CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: Cincydawg on February 18, 2020, 10:36:18 AM
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Sparked by the comments on I 10 in Texas.
I drove my three kids in a minivan with a five speed from Cincy to Wyoming. That was pretty epic driving across Iowa and most of SD in one day.
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Driving through Iowa is brutally boring. Illinois too. The trip from here to UNL for a game was exhausting. If I make it back there, it will be by plane.
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I drive almost the entire length of Illinois at least twice a year with my wife's family in the south. It takes forever and I am from there.
Christmas break we did Madison to Savannah to Orlando and then back to Madison. This summer we will do Madison to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons with stops in Badlands/Black hills.
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Driving through Iowa is brutally boring. Illinois too. The trip from here to UNL for a game was exhausting. If I make it back there, it will be by plane.
Yes, Iowa is a boring drive. But it is like Disneyland compared to driving through Kansas.
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I drove to Regina, Saskatchewan a few years ago. North Dakota west of the Red River Flats actually wasn't too bad. Not only was Saskatchewan board flat, the roads were in terrible shape.
A drive that is schizophrenic is I-90 across Washington State. Westbound you can see the Cascades, and you feel like you're getting somewhere. Eastbound the only thing visible once you leave the Columbia River is scrub trees, and you feel like you could get out and walk faster despite going 80 MPH.
The last 20 miles of Wisconsin on westbound I-94 is always a bear. So close to home, yet so far.
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Oh, this isn't what you mean? :57:
(https://youtu.be/bgZ4SaD2SQk)
(https://roberthendricks.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BIG10_13.jpg)
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85 yards through the Heart of the South was really epic.
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When I was a kid we took some sorta Canadian rout from Idaho to Vermont.
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When I interviewed for a job in San Jose my final semester, they hooked me up with a rental car. By about 1 PM on the interview day I was done [and they'd already said they were planning to offer; woo!] and figured I should sightsee since it was the first time I'd ever been to California.
So I drove up to San Francisco, didn't really do much [didn't have time and had no clue where I was], then drove PCH south and saw on a map a road called Highway 84 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_84) which connects the coast back to Redwood City, which would get me back to San Jose and my hotel. I didn't recognize that I'd be crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains, which although they're more like foothills, are a lot bigger than anything in the Midwest.
It was getting dark. It started raining. I'd never even SEEN a twisty mountain road like this before in my life, much less driven one. I was freaking terrified pretty much the entire way, just hoping I'd make it in one piece. I didn't have a cellphone, didn't have anything other than a super-basic rental car map.
After white-knuckling it the whole way back to civilization, I took a deep breath of relief and made it back to the hotel.
When I ended up taking the job and moving to CA, then got a motorcycle, I spent a LOT of time up on those twisty roads through the Santa Cruz Mountains. But I'll never forget the feeling of just trying to survive it in a crappy poor-handling rental car, at night, in the rain, and wondering what the F I'd gotten myself into...
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Another one, just barely after that experience.
I graduated Dec 2000. Purdue was in the Rose Bowl on Jan 1, 2001. I was moving to San Jose and many of my fraternity buddies were flying out to CA for the game. So, I got tickets and arranged it all so that I could meet up with them.
I left my parent's house in Chicago right after Christmas with my 1985 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo all loaded up, and my sister and her husband in their big truck with a bunch of my other belongings. They needed to head to the West Coast to check out a boat so they were going to caravan and help me. We drove from Chicago to Lake of the Ozarks MO where they had their house, spent a day or so there taking care of their marina, and then got on the road to CA. We planned to split the driving duties between two cars and the three of us to make it through in one shot.
So, first things first... We leave midday, head west on I-70 to the Missouri/Kansas border, and then north on I-29 to meet up with I-80. Well, by this time it's dark, and snowing. Snowing HARD. Whiteout conditions as the snow blew over the highway. I'm sitting there, again just white-knuckling in my Chrysler LeBaron watching my brother-in-law's taillights thinking "if he goes off the road, I'm going right behind him".
I don't recall whether we started heading west in Omaha or whether we took some lesser road to Lincoln to meet up with I-80, but eventually we got on I-80 and by that time there was no snow and the roads were clear. And straight. And level. And there's NOTHING ANYWHERE. I swear I could have put The Club on my steering wheel, set the cruise, and gone to sleep. We had walkie talkies and I think when I hit the Wyoming border and the road finally curved I recall mentioning it over the walkie talkie because it was the first curve we'd seen in hundreds of miles.
The rest of the trip was fun. I got a little shuteye and my sister drove across the Nevada desert, and then picked up again over the mountains through Reno/Tahoe. We eventually got to CA, crashed at a hotel overnight, and then they helped me load everything I owned into a storage unit (it was still a week before I could get into my new apartment) and they headed North to WA while I headed South to LA.
I got to drive the beautiful 101 from San Jose to LA, in daylight, which was absolutely gorgeous scenery and a terrific drive.
And here's where we get to the part of the story that astounds me to this day that it worked out.
I'd never been to LA. None of my fraternity brothers had ever been to LA. I believe ONE person had a cell phone (it wasn't me) at this point. I had managed to get the cell # before we'd left, so that was my only lifeline to my friends in a metropolitan area of millions of people. And I'm trying to find them.
Luckily that day Purdue was having some sort of pep rally off Wilshire in LA.
Mistake #1 was that when I was getting gas in Ventura, I asked the guy at the gas station how to get there, thinking someone in Ventura would know their way around LA. That didn't work. But I figured out I was about 2 hours out, called my friend from a pay phone, and we figured we'd find a way to meet at the pep rally.
I continue the rest of the way. I get off the 405 at Wilshire and immediately pull up in my 1985 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo next to a Ferrari 360 Spyder, and believe me I felt a little out of place!
Somehow I managed to find the pep rally, and after calling from another pay phone managed to find my buddies among the few thousand people at the rally. It's not like they could say "we're the ones in black and gold" lol... I guess it helps being tall to survey the crowd!
I look back on it, when we all have smartphones, text messages, Google maps, etc, and I wonder how in the hell we pulled that off. We could do things like that back in those days, because we had to. But today I feel like some of those skills have just atrophied from society and I don't know if it could ever happen again...
