mmarkley
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Posts posted by mmarkley
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I wish I could be of some help, but I've never stepped foot in Utah and am fairly new to my road geekery. Looks like an amazing trip though. I will have to find the time to follow that path someday. I look forward to your reports.
Michele
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.....and a graduate of North Central High School just to the west of "his bridge".
And a Purdue grad. Woo Hoo. Sorry, just had to throw that out there.
Michele
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I'll let you guys know where we found Spring.
Jack,
This morning when I got up it was 57 degrees here in central Indiana but I would guess that by the time you rolled through that would change. We are supposed to have a low of 29 tonight and snow tomorrow. No spring weather yet. Gotta love the midwest weather.
Michele
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We actually are planning to drive down to Turkey Run on Sunday since its supposed to warm up to 50 degrees. I want to get some hiking in while there are still some ice formations in the canyons. I will post some pictures when I get back.
Pictures as promised. I didn't get any good road pictures as time was limited. The friends that went with us had to get back by a certain time so we didn't get to truly enjoy the road portion of the trip. Here are some pics from the trail we hiked.
Some turned out better than others. I think my camera is dying a slow death so it isn't working quite the way it should but it does the job until I can replace it. Enjoy.
Michele
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I remember going to a field trip to the Avanti assembly line when they were still in production when I was in grade school. The uncle of someone I went to school with owned it I guess. Haven't been to the museum since. Pretty neat. Thanks for the pictures.
Michele
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I think only half of the reason that we camp is because of the lack of green in the wallet. And I am sure that someday we will decide that roughing it isn't worth it any more.
I think the bigger reason is truly enjoying the land around me. I grew up camping. My parents have a picture of me bundled up around the campfire when I was less than 1 year old. I've always loved it. Waking up to the sound of birds. Watching the stars overhead as I fall asleep. True, I'm young and most likely you would say crazy but I hope that I will always love camping.
Besides, you have to admit, the adventures/mishaps that we are going to have while we are camping on our Route 6 trip will make for a better read in the book that I am writing than if we stayed in a motel.
Michele
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We've not yet experienced the camping life, but that's about to change. Jennifer got a two-person tent last year for being at her job 5 years. She picked the tent over the clock, so it's kind of forced to do it! We're rookies still, but we're going to try to get out a weekend or two this year to see if it's our cup-o-tea. I think most state parks in Indiana are around $8/night, so there won't be a great financial loss if all doesn't go well! Any good places in these parts?
Roadmaven,
Depends on how far you want to drive. As a kid, my parents made a point to travel to every Indiana State Park one year. Some I remember better than others. If you want to take that trip to Madison, my husband and I camped at Clifty Falls State Park a few years ago. They have some really nice trails. I seem to recall waterfalls, a cave and riverbeds. Brown County State Park is beautiful in the fall. I don't remember the trails because I haven't actually been there since I was a kid. McCormick's Creek state park is nice as well. It is near Bloomington.
We tend to camp at Potato Creek State Park in north central Indiana a lot because we can lump it together with visiting family. That would be about a 3 hour drive for you. My absolute favorite is Turkey Run State Park. Close by with great trails. I recommend trail 3.
There are also a couple of covered bridges down there that you can check out. About 20 minutes from Turkey Run is Shades State Park. Also nice trails and tends to get noticed less than Turkey Run so the trails and campground aren't as crowded. We actually are planning to drive down to Turkey Run on Sunday since its supposed to warm up to 50 degrees. I want to get some hiking in while there are still some ice formations in the canyons. I will post some pictures when I get back.
Here's a link to the Indiana DNR page listing the parks on a map.
Outside of Indiana we haven't done much camping. As a kid, we camped pretty much all over the New England states but nothing south or west of Indiana. That is going to change this spring on our Route 6 trip. We have decided to camp the entire way.
Hope this helps.
Michele
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I see lots of discussion about RVing but not so much in the way of camping. Does no one out there camp when they are on the road?
Michele
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Just download one of my "Reubens on the Road" review forms (Review Forms and fill it out. It's mostly subjective. I usually measure them and photograph them to get some stats, but when it comes to the letter grades for different categories, it's just up to the individual.
I've had individuals and small groups get together and send in some reviews before. Just take some photos (one of the exterior of the restaurant, one of the Reuben and one of the dining area/diners if possible) and send in the rating form!
