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Road Trip!

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  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132

    @gagrice said:
    I think Steve has posted pics of his trip to AK with a canoe on top of his Bug. This pic came from a friend of Rocky's that lives in Cleveland. A British MC nut and train buff.

    The picture of Steve's with two canoes on top must have been in another forum. It was a small station wagon type vehicle.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2014

    Don't think I hauled a canoe north on a Bug; somewhere on an external drive around here is a pic sort of like the motorcycles on the Bug one. My wife got to Alaska a year before I did and drove up from California with a girlfriend, two bikes on top, a cat and otherwise crammed to the gills. Can't find the snap at the moment - got company so I'm a bit preoccupied today. My brother and his wife are visiting on their first leg driving to Alaska.

    @xwesx - they've decided to visit Fairbanks after all. :)

    @imidazol97, we've had that discussion about flipping the car over quite a few times. :D

  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209

    2 road trips planned for me this summer/fall.
    both planned to be with 05 GTO...
    boston to new smyrna beach.

    2nd is boston to san jose & back. outbound route for this one not determined. could be I-90 via sea-tac area, or I-40 via meteor crater, or my usual route I-80.
    return route is certainly I-80. your posts here might influence the route... or, you can try to dissuade me with pointers to discount nonstop airline fares ;) .

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    @elias said:
    2 road trips planned for me this summer/fall.
    both planned to be with 05 GTO...
    boston to new smyrna beach.

    2nd is boston to san jose & back. outbound route for this one not determined. could be I-90 via sea-tac area, or I-40 via meteor crater, or my usual route I-80.
    return route is certainly I-80. your posts here might influence the route... or, you can try to dissuade me with pointers to discount nonstop airline fares ;) .

    Unless you just want to drive the GTO, I would say for two people from Boston to the West Coast should offer some great fares. And put the miles on a rental car. When I used to fly and rent all the time. I would pick the city to fly to based on both airfare and car rental. There is a huge difference from one place to the next. Also Off airport most places the car rentals are much cheaper. I figure 4 nights in a hotel from San Diego to Southern Indiana driving. My wife refuses to be groped by TSA so driving is our only real choice. I am getting used to going twice a year and try to take a different route each time. With as few miles on the Interstates as possible. So far I have avoided all the toll roads in OK and elsewhere. Driving in a comfortable SUV that gets 30 MPG is also a plus. I would guess you get 30+ on the highway with the GTO.

  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144

    Just got back from a week in Santa Fe. Wife and I and our loaded up mazda CX-7. a little over 900 miles total. First tank was 24, second was 20 and third was 21. Haven't filled up yet from the last leg but would expect it to be 23-24 again.

    Came back through Taos rather than interstate. Didn't realize just how twisty US 64 was. Beautiful scenery but added an extra hour or two to the trip time.

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  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209

    i do just want to driiiiiiive the gto, maybe will get it out of my system with another cruise to florida and back. on a long drive it will do 23 mpg maximum on E10, and up to 25 mpg on E0. also on long cruise-control drives it seems to get better mpg with 87/low octane rather than 91/premium.

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762

    @stever said:
    xwesx - they've decided to visit Fairbanks after all. :)

    Good for them! Hopefully we're smoke-free while they're in town! It's been spotty so far, but we were socked in with smoke for a couple days last week due to a fire down on the Kenai Peninsula. Sometimes, we just can't catch a break.

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    Also heard, but didn't see it in the paper, that there was a fire somewhere "near" Valdez that was messing up the viewshed. They should hit the Canadian border sometime today headed for Mile Zero.

    I still fully expect my sister in law to turn around and drive home the first time they see a bear. B)

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    Isn't seeing a Bear and other wildlife the only good reason to drive to Alaska? On;y time I have seen bears on the AlCan is when I take the Cassiar Hwy. My favorite route also. Probably all paved and boring now. My last trip was in the mid 1990s.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    lol, I know. My Seward friend drove up about two weeks ago and says he saw "a hundred" bears around Muncho Lake, most feeding on the shoulder grass. My sister in law is a bit timid though.

