Road Trip!

fezo

Speaking of that we get a really warped idea of state size here in the northeast. It's shorter for me to go from NJ to the Outer Banks, crossing 5 states than it would be to go from Asheville to the Outer Banks, never leaving NC.

xwesx

I wonder how many eastern states I could drive through on the distance from Fairbanks to Anchorage? That doesn't even really seem like a long drive here (about 360ish miles), but it's about the width of Oregon.

Sorry to hear about all the NW wildfires. That smoke is no fun, and there's surely a lot less open (e.g., structureless) land down there than there is here in Alaska! We had well over five million acres burn here this year, mostly in the Interior, which means we had a lot of smokey days in Fairbanks.

Michaell

xwesx said:

I wonder how many eastern states I could drive through on the distance from Fairbanks to Anchorage? That doesn't even really seem like a long drive here (about 360ish miles), but it's about the width of Oregon.

Sorry to hear about all the NW wildfires. That smoke is no fun, and there's surely a lot less open (e.g., structureless) land down there than there is here in Alaska! We had well over five million acres burn here this year, mostly in the Interior, which means we had a lot of smokey days in Fairbanks.

It depends on where you start. You could probably do 5 states in New England in 360 miles (ME - NH - MA - RI - CT)

xwesx

Michaell said:

xwesx said:

I wonder how many eastern states I could drive through on the distance from Fairbanks to Anchorage? That doesn't even really seem like a long drive here (about 360ish miles), but it's about the width of Oregon.

Sorry to hear about all the NW wildfires. That smoke is no fun, and there's surely a lot less open (e.g., structureless) land down there than there is here in Alaska! We had well over five million acres burn here this year, mostly in the Interior, which means we had a lot of smokey days in Fairbanks.

It depends on where you start. You could probably do 5 states in New England in 360 miles (ME - NH - MA - RI - CT)

I know that I did five states in a day while on our transcontinental, but I'm sure it was more than 360 miles! We went from Montreal through VT, NH, to MA... oh, wait. No, nevermind. We left later in the afternoon that day, so we actually didn't hit NY until the following day after visiting Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II.

I tell you what, though, after driving the entire width of Ontario, ALL US states seemed very, very small! It was about 1,300 miles across. By comparison, that's about the distance from Boston to Minneapolis.

stever

New Mexico doesn't seem all that big, but it's number five on the top ten land size list. Managed to have lived in four of the top fifteen, top three by water sq. miles. (netstate.com)

Ontario - the Tennessee of Canada? Long but only number five in land mass area. (Wiki) Ontario is about four times wider than TN btw.

kyfdx

Michaell said:

xwesx said:

I wonder how many eastern states I could drive through on the distance from Fairbanks to Anchorage? That doesn't even really seem like a long drive here (about 360ish miles), but it's about the width of Oregon.

Sorry to hear about all the NW wildfires. That smoke is no fun, and there's surely a lot less open (e.g., structureless) land down there than there is here in Alaska! We had well over five million acres burn here this year, mostly in the Interior, which means we had a lot of smokey days in Fairbanks.

It depends on where you start. You could probably do 5 states in New England in 360 miles (ME - NH - MA - RI - CT)

You can do 4 states in 360 miles, going straight down I-75 from Cincinnati. (maybe.. it would be close.lol)

slorenzen

Years ago a friend from Munich was vacationing in Florida, and asked if we wanted to drive over for dinner(I was in San Jose, Ca. at the time). When I explained in was 5000 kilometers to get there, he though I was lying.

kyfdx

LOL.. fun with mapping.

Stamford, CT to Winchester, VA..

360 miles, and 8 states...

VIA:

NY, NY
Camden, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
Wilmington, DE
Hagerstown, MD
Martinsburg, WV

stever

Here's another fun Free Map tool if you want to see how far you could go in 360 miles.

Michaell

stever said:

Here's another fun Free Map tool if you want to see how far you could go in 360 miles.

Oh dear - that looks like a giant time suck for a map geek like myself.

davidmiller

Recently, I have read John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley...", so I wanna repeat his route

fezo

Good plan. Then you can read Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon for your next trip.

grahampeters

davidmiller said:

Recently, I have read John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley...", so I wanna repeat his route

G'day

When Judy and I were in the USA, many years ago, we contemplated following Steinbeck's route. However, we could not get a poodle to audition for the Charley role! Wonderful book and so evocative!

Edit. Just discovered that Rocinante (the camper truck) is preserved in the Steinbeck museum in Salinas

Cheers

Graham

Michaell

grahampeters said:

Recently, I have read John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley...", so I wanna repeat his route

G'day When Judy and I were in the USA, many years ago, we contemplated following Steinbeck's route. However, we could not get a poodle to audition for the Charley role! Wonderful book and so evocative! Edit. Just discovered that Rocinante (the camper truck) is preserved in the Steinbeck museum in Salinas Cheers Graham

And the opposite, of sorts, is the book "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson. Great travelogue of Australia. 

stevedebi

stever said:

New Mexico doesn't seem all that big, but it's number five on the top ten land size list. Managed to have lived in four of the top fifteen, top three by water sq. miles. (netstate.com)

...

