Event Finna be a spicy week in the Pac NW

[Strenuus]

I have many. And I am only scratching the surface. But half of it is stumbling into the amazing things nobody talks about.

That's my favorite part of traveling. Going either where the locals say to go to (I always love asking for hidden gems) or just exploring around.

One of my favorite days of travel I've ever done was with my friend and we spent the weekend just driving around the UP of Michigan. She knew all of it but none of it was touristy except for lake superior. And this part of lake superior was largely empty. Waterfalls, abandoned towns, amazing middle-of-nowhere restraunts. Of all the things I did during my cross country train trip, my mind instantly goes to that weekend (and on Mackinac island). More than anything I did in NYC for the week.

I did get to walk on Wrigley Field and get my picture on it. But even that paled in comparison to the weekend of exploration in one of the prettiest parts of the country.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

That's my favorite part of traveling. Going either where the locals say to go to (I always love asking for hidden gems) or just exploring around.

One of my favorite days of travel I've ever done was with my friend and we spent the weekend just driving around the UP of Michigan. She knew all of it but none of it was touristy except for lake superior. And this part of lake superior was largely empty. Waterfalls, abandoned towns, amazing middle-of-nowhere restraunts. Of all the things I did during my cross country train trip, my mind instantly goes to that weekend (and on Mackinac island). More than anything I did in NYC for the week.

I did get to walk on Wrigley Field and get my picture on it. But even that paled in comparison to the weekend of exploration in one of the prettiest parts of the country.

I've done a fair amount of road tripping the past six years or so, and while I am grateful to have seen all the "big ticket" stuff (Rushmore, Old Faithful, Niagara Falls, etc, etc, etc), you are absolutely correct about getting off the interstates and just exploring. My brother and I did a trip like that last fall, driving the "blue highways" of Nebraska and Kansas. I was not originally enthused when my brother suggested it but was soooooo glad we did it. It is just amazing how much there is to see and explore (and eat). Stuff that never gets advertised. It was eye opening. Those states are nowhere near to being the boring wastelands I pictured them to be. And I too did the UP a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it was the second week of April. There was still a ton of snow (with a blizzard warning chasing me all the way to North Dakota) and everything but the pasty shops were closed. I hope I can get back up there in better weather.

And almost as good as recommendations from the locals are those tiny little notations in red on state maps in the Rand McNally Atlas that indicate various obscure points of interest in those states. They are usually worth paying attention to. But getting off the interstates is definitely the best way to see this country.

 

[Predator]

Ya, but you chose to live somewhere known for heat.

Usually I leave for these months. Very aware it is my fault at the moment

 

[Shaboid]

It was sort of nice to pump my own gas yesterday, not having to wait on anyone. Small victory compared to the crazy energy bill I'll be paying this month but I'll take it.

 

[PDXFonz]

It’s midnight in Dubai and the same temperature it is now here.
Yikes, I didn’t know their seasonal low was like 85 degrees this time of year.

It’s enough to make you want to have a hold on the worlds oil to make sure you always have A/C

 

[SlyPokerCat]

I've done a fair amount of road tripping the past six years or so, and while I am grateful to have seen all the "big ticket" stuff (Rushmore, Old Faithful, Niagara Falls, etc, etc, etc), you are absolutely correct about getting off the interstates and just exploring. My brother and I did a trip like that last fall, driving the "blue highways" of Nebraska and Kansas. I was not originally enthused when my brother suggested it but was soooooo glad we did it. It is just amazing how much there is to see and explore (and eat). Stuff that never gets advertised. It was eye opening. Those states are nowhere near to being the boring wastelands I pictured them to be. And I too did the UP a couple of years ago, but unfortunately it was the second week of April. There was still a ton of snow (with a blizzard warning chasing me all the way to North Dakota) and everything but the pasty shops were closed. I hope I can get back up there in better weather.

And almost as good as recommendations from the locals are those tiny little notations in red on state maps in the Rand McNally Atlas that indicate various obscure points of interest in those states. They are usually worth paying attention to. But getting off the interstates is definitely the best way to see this country.

I didn't get to do much sight seeing but I just got back from driving to the east coast and back. From the highway Wyoming and Nebraska were pretty boring. Nebraska had some of the worst thunder and lighting storms I have ever seen. Got caught in a rain storm. That was terrifying. I couldn't see anything but faint white lines every couple seconds. People still drove full speed while that was happening. It was nuts. Luckily, I was in the right lane and dropped down to like 40 mph until I could get to an exit and sit out the storm.

