Driving cross-country fr NY to WA

Tdcompton

Yup... I will be driving about as far across this great country as I can with my english Bulldog as my co-pilot.

Starting July 18th with a drive from Rochester, NY to Indianapolis, IN and then continuing on August 3rd from Indianapolis, IN to Bellingham, WA... From Bellingham, WA I will take a ferry to Hoonah, AK where I will be living and working.

Unfortunately I do have an itenerary that I need to stick close to, but I cannot wait to experience all of these states that I have never been through before...

This will be my route.. Any suggestions on good places to maybe stop and stretch my legs??? While snapping a few photos of course :smile6

NY-IN
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Airport+Way,+Rochester,+Monroe,+New+York+14624,+United+States&daddr=Indianapolis,+IN&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=41.345563,-80.313188&sspn=10.916671,14.260254&ie=UTF8&ll=41.442726,-81.914062&spn=10.900174,14.260254&z=6

IN-KS
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Plainfield,+IN&daddr=Leavenworth,+KS&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.555061,76.640625&ie=UTF8&z=7&pw=2

KS-WA
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Leavenworth,+KS&daddr=bellingham,+wa&sll=40.605612,-97.789307&sspn=5.862609,9.580078&ie=UTF8&ll=43.245203,-95.515137&spn=11.248228,19.160156&z=6&pw=2

pics-ell

i could make a lot of comments about changes to your route, but i know you mentioned you are on a schedule. i will say this: it would be a terrible, horrible shame for you to get that close to yellowstone and not visit it. definitely, definitely worth it.
my other advice for getting good shots is just to watch the signs for wacky places. there are tons of old giant fiberglass dinosaurs and random stuff all over the american west. they make for great photo ops.
what are you going to hoonah for anyway? i spent the summer traveling in southeast alaska ten years ago. it was amazing.

Tdcompton

As long as I make it to Bellingham, WA on August 8th to catch my ferry I would be up for a better route.. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I am moving to Hoonah to take a Police Officer's position, the realization of a life long dream!

I would like to at least make a few quick stops along the way to shoot some photos, however I dunno if I would have the time or extra cash to go through Yellowstone National Park. I'm always up for cheesy photo-ops of my dog... lol.

richtersl

On the NY to Indiana route, I see you're going to be in the Buffalo, NY area. You have a number of places there for photo ops and leg stretching :

• The Erie Canal locks at Lockport.
• Niagara Falls
• Fort Niagara
• The Niagara escarpment. Saw this only from the car. Looked kinda neat and wished we'd had time to stop there.

Enjoy!!

scole

Certainly, while in Bellingham, take State Route-542 an hour east out of Bellingham to the end of the road. It's known as the Mt Baker Highway and the road ends at Artist Point (also home to the Mt Baker Ski Area). Without any hiking, you already are blessed with tremendous views of Mt Shuksan and Mt Baker. Along the way, you'll drive through some of the finest forest around here in the Northwest.

Around milepost 39 or so, be sure and take the turnoff for Nooksack Falls. It's literally 15 seconds off of the highway and very nice. A number of the photos on my website are from this area (I have a season pass to the ski area and LOVE hiking up in this region).

Tdcompton

Ooh thank you! Very handy information there!:D

Miguel Delinquento

Take WA 20 West

Tdcompton wrote:

As long as I make it to Bellingham, WA on August 8th to catch my ferry I would be up for a better route.. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
[deleted]
.

Taking I-90 from Spokane to Seattle and then north to B-Ham is not very interesting, yet you will be traveling through some lovely country.
Since you have the time, and have the camera I would recommend heading north from Spokane on state route 395. Take that up to Colville and pick up state route 20 west. This is an incredible highway that will lead you through the Okanogan, and the North Cascades. Stop at Winthrop which is a fake but oh so fun cowboy town. Great fly fishing at Twisp. The Liberty Bell rock formation at Washington Pass is much photographed. You end up on 20 at lovely Mount Vernon and Anacortes and, if time permits, consider a detour to remarkable Whidbey island.
B-Ham is about an hour north of there on I-5, or better yet take state route 11 north to B-Ham along the coast and Chuckanut Drive.
This will be a great reward for driving through the plains.