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I've driven in about 44 of the 50 states. I think I'm only missing two states that I have never been in (Alaska and Maine).
With that said, I can think of four drives that have just blown me away at just how beautiful the scenery was.
1) I-70 between Vail and Grand Junction in Colorado has to be tops of my list, especially in the springtime. It's a somewhat twisty road weaving between tall purple / green mountains with the Colorado River just to your side and train tracks on the other side of the river with occasional steam locomotives chugging down the tracks. in the springtime, half of the snow has melted off the mountains so the river is fast moving but the mountains still have their white peaks.
2) I-77 between Charleston WV and the WV / VA border. I've always been fond of that particular stretch of road. Lots of hills and tunnels and seeing the different strata of the rock that they had to blast through to route the roads through the mountains.
3) Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) from Monterey down to Pismo Beach, CA is quite honestly one of the prettiest drives in the world. Especially if you can get there in April / May before the summer heat turns the hills brown. Green hills to the east and ocean crashing on rocks to the west. What's amazing is that there are very few houses / businesses along that route, for as picturesque the view is. Usually the traffic isn't too bad because of that.
4) Coming out of the Yosemite tunnel into the Yosemite valley is just awe inspiring. You just feel.....tiny.
Honorable mentions: If you like deserts, the badlands in SD are pretty cool to drive through and the desert areas around Lake Mead in Nevada are high on my list.
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3) Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) from Monterey down to Pismo Beach, CA is quite honestly one of the prettiest drives in the world. Especially if you can get there in April / May before the summer heat turns the hills brown. Green hills to the east and ocean crashing on rocks to the west. What's amazing is that there are very few houses / businesses along that route, for as picturesque the view is. Usually the traffic isn't too bad because of that.
Yep, the drive through Big Sur is astounding. It's one of those drives that should be on everyone's bucket list if they've never done it.
Big issue can be weather though, as it's quite often that area is socked in by fog, which not only makes it not very picturesque, but makes it treacherous to boot.
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The Southern Road to Hana (Piilani "highway") was.. scary. Took me 4 hours.
I should have taken the North Road, like I did on the way back.
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My favorite drive ever is the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park (https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/goingtothesunroad.htm). I've driven in about as many states as @grillrat (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=11) and I just love this one.
The road goes from St. Mary on the East side of the Park (and East side of the Continental Divide) to Apgar on the West side of the Park (and West side of the Continental Divide). It crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,700 ft) and has just absolutely amazing scenery.
I've also hiked in Glacier and that was even better but obviously takes longer.
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So I drove up to San Francisco, didn't really do much [didn't have time and had no clue where I was], then drove PCH south and saw on a map a road called Highway 84 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_84) which connects the coast back to Redwood City, which would get me back to San Jose and my hotel. I didn't recognize that I'd be crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains, which although they're more like foothills, are a lot bigger than anything in the Midwest.
It was getting dark. It started raining. I'd never even SEEN a twisty mountain road like this before in my life, much less driven one. I was freaking terrified pretty much the entire way, just hoping I'd make it in one piece. I didn't have a cellphone, didn't have anything other than a super-basic rental car map.
LoL, I did almost the exact same thing a few years earlier. When Ohio State went to the 1997 Rose Bowl (1996 season) my parents and brother and I drove to California for the game. One evening we were going somewhere and got onto one of those in a minivan, I was a NERVOUS driver.
While we were there we killed a day driving up the 101 from LA to Monterrey. That was a beautiful drive. The highlights were Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seals.
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Somehow I managed to find the pep rally, and after calling from another pay phone managed to find my buddies among the few thousand people at the rally. It's not like they could say "we're the ones in black and gold" lol... I guess it helps being tall to survey the crowd!
I look back on it, when we all have smartphones, text messages, Google maps, etc, and I wonder how in the hell we pulled that off. We could do things like that back in those days, because we had to. But today I feel like some of those skills have just atrophied from society and I don't know if it could ever happen again...
This never ceases to amaze me. How often do you go to the grocery store then text your wife to ask if we are out of ___ or whatever. My wife and I end up texting each other at stores all the time, "where are you?".
Remember when we were kids and you would go to a movie or the mall or whatever and your parents would tell you to meet at the fountain at 4pm or whatever?
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I have driven in 48 states, did not drive in Alaska. The old Saddle Road in Hawaii was something, but it is new now.
I have been driving over here and often I am hoping the road is one way ... And it isn't. And scooters go flying by at irregular intervals, and getting into one of the large traffic circles is entertaining. The Peripherique is flat dangerous, lanes just disappear at times. The left lane on a freeway can disappear also but they do post one sign.
We took Uber in Marseille fortunately, this place is insane also.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a nice drive if not crowded. Boston was very confusing for me, old roads etc.
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the most memorable was a 'ride', not a drive... four of us recently back in the states made good on a plan to ride our entire ten day's off... it was two adjoining 96 hour passes, over a weekend... 'they' can't get by with that anymore but at the time it was common in our unit.
we left Virginia Beach and rode interstate to Manassas Va, and picked up the Skyline Drive and headed south... it turns into the Blueridge Parkway and runs all the way into Western NC... there, we jumped across the two lanes into Tennessee (Tennessee Byway) through beautiful geography of Natahala... from just south and east of Chattanooga into northern Ga... then... we reversed course until Andrews NC and took straight shot to Charlotte- along a road known for many many waterfalls (region where "Last of Mahicans" was filmed, the part with water falls and lakes, and several 'battles'). By the time we intersected I85 we were toast- and headed straight back to Va Beach via interstate...
i don't know if it's the same anymore, but at the time it was legal and encouraged to camp out anywhere along the road on the Blueridge Parkway.. which was pretty cool... and though the miles weren't that great, it took several days to pull this off. Of course we jumped down and road "the tail of the dragon" in Deal's gap.. https://tailofthedragon.com/ (https://tailofthedragon.com/) for y'all not familiar- a lot of commercials for cars are filmed in that area, and people come from across the globe to ride it... it is...... challenging. I've ridden it on a cruiser (HD Road King), a crotch rocket (CBR900RR), and a VTwin Drag bike (totally custom VTX1800 well over the 1800 advertised cc's and QUICK in an 1/8th mile).... the sport bike was the only 'comfortable' tool to ride that with; i was worn out after each of them, though. It is a workout.
