've been been able to (safely) take several road trips this year:

  • Weekend trips around Michigan/Indiana with friends
  • A 3-day trip to and from western Illinois in June for the road meet that Brandon Gorte hosted in the Sterling/Dixon area
  • A 6-day trip out to and from Utica NY in July for the road meet that Mark Sinsabaugh hosted (which allowed me to explore Youngstown OH, Ithaca NY, and Niagara Falls NY as well)
  • A 3-day trip to and from LaCrosse WI in August for the road meet that Scott Onson hosted
  • A 3-day trip to southern Indiana and eastern Ohio in September which allowed me to finish collecting the remaining counties I needed in those states

In less than two weeks, I'm planning to head to Kansas City for another road meet... and then in mid November I'm planning on going to Greensboro NC for yet another road meet.  (I usually attend between four and six road meets per year, and this year I'm on track to continue that trend... despite the pandemic.)  The only thing, I think, that would prevent me from attending either of those meets is if the COVID numbers look particularly bad in those areas and my spouse would prefer that I not go.
-A.J. from Michigan

US71

Only thing on my agenda right now is AR 16. It runs from Slime mold Siloam Springs to Searcy over some narrow roads and hilly terrain. It's a really crazy roller coaster drive. I've only driven it once and that was over 20 years ago.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

hbelkins

I've been wanting to go check out construction on new US 35 in West Virginia, but car troubles are getting in the way. If I can get my car running to the point where I feel safe driving it longer distances than 10 miles or so, I may combine that with a jaunt into southern WV to see the new section of the Coalfields Expressway.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

kphoger

Last week, I took my three sons on a camping trip to Colorado.  Our Pathfinder was supposedly fixed just in the nick of time:  I picked it up from the mechanic at midnight Saturday night.  However, something went wrong with the timing during the repair, so I had to borrow a 4Runner from friends at church.  I turned our car in at the mechanic first thing Monday morning, then drove the loaner car home, loaded the boys into our friends' car, and off we went.

A map of our GPS track can be viewed on Google here.  (The track starts at our first gas station stop, and it ends at the motel we stayed at on the way back.)  Dark red is westbound, purple is eastbound.  Not shown is that we used US-160 over North La Veta Pass on the westbound trip rather than Old La Veta Pass, which we used on the return trip.

The main destination was Great Sand Dunes National Park, at which we camped three nights.  Temperatures for the first two nights were likely below 35 degrees, but I don't think it actually dipped below freezing.  I'm skinny and a cold-weenie, so I slept in three shirts and a coat.  The third night wasn't as cold, but the wind kept three of us awake most of the night.  As soon as the sun came up, though, it warmed right up into the 70s every day.

We hiked partway up the sand dunes one day, and then we hiked Dunes Overlook Trail the next day.  Hardly a cloud in the sky the whole time, and just barely some occasional haze.

After our time there, we headed across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, making use of a San Isabel National Forest road, commonly known as Apishapa Road, which is a spur of the so-called Highway of Legends.  No 4WD was required, but I probably would have used it if I had been traveling westbound.  From a mile or two west of Cordova Pass all the way to Apishapa Arch, the road was quite rocky and required a little bit of skill to navigate.  My speed along that stretch was typically around 10 mph, and I was thankful to be in a vehicle with auto-stick.  On the way up, my middle son got carsick, so he and my youngest switched seats for the way down–in order for him to be able to see out the windshield.  After Apishapa Arch, the road gradually improved–from large rocks all over in the roadbed to smaller rocks and visible tire tracks, then from that to the smoothest gravel road I've ever driven, then from that to asphalt.  From Aguilar, we drove down into New Mexico to briefly visit Capulin Volcano National Monument and hike down into the vent.  Then, on our way back to Kansas, we stopped and found the official BLM marker for the northwestern corner of Texas–which is NOT in the shoulder of the highway, as Google Maps suggests.

