# Random observations from a cross country drive... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 5, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227 "2003-08-05T23:19:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![siberia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/siberia/32/9129_2.png) [@siberia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siberia)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/21 "2003-08-07T21:34:35Z")
> [@](#): > > I was driving a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. > > But what was holding my mileage down was the 20’ enclosed trailer with the 3 Harley’s and a weeks worth of luggage for 5 people. On some hills it went down to 1 mile per gallon (per the digital overhead readout, which is pretty accurate). _green with “Harley envy”_ Ahh, that makes sense! Wow, I bet you spent a lot of time at gas stations. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/22 "2003-08-07T22:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\*Wyoming is a virtual wasteland, at least from what I could see of it along I-80. We briefly went through some beautiful mountains and some trees, but it was getting dark then and I didn’t see much of it. I thought Idaho had some isolated areas, but at least here I can see some signs of civilization in the distance when traveling out on some stretches of the Interstate, and most of the intertstate exits here will lead to at least some small town and to named roads. In Wyoming there were virtually no signs of life for much of the way, although I was driving through it at night. Still, there were no lights or anything I could see in the distance. I truly felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. One other oddity I noted in Wyoming was that every 20 miles or so there were stopping areas for trucks, and trucks only, and each one of them had about a dozen trucks parked in it. These weren’t rest areas with bathrooms, benches, grass and trees, etc., just places where trucks could stop. There may have been a truck stop or two in some of the bigger towns, but I don’t remember seeing them. Towns of any size were few and far between and one had to plan his fuel stops wisely. Some of the exits from I-80 were just short offramps that led to some unnamed area, and the roads often didn’t have names. We were going to stop in Rock Springs for the night, but we encountered some weirdness there that I won’t go into here (too much to explain for this post). Luckily for us, Green River wasn’t too far away and we managed to find a decent motel room there instead. Even the natives have their favorite “I got stuck for a month one night in Rock Springs” stories. It’s really too bad the interstate goes through the dustiest, windiest, most inhospitably boring part of the state. Northern Wyoming, with its huge basin full of nothing but sage brush, antelope and wild horses is an acquired taste. Still, an argument can be made that its weirdly compelling. But…the 40 mile stretch of highway between Cody and Yellowstone is IMHO the most beautiful drive in the U.S., except for maybe 101 down the Oregon coast. This message was brought to you by koeeoaddi, former Wyoming resident. Retired. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/23 "2003-08-07T23:14:33Z")
Observations from the “coast-to-coast coaster” tour (from the Giant Dipper on the Pacific in Santa Cruz CA to the Cyclone on the Atlantic in NYC) and a couple of observations from other trips:[ul] [li]You can drive really fast in Nevada. If there were a police car anywhere, you would see it miles in advance.[/li][li]Driving through the flats of Nevada does not induce brain death the way southwest Kansas or SW Texas does (see item above).[/li][li]Wisconsin is a beautiful state. Red barns, black and white cows.[/li][li]You lead a pretty dull life if you don’t see a billboard in SD that says you can get free coffee at Wall’s for some reason (vet, honeymooner, etc). Turns out the coffee only costs 5 cents anyway, and it’s not worth it.[/li][li]There’s more corn growing in Iowa than can possibly be consumed by every living thing in the universe.[/li][li]Driving through Chicago is a bitch, even on a Sunday night.[/li][li]Pennsylvania seemed to be one loooong stretch of experimental pavement tests.[/li][li]The capitol building in Columbus OH lacks a dome (very obvious that it was supposed to have one) because some governor embezzeled the money (at least that’s what we were told). [/li][li]The cities of Ohio that we passed through seemed to be economically depressed urban wastelands.[/li][li]In New Mexico, people kept giving us stuff. We got a bunch of cool stuff at the Welcome Center. We even got a free apple pie at McDonald’s because we had to wait like 2 minutes.[/li][li]Ahhh, the automobile, the road, the U.S.A. It doesn’t get any better.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/24 "2003-08-08T01:31:50Z")
[ul] [li]If you’re in SD, see Mt. Rushmore before seeing the Crazy Horse monument. Crazy Horse makes Mt.Rushmore look kind of pathetic. And it’s a bit pricey to see Crazy Horse, but see him anyway.[/li][li]If you arrive at an amusement park with less than an hour till closing, most will let you in free, but those greedy bastids at Six Flags will always charge you full price.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/25 "2003-08-08T03:01:04Z")
