Seattle to Denver in November?

[Lifemagician]

Be glad you aren't doing this in a covered wagon!

How true!

Pays to now and again remember that even our worst experiences pale into insignificance compared to what earlier generations endured.

Lifey

[noFanofCB]

Honestly, in the wagon era days, nobody went far in November.

Though we may be inconvenienced by storms now and then we have "all weather" roads pretty well worked out. A modern marvel. But drivers are still expected to exercise good judgement and skill. Sometimes good judgement means setting things up so you don't have to prove you have the skill.....

[glc]

If you carry chains you only need one pair for the drive axle on the car. If it's 4wd, they go on the rear.

[jazierae]

Thanks noFanofCB -- I will take on all your advice and make sure we are fully prepared before departing. I will also take a look at that weather website and see if we can ride a good weather wave.

One last question: do you have any neat or interesting spots that, weather permitting, would be cool to check out on the way? Obviously our priority is getting there safely, but I have never been through WY so I am always trying to take advantage of seeing new things (if possible).

[noFanofCB]

One last question: do you have any neat or interesting spots that, weather permitting, would be cool to check out on the way? Obviously our priority is getting there safely, but I have never been through WY so I am always trying to take advantage of seeing new things (if possible).

I haven't made the run in sightseeing mode so am not very much help.
A few things come to mind though-
Wallace Idaho has lots of mining history. (Reminds me of I-70 west of Denver)
The I-90 route passes the location of the Little Bighorn massacre south of Hardin, MT.
I think Missoula has some serious mining history to look into.
And you drive thru Cheyenne, the state capitol with a gold covered dome. Unlike most State Capitols, it's really easy to drive near the building and get a good look. Cheyenne is a small town by many standards.

I dunno. Maybe others can add more. November isn't a nice weather month for that part of the world.

[Foy]

There's little to nothing representing mining history at Missoula, but it's a great stop for those who may enjoy an evening along the Clark Fork River, walking distance from a wide variety of restaurants and bars, and having breakfast at a Western classic, The Oxford, the next morning. Or anytime you'd like to have breakfast at The Oxford--they never close.

Perhaps nofanofCB was recalling Butte, MT and its rich mining history. Butte is home to the Berkley Pit, one of the largest man-made holes in the planet, with an observation deck and small museum/gift shop right on site, adjacent to downtown Butte, within sight of I-90. There is a very nice mining museum devoted to the Butte mines on the west side of downtown. Butte is also home to Montana Technical University, a mining and engineering college.

There is likely a paleontology museum in Bozeman, MT, probably on the Montana State campus. Arguably the foremost vertebrate paleontologist in the planet is emeritus faculty at Montana State, and I'd bet you could see some terrific dinosaur fossils.

For a fairly short side-trip, equal in distance but likely a little longer time-wise, one can take MT 1, The Scenic Route, from I-90 at Drummond, through Philipsburg and Anaconda, back to I-90 just west of Butte. Philipsburg is around 2,000' below Granite, MT, a real-life ghost town a ways up a precarious gravel road--likely inaccessible with any snow cover on it. Downtown Philipsburg is a delight, with small shops, candy stores, ice cream shops, and "old man bars". Anaconda is the site of a now-closed giant smelter with a smokestack visible for many miles in every direction. The Anaconda smelter turned the Butte ores into copper ingots. Near where MT 1 rejoins I-90 is Fairfield Hot Springs Resort, a nice hotel with thoroughly developed hot spring pools, both inside and out.

Driving I-90 across Montana is about as nice of a trip as one can take through the Rockies, excepting only I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction, CO, but without the two very high passes at Vail and the Eisenhower Tunnel.

Foy

[noFanofCB]

Quite right, I was thinking of Butte. We weren't sightseeing - just stop for gas or sleep then move on.

I think the drive time each way was 21 to 23 hrs depending on snow. 2 long days in December.

November might be the same, just slightly longer periods of daylight.