Exploring area roads...

[knightfan26917]

Last weekend (Labor Day weekend), I cleaned up the '87 MC LS on Saturday ... and then drove the older 4 MCs 120 miles each over the course of Sunday and Monday.

Both Sunday and Monday, I "went exploring". Using my detailed Illinois atlas, I mapped out some routes that I had not taken before. And, you know what...it was like I was on a road trip! Lots of cool roads (with some awesome views) in this area to travel along...and that is just in the area west of Elgin.

Anyone else explored roads in or near your home town area?

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Years and miles are flying by" ... Bon Jovi ... 'Lost Highway'

[loki]

kinda, not quite 120 miles though. i know lots of north roads and some western roads, not so much southern. Ill is right over the river, you ever been to Bald Knob?

[knightfan26917]

Ill is right over the river, you ever been to Bald Knob?

No, don't believe I have.

Where is it?

[Lamar]

I used to love to do that... but gas prices plus a vehicle that averages 15 mpg have kinda put the kibosh on that.

Sometimes I still sneak it in though...

[SuperSport623]

theres some cool roads on long island... i like exploring

[loki]

No, don't believe I have.

Where is it?

it's a little south west of carbondale, it's where a huge free-standing cross is, i don't know if one is allowed up in it though.

[PurdueGuy]

Just a copy/paste from another forum of some photos I took while exploring roads around here. Usually when I go exploring, I take the 'burban, since I don't know what to expect from Idaho backroads.

[ocnblu]

Great pictures, Perdue Guy. Lancaster County, with her covered bridges, hills, rocky underlayer and a multitude of creeks, lends herself to interesting, narrow, winding backroads. I should post some pics of this area sometime.

[knightfan26917]

PG ... AWESOME pictures ... thank you for sharing those!!!

I used to love to do that... but gas prices plus a vehicle that averages 15 mpg have kinda put the kibosh on that.

I admit, it can be a bit of a "shocker" when the CC bill comes that includes all of the "gas ups" in my MCs...BUT...the cost is WELL worth the travels/trips/exploring, imho .

it's a little south west of carbondale, it's where a huge free-standing cross is, i don't know if one is allowed up in it though.

I think I know where you mean...but, no, I haven't been there. Maybe next time I get to southern IL .

[Lamar]

I admit, it can be a bit of a "shocker" when the CC bill comes that includes all of the "gas ups" in my MCs...BUT...the cost is WELL worth the travels/trips/exploring, imho .

Tell me about it. Gasoline has both my MasterCard and Visa almost to the max, especially since I drive from Baltimore area to NW DC two days out of the week...

Edited September 8, 2008 by Lamar

[vonVeezelsnider]

I've always wanted to this in the Alberta Foothills, but I think I'll save it for when I have time next summer. I might drive to Phoenix AZ next spring so we'll see.

[Robert Hall]

I haven't done much here in AZ---it's been hot this summer and the surrounding desert is just plain ugly, IMHO...will have to go up in the mountains, though, when the temps go down.

But I have a strong sense of wanderlust and love to explore, to search for truth and meaning, or at least a great stretch of road..

When I lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Colorado I did extensive exploration on the weekends.... I bought the big superdetailed state maps with all the detail on each county. When I lived in NE Ohio, I explored extensively from Lake Erie south to the Ohio River and across the river in the WV panhandle and Western PA. Some incredible twisty driving roads in that region.

When I lived in SE Michigan, I explored quite a bit down to the Ohio line and north up around the thumb....

In Colorado, I explored the foothills and the mountains, both on paved roads and on jeep trails... went all over the state from the Front Range to the Western Slope (nothing on the Eastern plains that interesting, IMHO). Sometimes I'd rack up 1000 miles in a 3 day weekend.

I'm looking forward to fall and winter and when PHX gets under 100 average temp again. Most likely, in 2009, I will either be back full time in Colorado or in a new venue, with new roads to explore, new truths to seek out..

Edited September 8, 2008 by moltar

[mustang84]

I haven't done much exploring here in Eastern Iowa since I moved from the central part of the state, but I did go on a road trip to SE Minnesota this summer and there is some great scenery along the Iowa side of the Mississippi River. Some towns I recommend seeing are Guttenberg, Marquette, McGregor, and Dubuque...all historic river towns with brick buildings dating back to the 1830s-40s. Also, the drive on Highway 84 (following the Mississippi River) from Fulton, IL to the Quad Cities is a pleasant one; Port Byron is a nice little river town.

[knightfan26917]

Tell me about it. Gasoline has both my MasterCard and Visa almost to the max, especially since I drive from Baltimore area to NW DC two days out of the week...

Yikes. Neither of my CCs are maxed...then again, I don't drive as far as you do in a week, I suspect.

Though...looks like I missed you during my recent road trip...I was in the Baltimore area for a bit:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/200808/042..._jay12_jpg.html

Moltar ... I can imagine you've seen a lot of great places. Exploring can really give you a better feel for the area...and a better idea of life in the region.....

[Robert Hall]

Yikes. Neither of my CCs are maxed...then again, I don't drive as far as you do in a week, I suspect.

Though...looks like I missed you during my recent road trip...I was in the Baltimore area for a bit:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/200808/042..._jay12_jpg.html

Moltar ... I can imagine you've seen a lot of great places. Exploring can really give you a better feel for the area...and a better idea of life in the region.....

I love driving..and part of it is that I love maps... I've always liked studying maps of areas..and wanderlust..I love traveling, always want to see what's over the horizon, around the corner, over the next hill. I've managed to visit 38 states over the years, 2 provinces, and 8 countries...lots ahead to see over the coming years.

I think traveling cross country several times w/ my folks in the family motor homes got me hooked as a kid on travel. When I was back in Ohio during the summers in high school, I got a platte book of all the townships and counties in the state, and started studying the state routes, county roads, township roads in my home county. I learned the roads of Tuscarawas County inside and out.

Edited September 10, 2008 by moltar

[knightfan26917]

I love driving..and part of it is that I love maps... I've always liked studying maps of areas..

Me, too, actually. Well, you all know I LOVE to drive, I'm sure, by now, but I really don't talk much about maps...even though I use the atlas for the road trips all the time.

I usually only do mapquest to check drive times...otherwise, I use the printed maps I have. Sometimes, I spend TOO much time looking at the maps to determine possible routes before a trip. Heck, even the other weekend when I explored around here, I was looking at the IL gazette/map for over two hours before I finally decided which routes I was going to try . I still have a few routes outlined that I want to do yet this year...hopefully!