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Harrisburg PA - Madison WI (7/2019)

Started by sbeaver44, August 11, 2019, 09:15:26 PM

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sbeaver44

Took my wife and 2 yr old son out to Madison WI 3 weeks ago to visit our friend for a week. 

I had to work a half day on Friday the 19th, so we ended up staying in Elyria, OH that night.

Friday, we took US 322 to State College.  I was going to use PA 144 up to I-80, but decided instead to venture into State College on US 322 Bus and hit the new-ish Target concept store on the Penn State campus.  After that, I'd get over to PA 504 and take that to Philipsburg. 

PA 504 is a pretty fun road, and when I have more time, I'd like to go back to Black Moshannon State Park, which PA 504 passes through.

After Philipsburg, traffic wasn't great on US 322 so I ventured up PA 53 towards I-80.  But then I remembered PA 53 and PA 879 end very close to one another in Moshannon, and I could hit the remaining section I needed of 879 between Karthaus and Clearfield and resume on 80 there. 

PA 53 above I-80 had some nice turns and runs in a creek valley.  There was one bridge towards the end that was out and had a one-lane traffic light setup.

I was pleasantly surprised at PA 879 past Karthaus.  The road winds along the West Branch Susquehanna River but is wide and has good shoulders and guardrail, something PennDOT needs more of.  The only hindrance on 879 was some event called the "100 mile Yard Sale" and so every 2 miles we'd crawl to a halt waiting for someone to park or cross the road at a participating house.

We finally got on 80 and stopped in Grove City for dinner.  I had my eye on clinching US 322 for a long time, and the only portion I still needed was west of OH 7.  So, I used PA 58 and a detour to get to US 322 near the OH line.  Took 322 the whole way to Public Square in Cleveland.  Thunderstorms dotted the night sky as rural transitioned to suburbia and then the City.  Unfortunately, I had a slow go getting back to I-90 as the Indians game had ended just as I got into downtown.  The ride on I-90 to Elyria was uneventful, thankfully.

The next morning, we took OH 2 the whole way to OH 25 (using OH 163 to stop at the lake in Port Clinton and have the toddler run around for an hour).  I always liked OH 2 over the Turnpike, especially over the Thomas Edison bridge, but I usually would take OH 53 back to Exit 91. 

I had a college friend that lived right off US 30 in Warsaw, IN, so we ventured down US 24 to Fort Wayne and then I-469/69 to get to US 30.  After a few hours there, we resumed on 30, stopped for gas at the 30/421 junction, and then mentally prepared ourselves for the Chicago traffic.

As I often did, we took IN 49 from US 30, but instead of the Tollway, I took it up to I-94 to avoid the tollway exit 21 ramp chokepoint to I-80.  I had never used I-355 so I figured that would be the way to go.  Took 80 to 355 to 290 to 90.  Detoured off 90 onto US 20 at Marengo because the wife insisted on the GPS to the Rockford Chick Fil A, despite all signs pointing to a clear I-90 otherwise.  US 20 is mostly quiet until Belvidere, when it is a weird mix of lights and 4 lane expressway.

After Rockford, headed straight up 39/90 into the enternal Wisconsin workzone to arrive at Madison around 10:15 PM CT.  I don't know how anyone puts up with that seemingly 8,000 mile workzone on a regular basis.

------

During the week, we went to the Dells, Milwaukee, Port Washington, and Oconomowoc.  I didn't add a ton of new roads except WIS 16 between Columbus and Oconomowoc, and a bit of I-43 and US 45.

However, the wife had to get back before me and I found a cheap flight for them from Madison to Philadelphia on Friday the 26th.  I was going to the Brewers game later that night in Milwaukee, but that meant I had 2 1/2 days to make an interesting path home.

So, went up to Arlington WI to finish what I had started last year and complete WIS 60.  I had already driven everything west of US 51 to the IA line in Prairie du Chien, and WIS 60 was awesome there as it followed the Wisconsin River.

I took WIS 60 the whole way over to US 45, which allowed me to complete it, having used the I-43 to US 45 section a few days prior.

After the Brewers game I did a quick loop completing both I- and WIS 794, then went to bed.

The next morning, I was thinking about taking I-43 down towards Rockford but I really wanted to complete WIS 16, as I did all the hard work last year, doing everything west of the US 51 split SE of Portage.  With our travels during the week, I only needed the Oconomowoc to WIS 190 section near Pewaukee. 

I figured WIS 26 looked high quality so I took I-94 to WIS 16 to WIS 26 to I-39.  I stayed on I-39 to Rochelle IL.  There was some sort of construction south of Exit 99/IL 38, so I hopped off.  I had always planned to stop at Rochelle Railroad Park.  From there I took IL 251 south to US 34 in Princeton, and wrapped around to catch I-180.  And holy cow, is that road dead, just as expected.  After clinching I-180 and probably inflating its traffic count by 1%, I went back to IL 29, which I took to Peoria.  I used IL 6 and I-74.  Pretty clear that there were bigger plans for IL 6 to extend northward.

