On Tue, April 25, 2006 3:40 pm, Josh Battles said:
>
> Jason, I have a few answers for you:
Eeeeexcelent...
> Well, if I travel on my own at "normal" crusing speeds (70 - 90 mph,
> depending on location/traffic/police presence) it's anywhere between 6 to 9
> hours. Travelling with Tom last year it took about 12 hours because we
> stopped for gas every 15 minutes. It usually only takes me 2 full tanks each
> way to Jon's.
OK, that gives me a general idea. I know we won't be able to travel at that
speed, and I know we're going to be stopping for gas. We'll probably be
closer to Tom's time than yours, although we should be able to beat 12 hours.
It's only 500 miles, how much time did you spend at each stop anyway? That
reminds me, I need to figure out what our approximate range is going to be so
I can get a general idea how many fuel stops we're going to be needing.
> That's a nice area, I have relatives in Elkhart and Middlebury. Gary is a
> relatively unsavory area but it's pretty contained. Stay out of Hammond,
> Whiting, and Gary and you'll be okay. Once into IL you'll probably want to
> avoid Calumet City too.
Good to know, thanks.
> Not at all, if you guys want to use my parking lot that's no problem. I'd
> just need the date you'll be in the area to let the association know you'll
> be parking your RV in the lot near the pool for one night.
Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind.
> My floor isn't
> that comfy but it's all yours should you like. If you're travelling with
> animals though I can't allow them in my unit. I'm not even supposed to have
> the two that I do.
We'll have the dog, but we'll most likely be sleeping in the RV anyway. Think
your association would have a problem with that (assuming they even noticed)?
> That's the place. There's no Flying J in the area but there is a Wal-Mart
> within about 10 minutes from here.
I'm wondering if I should pick up a copy of the Wal-Mart directory that
details which locations do and don't allow overnight parking. I suppose first
I'll need to make a decision whether I'd even want to make use of a Wal-Mart
parking lot. On the way back I might be more inclined to just get home as
expediently as possible, heading out I won't mind using cheap city campgrounds
or even KOAs wherever I can find them.
> I've caught a few hours sleep in rest stops before, but they can be sketchy.
> I wouldn't want to spend more than an hour or two there at most given the
> choice.
I'm inclined to agree.
> If you didn't have to stop at Jon's it would knock a considerable amount of
> time off of your trip. It's only about 3.5 - 4 hours to Canada from here,
> via I-94. We used to make the trip from here to Rochester Heights, MI in 4
> hours. (It's north of Detroit, near Troy)
We go through Sarnia and Port Huron. Takes about 3.5 hours just to get to the
border. According to Google, there's only 10 miles difference between
starting from our place or starting from Jon's to get to your area. What it
would save would be the first day that we're planning on spending heading down
to Jon's area and getting ourselves squared away.
We're currently thinking of using his place as a kind of staging area. We
can't bring much across the border in the way of groceries, so we'll need to
make a grocery trip once we get in the US. Our tentative plan is to head down
to his place and do some shopping for trip supplies, get his stuff loaded, bum
around for a while and stay there the first night. Then we'd leave from there
the next morning. When I say I'm trying to decide between three or four days,
I mean from Jon's, so I guess the total trip would be either four or five
days.
Although, I am now wondering if maybe Mike would have room for Jon's stuff
that he was planning on sending with us. I guess that'll depend on how much
stuff there is. Mike, are you reading this? I think we'll probably stick
with the original plan, but it doesn't hurt to know what options are open.
> IIRC there's a rather nice KOA near Elkhart. I woulndn't be concerned with
> overnighting in that area, you'll be good to go.
Cool. I know there's a Flying J in Gary, but I'm getting the heebie-jeebies
just thinking about sleeping there. I think we stopped there back in '97,
which is where my overwhelmingly negative impression of Gary originally comes
from.
> It's very obvious you've done much more planning than I. I'm not even sure
> the route we'll be taking yet.
Heh, well, I've done the drive to SLC enough times that I have it pretty well
memorized. The only variable this time is the stretch from Fredonia west
through Ohio to the point where we usually connect with I-80 near Gary. I've
never been in Ohio, so that'll take some planning. I think I remember you
guys talking about that route one year before the BBQ, I'll have to see if I
can find it in the archives.
I'd say your best bet would be to just get on I-80 and drive west until you
see a sign that reads "Denver". The only other halfway reasonable option I
can see would be to head down to Kansas City and take I-70 across Kansas. As
far as I can tell, that just adds a lot of miles for no good reason, unless
you wanted to visit Missouri or Kansas.
Speaking of which, if anyone wants to know anything about what's along I-80
through Illinois, Iowa or Nebraska, feel free to ask. It's pretty
straightforward, but I'll share what I know. They've made it a rather easy
road trip, with service stations and motels every few miles and frequent rest
stops. Truckers and vacationers are the majority of the population through
many areas, and the local businesses cater to your every need. You don't need
to worry about planning your stops until you get past the I-76 cutoff to head
to Wyoming, but since we'll all be turning down to Denver we won't need to
worry about that.
Oh, and the speed limit in Nebraska is 75, which I'm sure you'll appreciate :-).
-- Jason Bleazard http://drazaelb.blogspot.com Burlington, Ontario his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white hers: '01 Dakota Sport 4x4, 4.7 V8, Auto, Quad Cab, black. . .------------------------------------------------------------------. | Make your plans NOW to attend the National DML Meet in Colorado! | | Date: July 15-23, 2006 - More info: http://meet.dakota-truck.net | `------------------------------------------------------------------'
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