Riding solo was my usual gig, but... a group no larger than six is a LOT of fun in the right place. There was a pass nearing Mt Mitchell in NC that is breathtaking. the road empties you from a short tunnel to a stretch built atop a stone abutment hanging on the side of a mountain, turns into a bridge and picks up the ridge line of the next mountain, and for a while there it seems you're riding into a cloud- or certainly heading that direction- then the bridge makes it seem that is exactly what you're doing- riding in the clouds... I don't know for certain, but i was told that stretch of road was lost in a mudslide the area is known for and reconstructed... it's remade, according to this source (a buddy who lives in the region- who is police in Ashe County NC) but with less fanfare and flare for dramatics the original had.
the american road seems more like a task, now. bridging point A with point B with logistical stations in between.
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i didn't particularly care for Boston, but north of there is really nice.. I drove into NH and over to Stowe Vermont, and then up to Maine to Bar Harbor and west into a small town my GF at the time had a friend getting married (hence the reason we were there). The wedding was in a barn- it was dreary and raining, and... it was a BLAST. one of the funner weddings i've attended.
this was a week or so before Halloween- we must have driven past a dozen corn mazes and hayrides done by families or civic groups.. we stopped at two of them for the hell of it...
that was a nice drive. that is really pretty country, and it's well taken care of.... something i wish the south would do better.
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While we were there we killed a day driving up the 101 from LA to Monterrey. That was a beautiful drive. The highlights were Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seals.
My wife and I did a tour at Hearst Castle early last year. I wasn't that familiar with Hearst (beyond knowing the name being associated with "yellow journalism" of that era). But it spurred me to read his biography, "The Chief", after that trip.
If you're interested in biographies and in Hearst, I recommend it. He had a truly interesting "larger than life" experience on this rock.
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i don't know if it's the same anymore, but at the time it was legal and encouraged to camp out anywhere along the road on the Blueridge Parkway.. which was pretty cool... and though the miles weren't that great, it took several days to pull this off. Of course we jumped down and road "the tail of the dragon" in Deal's gap.. https://tailofthedragon.com/ (https://tailofthedragon.com/) for y'all not familiar- a lot of commercials for cars are filmed in that area, and people come from across the globe to ride it... it is...... challenging. I've ridden it on a cruiser (HD Road King), a crotch rocket (CBR900RR), and a VTwin Drag bike (totally custom VTX1800 well over the 1800 advertised cc's and QUICK in an 1/8th mile).... the sport bike was the only 'comfortable' tool to ride that with; i was worn out after each of them, though. It is a workout.
Riding solo was my usual gig, but... a group no larger than six is a LOT of fun in the right place. There was a pass nearing Mt Mitchell in NC that is breathtaking. the road empties you from a short tunnel to a stretch built atop a stone abutment hanging on the side of a mountain, turns into a bridge and picks up the ridge line of the next mountain, and for a while there it seems you're riding into a cloud- or certainly heading that direction- then the bridge makes it seem that is exactly what you're doing- riding in the clouds... I don't know for certain, but i was told that stretch of road was lost in a mudslide the area is known for and reconstructed... it's remade, according to this source (a buddy who lives in the region- who is police in Ashe County NC) but with less fanfare and flare for dramatics the original had.
I used to a fair number of group rides. In both NorCal and then SoCal I had found an owner's club for the specific motorcycle I had (Suzuki SV650S, a 650-cc V-twin sportbike), and we did a lot of them.
One epic day I left my house in San Jose, met the guys up in Napa, we rode all over Napa, Clear, Lake, and Sonoma counties for the entire day. I got back to my apartment in San Jose, and then rode from there up to my girlfriend's place in Burlingame. All told it was a 450 mile day, which is NOT comfortable when you're 6'5" on a sportbike lol. But it was an awesome day of riding.
We did a lot of group rides, and that could be a lot of fun because you basically had guides for the roads you'd never experienced. And generally it was done in a way to have one experienced rider riding "sweep" at the back of the pack to make sure everyone was accounted for.
I will say that I've ridden the Angeles Crest Highway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angeles_Crest_Highway), which is kinda the West Coast's equivalent of Deal's Gap. But I suspect that both it, and Deal's Gap, are victims of their own popularity. Traffic on Angeles Crest is too heavy. And although the route is one of the most scenic drives/rides you'll ever have, I found for motorcycling the road was too "wide open" for spirited riding on a sportbike without significantly exceeding the speed limit, which is dangerous both for all the traffic and for all the police presence a road like that will attract on a summer weekday.
I much preferred tighter roads. The sort of roads where you could feel like you were "pushing it" a little without exceeding 60-70 mph.
I do remember one day, on Glendora Mountain Road (https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/5143-glendora-mountain-road.html). It was a really fun road, really tight and technical so you could have a lot of fun without having to ride at crazy speeds. The road is basically all uphill, get to the top, and ride it right back down. One day I was there and found a pack of "gravity bikes" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewC_Sqy0S1A).
When I got to the top and took a break, I saw them all take off down the hill. I ended up getting back on the bike for my descent shortly thereafter, and started to catch up to them. I recall I went around one of them in a corner, and then in the very next corner, the dude took me on the outside! I'm sitting there thinking "I've got horsepower, shouldn't I be winning?" All told it took 1-2 miles to actually make may way through the pack, and then once we hit a slightly flatter portion of the road, I left them behind.
But the whole "gravity bike" think looked like a lot of fun from that experience.
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I-40 between Knoxville TN and Asheville NC - not for the faint of heart. I think the speed limit is like 40 for some stretches.
I'm sure there are twistier/scarier stretches of road out there, but it is definitely not something I'd want to drive on at night.
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Ive logged at least 100 passes through there and half at night... Once with significant ice on road and during snow storm.
A buddy of mine is a VW nut.. He jist sold an all wheel drive 650hp car je drove through there, and cited that drive as the reason to get rid of it. It was equipped with driver assist which he said was unpredictable... In one corner it was all driver, and in the next he had to fight the car. It was brand new off showroom, taken to a place in Wilmington renown for the upgrades (he doesnt turn his own wrenches!!!) And driven home. The drivers assist was not accounted for in the tuning/flash and supposedly was a feature the programmers hadnt "hacked" yet... He went back to his '16 model and all ots 425hp glory, and said it would turn circles around the newer.
