Road Trips
Chronological road trip stories and travel journals from our journeys across the country. These posts follow our routes day by day, sharing the experiences, stops, and memories that define each trip.
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March 28, 2010: Sunday Drive
Even though it was a gloomy, rainy day, we decided to do a little recon regarding state park campgrounds and sites we might like to stay in someday. We were particularly interested in Ouabache State Park, since would be staying with a couple of other Tabbers the following weekend and wanted to see which areas would be good for us. We also checked out a T@B trailer, clamshell model, that friends had an interest in. The T@B clamshell is more similar to a traditional teardrop in the sense that it does not have a kitchen inside; it has a hatch in back that opens to an exterior galley kitchen. We…
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February 10, 2010: RV / MH Museum – Elkhart, Indiana
It’s far too cold for us lightweights to camp, but wanting to head out and do something, Pat and I decided to take a trip to the RV Museum up in Elkhart, Indiana. Loads of cool stuff up there. They have displays featuring the first types of campers of yesterday and how they evolved over the years into the modern trailers and motorhomes of today. Slideshow of All Photos For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site. [flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157623305424655″ width=”500″]
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Indiana’s basketball mecca…
“While it was invented in Massachusetts, basketball really had its beginning in Indiana, which remains today the center of the sport” — James Naismith, 1936. Those words ring true more than 70 years later. Indiana and basketball go hand in hand, like peanut butter & jelly. No other state can lay claim to the rich basketball heritage that Indiana has. From its home grown legends like Tony Hinkle, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, and Larry Bird, to its legendary courts such as Assembly Hall, Mackey Arena, The Wigwam, Chrysler Arena, and a little place called “Hoosier Gym”, to many Hoosiers, basketball has a way of making all that’s wrong with life right.…
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Indiana State Road 58
Indiana State Road 58 is one of southwest Indiana’s best routes to travel when you’re in the mood to enjoy a road that isn’t straight as an arrow. Its 122 mile path cuts through the typical Indiana farmland, but it also winds you through parts of the Hoosier National Forest. It’s one of those roads where you want to find yourself on a weekend in the Fall. The colors can be spectacular. IN-58 starts in Merom, Indiana, some 30 miles south of Terre Haute. Merom is home to less than 300 citizens, but is also home to the Merom Conference Center. Opened in 1862 as the Union Christian College, the…
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Indiana State Road 75
Anyone looking at a map of Indiana State Road 75 thinking it’s non-stop from US 40 west of Stilesville to its terminus some 78 miles north at Camden may be in for a surprise….like I was. I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when I recently took a Sunday afternoon to explore this north-south route through Indiana’s western half. I’ll fill you in on that later. Like many of Indiana’s state highways in this area, IN-75 slices through Indiana’s rich farmland. It quietly begins its northern journey at US 40 a few miles west of Stilesville. It skirts the east side of the Coatesville before taking a straight shot north where it intersects US…
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Portland Concrete, Bridges, and Lucille’s…
If asked where my favorite section of Route 66 would be, I’d have to say all 2448 miles of it. But, if I was forced to pick a favorite section where I like to drive, I’d say it’s the section between El Reno and Hydro, Oklahoma. It’s got a nice ribbon of Portland concrete that dates back to the 1930’s, complete with curbing, like this mini section that’s housed at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. This cool section brings back memories of roadtrips when I was a kid, when two-lane highways were made of concrete and the tires hitting the seams of the road created a perfect rhythm. This section has the same…
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December 2008: Connecticut
Slideshow of All Photos For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site. [flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157612014755162″ width=”500″]
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Christmas on Route 66 — Greetings from Stroud, Oklahoma!
What a morning! Here in Stroud, Oklahoma, about 50 miles southwest of Tulsa, we’ve had a heck of a storm roll through here. It was 65 degrees this morning before the storm rolled through, and just 40 miles west of us it was 42. Tornado watches, thunder, lightning…we had it all! Right now it’s just raining here in Stroud at the the Skyliner Motel. Had a nice drive on Friday from Amarillo. The National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma should be a must-stop for anyone traveling out this way. Passed Oklahoma City, we stopped by Jim Ross’ Arcadia pad for a couple of hours. He suggested we stop…
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Christmas on Route 66 — Greetings from Amarillo!
Just pulled into Amarillo, Texas about an hour ago and have set up at the Big Texan Steak Ranch & Motel. We’re here in the “Cattleman’s Hotel” wing of the Big Texan Motel. The winds today in the Texas panhandle have been intense! Dad’s Impala only got 20mpg today after a tank of 22mpg on Wednesday. We should have the wind at our backs on the way home, so the mpg should improve. The Big Texan is packed right now, but it’s slowly starting to thin out. We’re heading over there for some flame broiled goodness after I post this. More pics of dinner to follow!
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Christmas on Route 66 — Greetings from Claremore!
We made it from Indy to Claremore, Oklahoma today. The weather started off quite miserable, as it rained most of the trip through Indiana & Illinois. Once we got into Missouri, the clouds parted and the sun was shining throughout the afternoon, and provided one heck of a sunset as we entered Oklahoma. We stopped for lunch at the Circle N in Bourbon, Missouri for a fine grilled ham & cheese and then in Phillipsburg for a stop at Redmon’s for a bag full of road food (candy). We pulled into the Will Rogers Inn in Claremore tonight following nearly 630 miles of travel today. By the time we got…