2019 Road Trip plans.

Started by ce929wax, November 13, 2018, 01:27:54 AM

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abefroman329

I think we've ruled out driving to the beach in NC, and the chances of that trip actually happening seem to dwindle by the day, so...none, probably. Though I might do some extensive driving in England in May, and nearly all of that would be new mileage, since I drove there for the first time two years ago.


webny99

Sounds like I'll be heading to the Baltimore area in June. It's been a few years since I've headed down that way, so I'm super excited to drive the US 15 corridor again and check out the progress on the CSVT!

D-Dey65

My May trip to the New York Tri-State Area is now being pushed into April. Which means I'll be gathering new things to do early before I leave.




US71

I'm leaning towards going to the Lincoln Highway Conference in Wyoming, taking US 24 from KC, then US 85 from Denver.

I need to make time to check on some forgotten bridges in Arkansas I've yet to visit, then...who knows? Maybe a random trip somewhere. Maybe El Paso, maybe someplace else.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

D-Dey65

I really made some decent time getting to my destinations on every leg of my trip except the first one.


On the way down from NYC, I was so early before I got to my motel in Rocky Mount, that when I was in southern Virginia, I actually thought about getting off at Exit 4 on I-95 and going the long way down Moore's Ferry Road (VSR 629) to the North Carolina State Line!

And then I'd get back on I-95 via NC 48.




TheHighwayMan3561

My Key West trip wraps tomorrow. Nothing special about the routing on the way down, although I-24 from Nashville to Chattanooga is a fantastic drive. On the way home I did take I-75 through Alligator Alley up through Tampa because I was going to go crazy driving the same suggested route back.

I made a half-joking quip recently about I-94 in Wisconsin being "the most enforced route in the nation" . Having now driven I-75 in Georgia and US 1 in the Keys, I rescind that statement.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

ce929wax

Going to Cincinnati area at the end of May, first of June.  It will be my mom, my uncle, and myself to see my 94 year old great aunt.  I probably won't do any county clinching, but we will be going to a Reds game on June 2.

Rothman

Planning on driving up to Newfoundland from here in upstate NY this August.  It will include side trips to PEI and Saint Pierre, France.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

kevinb1994

Me and my parents are scheduled for a family visiting trip on the third weekend of May (next month), the same weekend as the Portsmouth OH Road Meet (which we kindly backed out of with a kindly declination). We will be flying from JAX to EWR and back with our round-trip plane tickets for United Airlines' small-airplane shuttle service, United Express. We will be staying at the Embassy Suites Piscataway Somerset (Embassy Suites by Hilton has been our hotel chain of choice as of late, along with Hampton by Hilton) for that weekend in order to attend my sister's graduation ceremony at the Louis Brown-Rutgers Athletic Center at the Livingston Campus of Rutgers-New Brunswick that Saturday. Either Sunday or Monday we will be visiting my father's mother in the Crestwood Village retirement community of the Whiting section (formerly an important railroad junction serving various lines of the CRRNJ aka the CNJ and the PRR) of Manchester Township in Ocean County.

D-Dey65

At some point in either late-May or June I want to take a day trip to Ocala National Forest and the vicinity, but I also have to plan for my October 2019 NYC area trip.

But right now, there's a chance I'm going to unplug my internet router, because a thunderstorm is coming.

:-o

TheHighwayMan3561

Something I'm just throwing together as I go, I'm considering a Dakotas/eastern Montana trip in the next couple weeks. I'm running out of new territory near home, but I didn't visit the Dakotas period until I turned 25 and still have spent very little time exploring them. It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 05, 2019, 04:36:41 PM
Something I'm just throwing together as I go, I'm considering a Dakotas/eastern Montana trip in the next couple weeks. I'm running out of new territory near home, but I didn't visit the Dakotas period until I turned 25 and still have spent very little time exploring them. It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.

