Author Topic: New Travels and Stats Discussion  (Read 228015 times)

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Offline Ib3kii

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #75 on: June 15, 2017, 11:15:42 pm »
I just got back from a trip to Yellowstone, picking up over 3,000 new miles! On the way back to Milwaukee, I became the first user to clinch US18! I was surprised to see that no one had clinched US18 in South Dakota yet, and as of right now, I am the only user that has clinched the longest highway in South Dakota, US18.
« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 12:31:11 am by Quidditch33 »
-The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... on the gas.

Offline Jim

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #76 on: June 24, 2017, 08:38:56 am »
Looking for a new (to me) and traffic-avoiding way from Ashburn, Virginia, to I-81 south yesterday, I ended up taking a variety of roads to Warrenton (avoiding accidents and other backups on US 15) then took US 211 end-to-end across to I-81.  Definitely not faster than other options, but a whole lot more scenic, and it will give me just my third US highway clinched in its entirety, following US 163 and US 199.

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #77 on: June 24, 2017, 11:19:13 am »
I just got back from a trip to Yellowstone, picking up over 3,000 new miles! On the way back to Milwaukee, I became the first user to clinch US18! I was surprised to see that no one had clinched US18 in South Dakota yet, and as of right now, I am the only user that has clinched the longest highway in South Dakota, US18.
http://tm.teresco.org/hb/?units=miles&u=quidditch33&r=sd.us018
Dang it! Oh well, I'll get it sometime.

How was Pine Ridge and surroundings (Oglala Lakota, Bennett, and Todd counties)? Despite being from the area, I've never had a reason to go that way. That area might be the reason no one had clinched 18 yet (just speculating as a local).
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #78 on: June 24, 2017, 11:21:06 am »
After a trip to the Star Valley (Afton, WY area), I am now number 1 in mileage in both Wyoming and South Dakota.

I haven't done any real big trips in a while; I tend to clinch things in short weekend trips.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline Ib3kii

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #79 on: June 24, 2017, 12:45:17 pm »
How was Pine Ridge and surroundings (Oglala Lakota, Bennett, and Todd counties)? Despite being from the area, I've never had a reason to go that way. That area might be the reason no one had clinched 18 yet (just speculating as a local).
I was going to put this in my trip log, but I decided not to. I will tell you anyway. Driving through the Pine Ridge area(and clinching SD407), we got a lot of looks from the locals. I am just a little glad our car did not break down. US18 was under road construction from Big Foot Trail to SD391, and because of the lack of signage, I missed the turn for SD391 and was unable to clinch it(I'll clinch it eventually). After Batesland, there were almost no cars on the road until Winner. Another thing I would like to point out is when you are heading south on US385 and SD79, and east on US18, you will eventually turn off of the four-line highway going east onto a road, and the road was basically empty. I saw maybe one or two cars from Oelrichs to Pine Ridge. It is so empty out there.

As you can tell, I love being in South Dakota. Something about the friendliness of the locals and the wide open areas just makes me feel like I want to be there. I try to convince my parents all the time to drive out to South Dakota, and in March of this year I convinced them to drive to Sioux City and then up to Sioux Falls. A side trip allowed me to clinch SD42, SD17, and parts of SD44 and SD37.

Although I live 483 miles away in Milwaukee, South Dakota is by far my favorite state in the U.S.
-The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... on the gas.

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #80 on: June 24, 2017, 08:44:33 pm »
How was Pine Ridge and surroundings (Oglala Lakota, Bennett, and Todd counties)? Despite being from the area, I've never had a reason to go that way. That area might be the reason no one had clinched 18 yet (just speculating as a local).
I was going to put this in my trip log, but I decided not to. I will tell you anyway. Driving through the Pine Ridge area(and clinching SD407), we got a lot of looks from the locals. I am just a little glad our car did not break down.
So it is sketchy!

As you can tell, I love being in South Dakota. Something about the friendliness of the locals and the wide open areas just makes me feel like I want to be there. I try to convince my parents all the time to drive out to South Dakota, and in March of this year I convinced them to drive to Sioux City and then up to Sioux Falls. A side trip allowed me to clinch SD42, SD17, and parts of SD44 and SD37.
West River (mainly the Black Hills) is the best side. If you haven't been to Rapid or Spearfish yet, you really should.