    The problem with the Cassiar is a new high tension power line that follows the road the whole way. Guess it really ruins the views.

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    The Enviro Whackos will not be happy until every wilderness area is covered with Wind Farms and the high power corridors to the big cities are built. Glad I got to experience the Cassiar when it was a gravel road. Same with the rest of the AlCan. If I was looking for an adventurous drive it would be to Costa Rica.

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    edited June 2014

    @gagrice said:
    Isn't seeing a Bear and other wildlife the only good reason to drive to Alaska? On;y time I have seen bears on the AlCan is when I take the Cassiar Hwy. My favorite route also. Probably all paved and boring now. My last trip was in the mid 1990s.

    My first Cassiar drive was August 1995, and it was about 75% gravel (if you could even call many of those mud holes that!), with total travel time on the order of 18 hours. The scenery was truly amazing, and the forest literally abutted the road in most places.

    In September 2009, I made the drive in eight hours flat, and there were perhaps 30 miles left unpaved. In September 2013, it was about ten hours (with those extra two stopped or slowed for the power line construction and a bridge replacement), and huge swaths of forest were being removed to put in that transmission line. It seems that it started following the roadway at about Bell II Crossing (1/3 up from the southern end of the route) and continued northward to the Stikine River, so it follows at least 1/3 of the total length of the road (450 miles).

    The only portion of the road still gravel is about three miles or so dropping into the Stikine River gorge and back up the other side.

    I'm not sure whether I should feel fortunate or not that my travels allowed me to somewhat witness this incredible road's transformation over the years. I traveled it in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2009, and 2013, traversing it a total of ten times over those years.

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    edited June 2014

    Huh. Well, it turns out that there is quite a bit of info out there on the "Northwest Transmission Line" or "NTL" project. Such as this article, written about a week before the last time I drove the highway: http://globalnews.ca/news/838101/powering-b-c-s-north-bc-hydros-transmission-line-project/

    They say it terminates at Bob Quinn Lake (about 50% up the highway). Funny, but they had active clearing going on nearly all the way to Iskut, so I don't think it the transmission lines stop there. What's more, it begins in Terrace, which is down on the Yellowhead (Highway 16), so the construction must be off the road a ways until it gets to Bell II. Once it hits that point, it is literally right next to the road.

    As annoying as it was for me to see, the clearing was rather impressive as well since they used a pair of modified excavators (well, that's what they looked like, anyway) that had grabbing arms with a saw attached. They literally took each tree, grabbed it at about 15' up off the ground, and cut it just above ground level. Depending on tree size, they sometimes grabbed a small group of them. The machine would then swivel around, tree in its grasp, and deposit it in a nice pile to the side. I estimate that each cycle like this was about a 30-second process. We once waited about 20 minutes while they took down a cluster of trees near the road. I guess they didn't want to take any chances that they might drop one on our heads!

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    I did not think they were building more hydro plants. Interesting... More reliable and less expensive than Wind. Sounds like some of our political shenanigans.

    http://riverswithoutborders.org/blog/2011/07/controversy-grows-as-northwest-transmission-line-lengthens

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762
    edited June 2014

    @gagrice said:
    I did not think they were building more hydro plants. Interesting... More reliable and less expensive than Wind. Sounds like some of our political shenanigans.

    Not to take us further afield, but what the hey....

    BC is committed to extending the NTL past its current end point of Bob Quinn Lake up to Iskut, a remote village currently powered by diesel generated electricity.

    See? I knew I wasn't crazy! They cleared up to Iskut last fall.

    BC Hydro has agreed to buy that power from AltaGas for 60 years at prices significantly higher than the expected rates that the mining companies will pay, driving up electricity rates for the rest of BC Hydro’s customers to cover the loss.