Mountain passes crossed
Cuchara Pass (twice)  |  CO-12  |  Elev. 9,995 feet
North La Veta Pass  |  US-160  |  Elev. 9,413 feet
Old La Veta Pass (Uptop)  |  Huerfano CR-443  |  Elev. 9,382 feet
Cordova Pass  |  Las Animas CR-46  |  Elev. 11,248 feet
Raton Pass  |  I-25  |  Elev. 7,834 feet

Highway photos:

US-160 WB, between Springfield and Trinidad, CO


CO-150, approaching Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO


Old La Veta Pass at the ghost town of Uptop, CO


US-160 EB, as seen from the road coming down from Old La Veta Pass


Cordova Pass, CO


Apishapa Arch, east of Cordova Pass


Southeastern Colorado is loaded with decimal-pointed county highways


NM-72 EB, between Yankee and Folsom, NM


My wife and I often visit relatives in Branson (MO) and Des Moines (IA), so this sign in Folsom (NM) was humorous to me


Is there anything New Mexico DOESN'T get wrong about signage?  Error US-64 shield on NM-325 in Capulin


Getting my roadgeek on with the boys
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.

bandit957

I was able to do one more fall trip. This week, I visited some national parks in Colorado and Utah!

This is me in the common area of a motel in Glenwood Springs, Colo., om Thursday...

Might as well face it, pooing is cool

D-Dey65

#108
Yesterday I finally went on my northeastern Florida photography crusade. I wanted to do this, so that the next time I take a trip to NYC, won't need to stop too many places within Florida to take pictures.

US 17-FL 100 goes over a bump that was once a Seaboard Air Line Railroad crossing just east of the northwest end of the overlap. The only part of it still being used is a spur from the CSX Wildwood Subdivision, to a little community in the middle of nowhere named Edgar.

The Commodore Point Expressway is getting the John Norquist treatment. And all of you know I'm no fan of that anti-highway zealotry, and will never go near the Isaiah David Hart Bridge again!
UPDATE: October 19, 2020: Actually, this is a really bad idea. I'm already convinced there will be people flying off the stub like the American Nazis in "The Blues Brothers" on an irregular yet frequent basis.

The Westbound Liberty Street off ramp on the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway is closed (permanently?). I've been saying there were too many interchanges east of I-95 and not enough of them west of I-95.

Thankfully, I was finally able to take better shots of the agricultural inspection stations on US 17. But what I found was that there were no Department of Agricultural Police cars at the facility, and a big clearing around the northbound inspection station. Could this be an effort by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to replace those pull-off lanes with a whole new facility?

Either way, I actually crossed over into the Georgia State Line. I considered a drive into Kingsland to a restaurant I knew about, but it was too soon in the day for lunch.


US 17 is being widened from west of the bridge over Dunns Creek in San Mateo to some part of San Mateo I forgot about. I keep thinking they could've gone somewhat southwest of there.

The eastbound Seminole County Rest Area on I-4 is closed and the car parking lot and picnic area have been torn to pieces for reconstruction. I'm so glad I captured images of that place when I did.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Interstate_4_rest_area_50221,_Florida


I know Governor DeSantis held this big press conference earlier this year claiming they were done with the "I-4 Ultimate" project, but it doesn't even look like it's close.

I will be taking another Northeastern Florida excursion someday, but I think my next day trip will be between the Sunshine Skyway and the abandoned Orlampa development.


D-Dey65

I posted this message on another thread:
Quote from: D-Dey65 on November 08, 2020, 05:04:04 PM
At this point, I'm considering the possibility, I may not take any big road trips of any kind until the Spring of 2021, because I'm getting ready to schedule an operation on my knee. That's because more than eight years ago I tried sitting in the driver's seat of a 1966-67 MG Midget, and have had water on the knee ever since, but now it's starting to bulge up.

Small cars and big people just don't mix!
As it turned out, my knee surgery went easier than I thought it would. So perhaps there might be a chance to squeeze that Sunshine Skyway/I-4 trip in before the year is over.


Ragarnoky

Will be going north to NYC via I-70, I-695, I-95 and I-278 in December since my family usually goes there every year. We stay at my grandma's house in Queens.

