Roadtrip #8 - The Upper Midwest

[DonnaR57]

Welcome home to sunny and dry California. You're absolutely correct: torrential rain and hail would have gotten immediate news broadcasts on TV and huge headlines in the papers here, we've been so dry lately.

Looking forward to your pics and stats!


Donna

[Southwest Dave]

A great read as always, thanks for sharing and I too look forward to the photos.

Dave.

[Kinless]

Another year, another insanely-filled road trip. I could have sworn I made a conscious effort to ratchet the schedule down this time, but it seems we just can’t stand to have an easy day and instinctively found spontaneous/unexpected things to eat up those hours. While not quite the longest road trip ever (time- or mileage-wise), it certainly felt like we took in an overabundance of history, be it Lewis & Clark, the Indian Territories vs the US expansion, the Oregon Trail, and more. If you like midwest history, this area is THE place to get your fill. There is definitely no shortage of it. I was also able to get my folks into some new states, which means they’ve now visited the entire western half of the US.

Overall the weather was perfect (except for the tail end of the last day). Summer seemed to be the season of choice, as our fall/winter gear stayed in the suitcase and time was spent at each gas station cleaning off the windshield from the hundreds of bug splats. The front fender was an absolute mess of insects (although the rain at the end cleaned most it off, good timing there).

We were also able to save some cash by using rewards points for $300 worth of free gas and $100 for Wal-mart supplies. That helped make a dent in the overall expenses. We also saved a hunk of cash by renting a car away from the airport (the cost of which would have greatly exceeded the shuttle fare to the rental outlet). Letting us return the minivan to the airport was super convenient and saved us from having to shuttle back to the airport.


Favorite Places: The most memorable things that stick out in my mind are the climb into the dome of the Wyoming Capitol building in Cheyenne, which was a pleasant surprise. Also memorable was the towering rocks along the Needles Highway inside Custer State Park in South Dakota, as well as the ascent to Colorado’s Pikes Peak, breaking all previous records for the highest ground-level elevation. (Only way to break that now is take the other paved Colorado road to Mt. Evans @ 14,264, or go big and hike my neighboring Mt. Whitney @ 14,505, but that would take more preparation and patience. Yeah, about that…)


Least Desirables: Once again the worst thing I’d have to complain about is the road construction, although it never really interfered much with our schedule. Maybe it’s just bad timing, heading out on a trip before winter sets in and all the states are getting the roads prepped for what’s to come. There wasn’t a day I didn’t see that lovely shade of orange. Many times on the interstate we swerved over to the other side to a makeshift 2-lane highway for miles while our side was completely torn up.

There weren’t any specific places I would soon forget, although I probably could have done without the panhandling locals at Wounded Knee. Even though I’m aware of the current conditions there and it was to be expected, it was still somewhat of a detraction from the overall experience. It’s a shame you can’t visit someplace sacred like that without the locals hovering around you. I just hope the bit of money we gave them went to something constructive for the town or their families.


What’s Next? For me, I’ve got to get to Hawaii and finish up my last US state. I want to visit at least the Big Island and Oahu first, and then Maui and Kauai at a later time. As a family, however, I’ve got 2 more areas in mind. Roadtrip #9 would focus on Michigan and the Great Lakes area, and then #10 centers around Florida, Louisiana and the Deep South. As far as actually carrying them out, I’ll have to play it by ear. This last road trip was an increased struggle for both my folks, as far as walking, getting around, going up/down stairs and inclines, and finding a convenient bathroom. They managed to pull it off OK this time, but who knows how they’ll be feeling in the next year or two. I may have to really slow down the pace even further and just touch on the few things we really want to see.


Statistics:

Total Miles: 3,835 (rental vehicle only)
Total Stops: 37
Total Elapsed Time: 14 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes (from wheels down [Day 0] to wheels up [Day 14] at Denver Int’l Airport)

Total U.S. States: 7 (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas)
Total U.S. Capitols: 4 (Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota)
Total National Parks: 3 (Rocky Mountain, Theodore Roosevelt, Wind Cave)
Total National Monuments: 4 (Devil’s Tower, Battle of Little Big Horn, Pompeys Pillar, Scotts Bluff)
Total State Parks: 2 (Fort Abraham Lincoln, Custer)
Total Geographical Markers: 2 (Center of 48 states, Center of 50 states)

Type of Rental Vehicle: 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan
Gallons of Fuel: 163.595 (23.44 MPG)

Total Cost of Trip: $1,548 (includes my share of airfare, shuttles, car rentals, fuel, hotels, food, entry fees, and souvenirs)


Pictures:

1,133 shutter clicks… to 860 keepers… to 150 pics for public viewing. But that final total includes some of mom’s pictures too (watermarked with HK2014 in the corner), as she also captured over 1,000 pictures. As usual, you can find the images in 3 spots:

1) The RTA PhotoShare Galleries
2) Facebook (no account necessary)
3) Flickr (slideshow-friendly, although you may have to deal with ads in between pics)

All of these places also have previous road trip albums, so if you have time to waste, relive our adventures all over the US during the past decade.


That’s all, folks!

Appreciate everyone’s help as always on RTA. When the travel bug starts to bite, I’ll be back once more with new routes and questions. Also feel free to contact me if you have a question about where we’ve been. Peace out!

[Lifemagician]

What’s Next? For me, I’ve got to get to Hawaii and finish up my last US state.

As do I.

Roadtrip #9 would focus on Michigan and the Great Lakes area, and then #10 centers around Florida, Louisiana and the Deep South.

Look forward to them

As far as actually carrying them out, I’ll have to play it by ear. This last road trip was an increased struggle for both my folks, as far as walking, getting around, going up/down stairs and inclines, and finding a convenient bathroom. They managed to pull it off OK this time, but who knows how they’ll be feeling in the next year or two. I may have to really slow down the pace even further and just touch on the few things we really want to see.

I know exactly what you mean. Each trip I visit more and more places which I actually am unable to enjoy. Often simply getting to the visitor centre is a challenge.... a challenge I am not able to complete. Even when 'accessibility' is emphasised, they mean accessible to the able bodied and wheel chairs bound. Those of us who are still upright, but unable to cover much in distance, stairs or inclines are falling through the cracks. And from my experience, it seems no one is interested in doing anything about it..

When it comes to that point, I encourage them and you to speak up. Far too few affected folk do.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

Enjoyed your report as always and you have taken some great photo's!

Dave.