On Tue, April 25, 2006 4:32 pm, Jason Bleazard wrote:
>
> 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.
Well, Tom had oodles of stuff to check and his truck took 20+ gallons of fuel
every stop. I'd say we probably took about 20mins per stop, averaged. When
I drive alone I make the stops for fuel and nothing else so they're
considerably shorter, probably less than 30 minutes total for all stops.
>> 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.
Let me know and I'll get it cleared if that's what you decide.
> 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)?
My association is pretty lax, as long as they know you're going to be parking
a truck and trailer there that's probably all they'll care about. The
association clubhouse is on the outside of the complex so I'd venture to
guess that nobody but the extremely nosy (or people in the apartments across
the street) would notice.
> 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'd definately pick up that directory. I've never seen anything parked
overnight at the one here.
>> 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.
Not to mention that most of them prohibit overnight parking...
> 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.
Wow, that's wild. I'd have thought the difference would be more than that.
I guess if it's only a 10 mile difference...
> 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.
Indiana is great for groceries, the sales tax is like 5%. I actually do a
fairly decent amount of shopping there because of it. It's too far for
anything perishable (but since you've got a fridge in the camper...) but it's
fantastic for dry goods.
That's quite a trip you've got planned. How long are you off work?
> 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.
Looks like you've got your loophole as Mike has already volunteered.
> 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.
Yeah, definately avoid Gary if you're not up for an adventure. It's not bad
to drive through but I wouldn't want to stop in too many areas.
> 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.
You might want to see if Tim Pindell chimes in. He's near Columbus and might
have some information that could help. Tim?
> 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.
LOL are you sure? Is it really that easy? I-80 goes all the way? I've
never driven west of IL before. Well, not along I-80 anyway.
> 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.
Is there anything worth seeing? World's largest ball of twine or non-stick
frying pan?
> Oh, and the speed limit in Nebraska is 75, which I'm sure you'll appreciate
> :-).
I'm sure I will. I wonder how poor my mileage will be.
-- - Josh www.omg-stfu.comThis message has been brought to you by the American Kneejerk Coalition for Equality, Compassion, and the Restoration of Karmic Unity of Self And Other Silly Hippy Happy-Swell Gayness Bullshit, or AKCECRKUSAOSHHSGB for short.
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