Rothman

Quote from: Ragarnoky on November 23, 2020, 03:51:33 PM
Will be going north to NYC via I-70, I-695, I-95 and I-278 in December since my family usually goes there every year. We stay at my grandma's house in Queens.
...while COVID positivity rates are expected to hit 12% in NY now?  Stay safe.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

D-Dey65

I am now looking to make my Central Florida photography crusade day trip sometime before December 14. This will include more of the Sunshine Skyway, including some rest area pics, Silver Moon Drive-In, Polk Parkway, Orlampa, and if I can, maybe I'll even barge in towards the Daytona Beach Metro Area, or even the St. Augustine area (I've been seeking more pics of the US 1 Business Route there recently).

In the meantime, can somebody tell me where this image is (or was)?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orange_bird_sign,_Artesia_Gardens_Citrus_Stand,_Route_A1A,_Hammock,_Florida_LCCN2017704050.tif

kphoger

Quote from: D-Dey65 on December 01, 2020, 11:02:34 PM
In the meantime, can somebody tell me where this image is (or was)?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orange_bird_sign,_Artesia_Gardens_Citrus_Stand,_Route_A1A,_Hammock,_Florida_LCCN2017704050.tif

From the very little I can dig up online, it appears to have been at 5399 N Oceanshore Blvd (Palm Coast, FL).  That location is now a bank at the entrance to Publix.

https://www.floridalookup.com/artesia-ga-palm-coast-biz688463.htm

What I can definitely confirm, however, is that the statue is no more.

https://activerain.com/blogsview/2025588/bluebird-of-happiness-and-the-orange-man-a-foreclosure-love-story-tragedy
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.

D-Dey65

#114
I took the Sunshine Skyway-Polk County trip yesterday, but I took I-75 straight down to the south end of I-275 this time.

I also took some unexpected sightseeing on the north pier of the former Sunshine Skyway. As I left, I spotted a medium-sized sign knocked down on the embankment between the old bridge and the southbound lane. I tried to lift it up to read it, but it was too heavy (and only a few years ago, I lifted up a 580 pound steel sink!).


Wikimedia Commons will soon have the south end and north beginning of US 19, and possibly others from Manatee County.

They're also going to have some from FL Toll 570 (Polk Parkway), which as of now, does not have electronic tolls.

As well as the Silver Moon Drive-In, which they have an article on, but no images.

Did you also know that US 92 has an abandoned truck weigh station east of the Hillsborough-Polk County Line? It really shouldn't be a surprise since the road used to be the main drag between St. Pete and Daytona Beach, but it's just so prominent, I'm really sorry I didn't get a picture of it.

There's also a New Jersey style U-Turn along FL 559 south of the entrance to Love's Travel Center. Why?

One woman smiled at me for taking pictures of the Silver Moon Drive-In.

A bunch of jerkoffs honked at me for stopping to take pictures of the few remaining remnants of Orlampa that I could find. They also got on my case for obeying the stop sign and blinker light at FL 559 and CR 557A.


So unless something goes wrong for my Christmas trip to one of my relatives near Walt Disney World, this is it for the 2020 day trips. No Daytona Beach or St. Augustine until sometime next year. Either somebody else is going to have to capture US 1 Business Route signs in St. Augustine, or the Wikimedia Commons will have to wait a few months or longer for them.



Max Rockatansky

My Wife and I did one to a Christmas light show in Cambria the night the Southern California Regional Stat at Home Order was set to enact.  Our hotel reservation was honored so we stayed out there and drove up CA 1 to Carmel in the morning.  Monterey County didn't have a regional Stay at Home order so it was pretty much just business as usual there.

ErmineNotyours

Quote from: ErmineNotyours on February 25, 2020, 10:31:02 PM
Planning to go from Seattle to Yellowstone early in the season, recreating a family trip from 1987, only now I-90 will be completed through Idaho.  Still, I plan on getting off at Wallace to see The Last Traffic Light.  This will be my first solo multi-night road trip, so wish me luck.