Chris
Chris,
If you ever make it to West Lafayette, IN, I recommend the Reuben at O'Bryan's Nine Irish Brothers. It is my personal favorite.
Michele
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Hey everyone new gallery.
Not meant to be a secret. Just blame it on me being a newb.
I've finished posting some of the better photos of our trip to Door County Wisconsin in fall of 2005. I have a ton more pictures but I figured 30 was probably more than enough. Sad to say we took Interstates on our way up. Forgive me, it was before I turned from the dark side. I do see the error in our ways now. I would like to say that we probably drove over every inch of road on Door Peninsula while we were up there and it is spectacular.
You will see by my pictures that I have a fondness for lighthouses. I have more pics if you want some send me an email and I can get them to you somehow. Hope you enjoy these.
Michele
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Oh no! My secret is out!
Chris
Yeah mine too. I wasn't even finished uploading yet.
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Hi Michelle,
We're actually publishing Joe Hurley's book on Route 6 this year. Looks like US 6 is becoming quite popular!
Safe travels!
Becky
I was wondering about that. I've been keeping an eye on his site but hadn't seen any updates. I'll keep an eye out for the book. Thanks.
Michele
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mmarkley:
I'll suggest another "get in the mood" book. William Least Heat-Moon's "Blue Highways" could be compared to "Travels with Charlie" but, in my opinion, John would get the worst of the comparison.
I'm looking forward to following your trip.
Thanks for the recommendation. I actually had picked up a copy of "Blue Highways" a while back but can't seem to find all the time that I would like to read my giant stack of books. Unfortunately work has a way of getting in the way.
Yes, my recommended books are "getting in the mood" books but also in a way market research for me because I'm planning on writing a book about the trip. I am working on adding more guide books to the list. I just picked up a used copy of the "Midland Trail Tour Guide 1916" but to this point the only guide books I had were AAA books. I'm always open to recommendations.Michele
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Thank you all for the welcome. I hope I can be a worthy contributer to the forum.
Michele
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Regarding your US 6 trip, I doubt you need this advice, but since it is free...here tis.
If I were planning a trip along Route 6, I would do at least the following...
Dave,
Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions. It looks like I have quite a bit of reading ahead of me.
I had already stumbled across Joe Hurley's site as well as route6tour.com (that is actually how I found out about American Road.) The books you suggested will be of great help in my research.I do intend to take my laptop on the trip and am planning to upload photos, videos and other misc. anecdotes from our travels to my blog. I will try to stop in here and give everyone updates as well.
Michele
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Hi everyone! My name is Michele. Obviously new here. I was born and have lived in Indiana all of my life. I grew up loving road trips. I remember a particular trip to Maine where I sat in the front seat of the family station wagon between my parents and had a map of my own that I followed as we drove.
I've always preferred a road trip when possible but have never taken one that was focused specifically on a road. That changes this spring. We will be hitting the road and driving US 6. Because of a variety of reasons we are splitting the trip into two separate trips. We will head west from Indiana and drive all the way to Long Beach. Later this fall we will finish our journey by heading east to Cape Cod.
Having grown up just a mile off of US 6 in Indiana, I'm familiar with that part of it but would love any tips on things to see if you've been there, done that.
Michele
1. On The Trail Of The Motor Men Of 1917
in U.S. Highways & Auto Trails
Posted
Before I read Desert Solitaire I knew nothing about Utah and couldn't imagine anyone actually wanting to visit that state. This of course is from someone that grew up in the middle of Midwestern corn fields.
Edward Abbey opened my eyes about what I was missing, although I admit I did skip over most of his chapters that were political essays so that I could read more about the landscapes. It is the reason that Arches National Park and the state of Utah are number 1 on my list of stops for the Route 6 trip. I've been meaning to dig that out to reread it before we leave. Thanks for the reminder. I also picked up an Illustrated Guide of Arches National Park at a used bookstore. It is a little over 100 pages of old and new photos and also the history of Arches National Park published in 1985. I am in love with the place and I haven't been there yet.
The more I hear and see about Monument Valley the more I think I must make that my next project.
Also, any passages/materials you have time to share for Route 6 are always welcome.
I thank you heartily.
Michele