The Old Folks Home

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't know about you Joe but 1,000 miles in a single day is WAY more than I can do. And you are assuming Alaskan's route is all "interstate" which may or may not be true, I have no idea.

In fact we now take 3 to go to Beloit (through Canada, far more pleasant drive though ~150 miles farther). When we dropped her off her first semester we went the USA route (~1,020 miles), stopping for the night at Niagara Falls since none of us has ever been there. Then 11 hours straight through to Beloit. About did in the spouse given the RA and since we didn't have hotel reservations for the return trip, and because my spouse said driving through Chicago once in her life was enough (*), we headed north. Taken that route every time since.

* My grandfather used to say Chicago is a good place to be FROM. I can only imagine what he would think of it now were he still alive. He and his parents moved to L.A. for his health when he was young so likely no later than 1899 since they show as being in LA in the 1900 census when he was 10.

I was thinking the same thing. I doubt there are very many roads in AL one can drive over 40 MPH in winter.

Most years at Christmas time, it took me 24 hours to drive the 1,000 miles from St. Louis to Steamboat, CO.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I enjoyed being a mother, for the most part, except parts of their teenage years when I considered strangling them, but I'm glad I let them live.

I enjoy being a grandparent even more, and can send them home after I spoil them.

I loved my children all their lives but I do feel you on the teen strangling.
I'm not looking forward to grandchildren though. Both kids are in their upper 20s and I don't see grandkids any time soon.

My daughter likes to travel too much. She comes home tomorrow after a month in Costa Rica.

Thank you for that comment. Being left handed, I never did get the hang of being able to crochet because the ones teaching me were right handed, but I can knit, and I enjoy it. One of the things I don't mind is putting in zippers, which worked out good growing up, because my mother hated doing zippers. She made some pretty clothes for me once we worked out the fact that she was color blind, and she had to let me pick the materials, and trims, but I usually did the zippers.

There was 1 thing I did sew a few of for my daughter. We were at the mall, and when my little grandson got tired of his bottle, or bored, he would toss it. Sometimes repeatedly. I got some flannel, and made a pouch for any size bottle to fit into it, with a drawstring type top, so that the bottle was secure, then I made a nice wristband from the same material, which could be adjusted because of the velcro strips I sewed onto it, then sewed the drawstring to the wristband. His bottles never hit the floor again. My daughter said that when she was out, other mothers would ask her where she got it. She said I should have started making them to sell, but I made about 4 of them for her, and that was enough sewing for me. Like I said, it's not that I can't sew, I just hate doing it.

My sister taught me to knit when I was really young. I learned to sew about the same time. That was because my mother's sewing machine was always breaking and I'd fix it for her.

Geez Les, you are a pushover! A little food and
"touch my daughter and you DIE!"
turns into
"come on in, sit down, what did you bring me to eat?"

Thank goodness he isn't old enough to buy beer or you would be planning the wedding with him!

The old saying, .the way to a man's heart is through his stomach'.

I LOVE "These Eyes," whenever I am in the mood for a really good cry - I listen to that, and "Go Now"(Moody Blues, plus a few dozen over tear jerkers

I'm not big on tear jerking songs. Butterfly Kisses has me welling up just saying the name.

 

[Latestarter]

I've always been a long distance driver... 12-1300 miles at a whack is not out of the question, but actually more like routine. Nor is 24-28 hours straight at the wheel... My last trip was from the front range in Colorado to central NC to pick up Mel, my LGD. Drove straight through there, a night of sleep in a hotel, then straight through back. Absolutely understand the not being able to with RA Bruce... that would be hell for sure. Also, I didn't take into account a lack of "interstate" highways in AK... Nor the fact that it's still February and not exactly "spring" up there yet... So maybe that should have been a THREE day trip? One there, one to rest, one to return?

I drive from here to St Louis in 14 hours. I use that to judge my trip time & have done that (both directions) drive dozens of times since about 1980. Steamboat is ~ 3.5 hours from here. It really took you 24 hours to make that drive CC? How often did you stop along the way? I only stop for gas... I do bathroom breaks and food breaks at gas stops. Maybe I'm just odd...

I also prefer to drive overnight as there's less traffic and less interference.

 

[perchie.girl]

I've always been a long distance driver... 12-1300 miles at a whack is not out of the question, but actually more like routine. Nor is 24-28 hours straight at the wheel... My last trip was from the front range in Colorado to central NC to pick up Mel, my LGD. Drove straight through there, a night of sleep in a hotel, then straight through back. Absolutely understand the not being able to with RA Bruce... that would be hell for sure. Also, I didn't take into account a lack of "interstate" highways in AK... Nor the fact that it's still February and not exactly "spring" up there yet... So maybe that should have been a THREE day trip? One there, one to rest, one to return?

I drive from here to St Louis in 14 hours. I use that to judge my trip time & have done that (both directions) drive dozens of times since about 1980. Steamboat is ~ 3.5 hours from here. It really took you 24 hours to make that drive CC? How often did you stop along the way? I only stop for gas... I do bathroom breaks and food breaks at gas stops. Maybe I'm just odd...

