Routing to Hutchinson

[VegasFlyer]

We are planning out a trip where we will go from Vegas to Muskegon, MI in late September, to pick up a new Toy Hauler.  From there we will go down to Hutchinson, KS.

While we have mainly driven the western states and the main interstates going East and West, the journey going diagonal will be a new experience.

We are curious if any folks have recommendations on routes coming out of Michigan to Hutchinson and then from Hutchinson back to Vegas?

As a disclaimer, we have no problem planning the route.  It is more a case of looking for interesting places to stop or places or routes to avoid.

[Rick & Alana]

We left VEGAS for the Kansas City area in April. I would do everything I could to stay off I-40 between Flagstaff and Williams. 

depending on time of the year we have done both 40 and 70. If we leave the rally this year and go to Vegas it will be via I 70 if at all possible. 

 

 

[Star Dreamer]

I think your biggest issue will be the timing going through some of the larger cities on the route.

Biggest problem is Lake Michigan is in your way which means you have to drive around it unless you want to pay big bucks and take the ferry across.

Our suggestion would be to take I-94 south in Michigan and meet up with I-80 in Northern Indiana and take it west. Try to time the portion through NW Indiana not at rush hours. Also even though it looks like fuel is cheap in Indiana it can be a pain as it does not include taxes, suggest you avoid fueling in Indiana.

Since St Louis can be a fun (not) going through, I would probably stay on I-80 to Des Moines and take I 35 south towards Kansas City. I forget which route we took around KC to get to Hutchinson but it was not bad.

There is not much site seeing on that route that I can think off except for corn fields.

Dave

[rickeieio]

3 minutes ago, Star Dreamer said:

There is not much site seeing on that route that I can think off except for corn fields.

Sooooo, what's wrong with corn fields? To the trained eye, there's a lot so see out in the prairies.  Run the River Road down the west side of the Mississippi through Iowa, take I-44 out of St. Louis, run US 50 a ways through Missouri and Kansas, or US 56 from KC to Emporia....  Sometimes the little roads are nice.

[Jack Mayer]

1 hour ago, VegasFlyer said:

We are planning out a trip where we will go from Vegas to Muskegon, MI in late September, to pick up a new Toy Hauler.  From there we will go down to Hutchinson, KS.

While we have mainly driven the western states and the main interstates going East and West, the journey going diagonal will be a new experience.

We are curious if any folks have recommendations on routes coming out of Michigan to Hutchinson and then from Hutchinson back to Vegas?

As a disclaimer, we have no problem planning the route.  It is more a case of looking for interesting places to stop or places or routes to avoid.

How about coming the "back way" through the mountains of UT and CO, then going out 70. You might even stop in and visit in Woodland Park. I promise to be nice. Might even smoke you some baby backs....

Way more interesting views.....

[Sculptor]

9 hours ago, Star Dreamer said:

 

I think your biggest issue will be the timing going through some of the larger cities on the route.

 

Agree with Star Dreamer, Chicago is best to avoid.  If you ever want to experience downtown, which is pretty wonderful really, don't take your rig, take a car,

Highly recommend the camping along the shore of Lake Michigan.  Silver Lake sand dunes can be seen for a fee.  Very nice there.  You can save time on the main roads, but I recommend the shoreline drives along the lake.

[trailertraveler]

From Muskegon, work your way South to US-24. It will get you past Chicago and take you to Hannibal, MO (home of Samuel Clements). From there, you can continue South on US-61 (the Great River Road) to Saint Charles (where Lewis and Clark started their expedition) and Saint Louis or head West on US-36 to Kansas bypassing Kansas City before heading South to Hutchinson. Heading West from Hutchinson US-50, US-54, US-56 and US-400 are all good roads through Kansas. US-50/400 will take you into Colorado. US-54 or US-56 will take you farther South and you can pickup I-40 or take US-60 or US-64 across New Mexico.

[BlueFlame]

Definitely check out the dunes along the IN shore, and Holland MI.  If you have time to enjoy the trip I would recommend US highway 36.  We took if from just east of Denver all the way to IL.  Nice drive, not much traffic, see much more of the country.  If you do, check out Prairie Dog State Park and Marysville in KS.  The state park is a nice with big sites.  In Marysville they had a small park two blocks off the main drag where they allowed RV camping for free, with electric hookup!  We just planned to overnight but it was so nice we stayed for a few days, did some maintenance on the rig, etc.  We've been across the country several times and we always use the smaller roads when we have time, much more interesting.  Watch out for tolls around Chicago, they can be expensive in a big rig, you pay by the axle.

