One Tank Road Trips

[DonnaR57]

From St. Louis (where I live now - a half-tank trip. This is less than 200 miles of driving.):

South on I-55 to Ste Genevieve, stopping for pie at the Blue Owl in Kimmswick. If you want, get off 55 and follow US-61 South. (Either from Kimmswick or (better yet) from somehwere around Crystal City.) Stop in Ste Genevieve for the night if you are hotelling (it's a fun town) or, if camping, take MO-32 West to Hawn State Park. Hike depending on your ability/interest there (whether you camp there or not) and then be sure to do the ~2 mile loop hike nearby at Pickle Springs. Continue West on MO-32 to Farmington. Hang a right and get on US-67 N. Pass by St. Joe State Park and stop at St Francois State Park. Back on US-67 N. At MO-110 cut over W to MO-21 and follow back N to St. Louis. As I live about a block and a half off of MO-21, this leads almost to my doorstep.

My husband's dad's family all lived in that neck of the woods - Leadwood, Park Hills, Desloge, Irondale. There used to be a fantastic little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Irondale. I think it's real name was something like The Blue Plate, but my in-laws always called it "Earl's". Unfortunately, I don't think it exists any more.

We did a "one tank" trip back in 2008. We got in the car, drove up to Disneyland (1-1/2 hours, about 90 miles) and spent 3 days there. They were having a 3-day pass for $99 for SoCal residents special, so we took advantage of that. We then went a little further north and did the 3-hour tour of Warner Bros studios, and came home. All on one tank. The hotels were all at discount because my husband is retired military, so the only thing we really had to pay full price for, were restaurants. Even there, I had a coupon for one place.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

After you pass the town of Ramona you will see citrus groves near San Pasqual County Park. Citrus groves used to blanket Southern California, but now they stand out as scarce reminders of an agricultural era from the 1880s until the 1960s housing boom led to their demise. A small group of American soldiers and Marines under the command of General Stephen Kearny suffered defeat at the hands of Californios at San Pasqual in one of the few battles of the Mexican American War in 1846.

A couple of comments to add to this lovely idea for a one-tank trip:

Ramona itself has quite a few antiques stores, if one is interested in "antiquing". If one wants a good Mexican lunch while in Ramona, there's a place called La Salsa right behind the McDonald's in town. It doesn't look like much, but the food is good.

Also, San Pascual Battlefield, along Rt 78 on the way between Ramona and Escondido, has a lovely visitor center. However, it is only open on weekends. Sometimes they have reenactments of this battle (I've not been to one). Right now, though, this visitor center/park may possibly be under the governor's knife. He's talking about closing some state parks, and unfortunately, this one is on his list. However, the state is "only" behind on the budget by 4 weeks now. Time will tell, what happens to that state park.


Donna

[shirohniichan]

OK, I painstakingly followed the instructions to make a map showing my proposed one-tank trip in So' Cal', and I thought I would share it in the thread. Once I finished it I wanted to click on "share this map", but it was not highlighted so I could do so.

????

[Mark Sedenquist]

If the "Share this Saved Map" was not highlighted, it means that you've not saved the map. You can only share a map if it's been saved. The Save a map button is right above that. The code is written in such a way that you can only do the next step if the element is ready for action.

Mark

[shirohniichan]

Let's see if this works:

Anaheim to Anza Borrego, Julian, Oceanside and back on one tank

[Mark Sedenquist]

Now, you can add custom detail, (photos, descriptions, etc.) if you want to each of the custom places and your map will be automatically updated here.

Mark

[Year25]

Earlier this Fall, my husband and I took an afternoon trip on Route 66. We began in Pontiac, IL and ended our trip in Willowbrook, IL. The weather was sunny and pleasant; it was a great day for an Autumn afternoon drive.



We started our trip at the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac. This was a really quaint little place, housed in an historic firehouse. It was chock full of information and articles having to do with The Mother Road. The man tending the museum was very friendly and informative and was able to answer any question we had about the route and also different items in the museum itself. Admission was free, but donations were accepted. After snapping a few pictures in the museum, we headed out and drove north-east down Route 66 (E 1860 N Road). Historic Route 66 begins to run parallel to I55 a few miles out of town.







The next town that we stopped at was Odell, IL. There was a nicely restored Standard Oil Gas Station right on the edge of town just begging to be explored. We got out and wandered inside to see all sorts of automotive tools and items. We also bought a very delicious Root Beer in a glass bottle for the road.















Further into Odell, at the corner of West and Hamilton streets, is an old pedestrian subway tunnel that used to pass under Rt. 66. The tunnel was for pedestrians to cross the very busy road to get to St. Paul’s Church and school. The tunnel is filled in now, but you can still view part of it and there is an historical marker there that explains a little bit more about the tunnel and its history. I must admit, while standing on that shady, quiet corner, it was hard to imagine the street ever being so busy that pedestrians had to cross under it for safety’s sake!











After snapping a few more pictures, we got back in our vehicle, drank our tasty Root Beer and headed down the highway to the next points of interest.





We skirted the town of Dwight, for time’s sake, and headed into the town of Gardner to see the old 2 Cell Jail and the Streetcar Diner. These were both interesting to see and very accessible. We walked right into the small jailhouse and were able to stand in the cells and take pictures.















Back in the vehicle, we breezed through a couple more towns, saw some Burma Shave signs near Godley, and were on our way to the next point of interest –the town of Wilmington and the famous Gemini Giant! I took a few pictures with the big green astronaut himself and hopped back on the road with our sights set on Willowbrook and dinner at the famous Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket.





While on the road (officially Hwy 53) to our dinner destination, we passed by the Chicagoland Speedway near Joliet and saw some vintage Route 66 signs and businesses. Farther down the road we drove by the White Fence Farm restaurant in Romeoville, merged onto I55 for a few miles, and then exited in Willowbrook just as night began to fall.






We arrived at the restaurant at dusk and waited about 20 minutes for a table, but it was sure worth the wait. This was our first time eating at Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket and I must say it was a treat! The chicken was lightly breaded, juicy and delicious.





We had a really great time on that fine Autumn afternoon and I am very excited to visit more of the Route 66 attractions in Illinois.

[Lifemagician]

Thanks Year25, what a great post. That sounds like a trip I would enjoy. I have read this post so many times. Yes, maybe next trip I will get down that way... and I will check it out. So much to see, so little time.

Lifey

[DonnaR57]

I too enjoyed the Illinois post. One thing about Illinois - - it may not have the mountains or scenery, but it does have HISTORY. You can take the history back to the early natives by going to any number of parks with MOUNDS in their name (not the candy bar, but Native American communities). Or go midway in American history with all of the Lincoln-related things, like his home, New Salem, his gravesite, and much more in the Springfield area. Fast forward a little to the trip Year25 posted about, regarding Route 66. In odd spots you've got other pieces of history, such as Grant's area in Galena. Plus Chicago is full of museums -- art, science and industry, natural history, Shedd Aquarium, and more. It's doubtful that you could do all of the above on one tank, but these are areas to explore.



Donna

[Year25]

Thanks for reading and glad you both enjoyed the post!

I agree, Illinois does lack the jaw-dropping scenery of many other states, but we do have some great historic and nostalgic places to visit. We also have Chicago, which is a very substantial city with really great architecture, culture, and great lake views.

We've been to Chicago many times, and it is pretty impressive, however I am very partial to the open road and can't wait to get back on it to see some more of this beautiful country!