Summer Trip Report - Chicago & Saranac, MI

Oh, where to start....  This will be a work in progress for a couple days at least, so continue to visit until this line is gone...

We'd been planning to go back to Chicago for a family visit, but decided that it would be more practical to drive than to buy plane tickets, put the dogs up in a kennel, and rent a car.

Plan A was to take the mini-van, since we'd make better time and it was more comfortable for the kids.  We would have been a little cramped for packing all of our stuff plus the two dogs, but it sounded good on paper....

About a week before we were to leave, we decided that no, it would be better to take the fifth wheel.  That way, the dogs could ride in back, and we'd be able to simply pull over, rather than worry about motel reservations along the way and whether or not the motel would allow pets. 

One slight problem... our registration had expired, and we hadn't registered the trailer in Arizona yet.  Pulling together all the paperwork and getting the trailer inspected took a little more time and money than we'd planned on, but it got done in time.  Unfortunately, Arizona has extremely high taxes on vehicles, including RV's, so our registration came to about $280.  That's more than what I pay for my truck, and the sad part is that the fifth wheel is only on the road for a couple days out of the year, vs. my daily driving.  There's something just a little unfair going on there....

The day we were to leave, Jesse was still at summer camp up on Mount Lemmon, so The Queen and the kids drove up there just after lunch.  The plan was to pick him up, come back to my office, and then we'd leave from there around 1600 or so.  So far, so good, except that she didn't get up to Mount Lemmon until almost 1600, and didn't arrive at my office until well after 1800. 

Day One:  TUS - DMN - TCS
321 miles, 5 hours

By 1830, we were finally rolling, and we were on I-10 by about 1900.   Except that instead of just five of us in the cab of the truck, there were seven.... The Queen decided that it was still too hot in the trailer for the two dogs.  So... Taz rode in the back seat between Jesse and Emmy, and Maggie took over the front seat.... At one point, she tried climbing in my lap while we were going down I-10, and then settled for laying across the two passenger seats and putting her head against the steering wheel....

Drive across southern AZ was pretty uneventful, aside from the fact that there were lightning storms between Benson and Lordsburg, which made for some impressive viewing and the occasional wind gust.  Once we were past them, it was the type of driving I don't like -- light traffic with nothing on either side of the road...

We stopped for fuel in Lordsburg (almost three hours into the drive), and it was decided that the dogs could go back into the trailer.  That made it a lot more comfortable in the front seat at least, but it was now 10pm TUS time (11pm local), and the kids were all passed out in the back seat.

To save time and miles, we took the Demming cutoff on AZ-26, which joins I-25 about 30 miles north of Las Cruces.  Driving thru Hatch (the town where AZ-26 and I-25 meet up), we'd hoped to find a truck stop.  No luck.  Once on I-25, we started looking for a rest area.  Again, no luck.  The next major town was Truth or Consequences, NM, and we finally found a parking lot behind a motel at about midnight TUS time.

Day Two: TCS - ABQ - SAF - COS - DEN - FMM+
754 miles, 17 hours

We overslept our alarm, and weren't on the road until almost 0830 MDT. 

The drive up thru Albuquerque was pretty uneventful, but the climb into Santa Fe all the way thru Raton Pass was some beautiful scenery, and not like anything else we'd seen in New Mexico.  Stopped for fuel in Santa Fe and paid the highest price we would the entire trip -- $3.19.  Rather than be robbed, I chose to empty out our jugs and only buy 15 gallons at those prices... 

Stopped a little while later at a rest area for lunch, only to discover that the refrigerator door hadn't latched properly at one of our earlier stops, and some of our food had decided to fall out in transit... including the fixings for lunch.  Stuff still inside the fridge was OK, fortunately...

At Raton, we needed a break, so we found a gas station to top off (fuel was under $3.00), and the kids took the dogs for a walk.  The Queen decided that it was now time for her to share in the driving, and I wasn't complaining.... Neither was she, until she found herself at the top of Raton Pass, and lots of construction in Trinidad, CO... But I did get a couple hours of time off and a little rest.

We timed things well enough (by accident, of course) to avoid rush hour in both Colorado Springs and Denver, arriving as the sun was just starting to go down behind the Front Range.  I really wanted to make it out of Colorado and into Nebraska, but that didn't happen.  Wound up in a truck stop near Crook, CO.  Opened the door and was greeted by the aroma of not one, but three beef haulers.  Yum.  Fortunately, they pulled out a few minutes later, and we were safely asleep.

Day Three: FMM+ - OMA - DSM - JOT - ORD
870 miles, many hours

DIdn't oversleep today... decided to get the kids up early, and drive for an hour before having breakfast.  The drive thru Nebraska was not nearly as boring as I'd expected.  We drove under the giant museum in Kearney, and will probably stop by there some day again, but it wasn't in the cards this time.  Switched drivers outside of Lincoln, at which point I went back into the trailer for some peace and quiet and a two hour nap.  Switched again outside of Des Moines, and stopped a little later in Newton for dinner.

By the time we hit the Quad Cities, it was close to midnight local time.  Stopping once for fuel in Lasalle, at which point The Queen was more than ready to stop for the night.  It was just over an hour and a half to my folks house from there, so we kept going, arriving about 0230.

Pet peave for the day... the Illinois Tollway doesn't accept credit cards, but they do have a way of using them for online payment after the fact.  Question.... if they take them after the fact, how hard could it be to take them at the toll plazas?.....

The next four days were spent visiting with family, and doing some sightseeing, including a trip to the Brookfield Zoo, the John Hancock Tower, and the American Girl store (which has to be one of the most frightening things I've ever experienced....).  We also had a family cookout for the Fourth of July.

By Thursday afternoon, it was time to pack up and head to Michigan to see The Royal Family.

Day Four: ORD - LWA
144 miles

Driving thru Chicago is something I've never been afraid of.  Growing up, we never took the Dan Ryan when heading to Indiana -- we always took I-294 and paid the tolls.  But not me, I'm cheap.  So starting in college, I've almost always taken the Kennedy and Dan Ryan.  This trip was no exception, although I did have second thoughts when I heard that the Ryan was under construction...

Since we were leaving around 8pm, rush hour traffic was long gone.  Aside from the lane closures and being forced into the local lanes instead of the express, it wasn't bad at all.  We wound up at Grant Street for fuel and to dump the tanks, and entered into Michigan before midnight.  But, it was getting late, and not wanting to disturb Darren or Heidi, we stopped in Grand Haven at a Wal-mart parking lot.  First one for the trip (which is a first for any family vacation in recent history). 

Day Five: LWA - GRR+
81.6 miles

Woke early, and got on the road immediately, stopping at a McD's near Zeeland.  Arrived in Saranac well before lunch, taking time for a detour thru Lowell on the way.

Day Six, GRR+   FWA-
127 miles

Ended the night near Pleasant Lake, IN

 

Day Seven,   FWA - IND - STL - SGF - TUL
864 miles

Ended the night at a rest area in Stroud, OK

Day Eight:  OKC - AMA - ROW - ALM - LRU - LSB
893 miles

 

Day Nine: LSB - TUS
172 miles