After walking the riverfront in Peoria for a few minutes, I continued on I-74 to IN 25.  Well, except there was an accident near the IL/IN line, so I detoured onto Perrysville Rd/IN 32/IN 63.

Indiana annoys me with their 12,000 mile state route cap.  That leaves the user to essentially find their own path between parts of IN 25 in Lafayette.  I used US 52/231 and Sagamore Parkway to Schuyler Ave.  At this point it was getting late so I transferred my reservation from Findlay, OH to Fort Wayne, IN.  I'd take IN 25 to US 24.

I gotta say, I'm a huge fan of the Hoosier Heartland Corridor/Highway.  PA could use more roads like that.  My only complaint is the left TOTSO with US 24 at the US 35 split east of Logansport.  To me, if the HHIC is one corridor, it should not have a TOTSO, and since US 35 merges onto US 24 in Logansport, US 24 seems like the through road.

Anyway, took US 24 to Huntington Center Rd to I-469 to IN 930, which allowed me to clinch I-469.

The next morning, I took US 24 back to Huntington so I could start on US 224.  I followed US 224 the entire way to PA 18 in New Castle, clinching US 224.  I did divert on US 23 up to Fostoria and back to do a little trainwatching at the Iron Triangle.  Great park they've got there.  Overall, US 224 is not a bad road, but there are some slow spots.

After US 224, I took US 422 into Ebensburg, and then US 22 to I-99 to the Turnpike, getting home at 11 PM ET Sunday and had to work the next morning at 7.  Oh well.

So, here's the roads I clinched on this trip:
PA: PA 504, PA 879, US 224
OH: US 322, US 224
IN: US 224, I-469
IL: I-180, I-355, IL 6
WI: I-794, WIS 16, WIS 60, WIS 794
Multi-State: US 224, US 322

My set of roads to target next time will be: US 422 in Ohio, I-290 (just need I-88/294 to I-355), I-94 in Indiana and Wisconsin, and maybe US 14, US 18, and/or WIS 33 in Wisconsin.


sbeaver44

Forgot to add, I don't have a PC at the moment, in the middle of an upgrade build, but I have video of the entire trip, and I'll hopefully get to do a timelapse soon

thspfc

Quote from: sbeaver44 on August 11, 2019, 09:15:26 PM
After Rockford, headed straight up 39/90 into the enternal Wisconsin workzone to arrive at Madison around 10:15 PM CT.  I don't know how anyone puts up with that seemingly 8,000 mile workzone on a regular basis.
I don't anymore. I have family in McHenry County IL, and I use US-12 to WI-89 to US-14 to get there.

QuoteSo, went up to Arlington WI to finish what I had started last year and complete WIS 60.  I had already driven everything west of US 51 to the IA line in Prairie du Chien, and WIS 60 was awesome there as it followed the Wisconsin River.
You drove right past my neighborhood if you were on US-51 north of Madison.

Overall, sounds like a real fun trip.

74/171FAN

Quote from: sbeaver44 on August 11, 2019, 09:15:26 PM
PA 504 is a pretty fun road, and when I have more time, I'd like to go back to Black Moshannon State Park, which PA 504 passes through.

Same here.  I almost stopped there when I drove through clinching PA 504 in May.
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

epzik8

Quote from: sbeaver44 on August 11, 2019, 09:16:38 PM
Forgot to add, I don't have a PC at the moment, in the middle of an upgrade build, but I have video of the entire trip, and I'll hopefully get to do a timelapse soon
I look forward for my chance to see the video.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

My clinched highways: http://tm.teresco.org/user/?u=epzik8
My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

ChimpOnTheWheel

Quote from: sbeaver44 on August 11, 2019, 09:15:26 PM
I had a college friend that lived right off US 30 in Warsaw, IN, so we ventured down US 24 to Fort Wayne and then I-469/69 to get to US 30.  After a few hours there, we resumed on 30, stopped for gas at the 30/421 junction, and then mentally prepared ourselves for the Chicago traffic.

As I often did, we took IN 49 from US 30

If you were going on the Fort Wayne-->Chicago route, couldn't you have taken US-30 --> I-65 --> I-80/94? I feel like going that way is faster than taking IN-49 --> I-80/90 --> I-94. Though I see you went straight up to I-94 from IN-49 to avoid tolls, which is a smart move.

You could've also taken US-30 all the way to IL-83, then Glenwood Dyer Road to IL-394 to I-80/294.
Just a casual.

JREwing78

Quote from: ChimpOnTheWheel on September 13, 2019, 02:19:13 PM
If you were going on the Fort Wayne-->Chicago route, couldn't you have taken US-30 --> I-65 --> I-80/94? I feel like going that way is faster than taking IN-49 --> I-80/90 --> I-94. Though I see you went straight up to I-94 from IN-49 to avoid tolls, which is a smart move.

You could've also taken US-30 all the way to IL-83, then Glenwood Dyer Road to IL-394 to I-80/294.

Could've, but US-30 is a bit of a slog west of Valparaiso, and a real slog west of I-65. The only way US-30 would be faster is if I-80/94 was flooded out.



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