    Hey, more of those big business shenanigans! Interior residents currently subsidize the mining operations here as well. Fort Knox, Pogo, and TAPS all benefit from the "share and share alike" model of charging customers. Before Fort Knox, electricity in Fairbanks was dirt cheap (like pacific northwest type cheap). After Fort Knox, it was affordable, but noticeably more expensive (like 0.09 / kwh vs. 0.06 / kwh). After Pogo, forget about it!

    Why? Well, because GVEA had this wonderful idea that cheap fuel was on its way. So, they built a "gas plant" that uses these fancy turbines. Except that without gas, they have to run them on jet fuel. And, with the connection of Pogo to the grid, they have to run that plant to meet demand. So, they essentially have a plant just for Pogo, yet we all help subsidize Pogo's electricity. Now that the North Pole refinery is shut down, I strongly suspect that fuels will just go up, up, up. I'm actually a bit surprised that our prices haven't climbed to the rates of other remote communities. I expected $4.50 gasoline by now. Maybe they're all waiting to hit us in September so we can take on electricity, heating oil, and transportation fuels all at the same time.

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    When I moved to Anchorage in 1970 electricity was SOO cheap. Chugach had Natural Gas generators and got free gas from the oil companies operating in Kenai. That lasted a while. Now I am paying 37 cents a KWH to satisfy the states insatiable appetite for all things green. Sick part is we have enough GeoThermal to supply cheap electricity for most of the state.

    http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/25/californias-geothermal-potential-largely-untapped/

  • j_mariukj_mariuk Member Posts: 2

    Hey me and my kids will be going down from orlando to key west

    would like to hear your suggestions of places for me and my two kids

    thank

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    The kids probably won't want to leave Orlando. :-)

    The Keys are okay but I really like the "head" of the Keys. Check out John Pennekamp State Park. Nice beach areas and good snorkeling. It's fun to drive to the end of the road, but I don't think you can beat Key Largo.

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    @stever said:
    The kids probably won't want to leave Orlando. :-)

    The Keys are okay but I really like the "head" of the Keys. Check out John Pennekamp State Park. Nice beach areas and good snorkeling. It's fun to drive to the end of the road, but I don't think you can beat Key Largo.

    That was precisely my advice. I really like Key Largo. Maybe a airboat ride in the Everglades. I think I could live in Key Largo. And a couple of the other Keys also.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    My brother has reservations at John Pennekamp next January. We may have to go camp with them to escape the heat of Las Cruces. :D

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    Getting packed for a little jaunt next week.

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    @stever said:
    Getting packed for a little jaunt next week.

    I'm all packed ready to leave for Indiana via TX to look at lakefront homes. Will try and keep you posted on progress.

  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256

    stever,
    Congrats and it looks like a good choice for you. I see you are testing the cargo capacity asap.

    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    @gagrice, we're going the Iowa/Nebraska/Colorado route out. One section is supposed to be the Nebraska sand hills scenic drive. Not sure about the return leg yet. Maybe we'll cross paths on our flip sides.

    @explorerx4, thanks, and yeah, what a shakedown cruise eh? Off into the unknown in some ways (with the van that is, not so much the destination. :) ).

    The trouble about the pre-packing is that I'm antsy to leave now, not the middle of next week. But we have some stuff to do, at least on Monday.

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    I thought about you When we filled up in Las Cruces. We spent the night in our Hampton Inn tent in Lordsburgh. Drove 537 miles Sunday leaving at 11:15 AM. Hot and very little traffic even through Tuscon. Got in to Lordsburgh 7:45 MDT. Just over 7.5 hours driving time. Two rest stops. We had tax papers we needed to mail and my wife said there is a PO just down Motel Blvd in Mesilla. Got there at 8 AM and they did not open till 8:30. That is really a quaint part of Las Cruces. I can see why you like it. Too dry for me and I don't like even that much elevation. My task is convincing my wife this Tyler humidity is not that bad. And the bugs. She really liked one lake house a lot.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    Yeah, Mesilla is one of the neighborhoods that's been around for a while, so the "landscaping" is mature and there's lots of vernacular houses that we like. No cookie cutters (watch us wind up in a new subdivision lol).