Deals gap be damned, the toughest most technical ride I know of is a pass adjacent i75 between KY, VA, and TN called Tin Can Hollow... And for the really brave, run that road at speed when the coal trucks are loading out.... Spooky and NOT in a good way.
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My favorite drives have been...
going into Aspen from Leadville - I'm really glad I did that trip around CO. Didn't come across one interstate, but spent 3 days driving/camping. It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be.
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driving out west for the first time - west TX/NM, with the elevation changes and mountains bigger than anything I'd ever seen in person, but probably so miniscule out west that they didn't even have names. That first exposure was special.
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That drive from east TN into western NC is amazing.
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driving along the gulf through Appalachicola up in the panhandle of FL....gorgeous during the day and also at sunset.
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US 1 down to Key West....it's so far......you're an hour south of the Miami area and not even to Key Largo yet....Islamorada......the 7-mile bridge after Marathon....the lower keys...once you get to KW, you really come to see it's closer to Havana than to Miami. And you can't be in a hurry...it doesn't allow it.
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Key West feels like another country more than almost any other place I've been in the continental US. Arlington and Washington have a international feel at times, but KW feels like you're in a Caribbean port. ..... Well... Uh... You know what I mean.
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Beartooth Highway, between the NE gate of Yellowstone NP over to Red Lodge, MT. That's a great test of driving and spectacular.
I once hit about a dozen golf balls off of one of the vistas w a friend about 20 years ago, ball just sails and floats off into the abyss, just an amazing area to fish, hike and camp. My parents are so spoiled to have so many great day trips.
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The drive from Lincoln to Gillette, WY can be beautiful if you go through Custer State Park and the Black Hills in SD. But noooo, we had to take the interstate all the way to WY border and go north from there. The last 100 miles from Douglas to Gillette was a two lane road with exactly one stop on the way, if you want to call the post office / village of Bill, WY a stop, lol. My husband doesn't like to make stops anyway, so he was ahead of me in the pickup and I was following behind in the car. I almost fell asleep two times and he ignored my flashing of lights because he just wanted to get to Gillette and wasn't really looking behind him. Smacked him upside the head when we pulled in to the gas station on the south side of Gillette. Those roads are brutal in the winter and he traveled them all the time going back and forth to the rigs or when he worked at a coal mine. There is just nothing there except pumping units and deer or elk bounding onto the road.
These days we go up through SD and make a stop in Pierre to see his folks and spend the night, then go the rest of the way the next day. Getting way too old to drive 12 hours or more in one shot. At least SD has towns every 10-20 miles or so and more to see than just flat land or the Sandhills.
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The stretch west of Casper towards Shoshoni on State 26 is what I imagine driving on the Moon to be like. Wild horses, and cattle fence is all you see, rarely if ever another car. Some open range roads also in Sunlight Basin too. WY and Nevada are mostly the two most incredibly isolated states in this country with few rivals. I love those drives. They almost make NM, MT, and portions of west Texas and AZ seem crowded. I keep threatening to drive my kids all over the west this summer.
This makes me think of Neil Peart's books on traveling on his motorcycle all over the backroads of North America.
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Wisconsin can Michigan in 2005
Also, underrated, Lexington to Knoxville and Charlotte to say Athens Ohio though Virginia and WV
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Also, underrated, Lexington to Knoxville and Charlotte to say Athens Ohio though Virginia and WV
That's the rout from Columbus to Myrtle Beach.
There is a great one across NY State as an alternate to I-90. It adds about an hour to the drive, but it is all freeway, no tolls, and meanders through wooded mountains and lakes the entire way.
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Anybody been on the hwy from Salt Lake City to Reno? That's got to be THE blandest drive ever. Why am I even curious?
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Another drive I want to take is from Miami southwest through the southernmost Everglades to the town of Flamingo. It's GOT to be a weird place. Extremely isolated, one way in, one way out.
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Perhaps an obvious point, but the Interstate is not really the best way to 'see the country', if driving. The amount of man made effort to make that amazing Interstate system required (there's a great book or two on the subject) so much compromise and debasing of so much landscape that it makes the trips so much less interesting than a two lane road. That's a big tradeoff. But yes, I've done much of that drive between SLC and Reno, it's a tough one. The state HWY 95 I think it is is particularly tough (that's the stretch that meets I-80 at Winnemucca from the northern part of Nevada. Utah has some amazing highway drives. I look forward to another trip to Moab region.
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Utah has great drives, even on Interstates. The section of I 10 north of LV through the Virgin. River canyon is something to see on the way to Zion NP. There is a drive over Guardian Pass we took one October when leaves were changing ... It is dirt road in parts.
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My favorite is the drive between Key West and the mainland in south Florida. I've driven it a few times and on a nice sunny day, the ocean views are spectacular.
Also, the drive down Skyline Drive along the Shenandoah valley is gorgeous, especially in the fall.
If you like tight curvy roads, for an interstate highway, I-77 between Charleston WV and Beckly WV is exciting. I pulled a 14 ft trailer with my motorcycle and a bunch of luggage through there on a trip to Hilton Head using my wife's Chevy Traverse. No trailer brakes. That was very nerve racking.
Worst drives I've driven have to be I-35 between Dallas and Austin in the middle of summer, with no air conditioning back in 1982. Any drive through Kansas or Nebraska. I-65 from southern Tennessee to Mobile Alabama. It just takes forever to get there.
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Use to go up to Ontario/Quebec in early/mid September on fishing trips.Georgeous country once you shake the outskirts of Toronto.Lakes Kashwakamak & Nippissing in Ontario.Lac des Quinze,(dammed for hydo electric back in the day part of a river named Outaouais River I believe which was part of the upper Ottowa River)) and Valdor in Quebec.Gently rolling hills,dairy country,small lakes,rivers and meandering streams and country lanes.In Quebec we had a fresh montain spring about 1/4 mile down a path.Damn near crack your teeth and the accompanying brain freeze.Blue berries and black bears.This is some of what we'd see.There were a paper mill or two along the way which aren't real nice
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US 1 down to Key West....it's so far......you're an hour south of the Miami area and not even to Key Largo yet....Islamorada......the 7-mile bridge after Marathon....the lower keys...once you get to KW, you really come to see it's closer to Havana than to Miami. And you can't be in a hurry...it doesn't allow it.