Roosevelt NP is a kick ass place to go if you want a quiet summer season hike.  The southern branch of the park is incredibly accessible from I-94 and IMO I enjoyed it just as much as anything in the Black Hills in South Dakota. 

oscar

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 05, 2019, 04:36:41 PM
It would be centered on the western halves, as you might expect, as well as the high plains of eastern Montana. US 12 seems like a good choice for part of this trip. Roosevelt NP is high on the list of what I want to visit.

I agree with Max that Roosevelt NP is a good choice.

If you go on US 12 in eastern Montana, you might take a short detour to the small town of Ismay. In the late 1990s, it renamed itself Joe, Montana as a fundraising ploy. Once the town residents got a snazzy new town building out of it, and even a trip to Kansas City to watch the quarterback play, the renaming might've been dropped. But you might see remnants of the rename.



(back when the town and I were more than two decades younger)

See also http://www.alaskaroads.com/roadgeek-souvenirs-page1.htm for the souvenirs I bought on my 1996 visit.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
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kphoger

Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX.  Everything except the first couple of hours (Wichita to OKC) was all new roads for me.  We left Wichita early on Tuesday morning and got back home Friday for supper.

We didn't see the sun at all on Tuesday except after about 7 pm, and we drove in and out of rain all day.  OKC was terrible, pouring cats and dogs, with standing water on the highway and traffic moving at about 35 to 45 mph due to the weather.  I-44 through town might be a nice highway (so I'd heard), but for me it was a white-knuckle experience.  We also drove in and out of rain coming back north through Texas after packing up.  But our weather camping was great–with one warm sunny day, one cool overcast day, and some rain overnight while we were snug in the tent.  It was drizzling when he had to pack up camp, but nothing terrible.

To make things a little more interesting, I drove one route southwest and another route northeast.  You can see the GPS track of the drive here.

Between OKC and Texas, we explored a little bit of old Route 66.  Top on my list was the William H. Murray bridge over the Canadian River (currently US-281).  This is a Camelback Pratt pony truss bridge with 38 spans, with a total length just a hair shy of ¾ mile.  We also took a short section from Erick on through Texola (OK), then into Texas, where the four-lane highway narrows to become a two-lane frontage road of I-40.

Total distance on the trip odometer = 931.7 miles.  I'm not used to driving more than 300 miles without a second driver, so 450 each way took a bit of a toll on me–mainly my lower back, but also my ability to stay alert.











Caprock Canyons State park is home to Texas' official state bison herd, which are the last remaining Southern Plains bison.  They roam freely throughout the park.  We personally encountered them at our campground (in the parking lot and also walking through site #56), blocking the road, and even during a hike we took up a small river canyon.  They don't care if you want to get by in your car, either.  If they're not in a hurry, they'll just stand there and look at you.  One evening, as we took a drive to charge my phone and see if I could find cellular service to call my wife, I eventually gave up waiting for the bison to move and just turned back around.







I won't post a whole bunch of non-road photos on here, but I'll give you a few just for fun.













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

#64
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 25, 2019, 12:28:47 PM
I made a half-joking quip recently about I-94 in Wisconsin being "the most enforced route in the nation" . Having now driven I-75 in Georgia and US 1 in the Keys, I rescind that statement.

US 1 in the keys is ridiculous and it honestly took a lot of the fun out of the trip for me. You would've thought that the Cubans were invading or something when I was down there.

Quote from: kphoger on May 06, 2019, 02:25:19 PM
Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX. 



Caprock Canyons State park is home to Texas' official state bison herd, which are the last remaining Southern Plains bison.  They roam freely throughout the park.


Looks like that was a fun trip. I had no idea that there still any Bisons left anywhere besides up near Yellowstone. I've also always loved the design of those types of bridges.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for me, I had thought about going to Idaho and maybe as far west as Oregon, but I now doubt that will happen and officially have no road trip plans. I am planning on putting my 2 weeks notice in at my current job so that I can attend truck driving school next month and get my class A CDL. I figure once I get that, I will be road tripping all over as I fully intend on doing OTR anywhere in the US and Canada (I'm also willing to do Mexico, but going there is extremely rare).
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 May 12, 2019, 08:48:51 AM
(I'm also willing to do Mexico, but going there is extremely rare).