M

pathfinder

The sad fact is that the the Interstate looks almost the same from coast to coast.

From Ohio, through Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, the view of the landscape from the roadway, never really changes that much. I live in Indiana, and have driven and ridden I-70 for years.

If you really want to see the country, you HAVE to slow down and drop off the Interstate, and take the blue highways. Once you do that a whole new world of things opens up to you. National Parks and National Monuments are great, but there are so many other, smaller, interesting areas that you just find wandering about the back highways. I try, as much as possible, to get off the Interstate whenever I am able, when travelling. It is even better on 2 wheels.

Tdcompton

Miguel Delinquento >> Great info! If I find myself ahead of schedule I'll remember your suggestions!

Pathfinder>> If I had a traveling companion other than my Bulldog I would take some side routes during the middle of the trip, but being alone I just worry about anything at all happening and being stuck in the middle of nowhere lol!!

DoctorIt

Tdcompton wrote:

Pathfinder>> If I had a traveling companion other than my Bulldog I would take some side routes during the middle of the trip, but being alone I just worry about anything at all happening and being stuck in the middle of nowhere lol!!

Bah, is there any real "nowhere's" left in the lower 48? I thought there might be, but after coming back from central Australia last week, I have a new definition!


I'm with Pathfinder. Get off the interstate and see a bit of the country. In my motorcycle travels, I've usually felt safer on these roads (I'm talking US now) and always been surprised by the places and people I've found in what I thought was nowhere.

Miguel Delinquento

Beautiful story
I just saw this in the online New York Times and though it might help entice you to take the Hwy 20 through northern Washington state:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/07/15/us/20080715_WPA_FEATURE.html

Enjoy

M

DJT

If you stay on I-90 / I-80 Toll Road to I-69 in Indiana (3 hours North of Indianapolis) you can go thru a small town of Auburn, Indiana and visit:

Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States (and partial toy vehicle museum)
Kruse Classic Carriage Museum
WWII Victory Museum (just changed names to US something History Center)
Hoosier Warbirds Museum

And we have 2 other museums in the making.

Also, when getting off the toll road and onto I-69 - Pokagon State Park near Angola, Indiana

Links to the ACD and NATMUS Museums

Cygnus Studios

I80 is certianly a much better drive as far as scenery goes. Along I70 you will see wind farms, plenty of Bison, enough wheat fields to make you never want to see another. Indy is a great place with tons of shooting possibilities. Fort Leavenworth is near Kansas City. Of course there is the Arch as you cross into the west.

afmdmc

Your worried about breaking down in the middle of nowhere?????
Where do you think Hoonah AK is?
Beleave me hoonah is not even the middle of nowhere it's just nowhere.
if not for the cruise ships if you weren't a fisherman you'd have no reason to go there.
ok things to see on your trip.
one thing that my girlfriend always liked was the silverdollor saloon exit 18 or 19 on i-90 in MT. i always enjoyed pipe stone pass just east of Butte MT.
and for a little side trip that can save you some time jump off of i-90 at dead wood go up though Belle Fourche and take Hwy 212 over to
Crow Agency and see the little big horn battle field.
well that just a few of the things that i can think of to see.
have fun and good & luck on your new job.

Dave

Ok one more
i think it's about an hour west of souix falls SD where they shot most of dancing with wolves. it's a recreation of an old west town.

Tdcompton

Wow, the suggestions I've received are fabulous! I'm going to go buy my new map and sit down and write down the locations that have been suggested, and if I am ahead of schedule then I can certainly take a few detours I want to thank everyone for your suggestions!



afmdmc>> I know that Hoonah IS nowhere, but I am going to take a job as a Police Officer there, a lifelong dream finally coming true! I spent a week there in mid-June and fell in love with Alaska...

afmdmc

I just ment it to be funny. if your doing what you love then it's not so much a job. and s.e. alaska is one of the most beautiful places that i've ever been
and beleave me that's saying something.

And again have fun and enjoy your new job.

Dave.

Tdcompton

Thank you!