I should have included this in my list. I remember the first time I did that drive. Two buddies and I were in FL for Spring Break and we were spending a couple days in Key West. We had driven straight through from Cleveland. Two things stand out about that:
- When you get to the Florida line you are only slightly over half way there. Seriously, it is 1,400 miles from Cleveland to Key West. It is 869 from Cleveland to the Florida Welcome Center (free OJ) on I95 North of Jacksonville and another 530 from there to Key West.
- The drive from Miami to Key West takes FOREVER.
We left on a Wednesday afternoon, entered FL at dawn, then stopped in Jacksonville for breakfast. When we left Jacksonville we did the fastest long drive I think I've ever been on. We did the ~350 miles from Jacksonville to Miami in well under four hours.
Anyway, we felt like we were almost there once we left Miami but no such luck. The Thursday afternoon traffic from Miami to Key West was horrible.
The funny part about that drive is that most of it is two lane but on some of the larger islands it widens out to four lanes so you can pass. Every time we hit a four lane stretch it was like a NASCAR race with EVERYONE trying to pass whatever slow vehicle was holding up the group.
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Beartooth Highway, between the NE gate of Yellowstone NP over to Red Lodge, MT. That's a great test of driving and spectacular.
I once hit about a dozen golf balls off of one of the vistas w a friend about 20 years ago, ball just sails and floats off into the abyss, just an amazing area to fish, hike and camp. My parents are so spoiled to have so many great day trips.
That Beartooth highway is brutal. I drove that out of Yellowstone in my Z28 and it was crazy. I remember looking up at the GPS once (very few opportunities to glance at anything other than the road in front of me) and all I saw on the GPS screen was a giant zig-zag line indicating the numerous switchbacks behind me and to come.
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i didn't particularly care for Boston, but north of there is really nice..
Boston drivers are insane...
...and I say that having grown up and learn to drive in Chicago.
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I grew up just down the hill from highway 84 in California, and used to know nearly every curve on the road by heart. I'm still close, but don't drive it as much as when I was a teen.
I've ridden the PCH (Highway 1) from Carmel to San Simeon (Heart Castle) on my bicycle (and I've driven it). It's about as good a century as there is, I think.
Memorable drives for me: Sarasota, FL, to San Francisco, via Madison, with my sister when we were both coming home one summer.
Denver to Madison in a day--my last speeding ticket. When I crossed the Wisconsin river, and saw it was 80 miles to Madison, I thought, "I can be there in an hour!" Police didn't think that was a good idea. 1000 miles in a day by yourself is probably also not a good idea.
Drove San Francisco to D.C. with a girlfriend in college. Best part was through the Smokey Mountains. Alas, Dolly World was closed. /sarcasm (but true story).
San Francisco to D.C., through El Paso, with a great friend when we graduated college was pretty awesome. Didn't have enough time to really see the sights, but it was a great drive. On the way back to El Paso, saw fireworks over Little Rock as I drove into town. That was memorable.
I drove from California to El Paso and back a few times. While it was a bit drab in parts, other parts of the desert were spellbinding.
I used to drive from Tennessee to Chicago to visit college buddies pretty often on Highway 41 (with the Allman Brothers cranked up)--once or twice I took the interstate (57).
In college, drove from Madison to D.C., through State College, then stopped to watch the Badgers upset the Nittany Lions on the way back. That was pretty cool.
I-80 is pretty boring through most of the midwest. The stretch from Salt Lake to Reno is brutal.
SFIrish and I drove from San Francisco to Salt Lake, then up through Idaho to Helena, MT, and Glacier, then west through Couer D'Alene to Seattle, then Portland, the redwood forests on the California coast, and back to San Francisco. That was a pretty cool trip. Nearly cooked our brakes coming from Tahoe down to Reno on back roads, nearly ran out of water backpacking in Idaho because the rivers were intermittent (not shown on map), nearly got caught in a wildfire in Glacier while backpacking (when we came back to our truck, there was a note asking us to check in with the ranger on our way out, and in the parking lot were only fire vehicles; when we got to the ranger station, they told us we were literally the last people out--we had been blissfully ignorant). Went to the other side of the park, but could only go halfway on Going to the Sun because of the fires.
Nearly got caught in a tornado in Texas on my way from Houston to Centerville. Had some realizations about the importance (or lack thereof) of work that day.
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I've been lost exactly one time in my life, and it happened in Boston while the Big Dig was going on, and before GPS.
Driving in Boston can turn men into little boys.
I drove around for a couple of hours looking for my hotel. Finally I pulled up behind a cop and got out to ask him for help to find the hotel, and I told him the name of it. He gets out and makes me walk the straight line (I had a few, but long worn off, thankfully). I passed the line test and asked him why he did that to me.
Welp... I was about one block over and one block down from my hotel.
WTF. I'd have made me walk too.
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When you take I 75 south it goes over a large mountain as soon as you cross into Tennessee. But if you jump off at the first exit there is an alternate route that takes you along the river, through the woods, alongside a really crazy railroad line, and then you can hop back onto the freeway at the other end of the mountain at a giant lake in a town called Carreyville, iirc. Great place to spend the night if you are driving from Ohio to Atlanta and don't want to do the whole trip in one day.
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The drive from Reno over Mt. Rose to Lake Tahoe is a pretty scenic drive for a guy from Ohio. I was there a few years ago in January. What I remember most was when I got to the top of Mt. Rose at the overlook on the Nevada side, the sun was out and there was about 4-5 feet of snow everywhere, but the roads were clear. I got out of the car without a jacket and was not cold. The sun was warm and the air was comfortable.
Then once you clear the ridge and have Tahoe in view, it is stunning.
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Boston drivers are insane...
...and I say that having grown up and learn to drive in Chicago.
They can't be worse than Toronto,can't be!!!
