Roadtrips 2009

[Ian]

As far as I know, no major trips for me for the rest of 2009. First off, I have to get my camera fixed because right now, its not working properly  .

For the rest of the 2009...

Thanksgiving weekend: Albany, NY to visit aunt, uncle, cousins, etc.

Christmas-New Years: Lake George, NY to visit the same family at their lake house. When I am not up there, possibly going skiing up in the Pocono's.

I do have some trips that might be happening next year in 2010...

March or April (whenever Spring break is for me): Going to Rocky Mount, NC to see my dad's cousin then down near Savannah to visit my mom's friend. Going to many places around or near these area's.

Sometime summer time: Possibly taking a trip to the west coast to pretty much tour the area.

[OracleUsr]

Here is what I did:


This is the Nobska Lighthouse on Cape Cod


Also on Cape Cod.  This is the Chatham Lighthouse


Final one on Cape Cod as the fog settles.  This is the Highlands Lighthouse


Cape Neddick in Southhern Maine


Cape Elizabeth, ME, near Portland

And finally:

Portland Head, ME

These are from my lighthouse trip back in late June.

[SSOWorld]

I just finalized and made necessary arrangements to take this roadtrip in September

http://tinyurl.com/nxkgzp

looks like if you were headed to Dubuque - I won't be there after all

I'll be in California - visiting family.

Gives me a chance to clinch some Sacramento (and hopefully more San Fransisco) freeways - though the clinching will be 'limited' and incognito.

Well, now that this trip is almost over - I didn't clinch some of either area's highways - I Clinched em all!!!

and got some great shots around SF to show for it

[rawmustard]

Probably my last major roadtrip of 2009 will be the one I'm taking for Columbus Day weekend (Oct 9-12). I plan to do another U.P. color tour, this time concentrating on areas I didn't see in 2008. The first day will be spent driving the northeast part of the L.P. and thereby getting the rest of those counties. Depending on how early I start driving up, I'll probably also drive across to Harbor Springs and the "Tunnel of Trees" before overnighting in Mackinaw City.

Saturday, I plan to drive across the U.P., finally seeing the Cut River Bridge in its autumn glory after not being able to last year. (It was supposed to open yesterday.) Then I'll work my way to Grand Marais and Munising along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and stop in Marquette and explore its downtown. I'll check the map again, but I think I can wind my way closer to the Lake Superior shore north of Marquette, possibly explore Huron Mountain, and eventually wind up in L'anse. (And if not, checking the progress of the Michigamme Curves isn't all that bad.) I would then spend the night in Houghton, perhaps taking time to explore the town and maybe Hancock and Calumet should sufficent daylight be left.

Sunday will probably be quite a haul, as I plan to check out Ontonogan, Lake of the Clouds, work my way to Duluth (and thus pick up a new state), then work my way down to Wisconsin Dells, where I'll spend my last night of this trip. Then Monday I'll work my way home, stopping in Mount Horeb to finally visit the Mustard Museum, and then making my way to Illinois via either US 12 or US 14, and then whichever way I feel around Chicagoland back home.

[hbelkins]

Got two trips coming up on successive weekends, both to attend road meets.

For the Grand Rapids meet, I'm going north up US 27 to snag the counties I need along Indiana's eastern border, then heading west to grab a couple of loose counties and overnighting in South Bend. The next day I'm heading north to Grand Rapids and then beyond, hopefully heading up US 31 to at least Traverse City and hopefully Petoskey, then back down US 131 to GR, with slight detours to pick up nearby counties. After the meet I'm going to NW Indiana and taking I-65 south to clinch that route in Indiana and the counties in that region (will leave me with only three counties needed to complete the state) and overnight near Indy and then head on home the next day, either through Cincy or Louisville.

The following week I'm taking a big excursion to the northeast. Wednesday I have an optometrist's appointment in Morehead, Ky., then I'm heading east on I-64 to US 15, then US 15, US 522, US 211 and US 15 again to finish up all the counties in Virginia. i hope to make it to Gettysburg for the night. Next day I'm going to make a run east on US 30, US 222 and I-76 to the Philly area and pick up counties needed there, then north on the Turnpike Extension and east on I-78, clinching all of Pennsylvania, then heading north into New York to Poughkeepsie, east on US 44 and north on US 7 and I hope to make it as far as Pittsfield to spend the night. Friday I'll head north on US 7 into Vermont, then east across VT/NH 9 to Concord, then pick up US 4 east and cross into Maine near Dover, then head over to I-95 and go south, using either I-95 or 495 to I-295, enter Rhode Island, then RI/MA 146 up to the Mass Pike and west to Kingston, NY for the night, hoping to make the Poughkeepsie bridge lighting.

After the Poughkeepsie meet on Saturday I'm heading south and staying in the Nyack area, but hope to use I-87, I-278 and I-95 to make a loop to enter all five counties (boroughs) of NYC and head back to my room for the night. Next day it's down the GSP and NJ Tpk and I-95 to DC, gonna drive all the way around the beltway, then west on I-66 to VA/WV 55 and follow that all the way to Elkins, then down I-79, probably overnighting in Charleston. That'll leave a short three-hour drive home on Monday and it's one I've done a zillion times.

That will probably be my last big trip of the year unless someone has a meet in December and I decide to go. I usually take a few standalone trips each year but this year all my trips have been for meets. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were.