After Batesland, there were almost no cars on the road until Winner.
That's normal. Traffic where I live is having to wait at a stop sign.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline Ib3kii

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #81 on: June 25, 2017, 12:28:16 am »
West River (mainly the Black Hills) is the best side. If you haven't been to Rapid or Spearfish yet, you really should.
I have been to that side of South Dakota twice. Once in 2015 to go see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, and in 2016 I slept in Spearfish on the way to Missoula, Montana. I love the Black Hills(even though I have never been south of Crazy Horse), and with the 80 mph speed limits, South Dakota is definitely my state of choice when it comes to driving across the Great Plains.
-The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... on the gas.

Offline yakra

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #82 on: June 25, 2017, 01:57:54 am »
80 MPH? Is this relatively recent? I clinched SD I-90 back in September 2013.
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Offline Ib3kii

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #83 on: June 25, 2017, 02:08:09 am »
80 MPH? Is this relatively recent? I clinched SD I-90 back in September 2013.
Yes, South Dakota became the furthest east state with a 80 mph freeway speed in March of 2015.
-The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... on the gas.

Offline michih

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #84 on: June 25, 2017, 03:19:34 am »
80MPH? That's so damn slow.... :D

Offline froggie

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #85 on: June 25, 2017, 08:03:38 am »
^ You don't want anything faster with American drivers.  Trust me.

Quote from: Jim
Looking for a new (to me) and traffic-avoiding way from Ashburn, Virginia, to I-81 south yesterday, I ended up taking a variety of roads to Warrenton (avoiding accidents and other backups on US 15) then took US 211 end-to-end across to I-81.  Definitely not faster than other options, but a whole lot more scenic, and it will give me just my third US highway clinched in its entirety, following US 163 and US 199.

SR 601 from the US 15/VA 234 junction to The Plains is also quite scenic.  And quiet.

Instead of your route, when I typically headed out to Luray or points beyond, I'd take I-66 to the west end of Marshall, then take SR 647 to SR 635 to US 522 and down to US 211.  There are some great views along SR 635.

Offline Jim

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #86 on: June 25, 2017, 08:47:56 am »
SR 601 from the US 15/VA 234 junction to The Plains is also quite scenic.  And quiet.

Instead of your route, when I typically headed out to Luray or points beyond, I'd take I-66 to the west end of Marshall, then take SR 647 to SR 635 to US 522 and down to US 211.  There are some great views along SR 635.

601 to The Plains is exactly what we did.  Very pleasant and quiet ride.  I'll keep your other route in mind if we do this again in the future.

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #87 on: June 25, 2017, 03:33:29 pm »
80MPH? That's so damn slow.... :D
I go 80 and routinely get passed so...

We still don't have 70 MPH two-lane roads like the Mountain West, but hopefully they do that West River at some point.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline oscar

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #88 on: July 03, 2017, 12:55:25 pm »
I'm still in the middle of a road trip, but so far managed to clinch (counting previous travels) US 85 and US 412, plus as reported here I-49 with its latest extension north of Shreveport LA. More US route clinches likely on my long trip back home from California.

The US 85 clinch proved costly. For me, to clinch a border-crossing highway, you need to drive the route across the border (others are less fussy than me), so that meant a short foray into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. On the way back, my pickup truck overheated in heavy stop-and-go traffic on a one-way bridge over the Rio Grande, which drove the outside temperature to at least 130F since I was surrounded by other cars with hot engines. After shutting down my engine, I wasn't able to restart it. I was able to coast most of the way downhill from the crest of the bridge to U.S. customs (without help from power brakes or power steering), but Customs personnel had to push my truck the rest of the way to the booth, and then once I was cleared, push it out of the customs area to a place a tow truck could reach.  No permanent damage, but it cost me several hundred dollars and threw me off schedule by a day.

I hope Jim's car troubles on his latest trip were less interesting and expensive.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 12:59:49 pm by oscar »

Offline froggie

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #89 on: July 03, 2017, 02:25:49 pm »
Quote
For me, to clinch a border-crossing highway, you need to drive the route across the border

I'm the same way...both with this and with routes approaching military base gates.  Fortunately in my case, I have an EDL for the former and a Retired Military ID for the latter.