    We got to Ames Iowa today - like you, spent too long in the car. We did about 550 today too, and crashed early in the tent (the gnats were a bit persistent tonight too). going to calm down a bit and cruise into Taos Friday night to visit our off-grid friends for a couple of days before heading down to Las Cruces.

    My brother got to Delta Junction today and will spend a couple of days in Fairbanks and then head to Denali. They've seen lots of critters and are having a great time. I warned them about the frost heaves north of Muncho Lake and they still couldn't believe the road.

  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144

    @stever said:
    Yeah, Mesilla is one of the neighborhoods that's been around for a while, so the "landscaping" is mature and there's lots of vernacular houses that we like. No cookie cutters (watch us wind up in a new subdivision lol).

    We got to Ames Iowa today - like you, spent too long in the car. We did about 550 today too, and crashed early in the tent (the gnats were a bit persistent tonight too). going to calm down a bit and cruise into Taos Friday night to visit our off-grid friends for a couple of days before heading down to Las Cruces.

    My brother got to Delta Junction today and will spend a couple of days in Fairbanks and then head to Denali. They've seen lots of critters and are having a great time. I warned them about the frost heaves north of Muncho Lake and they still couldn't believe the road.

    Steve, when do you think you'll be in my neck of the woods?

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  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    Hey Michael, sometime Friday morning. Plan is to get to Taos Friday night. We haven't even planned today's route yet. :-) We'll be coming from Chimney Rock though - shoot me an email of your proposed route for us that avoids Denver and we'll try to hook up!

    We just visited Pilot Mound Iowa, a wide spot near Boone where an old Boise friend and neighbor grew up. Nice campground near there (and Ames) in Ledges State Park.

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132

    What does it mean by "Every day is a hollar day"?

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144

    @stever said:

    Hey Michael, sometime Friday morning. Plan is to get to Taos Friday night. We haven't even planned today's route yet. :-) We'll be coming from Chimney Rock though - shoot me an email of your proposed route for us and we'll try to hook up!

    We just visited Pilot Mound Iowa, a wide spot near Boone where an old Boise friend and neighbor grew up.

    Chimney Rock? Where is that?

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  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384

    Old VWs always floated. It was part of their advertising. I'll admit they didn't advertise floating upside down. That was kind of a touchy subject since those old Beetles flipped quicker than a not properly cared for early Corvair.

    Well, I've done my second recovery solo long drive. Good therapy. No Tallahassee and NC this time. Kentucky where I've known a fellow poster for maybe 17 years and have been quite friendly with so we finally got to meet. Hit the Corvette plant, took in a Reds game and looked at a bunch of really, really nice cars.

    Man there are some serious hills on that trip, the craziest being in western Maryland. Runaway truck ramps, and 6% grades where you can throw the car into neutral and have some real giggles assuming you pay really close attention to what the hell you're doing. You can hit 90 without breaking a sweat.

    If I showed someone from there, West Virginia or eastern Kentucky pictures from where I grew up which I consider hills they'd laugh themselves silly. "Those aren't hill. Those are speed bumps!"

    Crossed the Eastern Continental Divide which I had no idea even existed.

    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    lol, we don't know - somewhere in Nebraska that's "close" to Denver.

    Okay, we're doing some scenic byway and then it looks like we could take 71 south to avoid the Interstate but we may wind up doing that anyway. My wife, the navigator, is driving right now so can't tell me where to go. :D

    Looks like noonish in the Denver area would work and give us plenty of time to get to Taos Friday night "late".

  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144

    @stever said:
    lol, we don't know - somewhere in Nebraska that's "close" to Denver.