However, you could stand at the four corners in New Mexico and traverse four states in four steps!

EDIT: I remember crossing the Texas border from Louisiana on I-10. The highway marker said something like 850 miles. Ouch!

stever

When I was last at Four Corners it was free. Now it's $5 a head.

gagrice

stever said:

When I was last at Four Corners it was free. Now it's $5 a head.

Who collects the money? All I remember is a bunch of Indians selling trinkets out of run down old cars. Not worth 5 bucks to me. Rather keep on rolling and spend the night up at Mesa Verde Lodge. Sitting on the deck with deer wandering all around below us. Beautiful place. Highly recommend.

http://www.visitmesaverde.com/accommodations/far-view-lodge.aspx?mkwid=sd9JK5RyO&crid=53331243834&mp_kw=mesa verde national park&mp_mt=b&gclid=CjwKEAjwjYCvBRC99sSm_frioAwSJACrKuPCQb578NeIxMrPJzvztRXahkKapvVvQVTv1mvWjLWM8xoCYi_w_wcB

stever

Ah, Aramark, the sign of quality.

Views into 4 States - shoot, I could see seven from See Rock City.

But yeah, stepping into four states is kind of fun, but not sure it's worth the seven mile detour or the $5 fee.

gagrice

stever said:

Ah, Aramark, the sign of quality.

Views into 4 States - shoot, I could see seven from See Rock City.

But yeah, stepping into four states is kind of fun, but not sure it's worth the seven mile detour or the $5 fee.

That is $5 each person.... Staying at the lodge at Mesa Verde was quite by chance. We drove up to look around. Most National Park lodges are way over priced. We must have hit it lucky as we got a great view room for well under $100. It was cooler up there than down in Cortez where we were thinking about staying. I would do it again.

berri

Interesting. Isn't Aramark also the institutional food service company? Cafeteria's, aircraft, toll road oasis?

stever

Yep. I think they have a lot of National Park concessions. And prisons.

berri

I thought I had seen those trucks loading aircraft Mmmm....

slorenzen

berri said:

I thought I had seen those trucks loading aircraft Mmmm....

That explains the quality of food on the airlines...

Prison food.

kyfdx

slorenzen said:

berri said:

I thought I had seen those trucks loading aircraft Mmmm....

That explains the quality of food on the airlines...

Prison food.

At least the prison food isn't extra cost... comes included with your "ticket"

stever

Speaking of national parks, POTOS is going on the road tomorrow and the big news (to me and a few hundred thousand other people not in Ohio) is that he's going to announce the official renaming of the mountain we know as Denali to Denali.

The name of the national park will remain the same.

berri

OK, when does the bitchin' start that Obama is taking care of GM and their GMC Denali lines

stever

lol, already has on some sites. It's going to be a popular decision up north no matter what side of the aisle you straddle.

gagrice

stever said:

Speaking of national parks, POTOS is going on the road tomorrow and the big news (to me and a few hundred thousand other people not in Ohio) is that he's going to announce the official renaming of the mountain we know as Denali to Denali.

The name of the national park will remain the same.

37 years I lived and worked up there and never went all the way back into Denali Park. I drove part way in and the weather and road was so bad we turned around and went back home. Not sure why it was ever named McKinley. The museum curator didn't seem to know either. Kind of leaves Ohio with nothing spectacular to claim.

stever

Well, they have the Wright Brothers. Oh, wait...

Went in to the end of the road twice and it's not any better than Eielson, unless you happen to be able to photograph a moose in the lake there with the mountain in the background (and assuming the mountain is even visible at that moment). I think Camp Denali was well situated but you couldn't even see the mountain(s) from place we stayed.

It's like an all day ride just to get to Eielson and back - the ~9 hours to the end makes for a long, long day and one you get to repeat after a layover day or two. Flying one way would be tolerable.

stevedebi

gagrice said:

stever said:

Speaking of national parks, POTOS is going on the road tomorrow and the big news (to me and a few hundred thousand other people not in Ohio) is that he's going to announce the official renaming of the mountain we know as Denali to Denali.

The name of the national park will remain the same.

37 years I lived and worked up there and never went all the way back into Denali Park. I drove part way in and the weather and road was so bad we turned around and went back home. Not sure why it was ever named McKinley. The museum curator didn't seem to know either. Kind of leaves Ohio with nothing spectacular to claim.