A few months ago I did a Google search for Vancouver rail trails, and found The Railway Trail around a lake north of Abbotsford.  Ask and ye shall receive.  The loop even includes a hydro dam that is closed for tours in the winter, and I just found out it opens on March 1st.  I plan on visiting it this Monday the 2nd.  (Whoops, rain is forecast for Monday, so never mind.)

I'm finally taking that Yellowstone trip in the middle of September!  I had planned to stay in cabins just like when I went with my family, but even two months out is too late to plan for these things.  Only the extremes of camping and luxury resorts are available, and even those are few and far between.  So I planned to be in Yellowstone three nights and two days, and I've alternated the camp with the resort so I won't have to go too many days without an easy shower.  The camp sites available on the days are way down in Grand Teton, which I hadn't even planned to visit.  It's two and a half hours from Mammoth Hot Springs to the first campsite, and I'm still not sure how late I can check in.  The resort is the Old Faithful Inn, for a night that costs as much as my monthly rent did in 2001.  I wanted to visit at least the wood-carved lobby of Old Faithful Inn and then its copy in Walt Disney World, but I missed out on both times.  Now I'll actually be staying there.

I waited to schedule this trip until the Wallace District Mining Museum in Wallace, Idaho, featuring the last traffic light on I-90, was open.  I'll be stopping both directions in Missoula and plan on walking around the river trails in town, especially on the way back when I'll have more time.  Other than that I have no plans for anything special to do between home and the park.

I had planned to camp a few weeks ago when I finally visited the drive-in movie theater in Port Townsend, Washington.  It didn't seem worth it to pay for a motel just for a drive-in, especially with all those state parks around.  Then I realized they have gates and wouldn't be open at all hours to take me in, so I wound up getting a motel room anyway.  Still, thanks to my noisy upstairs neighbors, I was able to test the possibility of sleeping in the back of my CR-V.  At 5'7" I can stretch out corner to corner in the back on an air mattress and actually fall asleep.  I haven't tested a complete night yet, so it will be an adventure.

Rothman

For Yellowstone, I found staying in West Yellowstone to be most convenient.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Rothman on July 17, 2021, 12:17:33 PM
For Yellowstone, I found staying in West Yellowstone to be most convenient.

Likewise, but Red Lodge isn't too bad to use as a staging area on the Bear Tooth Highway.  Jackson Hole is way too touristy and better suited to visiting Grand Teton.

US 89

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 17, 2021, 12:19:33 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 17, 2021, 12:17:33 PM
For Yellowstone, I found staying in West Yellowstone to be most convenient.

Likewise, but Red Lodge isn’t too bad to use as a staging area on the Bear Tooth Highway.  Jackson Hole is way too touristy and better suited to visiting Grand Teton.

Jackson isn't even that close to Yellowstone anyway. Last time I went to Yellowstone (summer 2020), I stayed in Jackson the night after and was shocked it took over 2 hours to get there. Didn't budget my time appropriately, so I did over half of that drive in the dark (though I did see way more of Yellowstone in one day than most people). You bet I was paying extra good attention for animals - it's really something to see a pair of coyote eyes staring at you from the side of the road, and I had already seen a moose and a few elk earlier in the drive when it was still sort of light.

Also, not only is Jackson touristy, it is absolutely full of people. Traffic was a nightmare even when I was there during covid summer last year.

CNGL-Leudimin

This thread in a nutshell: Plans that didn't came through. For the first time since I can recall I spent every night of the calendar year at home. I ended up without taking any major road trips, and for half a year I didn't even drive at all. In fact I didn't drive much for a year or so, having only picked it up again from March on. I had to abruptly cancel a daytrip, which if I'm lucky enough I'll try to do in October.
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

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 19, 2021, 09:05:28 AM
This thread in a nutshell: Plans that didn't came through.

Says you.

Also, |Max Rockatansky| and I both went to Mexico in 2020–although I think he flew down there and did road-tripping while he was there.  I drove there and back, but I never posted a report on this thread.

Others have posted in this thread about road trips they took in 2020 as well.
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.



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