    Okay, we're doing some scenic byway and then it looks like we could take 71 south to avoid the Interstate but we may wind up doing that anyway. My wife, the navigator, is driving right now so can't tell me where to go. :D

    Looks like noonish in the Denver area would work and give us plenty of time to get to Taos Friday night "late".

    Yeah, I just found it. Two ways to go:

    1) backroads due south in Nebraska to I-76, then take E-470 (toll road) to avoid Denver, south on I-25 to Castle Rock, exit Founders / Meadows (exit 184)

    2) Cut across to I-25, then straight south through Denver to Castle Rock, exit Founders / Meadows (exit 184).

    Lots of places to meet up at that exit. Friday noon will work well - we can meet up for lunch somewhere.

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144
    edited June 2014

    @Michaell said:
    Lots of places to meet up at that exit. Friday noon will work well - we can meet up for lunch somewhere.

    Or, you can take 71 south all the way to I-70, then head west for a bit until you get to CO 86 - take that west and it drops you right into Castle Rock.

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  • thebeanthebean Member Posts: 1,216

    @imidazol97 said:
    What does it mean by "Every day is a hollar day"?

    Maybe it means that people are friendly and give you a "hollar" although here in Texas we always spelled it "holler". Or maybe it's how they pronounce "challah" as in challah bread.

    Curious.

    2015 Honda Accord EX, 2019 Honda HR-V EX
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    edited June 2014

    I see on this page they spelled "Hollar" as "Holler."Talks about a bike marathon...

    http://m.agriculture.com/family/riders-go-rural-route_327-ar19582

    I came across a page of welcome signs for Iowa cities. I found this one with a good pun.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    @Michaell, lunch sounds good.

    HollarDay, Holiday.... Y'all give me a holler when you get to the UP - not sure why they spell it wrong in Iowa. Everyday is a holiday when you know your neighbors well enough to holler at them?

    @Fezo, we should be home the 3rd week of June - that was one of your UP weeks, wasn't it?

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,144

    @stever said:

    Nice! Where is this?

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  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    Just up the road from you in Alliance Nebraska.

    Carhenge

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    Taos was a wonderful stopover, as usual. Even got some boating in. Now in Las Cruces and it feels like home. The van is practically empty; curious to see what the mpg does now. We varied from 21 to 24 on the readout. Something is rattling underneath on the neighborhood roads going slow - I think it's the compact spare case in the middle of the chassis.

    When I got the van, I checked for the jack and stuff but didn't count the parts. The one "socket" gismo that fits the square nut to lower the spare is missing - supposed to be three "rods" in the case but there's only two. Guess I'm off to Harbor Freight sometime today.

    Oh, and the durn oil change indicator came on last night too.

    The Grand Caravan did good hauling stuff out here.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    Where's Gagrice? Intended to take a "chair" photo on a stretch of Route 66 today on the other side of Alamogordo somewhere, but got sidetracked by a Dairy Queen calling my name.

    Found a great route from Alamogordo on a NE angle, avoiding the freeways and bigger towns. Not much traffic, great big sky views and higher speed limits. Did about 650 miles today via Liberal Kansas. Tomorrow is hopefully more of the same as we generally head in the direction of Minneapolis.

    @xwesx, my brother and SIL are in Homer now, having delayed Seward a few days due to flooding. They are having a great time up there.

    The empty van got around 17 cruising around Las Cruces but it's back up over 25 mpg on the highways, even moving over 70 most of the time. The dashboard told me I had a 500 mile range on one tank but I filled it at 450 miles to get some cheap Texas gas near the state line.

  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786

    G'day

    We are off on a road-trip from Melbourne to Alice Springs in Central Australia. I recently discovered that Camper Rental companies need vehicles returned from one way hires and offer a rate of $1 per day and throw in a generous fuel allowance. It was a case of monitoring a few sites until an attractive offer popped up.

    With frequent flyer points to get us home it should be a cheapish holiday and we get to stay in some plush hotels on the return leg.