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My most memorable drive: Dubuque to Tallahassee my first year of law school.
I bought an old VW Microbus and loaded it up with everything I owned. Brakes went out in Central Illinois, so stopped to replace them. At 2:00 a.m. came into a tiny town in Southern Illinois called Cave in Rock, traveling down a hill into a parking lot where I thought there would be a bridge over the Ohio River but, -- no -- it was a parking lot with a sign, "STOP, WAIT FOR FERRY." Figured ferry was not operating at 2:00 a.m. and at any rate it was on Kentucky side, so I drove 20 miles looking for a bridge.
Once in Kentucky, on a blacktop county road, there were opossums running both directions across the road, dozens. They are kind of spooky at 2:30 a.m. And then I went over one. And you feel the weight of yourself going over an opossum in a Microbus, because you sit atop the front wheel.
I never visited Tallahassee before I enrolled. I just showed up with a fully loaded VW Microbus, with full-sized bed and all my belongings. Stayed in a mom and pop hotel a few days. If my daughter tried doing that I would be all over her. I was in a vulnerable position with a VW Microbus fully loaded and no place to live. Bought the newspaper. Looked for a place to live. Actually found a nice place - pure luck - with a great neighbor above-me who has been a friend for life.
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Driving through Iowa is brutally boring. Illinois too. The trip from here to UNL for a game was exhausting. If I make it back there, it will be by plane.
Iowa is not all boring, you chose to make it boring by going to a UNL game. You need to drive through the "Driftless area." Start out in Davenport, and drive North on U.S. 52. It is the prettiest drive in the country. You can keep going north to McGregor-Marquette. Stop at Pike's Peak State Park. Yes, Zubulon Pike was fond of naming high places for himself, I think there might be 3 Pike's Peaks. Keep going north to La Crosse. It's one of the most beautiful drives in the United States. Iowa doesn't have to be boring.
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Ya the boring parts are usually farms - so like the critics can eat
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Iowa is not all boring, you chose to make it boring by going to a UNL game. You need to drive through the "Driftless area." Start out in Davenport, and drive North on U.S. 52. It is the prettiest drive in the country. You can keep going north to McGregor-Marquette. Stop at Pike's Peak State Park. Yes, Zubulon Pike was fond of naming high places for himself, I think there might be 3 Pike's Peaks. Keep going north to La Crosse. It's one of the most beautiful drives in the United States. Iowa doesn't have to be boring.
I had no choice. Had to get there on a Friday and leave Sunday.
Prettiest drive I've been on is the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire.
Admittedly, I don't do a lot of distance driving. That will change when we move to Florida.
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The seven trips I made around the Etoile traffic circle in Paris (the one around the Arc de Triomphe over silly American drivers) was memorable for me. The wife kept yelling "A GAUCHE!" the whole time because I reckon the other drivers were poorly attired or something.
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306 miles across Iowa on I80, yeah, not cool. The drives around and along the Miss. And Missouri are splendid as noted above.
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I never visited Tallahassee before I enrolled. I just showed up with a fully loaded VW Microbus, with full-sized bed and all my belongings. Stayed in a mom and pop hotel a few days. If my daughter tried doing that I would be all over her. I was in a vulnerable position with a VW Microbus fully loaded and no place to live. Bought the newspaper. Looked for a place to live. Actually found a nice place - pure luck - with a great neighbor above-me who has been a friend for life.
This was me, moving out to AZ. Never been west of Baton Rouge (not counting birth-3 yrs old), but packed up all the stuff I could in a tiny u-haul trailer, towed by my tiny Saturn.
My dad was cute, he printed out directions from Gainesville to Phoenix, which was all of 1 turn, lol. North on I-75 for 40 miles to Lake City, turn west onto I-10 for 1800 miles to Phoenix. Lived in a Hampton Inn for a week while working and finding a place to live.
I had more teaching stuff with me than personal belongings. Only 'big' thing was a desk my parents bought me.
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Looking back, that was pretty crazy. But the drive out was memorable because I'd only been in the southeast (aside from airports). The eastern half of Texas might as well be Florida with hills. The LA/TX border is unsightly, with all the oil industry infrastructure just laid out all over the place. But once you creep a few hours west of San Antonio...the world changes. The highway changes - the exits are different out there. Then my first, official 80 mph speed limit signs. Elevation. Desert. Rock formations. Stuff you could see from 200 miles away if you dropped it in Gainesville, but out west, it's unremarkable.
Such elevation! And cactus. El Paso's overpasses are all very decorated and you can look over at Mexico. The terrain was just a marvel as you drive into New Mexico (for someone who's only lived at sea level).
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I always prided myself on geography knowledge, but had no idea northern AZ is at 6000-7500'. Flagstaff is 2,000' above Denver in elevation. If you ever have some time to kill, driving along the Mogollon rim, where the southern AZ desert gives way to the Colorado plateau, it's beautiful. From I-17 out towards Payson.
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Driving into Vegas from AZ is unique, too.
It's all just dry, rocky mountains as far as you can see (from the long, valley of nothingness between Kingman and the Hoover Dam). I think it's 2 gas stations in that 60-mile stretch or so. They're expanding that divided highway into an interstate at some point (I-11, I believe).
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Elevation. Desert. Rock formations. Stuff you could see from 200 miles away if you dropped it in Gainesville, but out west, it's unremarkable.
Such elevation!
I learned to downhill ski at Villa Olivia in the Chicago suburbs. It's a golf course in the summer. My only trip beyond there was Wilmot "Mountain" in Wisconsin, which seemed enormous in relation.
After moving to San Jose, I went to go learn snowboarding with friends in Tahoe. Suddenly I realized just how small and flat my previous world truly was...
I always prided myself on geography knowledge, but had no idea northern AZ is at 6000-7500'. Flagstaff is 2,000' above Denver in elevation. If you ever have some time to kill, driving along the Mogollon rim, where the southern AZ desert gives way to the Colorado plateau, it's beautiful. From I-17 out towards Payson.
I had a business trip one summer which was one day in Phoenix followed by one day in Albuquerque. Phoenix was 115 degrees, which I find unbearable. Albuquerque was high 90s, which for desert heat is quite tolerable. That's the difference with a mile of elevation...
