On Wed, April 26, 2006 12:16 pm, Jason Bleazard wrote:
>
> That's what Google says. Well, it gives me kms from here, but when I convert
> that to miles it's only 10 less than what it says from Jon's place. We're
> almost straight north of him, the only reason it even takes two hours to get
> down there is that someone put a couple of huge lakes right in the way.
Google knows all so it must be right....
> We do have a fridge, but that raises another issue. I've recently become
> convinced that it's a Very Bad Idea (tm) to drive with the propane turned on,
> which is what powers the fridge when not plugged in to an outlet. Our fridge
> can't run off of 12V DC. I'm probably going to just put a block of ice in
> there and take advantage of the natural insulating properties to keep things
> cool. It won't be much better than a cooler, but it'll work. Or, I might
> just use the cooler instead (or maybe even in addition). We will be able to
> turn it on at night when we're parked, so keeping the ice in the fridge will
> also make it easier to get the fridge cooled down at that point. During the
> day it's going to be block ice, so no mayonnaise or other volatile
> perishables.
I believe you're correct on that one. I'm going to stop off at my
grandparents' place to pick up the campground directory today, I'll ask them
how they travel with stuff in their fridge. They have a huge 5th wheel
though so their fridge may run on 12VDC.
Mayo is good with block ice, as long as it's in a cooler with some water in
there too. I've brought mayo camping several times without issues.
>> That's quite a trip you've got planned. How long are you off work?
>
> Three full weeks (yee-haw!)
Nice. I'm taking 11 days PTO. I gotta use up that bank of hours somehow.
> I-80 will take you clear to San Francisco if you're so inclined. In your
> case, you'll stay on I-80 until a bit past Ogallala, Nebraska, where I-76
> splits off and heads south to Denver. It's pretty difficult to miss, there's
> a huge sign that tells you "DENVER IS THIS WAY". If you see a sign that
> reads
> "Welcome to Wyoming" you've gone too far, but even if you find yourself in
> Wyoming there's an alternate route that isn't too bad (I-25 south from
> Cheyenne). Once you're in Colorado, Jim Ward has specific information here:
> http://meet.dakota-truck.net/LoneDuckDirections.html
Sweet. I'm good with a map so I don't really forsee any problems. Amazingly
enough I've never missed a planned exit so I think I'll avoid Wyoming and
continue the trend.
> You do have to navigate around Davenport, Des Moines and Omaha, but as long
> as
> you follow the signs for I-80 west you'll be fine. It's fairly idiot proof.
> There might be a shortcut or two that would shave off a few miles, but I
> haven't figured them out yet, and I don't think it's worth the hassle.
Look Magellan, we're at this wrinkle here....
> This assumes you decide to take I-80. Yesterday I was pretty convinced that
> it's the best route, but I decided to check it out to make sure. Turns out
> that heading south from Davenport to Kansas City and taking I-70 from there
> only adds about 45 miles. For you, I'm not sure if it would buy you
> anything.
> Des Moines and Omaha aren't too bad to drive through. It would save the
> hassle of going through Denver, but it would add the hassle of going through
> KC (unless you really wanted to head straight down to St. Louis and pick up
> I-70 from there, but I can't imagine why you'd want to).
Yeah, living about 10 minutes from I-80 I'll probably jump on that and call
it a day. I don't see the sense in drivng down to StLouis and then working
my way back north over the next 1000 miles.
> However, in our case, it might work out better. We'd have to go through
> Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City, but we'd avoid part of
> Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Denver and the huge toll stretch of I-80/90
> through northern Ohio and Indiana. I dunno... we went I-70 one year, and I
> thought St. Louis was a pretty big mess. Maybe because we got a hotel in the
> area, and picked part of town that was under heavy construction. I'm more
> familiar with the I-80 route, so I'll probably stick with that. Depends on
> how bad the Ohio tolls are. Plus, it's slightly further north, so I can hope
> that it might be a bit cooler. :-)
The OH tolls aren't bad at all. It might get a little backed up exiting the
state but that all depends on when you get to the border.
> I've always wanted to check out the birthplace of Ronald Reagan in Tampico,
> IL
> (maybe you've already seen that sign). Other than that, nothing really
> sticks
> out in my mind. A few local agricultural museums and the like. I'd guess
> there are probably information centers where you cross the Missouri and
> Mississippi rivers, but I've never paid much attention. Both of those
> crossings are in urban areas, so I'm usually watching traffic more than
> roadside attractions at those points. I think if you want twine balls you
> might be better off getting off the interstate and exploring the smaller
> highways.
Oddly enough I've never heard of Tampico, IL. It's much further west than I
usually venture.
> This is out of the way, but there is a Pony Express museum in Wyoming. Also,
> Kansas has some huge monument to The Wizard of Oz. I don't remember exactly,
> it was something like a series of 50-foot-tall statues of the main characters
> or something. I read about it and decided a 50-foot-tall Tinman would just
> be
> disturbing, so we didn't stop to see it.
That actually might be worth seeing. I get a kick out of creepy stuff like
that.
>> I'm sure I will. I wonder how poor my mileage will be.
>
> I'll bet ours will be worse. Maybe if we tied a big parachute to your
> truck... :-)
I'm sure, and keep your parachutes to yourself thankyouverymuch.
-- - 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.
. . .------------------------------------------------------------------. | 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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