L.A. - Bellingham, WA. and back again. Oregon drivers are the most polite and well-behaved drivers in the country. They are aware of their surroundings, and move over before you get up to them as you speed by. Washington State drivers, on the other hand, are a bunch of fuck-wits. Both states are beautiful. Green. I second the rec for the Crazy Horse monument. Mt. Rushmore is a ripoff and a joke. Always stop to see “The World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn” Trust me on this. You won’t be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/26 "2003-08-08T03:01:20Z")
In New Mexico you can go quite a ways without seeing any sign of human life (or animal life, except for ravens.) You will soon arrive at a small town and think that now you can refill your tank and get something to eat, only to find that all the homes and businesses are boarded up and their doors are swinging in the breeze. The town has been abandoned for 15-20 years. After a few hours of this the state will seem to have a weird Twilight Zone quality to it. (My sister reported similar problems in West Virginia.) When traveling through northern KY and passing the town of Florence, look for a sign that says Florence Mall. Next to it there should be a water tower that says Florence, Y’all. You used to be able to see, from I-75, a barn in Ohio that had a picture of Ben Franklin painted on it. I don’ t know if it’s still there. Can anyone fill me in on that? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/27 "2003-08-08T03:58:02Z")
Black Hills: Drive down Iron Mountain Road or Needles Highway south of Keystone. They’re wondrous. They also lead you to Custer state park and the wildlife loop. Second Crazy Horse. I’ve been there four times in about 10-12 years. Stick to fast food restaraunts in the Black Hills, if you can find them. At least you have some idea of what you’re getting. In the “family” places, you’ll pay $7 for a cardboard hamburger on a cheap bleached white bun covered with fake cheese. :rolleyes: Either that or shell out the big bucks for places like Jakes or the State Game Lodge. SD has some of the best rest stops in the nation. Drive to Rushmore from the back side. As you come around the curve to the back of the mountain, you see a large…penis.:eek: There is a column of rock about 50-70’ high that looks like a large phallus. My wife let out an audible gasp as we rounded the curve. Some of the best things aren’t on the map. Lake Lakota is very cool (on Iron Mountain road). Others; The town of Colony in the extreme NE Wyoming is just a couple of (and I mean 2) dilapidated houses and about 5 trailers. It’s not off the road as shown, but on the highway. Their claim to fame is the local mines for that stuff thats in cat litter. (I went there because it seemed very…conspiratorial sci-fi-ish that the map showed a town called “Colony” to be several miles off the main road and not readily accessible from any other place in WY.) I thought there was as much corn in central Illinois as in Iowa. Of course, that was 10-15 years ago. The mountains of West Virginia are indeed beautiful. Unless you’re driving down those winding highways at midnight in the rain with some crazy assed trucker tailgating you. :eek: I had some real ‘Deliverance’ moments on the back roads of SC. Had to laugh at one stop when it seemed like everybody and their brothers of all races were at the gas station, all excited, because the beer shipment had just come in. :rolleyes: You can really fly on Hwy 20 in eastern Oregon. OTOH, drive the coastal mountains and you’ll be stuck behind some wahoo driving an RV at 15mph and ignoring the turn-outs. :mad: The best time to hit the touristy areas of the northern states is mid-May, before Memorial day when all the tourists arrive. The people of Louisville, KY seemed to have thicker, more impenetrable accents than anywhere in the South. (At least, that was my impression in 1987) ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/28 "2003-08-08T05:37:09Z")
I had to make a trip down to Dayton, OH from the border crossing at Sault St. Marie. Certainly not a cross-country trip, but I have some interesting observations. Firstly, Detroit is the most awful run down, grimey looking city I’ve ever been to. Cement constructions everywhere and mile after mile of dark, intimidating factories. And then Ohio. We drove down some interstate, I don’t know what (I wasn’t driving and I"m not from the US). But it was the most boring scenery ever. There were a few small communities here and there, but none had “Welcome” signs and you couldn’t tell when you actually left one town, or entered another. As **lainaf** pointed out, all the towns seemed very economically depressed. There was a very eerie feeling about it all. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227/29 "2003-08-08T06:23:11Z")
I drove from Charlotte to Phoenix a few months ago and pretty much hated it (growing up with flying benefits made me hate road-trips from a very early age.) But what I’m interested in is this: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by newcrasher \* > \*\*XM radio seems to have more commercials than regular radio. \*\* I thought the whole _point_ of satellite radio was that there were no commercials. Isn’t that why you pay a monthly fee? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-observations-from-a-cross-country-drive/193227.md?page=1)