Interstate Road Trip Tournament, Round 1, Heat 24.

[Rain Man]

Just a little offseason exercise. There are 80 different Interstate highways in the USA (including Puerto Rico). Which one would be best for a road trip?

I've set the rules as follows (in spoiler for those of you who've read them already]:

Spoiler!

Go here for the rules. https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=330775

Here's a North Korean propaganda video if you're interested.

Your next competitors are:

Option 1 - I-96 from Norton Shores, MI, to Detroit, MI
7 Day Trip
192 Miles, 27 miles per day on average
Passes through Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and Lansing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_96

Option 2 - I-71 from Louisville, KY, to Cleveland, OH
7 Day Trip
346 miles, 49 miles per day on average
Passes through Cincinnati and Columbus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_71

Option 3 - I-75 from Miami Lakes, FL, to Sault Ste. Marie, MI
13 Day Trip
1,786 Miles, 137 miles per day on average
Passes through Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Gainesville, Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, and near Mackinac Island.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_75

Option 4 - I-17 from Phoenix, AZ, to Flagstaff, AZ
7 Day Trip
146 miles, 21 miles per day on average
Passes near Sedona

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_17

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by scho63

Option 3 - I-75 from Miami Lakes, FL, to Sault Ste. Marie, MI
13 Day Trip
1,786 Miles, 137 miles per day on average
Passes through Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Gainesville, Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, and near Mackinac Island.

This touches a hell of a lot of beautiful places and hard to compare a 1,786 mile trip to one of 150-200 miles.

Yeah, to some extent the comparisons of the longer and shorter ones are more of a vote on road trips versus destination vacations. I wasn't sure about that at first, but I kind of like it as we go through the heats.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

These are great threads to read. Our 40th wedding anniversary is in October and I have to figure something out.

My wife isn't a huge fan of traveling, but for some reason she likes a classic road trip. We've done a few big ones over the past several years. I wouldn't really want to do a road trip on my own (too much driving), but when I can share the driving it's great.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

My wife isn't a huge fan of traveling, but for some reason she likes a classic road trip. We've done a few big ones over the past several years. I wouldn't really want to do a road trip on my own (too much driving), but when I can share the driving it's great.

My wife isn't much of a traveler either. I've mentioned this before but for our 30th I just told her we're going to fly to Albany Oct. 1 rent a car, and drive to Maine and back. It was the best trip we ever took. Saw all the color and I just chilled and stopped at every antique store, covered bridge she wanted to along the way. We took back highways and there was a little interstate as possible. But these threads are giving me ideas.

Fall is a special time and I want to pick the right one.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

My wife isn't much of a traveler either. I've mentioned this before but for our 30th I just told her we're going to fly to Albany Oct. 1 rent a car, and drive to Maine and back. It was the best trip we ever took. Saw all the color and I just chilled and stopped at every antique store, covered bridge she wanted to along the way. We took back highways and there was a little interstate as possible. But these threads are giving me ideas.

Fall is a special time and I want to pick the right one.

Yeah, in contrast to this tournament I would agree that avoiding interstates is ideal. I like backroads trips, or at least trips that aren't on busy interstates. If you're pondering Colorado I've been on almost every road in the state and can offer tips, but we don't have as much fall color here, and summer travel is less likely to have you skidding off a mountainside in the snow.

[eDave]

Seven days for option 4? That means I'm not leaving Phoenix until the night of the 6th day.

Gerome is worth a stop I guess but Sedona is over 10 miles west of I-10. There is a nice lookout spot for some cool scenery and pics.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by eDave

Seven days for option 4? That means I'm not leaving Phoenix until the night of the 6th day.

Gerome is worth a stop I guess but Sedona is over 10 miles west of I-10. There is a nice lookout spot for some cool scenery and pics.

Y'know, I pondered the eligibility of Sedona. It's more than a ten-mile drive from the highway, but per the rules it's less than ten miles from the highway itself as the crow flies.

Or wait, it's not. Actually, I thought it was much closer, but there's a road that goes straight there and it's 12.7 miles given that it's got a lot of curves. Uh-oh. Sedona may not be eligible. If that's the case I would go with I-75.

Oh, heck. I looked up the resort where I stayed and it's even further west of Sedona. I can't go there on an I-17 road trip. If there's a similar resort east of Sedona I could do it, though.

[eDave]