    There are some restrictions, this being Australia. We cannot drive after dark, due to the risk of hitting kangaroos and the camper cannot be driven off bitumen, which is a small price to pay for the good rates.

    Should be an interesting trip.

    Cheers

    Graham

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    Sounds like fun! We drove by an RV place a couple of days ago that had a sign hanging on the fence - "we need drivers". We don't collect air miles with our affinity credit card any more, but if they'd let us pull a car hauler....

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762

    @stever said:
    xwesx, my brother and SIL are in Homer now, having delayed Seward a few days due to flooding. They are having a great time up there.

    Glad to hear it! I finally saw a pop-up being towed through town today and thought maybe they were still in the area, but, alas, the vehicle had Alaska plates. The rain this last week is unreal. We had over 4" in some places in the interior over the span of about three days. That's over 1/3 of the annual precipitation total we would normally expect!

    The lower Chena is near the top of its banks, meaning it is about 5-8' higher than it was a week ago. They closed the flood control gates at Moose Creek to divert Chena water into the Tanana. They haven't done that in years! Otherwise, I suspect the lower river would be in early flood stage this morning.

    So, torrential rains across much of the state (and that's a big area, as you know) along with ~6" of snow in the Alaska Range, including the Richardson and Denali highways. Fun stuff!

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    Hm, I think an old friend is doing the Chulitna soon. At least he won't have to worry about getting his raft stuck in the braids. Flipping in the canyon section could be fun though.

    Meanwhile we are heading to a campground south of St. Paul at the moment, doing another long day and cruising on I-80 to make time - boring. Got about 600 miles total to go - cutting a day off the trip really adds to the "car fatigue", but we miss our cat. And the grass will be a foot high in the yard (especially underneath the for sale sign).

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450

    I'm on the road again. Spending the night in Lubbock TX. Spent last night in Hot Springs AR. We may make it home in 4 days at this rate. Best trip across TX ever. Took US 70 out of Hot Springs and dropped down to Paris TX and got on US 82. What a great road. Most is posted 75 MPH. I cruised most of the day at 72 MPH. Filled here for the cheapest Diesel yet at $3.55 a gallon. 683 miles with about 60 miles left in reserve.

    Our plan was to stay on US 82 across NM through Artesia and Cloudcroft down into Alamogordo. There is an extreme weather forecast of 50 MPH winds and blowing dust across that region all the way from El Paso to Lordsburg. So we will take the Northern route through Roswell, Socorro, and spend the night in Show Low or Globe. We have only gotten rained on one time this entire trip. That was a 5 mile stretch coming into Little Rock yesterday. US 82 across TX is like having the Interstate all to yourself. We did drop down on the farm roads to avoid Wichita Falls. Lubbock is the largest city we have gone through. And it was a breeze today at 4:30 in the afternoon.

    Another note, my son and daughter in law are going to sell the place they just remodeled in Indiana and move to Cottage Grove Oregon. Will make for much shorter trips for us. My daughter and son in law are moving to TX. This may be my last drive East. Glad I did not get impulsive on buying a place back East.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    We were on 54 going northeast out of Alamogordo, but it sounds very similar to 82. Great driving, even if I pushed it a bit harder than you. The only thing you had to watch out for, other than the wide loads hauling windmill blades, were the occasional farm tractors.

    Are you staying put in San Diego then?

  • slorenzenslorenzen Member Posts: 694

    @gagrice said:

    " my son and daughter in law are going to sell the place they just remodeled in Indiana and move to Cottage Grove Oregon. Will make for much shorter trips for us. My daughter and son in law are moving to TX. This may be my last drive East. Glad I did not get impulsive on buying a place back East. "

    Gary,

    Let me know when you come to town.I live just outside Cottage Grove(All-American City...twice...).

    ;)

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,762

    @slorenzen said:
    Let me know when you come to town.I live just outside Cottage Grove(All-American City...twice...).

    Well, you can kiss that little honor goodbye! The gagrice clan is about to crash the party! :p

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
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