I had a boss who had his winter house and his summer house. His winter house was in Phoenix. His summer house was in Flagstaff. You don't normally think there's going to be an area of Arizona that you're trying to "escape" in the winter, but you get real winter at 6000+ feet.
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Yeah, my first year on the reservation, we had so much snow they were air-dropping food and had national guard people trying to reach certain housing areas. We had like 4 days of school in the month of January, and Flagstaff always got more snow than we did.
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I view Phx/Flag akin to Death Valley/Mt. Whitney in CA - the lowest and highest points in the lower 48 so near each other....120 degrees/snow flurries 2 hours apart in AZ.
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I'll never forget flooring it in my little Saturn, towing a trailer, up that elevation. Flooring it and maybe going 35mph.
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Most Saturns would have no towing package, although there were a few Saturn SUVs made. I can imagine the issues towing with a small sedan.
The 1970 Microbus could go 71 mph downhill through the Appalachians, and no more than about 50 mph uphill. About 66-67 mph was top speed floored on level ground. Not only did it have a low top end it didn't stop fast. It had 4-wheel drum brakes. You needed stopping distance.
I am amazed I am still living. You would be the first person to the scene of a head-on crash. It had no protection of any kind for the driver and front seat passenger, save a seat belt; your feet hang down over the front of the front wheel well. They were very utilitarian, and very dangerous.
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US 50 from Evansville/Grafton WV to Romney WV. Twisting windy road w/ a ton of beautiful vistas. If you have a small sports car like a Miata this road was made for it.
I-64 from VA border to Charleston is as someone mentioned a great drive.
Driving into Pittsburgh from the west/south via I-79/I-376 in a snowstorm. When the snow on the road is still white and reflects off all the lights from the city and the roads are deserted.
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One great drive is from LV north through Death Valley and then US 395 up the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada to Tioga Pass road up and then down into Yosemite. I would have that very high on my personal rankings. We then drove south and visited Kings Canyon and Sequoyah NPs and then back to LV. LV is a great place to start great drives IMHO, and rental cars are very very cheap. I usually get a Mustang convertible. (The 4 cylinder is not much fun to drive really, but whatever.)
The western US has some great vistas and views. I once drove around Mt. Ranier on a clear day, spectacular. I took the wife and the clouds were at about 10,000 feet but it was still worth seeing, along with Mount St. Helens. I want to drive north from SF to Oregon sometime.
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Yeah, my first year on the reservation, we had so much snow they were air-dropping food and had national guard people trying to reach certain housing areas. We had like 4 days of school in the month of January, and Flagstaff always got more snow than we did.
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I view Phx/Flag akin to Death Valley/Mt. Whitney in CA - the lowest and highest points in the lower 48 so near each other....120 degrees/snow flurries 2 hours apart in AZ.
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I'll never forget flooring it in my little Saturn, towing a trailer, up that elevation. Flooring it and maybe going 35mph.
Moving out to Phoenix from Cincinnati to Phoenix was an adventure. I have a 24' truck towing a car. Going up over the mountains to get into camp Verde valley with it floor just creeping along hoping to get over the mountain and then going down the mountain with a death grip on the wheel trying your best to keep your speed down and not loss control. Then you get to repeat that on the other side of the valley. Fun, fun, fun.
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just drove from D/FW to Sioux City, IA yesterday
nothing memorable about it except for the stop in Topeka at the Blind Tiger
great food, great beer, friendly folks - filled two growlers
on the way down to Dallas last Saturday, went through Rogers, AR near Fayettenam. Played a round of golf, stayed overnight and then into Dallas down 75 through Sherman for a round of golf there.
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memorable drives??? Many off the top of my head.......
the north shore of lake Superior from Duluth to Thunder Bay on 61 on a motorcycle
Los Gatos to Monterey down hwy 1
Walsenburg to Durango over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado many times, couple times on motorcycles
Durango to Silverton to Ouray to Ridgway to Telluride to Cortez and back to Durango on motorcycles with a tent stay near Telluride near Bridal Veil Falls
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Well, that 22-play game-winning TD drive by MSU in 4Q of the 2015 Big Ten CCG against Iowa, now that was a memorable drive!
Oh, wait I guess we are talking about a different type of drive :)
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I think we can allow football winning drives as well. Heck, why not, now folks are claiming Boston College is in the state of MA.
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Take the pigtail highway to Mount Rushmore. Talk about beautiful scenery and seeing the monument framed in the tunnels is very pretty at night when it is lit up. Can get a little dizzy with all the switchbacks, but I think it is worth it.
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When I was 16 or 17, I drove US 129 between NC and TN, a now famous road. At the time there were virtually no cars and no trucks at all because it is curve after curve after curve, and doesn't really go anywhere important. There is only one decent view I can recall and the gap in the mountains is pretty low. Woe be he who was in the backseat. Even up front I'd get a bit dizzy/nauseous. Today you can't drive it much at all because of the bike traffic.
This was one way to get to my grandparents house back then, not the best way by far, but "interesting".
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March is nearly upon us. As you read this, the first 2020 Chevrolet Corvettes are headed to dealership but if you haven’t already ordered one, you might have to wait a while to experience it for yourself. That is, unless you can get to the National Corvette Museum near the ‘Vette’s assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Hand the museum $299 and they’ll let you turn laps in a new C8 on the museum’s 3.2-mile road course. Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that.
NCM Motorsports Park is just across the street from the museum, and touring laps of the track in a new C8 are open to museum visitors depending on weather conditions and track availability. You don’t slap down $300 and go tearing around corners, however – touring laps have drivers following a pace car around the course, with four laps allowed for the session.
Speeds aren’t mentioned, but NCM Motorsports Park's online description for laps doesn’t include helmets or other safety requirements such as long-sleeve shirts, so we suspect these laps are relatively low-speed. That’s further supported by a passenger over the age of 14 being allowed to accompany the driver.
If you crave something a bit more exciting in a Corvette, NCM Motorsports Park can accommodate that as well. The facility will host several Corvette Experience days throughout 2020, with the first event scheduled for March 26. Attendees will receive classroom instruction as well as on-track driving practice for an unspecified number of laps. Like the touring laps, drivers will tackle the track with a pace car leading the way. Unlike the parade laps, there are no passengers allowed and helmets with long pants and close-toed shoes are required.