I also prefer to drive overnight as there's less traffic and less interference.

from what I understand is the roads in AK are best traveled in the snow.... Some dont even exist till a lake is frozen over...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've always been a long distance driver... 12-1300 miles at a whack is not out of the question, but actually more like routine. Nor is 24-28 hours straight at the wheel... My last trip was from the front range in Colorado to central NC to pick up Mel, my LGD. Drove straight through there, a night of sleep in a hotel, then straight through back. Absolutely understand the not being able to with RA Bruce... that would be hell for sure. Also, I didn't take into account a lack of "interstate" highways in AK... Nor the fact that it's still February and not exactly "spring" up there yet... So maybe that should have been a THREE day trip? One there, one to rest, one to return?

I drive from here to St Louis in 14 hours. I use that to judge my trip time & have done that (both directions) drive dozens of times since about 1980. Steamboat is ~ 3.5 hours from here. It really took you 24 hours to make that drive CC? How often did you stop along the way? I only stop for gas... I do bathroom breaks and food breaks at gas stops. Maybe I'm just odd...

I also prefer to drive overnight as there's less traffic and less interference.

I only stop for gas.
I-70 was ice covered the whole way. Rabbit Ears pass was treacherous. It was 4 hours from Denver to Steamboat.
I-70 is a breeze with dry roads. I still don't go much over the speed limit. I once got a ticket in the middle of the night near Goodland. I had to follow the Patrolman to town put bail in the form of cash into an envelope he provided addressed to the county court or he wouldn't let me proceed.

As for long distance driving, I've always struggled staying awake after many monotonous hours on the road at night.
Once, at night, travelling from San Antonio to Austin, TX, I woke up driving 70 miles an hour with no road in sight. I had drifted into one of those grassy valleys between widely separated North and South bound lanes. It took me a while to realize the highway was up the hill to the right. I gently eased up the slope. Not far past that point was an overpass. I would have hit the supports head on.
I have no idea how long I was down there.

from what I understand is the roads in AK are best traveled in the snow.... Some dont even exist till a lake is frozen over...

snow for traction.

 

[1kluckychik]

I was thinking the same thing. I doubt there are very many roads in AL one can drive over 40 MPH in winter.

Most years at Christmas time, it took me 24 hours to drive the 1,000 miles from St. Louis to Steamboat, CO.

We drive way faster than 40 on our dirtroads here in AL even during winter.


How dare you mistake AL for Ak lmbo

 

[ChickenCanoe]

We drive way faster than 40 on our dirtroads here in AL even during winter.


How dare you mistake AL for Ak lmbo

I am so sorry. Usually I'm a stickler for detail.
In my defense, most here call Alaskan, AL. It was a careless Freudian slip.

40 top speed on most AK roads.

 

[Latestarter]

Well, all that aside, perhaps Al will share trip details with us upon his return.

 

[bruceha2000]

I loved my children all their lives but I do feel you on the teen strangling.

Saw a bumper sticker once, something to the effect of: "teenagers explain why wolves eat their young".

Also, I didn't take into account a lack of "interstate" highways in AK... Nor the fact that it's still February and not exactly "spring" up there yet... So maybe that should have been a THREE day trip? One there, one to rest, one to return?

As I'm sure you know, spring on dirt roads means mud season. Those can be WAY worse than winter roads.

I am so sorry. Usually I'm a stickler for detail.
In my defense, most here call Alaskan, AL. It was a careless Freudian slip.

40 top speed on most AK roads.

I was going to let you slip by with AL being Alberta - even though it is AB but what do we USA people know? There are some who think Vermont is part of Canada (and some Vermonters who wish it was).

 

[Alaskan]

Ha!

I got here WAY FASTER than I thought, and am bored waiting for the second chick delivery (only had two).

Crazy wild having portable internet.


As I get older I get to increasingly dislike driving at night, especially because of the moose all over the roads. I just looked it up, "it" says that I am now up to ten hours of daylight. Rocking!

Anyway, very little interstate. A fair amount is 45mph, a bit more is 55mph and only a short bit hits 65mph. It is almost all one lane each way, except for the every so often "slow car lane" where you have a minute of two lanes one direction to pass any super slow people. Those were put in a few years back.

There are also lots of towns to drive through (slow down, no bypasses), lots of sharp corners, and the really high mountain pass to get through.

However, with that said, driving up was EASY, and super fast, I think it only took 5 hours... It often takes me 7.

Of course, it being during the week, and it not yet tourist season, and the weather was completely perfect... So ZOOOOOOOM!

I am gunno have to rethink the entire chick delivery service though. NO WAY I charged enough money to get me to twiddle my thumbs for hours waiting to pass over a box of chicks.

Only funny about the chicks... Driving up we had to keep the car HOT. Whenever I let the car start to cool down to a more "normal" temp, the chicks would start to yell.

The kids said I should be in heaven... I said sitting in that car with the heat blasting didn't really feel like Texas in the summer, it felt like I had crawled into a stuff oven.

Nothing funny photo wise.. I am sure the goats will be a hoot... I will take photos.


@ChickenCanoe

Crazy scary story. Glad you didn't smash into the pillars.