[agentsteel53]

I am thinking of visiting a sign shop in South Dakota in person, which means Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota exploration as well.  About a 2200 mile trip, I'd estimate.

likely to be done the first week of November.

[US71]

Well, I just returned from a trip to South Dakota. I almost came home the same way, but changed my mind (glad I did: I saw more coming home than I did going up). I usually wind up at a Motel 6 or some little independent that smells like curry  .

My trip up was US 71 to KC, I-435 West to I-29, I-29 to Vermillion, SD. Then 3 nights camping at Vermillion.
From Vermillion, it was SD 50 to Yankton, US 81 to I-90, then I-90 to Rapid City.

Coming home it was I-90 to Mitchell (with a trip through the Badlands on the way), SD 38 to near Sioux Falls, I-90 to Jackson, MN then down US 71... with numerous detours along the way.

[leifvanderwall]

Probably my last major roadtrip of 2009 will be the one I'm taking for Columbus Day weekend (Oct 9-12). I plan to do another U.P. color tour, this time concentrating on areas I didn't see in 2008. The first day will be spent driving the northeast part of the L.P. and thereby getting the rest of those counties. Depending on how early I start driving up, I'll probably also drive across to Harbor Springs and the "Tunnel of Trees" before overnighting in Mackinaw City.

Saturday, I plan to drive across the U.P., finally seeing the Cut River Bridge in its autumn glory after not being able to last year. (It was supposed to open yesterday.) Then I'll work my way to Grand Marais and Munising along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and stop in Marquette and explore its downtown. I'll check the map again, but I think I can wind my way closer to the Lake Superior shore north of Marquette, possibly explore Huron Mountain, and eventually wind up in L'anse. (And if not, checking the progress of the Michigamme Curves isn't all that bad.) I would then spend the night in Houghton, perhaps taking time to explore the town and maybe Hancock and Calumet should sufficent daylight be left.

Sunday will probably be quite a haul, as I plan to check out Ontonogan, Lake of the Clouds, work my way to Duluth (and thus pick up a new state), then work my way down to Wisconsin Dells, where I'll spend my last night of this trip. Then Monday I'll work my way home, stopping in Mount Horeb to finally visit the Mustard Museum, and then making my way to Illinois via either US 12 or US 14, and then whichever way I feel around Chicagoland back home.

I'm glad you went up there . My father managed Porcupine Mts State Park for pretty much of the 80s and I graduated at White Pine High School, down the road on M-64. I went for my 20 year high school reunion in July 2008, and many things were closed : like hotels, the old Symons store in Silver City, The Rainbow Motel which was also a dry cleaning place and White Pine almost looked deserted. I heard that my high school was going to get torn down. I'm just wondering if you saw the same thing on your trip up there and if there were many visitors in the Porcupine Mts State Park when you went to Lake of the Clouds.

[corco]

I'm going to Des Moines this weekend. My tentative plan is I-80 to Big Springs NE, then I'll take US-30 all the way to I-35 in Ames, IA, take 35 South to Des Moines, then take US-6 all the way back to Sterling, Colorado, and then SH-71 up to Kimball NE, and then back to Laramie.

I'm pretty excited to clinch US-30 in Nebraska...anything cool to see along that or US-6?

Actually, which is more interesting from I-35 to Colorado, US-6 or US-34? I know they run concurrent for a long way, but I'd be open to either on the return trip... US-6 goes through Omaha/Council Bluffs, which is a plus, but is US-34 more interesting otherwise?

[Alex]

I'm going to Des Moines this weekend. My tentative plan is I-80 to Big Springs NE, then I'll take US-30 all the way to I-35 in Ames, IA, take 35 South to Des Moines, then take US-6 all the way back to Sterling, Colorado, and then SH-71 up to Kimball NE, and then back to Laramie.

I'm pretty excited to clinch US-30 in Nebraska...anything cool to see along that or US-6?

Actually, which is more interesting from I-35 to Colorado, US-6 or US-34? I know they run concurrent for a long way, but I'd be open to either on the return trip... US-6 goes through Omaha/Council Bluffs, which is a plus, but is US-34 more interesting otherwise?

U.S. 6 follows a freeway through much of west Omaha. As you approach Interstate 680 from the west, there are a series of impressive viaducts that carry the route over its original roadway. Probably worth seeing if you like modern freeways...

https://www.aaroads.com/blog/?p=72
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/?p=82

[agentsteel53]

6 in general has a lot of history to it.  check out the White Pole Road, an old 6 alignment near Adair, Iowa.

http://www.whitepoleroad.com/

[corco]

Nice- I like modern freeway alignments and huge viaducts.

I'll definitely do the White Pole Road...the one part I wasn't looking forward to so much was the I-80 stretch because I've done that before, and that'll be nice deviation. Very good call on that.

Are there any notable ancient signs to see in the Omaha area?

[agentsteel53]

Are there any notable ancient signs to see in the Omaha area?

yes.

US-275 and state route 92 pair from between 1963 and 1967 (note state name on the US, and ... no state name on the 92)

www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=NE19632751t202750.jpg&search=275

I-80 and I-480 interstate shields original to the freeways from the mid-1960s.

www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=NE19610802t100800.jpg&search=80

www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=NE19614801t104800.jpg&search=480