I did enjoy the bbq in Nebraska.

Portland weather is absolutely mild in comparison.

Many semi truck drivers are nuts. They are so dangerous on the road.

 

[RR7]

I didn't get to do much sight seeing but I just got back from driving to the east coast and back. From the highway Wyoming and Nebraska were pretty boring. Nebraska had some of the worst thunder and lighting storms I have ever seen. Got caught in a rain storm. That was terrifying. I couldn't see anything but faint white lines every couple seconds. People still drove full speed while that was happening. It was nuts. Luckily, I was in the right lane and dropped down to like 40 mph until I could get to an exit and sit out the storm.

I did enjoy the bbq in Nebraska.

Portland weather is absolutely mild in comparison.

Many semi truck drivers are nuts. They are so dangerous on the road.

We did a road trip a few years back and had the exact same experience in Nebraska. Rain so heavy I could only hope the driver ahead of us could see, because I was just following their lights.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

I didn't get to do much sight seeing but I just got back from driving to the east coast and back. From the highway Wyoming and Nebraska were pretty boring. Nebraska had some of the worst thunder and lighting storms I have ever seen. Got caught in a rain storm. That was terrifying. I couldn't see anything but faint white lines every couple seconds. People still drove full speed while that was happening. It was nuts. Luckily, I was in the right lane and dropped down to like 40 mph until I could get to an exit and sit out the storm.

I did enjoy the bbq in Nebraska.

Portland weather is absolutely mild in comparison.

Many semi truck drivers are nuts. They are so dangerous on the road.

I drove east through Nebraska three years ago (very late March) in blizzard conditions that came and went. It was pretty much mostly me and the semi trucks. The rare "regular" cars I saw were driving like old ladies and creating far more hazardous conditions than the trucks.. The truckers seldom dropped below 80 mph, conditions be damned. So I just rode behind them in their ruts (and following their tail lights while staying far enough back to avoid their giant rooster tails) and made it through just fine. One thing about Nebraska is that no matter how much snow falls, and how tricky the freeway might be, by the next morning, pretty much everything (including parking lots) has been plowed. That same kind of weather would have paralyzed Oregon for at least a week.......

 

[SlyPokerCat]

I drove east through Nebraska three years ago (very late March) in blizzard conditions that came and went. It was pretty much mostly me and the semi trucks. The rare "regular" cars I saw were driving like old ladies and creating far more hazardous conditions than the trucks.. The truckers seldom dropped below 80 mph, conditions be damned. So I just rode behind them in their ruts (and following their tail lights while staying far enough back to avoid their giant rooster tails) and made it through just fine. One thing about Nebraska is that no matter how much snow falls, and how tricky the freeway might be, by the next morning, pretty much everything (including parking lots) has been plowed. That same kind of weather would have paralyzed Oregon for at least a week.......

Yeah but seeing all the cars rusted out while in the midwest made me think not salting our roads is the righr decision because of how little we get snow.

 

[Shaboid]

When we were driving through the panhandle of Texas on my last cross country road trip we experienced the worst fog I've ever experienced. The entire freeway was moving at 20 miles an hour. You couldn't see the cars lights in front of you unless you were right behind them.

 

[riverman]

I drove east through Nebraska three years ago (very late March) in blizzard conditions that came and went. It was pretty much mostly me and the semi trucks. The rare "regular" cars I saw were driving like old ladies and creating far more hazardous conditions than the trucks.. The truckers seldom dropped below 80 mph, conditions be damned. So I just rode behind them in their ruts (and following their tail lights while staying far enough back to avoid their giant rooster tails) and made it through just fine. One thing about Nebraska is that no matter how much snow falls, and how tricky the freeway might be, by the next morning, pretty much everything (including parking lots) has been plowed. That same kind of weather would have paralyzed Oregon for at least a week.......

Growing up in Iowa across the river from Nebraska we'd have never gone to school if they had Oregonian "snow days".....also the guys who plow the roads there don't bury your driveway like the do here...they clear the entrance to your place...here they don't seem to give a shit.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

Yeah but seeing all the cars rusted out while in the midwest made me think not salting our roads is the righr decision because of how little we get snow.

I'd have no problem with them using salt here because conditions rarely warrant it, so the damage would likely be minimal. But it sure made things better in places where it snows a lot. I had a white car, and on that last trip I passed through so many places with snow (that had been salted) my car was beige by the time I got home. I called it my Midwestern Tan........