STW
STW1 Hop 6: New Hudson MI to Michigan City IN
216 miles via I-96, I-69, I-94 and US 421. Cumulative tow miles: 1219. Truck miles: 438. Cumulative truck miles: 2014. This was a relatively easy hop in terms of navigation – just a few turns. However, there was heavy traffic for almost the entire route and the roads were very rough, as evidenced by one … Continue reading
Greenfield Village
Some posts are mostly containers for photos and this is one. Greenfield Village in Dearborn MI, if you don’t already know, is a place that Henry Ford founded to collect historical buildings and, more generally, to capture the serenity of 19th century America. You will find the actual bike shop of the Wright brothers, the … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 5: Streetsboro OH to New Hudson MI
216 miles via I-480 (south of Cleveland), OH 176, I-90, OH 2, I-280 (east of Toledo), I-75, I-275 (west of Detroit) and I-96. Cumulative tow miles: 1003. Truck miles: 303. Cumulative truck miles: 1576. This was a relatively easy hop, aided by flat, mostly divided highway. Door-to-door travel time was just under 4 hours, which … Continue reading
Niagara Falls
I first saw Niagara Falls in 1957 when I was 8 years old. It was a rare family vacation outside of Wisconsin and I really appreciated seeing them in real life rather than in a book. My father was not the most adventurous guy, so our activities at the falls consisted of walking along the … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 4: Grand Island NY to Streetsboro OH
236 miles via I-190 (north of Buffalo), NY 5, I-90, I-271 (west of Cleveland) and I-480 (west of Cleveland). Cumulative tow miles: 787. Truck miles: 340. Cumulative truck miles: 1273. This was supposed to be an easy hop – one almost entirely on interstate highways. But I opted to travel almost 30 miles on NY … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 3: Clayton NY to Grand Island NY
238 miles via NY 12, I-81, NY 104, NY 390, I-490 (west of Rochester), I-90, I-290 (around Buffalo) and I-190. Cumulative tow miles: 551. Truck miles: 270. Cumulative truck miles: 933. This was the longest – both in terms of distance and time (almost 5 hours) – of any hop we have made in the … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 2: Glenville NY to Clayton NY
168 miles via NY 5, NY 67, NY 29, NY 28 and NY 12. Cumulative tow miles: 313. Truck miles: 518. Cumulative truck miles: 663. Jett hated this hop. It was entirely on local roads, most of them with a lot of up-and-down and sharp curves. Every time the GPS said “winding road ahead” she … Continue reading
Spare tire
The spare tire on the truck is a form of insurance: you hope you will never need it, but just knowing it is there eases some worries. But, unlike insurance, you also have to make sure it is in shape to be used. This is a lesson that is usually learned the hard way, by … Continue reading
STW1 Hop 1: Oakham MA to Glenville NY
145 miles via MA 148, MA 67, MA 19, US 20, I-90, I-890 (near Schenectady) and NY 5. Cumulative tow miles: 145. Truck miles: 145. Cumulative truck miles: 145. The hard part of this route was the 30-plus miles on local roads before we got to I-90. The roads were fine, but this was August … Continue reading
Second Trip West (STW) preview
We are four days away from embarking on our second cross-country trip. This one will, like the first, include Tillamook OR as a stop, but, unlike the first trip (the Great Trip West or GTW), this time Tillamook will be the final destination. The route is designed to hit many of the states that we … Continue reading