Well, yeah.  The Cross-border Trucking Pilot Program was canceled back in 2014.  So, unless you get a job with one of the companies that is already grandfathered in, then you won't be driving a rig into Mexico at all, ever.
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.

NWI_Irish96

Quote from: cabiness42 on January 31, 2019, 08:11:22 AM
Not entirely by road, but we have a family vacation planned where we will fly to LAX, the drive a loop to Disneyland, San Diego, Tucson, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and then back to LAX for the flight home.

This just occurred to me.  We will be flying out of MDW, about 12 miles from the east end of Route 66, and for the first 3 nights we are renting a condo in Santa Monica, about a mile from the west end of Route 66.  Has any of you ever visited both ends on the same day?  It would add about 30-45 minutes to our trip from home to MDW to accomplish this but it seems worth it. 
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
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Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

kevinb1994

#67
In the case that the upcoming and planned Pittsburgh Road Meet doesn't actually happen, and/or we decide not to attend after all, I have come up with some back-up road trip plans for early-mid August. Some ideas are:

Atlanta-Piedmont and back (though we may fly there and back instead)

Charlotte-Piedmont and back (though we may fly there and back instead)

Miami-Key West and back (though we may fly there and back instead)

Ocean Highway and back (partially how we ended up in Jacksonville)

Tampa-Gulf Coast and back (last went in May 2014)

Any other ideas for a two-week-max (one-week-minimum) road trip?

cl94

I recently got back from a county-clinching trip that took me through Ontario, Michigan, Ohio (finished its counties), Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, a loop from Albany with the far corners roughly at Jackson, MI and Cincinnati, OH.

In a little under 4 weeks, I'm going to be taking a trip up to Montreal for the meet centered on the new bridge. Not a ton of driving, relatively speaking, as I plan to not even use the car one of the days.

My big car-centered trip this year will be in the mountain west. Flying to Albuquerque in August, then visiting several things in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. I figure I'll put 2-3,000 miles on the rental car in a week and a half.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Roadgeekteen

#69
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York west of I-87!
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

webny99

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 18, 2019, 05:34:06 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York east of I-87!

Congratulations! Hope you enjoyed it!  :sombrero:

csw

Quote from: kphoger on May 06, 2019, 02:25:19 PM
Last week, I took my two oldest sons on a camping/hiking trip at Caprock Canyons State Park, TX.  Everything except the first couple of hours (Wichita to OKC) was all new roads for me.  We left Wichita early on Tuesday morning and got back home Friday for supper.

That trip looks like it was a lot of fun. In my limited experience driving through the TX panhandle, it's much more pretty than most would expect, especially when the cliffs start showing up in western OK. Palo Duro Canyon is somewhere I'd really like to check out.

Roadgeekteen

Quote from: webny99 on July 19, 2019, 09:00:58 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 18, 2019, 05:34:06 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 31, 2019, 09:35:12 AM
I might finally make it to Nova Scotia this year, my dad keeps mentioning it but we always go somewhere else.
Well, we went to Niagara Falls and Ithaca this June, and we are going to Nova Scotia in August. I finally made it to Upstate New York east of I-87!

Congratulations! Hope you enjoyed it!  :sombrero:
Yeah, I got to see I-88 and the NYS thruway which was cool.
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

D-Dey65

My second road trip of the year is still going to happen, but it could be anywhere between September and December. A lot of it depends on when many of the places on my itinerary are going to be open. This will include Montauk Point State Park (specifically the canteen), the Danbury Railway Museum (assuming they'll let me take pictures of specific trains), and even the New York City Transit Museum (if they have the bus I want to see).



paulthemapguy

In late September and early October, my lady and I will be touring eastern Canada, plus Maine!  We will have stops in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton NB, Halifax, PEI, and Acadia NP.  If there are recommendations you have or any travel advisories I should be aware of, let me know.
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