It was named by the non-native explorer who first saw it. McKinley had just been nominated for the office, so he named it that.

explorerx4

McKinley = Republican. The RCN is going to be in Cleveland. All you need to know.

gagrice

I am trying to remember that trip. The highway to Fairbanks had just been opened, must have been around 1972. Even not making the 90 mile trip in there it was a long day. Of course it did not get dark and I was a very young man. Driving a 1970 Datsun PU. One of the best vehicles I have ever owned. Never failed to start no matter how cold. Never had any heat on it. Did not see any big game. Our first impressions of Alaskan wild life was not that great. Later years the wildlife increased.

stever

There's more to the naming story though. McKinley ran on the gold standard, which was competing with silver to be the monetary standard at the time. The "explorer" was a miner of gold, not silver, and he wanted to protect his mining interests. So he suggested the candidate and after McKinley was elected and then assassinated, the name change moved forward.

And that's what happens when you name stuff after people, especially politicians. Follow the money.

There was an explorer who got within 65 miles of the mountain before that and Denali was called Densmore's Mountain briefly.

The way the oil economy has tanked, there must be a new move afoot to rename the mountain Mt. Conoco. For a modest fee, of course.

berri

Oh c'mon guys, it was Obama giving it to John Boehner

gagrice

I am waiting for the Bering Sea to be renamed as a poke in the eye to Putin.

gagrice

It probably should have been named Sydney Laurance MT. He spent decades wandering around THE Mt painting it for the World to see. Letting a bunch of immigrant natives from Asia push their names on stuff is silly. What happens when the Athabascans sue GMC for using their name on a vehicle?

fezo

And the US Government cemented that in 1917 when they created the National Park. Sometimes it feels wrong calling it by its proper name. Sort of like how I'm still in denial (not Denali) about Pluto not being a planet anymore.

stever

It's a dwarf planet so it's okay to call it a planet. The guy who discovered Pluto wound up living in Las Cruces and there's a lot of stuff around dedicated to him.

stever

“Digital enticements are displacing the pleasures of driving,” says Matt Crawford, a political philosopher at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture who also fabricates components for custom motorcycles. “So that whole sense of getting in the car and finding out what’s beyond the next town is less powerful.”

America’s once magical – now mundane – love affair with cars. Cruising toward oblivion. (Washington Post)

Heading to Hatch Sunday for the Chili Festival. $10 a car load.

Anyone cruising?

fintail

Drove to and from the north sound today - no dashcam footage, as it was boring, and I5 is nothing to see there. But man, the LLCs - Labor Day seems to bring out the timid and oblivious, this seems familiar.

berri

Nothing to see on I-5? How about rubbernecking all those accidents and cars being ticketed?

fintail

Nothing but LLCs and brodozers moving too fast.

A LOT of speedtrapping earlier in the day, northbound. On the way back, didn't see a single WSP. I suspect they'll be out southbound today - but I am keeping off the highway.

berri said:

Nothing to see on I-5? How about rubbernecking all those accidents and cars being ticketed?

explorerx4

2 road trips coming up.
2 weekends from now, South Bend and back over a long weekend.
A couple of weekends after that, Madison and back, more days.
Fusion or Escape?
Last trip with the Fusion resulted in the fender being replaced and having to touch up one of the doors from someone opening their door into it a couple of times.
That's informational only, won't affect my decision.

stevedebi

explorerx4 said:

2 road trips coming up.
2 weekends from now, South Bend and back over a long weekend.
A couple of weekends after that, Madison and back, more days.
Fusion or Escape?
Last trip with the Fusion resulted in the fender being replaced and having to touch up one of the doors from someone opening their door into it a couple of times.
That's informational only, won't affect my decision.

I'd go with the Escape, the larger windows provide a nice view. Better MPG with the Fusion, of course. If there is no scenery to enjoy, take the Fusion.

explorerx4

Taking the Fusion(FWD)to Indiana. Road trip after that is to Wisconsin in early/mid October, could be snow, so taking the Escape(AWD) for that one.

stever

Went to Silver City today for lunch and some gallery viewing. It's two hours one way, half on I-10. Great food and I drove our friend's '13 Cruze which delivered 37.9 mpg on the dash gauge. Beautiful first day of Fall here in New Mexico, high temp around 85ish, wonderful light.

Met a couple from Homer AK at lunch who now live in Silver City. Started chatting them up because they tooled up to the restaurant in a new Transit Connect 7 passenger van.

xwesx

85 degrees?! We're in for up to five inches of snow in the morning....

stever

Yeah, and it's getting down into the high 50s at night now. It's planting season here for ornamental kinds of plants.

At least the AC is barely running now and then.

Should be some folks planning color trips soon, especially up in the NE.

fintail

Looks like I'll be taking a little trip down to Bend and Eugene in a couple weeks. Hope the weather holds.

explorerx4

Back home from the weekend trip to Indiana.
Decided to drive home yesterday instead of splitting between 2 days.
Lesser of 2 evils. PA/NY do construction during the day, CT at night.
My daughter drove to Cleveland and I drove the rest.
Fusion averaged 31 mpg for the trip.
Computer read 1623 miles, 25 hours 16 minutes.
3 tanks of PUG and 1 RUG. Went with RUG once because price was high(Toll Road station) and I was going to burn through it in a few hours.

Heading out to Wisconsin in a couple of weeks.