Again, speeds aren’t mentioned but in our experience, you don’t strap on a helmet unless you’re expecting a brisk pace. The Corvette Experience also includes lunch and a special tour of the museum, so it sounds like an all-day thing. At $799, It’s also a bit more pricey than the parade laps.
Production of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette in underway, with first customer deliveries expected to start in earnest next week.
https://www.motor1.com/news/401410/corvette-c8-test-driven-track/ (https://www.motor1.com/news/401410/corvette-c8-test-driven-track/)
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Fort Bragg, NC, to Tulsa, OK, via Charlotte, Asheville, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, and Fort Smith. Several times. And back. I always drove it straight through, in a Mazda RX-7, with a 2-hour nap in the car at a truckstop in TN. The interesting part of the trip was when maybe 100 miles W of Charlotte I got off US-74 onto NC-9/Alt US-74. That took me through Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, and Bat Cave. Those were in the mountains, and NC-9 was a twisty 2-lane road. I nearly always was driving through there at night, and it was often foggy.
Redding, CA, to Lake Tahoe. I left Redding early, and it was still not fully daylight as I was going through the Lassen National Forest (taking the long way so as to go through Reno and pick up my wife at the airport there). It was September, and the Aspens were golden. Tahoe was beautiful.
Pittsburgh to Gettysburg. We took the route that went down into Maryland, passed by Hagerstown, and came into Gettysburg from the SW on PA-116. We passed through a skanky stretch of adult entertainment stores, but the big thrill came when we were maybe 10 miles from Gettysburg and could look off to the right front and see Roundtop and Little Roundtop. I had never been to Gettysburg, but I knew what I was seeing the instant they became visible.
Sheridan, WY, up I-70 to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Same as with Gettysburg. I had never been there, nor had I seen any images of the area from our perspective, but I knew I was seeing Reno Creek and Reno hill off to the east of I-70 as soon as they appeared.
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Not a drive, but not completely different, either. Taking the kids on an overnight train trip, the California Zephyr, from the Bay Area to Grand Junction, Colorado (to visit Moab/Arches). I hear great things about it--and I'm happy that Reno to Salt Lake is in the dark of night. :-)
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Northwest of Las Vegas you have the Great Basin Highway (US93), which runs north and south just west of the Nevada-Utah state line all the way up into Idaho. I drove this route a couple of weeks ago, and it was truly a jaunt through the middle of nowhere.
There would be about 140 miles between each town, 100 of which you couldn't get any phone service, and you'd only be able to pick up 2 or 3 radio stations on your dial. There are no houses, no gas stations, or even farms. There was a rest stop that didn't even have an outhouse. So it was just a designated place where you could stop and pee on the side of the road.
Wells Nevada, the town at the junction of US93 and I80, made West Virginia look like Beverly Hills. Most of the businesses were boarded up and abandoned, including about a dozen motels. About 80 percent of the lots contained only a single wide trailer from the 70s, completely covered in dents. The "nice streets" had little tiny houses about the size of a double wide. Every yard had a vicious dog or three that would just snarl and growl and bark at every passer by, so it was impossible to walk around without setting off all the dogs.
There was actually a pretty cool town along the way called Ely, and they have a star gazing train where they would take you to a mountain top with a telescope and let you explore the night sky. Of course they are somehow booked out for a year in advance, so I won't be doing that even though it sounds pretty awesome. Every road out of that town had a sign warning motorists about how long it would be before they will encounter another service station, and in each case it was well over 100 miles. One of the roads, US50 heading west towards Reno, is labeled as "the loneliest road in America."
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a possible road for an increased speed limit - say 100mph?
or, does the road suck? narrow and bumpy and rough
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It's a great road.
The speed limit is 70, and when there is another car coming, you can spot it from miles away.
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I drove I-80 across South Dakota in a 4 cylinder minivan (with three kids). The absence of traffic was amazing, I'd see another car every 3-4 miles. That minivan would struggle above about 82 mph, sounding strained, I think it only had 92 hp. It was a manual.
That was a slow car.
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I've made the I-90 drive across South Dakota many times
was married in the Rapid City area
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Driven I-70 many times. It's just the meth highway now. Washington, PA; where I-70 and I-79 meet has become a hotbed for that very reason.
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My most oft driven Interstate is I-75 south from Cincy. Parts of it are somewhat interesting, but mostly it's just hilly and you can get behind trucks in both lanes at times. There is a stretch just into TN that badly needs a third lane as it climbs up a mountain (Jellico Mtn).
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My most oft driven Interstate is I-75 south from Cincy. Parts of it are somewhat interesting, but mostly it's just hilly and you can get behind trucks in both lanes at times. There is a stretch just into TN that badly needs a third lane as it climbs up a mountain (Jellico Mtn).
That would be a fantastic drive with less traffic.
71 from Columbus to Cincinnati is awful.
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71 from Columbus to Cincinnati is awful.
First is the Columbus ghetto, then the jail, then the sewage treatment plant, then Grove City, then a sign that says that you are going to Hell, then a bunch of stinky farms, then the Klan barn, then a really out of place scenic gorge, then the Cincinnati ghetto.
Lovely drive.
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First is the Columbus ghetto, then the jail, then the sewage treatment plant, then Grove City, then a sign that says that you are going to Hell, then a bunch of stinky farms, then the Klan barn, then a really out of place scenic gorge, then the Cincinnati ghetto.
Lovely drive.
Glad the last time we drove to Nashville, that stretch was in the dark. Don't mind south from Detroit through Dayton, to Cincinnati. And Columbus, straight across to Indianapolis is tolerable, it's just that 80 minute stretch that I can't do again.
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First is the Columbus ghetto, then the jail, then the sewage treatment plant, then Grove City, then a sign that says that you are going to Hell, then a bunch of stinky farms, then the Klan barn, then a really out of place scenic gorge, then the Cincinnati ghetto.
Lovely drive.
But you get to see the Eiffel Tower (well at least a third scale replica). And don't say anything bad about Grove City, I actually graduated from high school there a long time ago.