[VegasFlyer]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone!

[VegasFlyer]

12 hours ago, Jack Mayer said:

How about coming the "back way" through the mountains of UT and CO, then going out 70. You might even stop in and visit in Woodland Park. I promise to be nice. Might even smoke you some baby backs....

Way more interesting views.....

Thanks Jack, we might just wander through Woodland Park on our way East.

We will contact you as it gets closer to that time, which will probably be September 30th timeframe, give or take a day.

[Jack Mayer]

We close the end of September, but usually stay a few days. Blow out the water lines sometime around then before heading to the Rally. So if you decide to come this way let me know and I'll let you know what logistics are in-play.

[JPL]

VF  If you get this far East let us know! We are planning a trip to Vegas and I wonder why the hint to stay off of 40. We will be out there in mid to late Oct. Bad road or other reasons?  Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

[Pat & Pete]

1 hour ago, JPL said:

VF  If you get this far East let us know! We are planning a trip to Vegas and I wonder why the hint to stay off of 40. We will be out there in mid to late Oct. Bad road or other reasons?  Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

X 2 , What's the problem ? We'll be headed that way in the Fall , too . 

[trailertraveler]

On ‎6‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 9:35 PM, Rick & Alana said:

...I would do everything I could to stay off I-40 between Flagstaff and Williams...

 

5 hours ago, JPL said:

... We are planning a trip to Vegas and I wonder why the hint to stay off of 40...

 

3 hours ago, Pat & Pete said:

...X 2 , What's the problem?... 

While we have not driven I-40 between Williams and Flagstaff in a couple of years, the sections we have driven in Arizona and New Mexico have been typical of most interstates. Some rough sections, some construction areas. I-40 follows much of the route of Historic Route US-66 in New Mexico and Arizona and there are a number of things to see and do. Going West from Hutchinson, US-54 will take you to I-40 at  Tucumcari which still has dinners along Historic Route 66, numerous murals painted on buildings plus other attractions, like the wind generator training center, foundary and dinosaur museum at the community college. Santa Rosa is another Route 66 town and has the The Blue Hole and Santa Rosa Lake State Park which has a nice campground. In Albuquerque, the Pueblo Cultural Center and Petroglyph National Monument are worth visiting in my opinion. The Balloon Fiesta is scheduled for October 7-15. In Grants, there is the Mining Museum. Just South of I-40 going West from Grants are El Malpais National Monument, El Moro National Monument ],  El Malpais National Conservation Area , and the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano.  Acoma Sky City is said to be the longest occuppied location in the U.S. They give tours of the pueblo and there is an RV park next to the casino.

Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park are not far from the Arizona/New Mexico border Homolovi Ruins State Park is near Winslow where you can stand on the corner.

 

In the Flagstaff area are Sunset Crater National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut Canyon National Monument. Sedona/Camp Verde/Cottonwood are about an hour South of Flagstaff with Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument, Palatki and Honaki Ruins, V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Verde Canyon Railroad, Fort Verde State Park,  Cathedral Rock, Gold King Mine, Jerome State Historic Park in the area.

 

[JPL]

Rick & Alana    Our planned route for our western run was out over 40 for the balloon fest in Abq (5 days)and then on to Vegas and back to Williams. We would stay in Williams with day trips to The Grand Canyons. Suggestions?  Then Sedona, Phoenix,Tomestone, El Paso, Big Spring, Waco, San Antonio, Huston And then we start heading back to Ol Virgna. Recommended Points of Interest?    Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VegasFlyer]

We actually took an SUV back to Oklahoma City and back to pick up a new atv and trailer recently.  There are a few short areas, like that mentioned between Williams and Flagstaff that were not the greatest, but overall I-40 was not bad.

In our starting post, we are ,Ainsley curious about the roads coming out of Michigan and throughout Kansas.

[HERO Maker]

trailertraveler, Nice write up with Links!  That post is one to save,

[VegasFlyer]

12 hours ago, JPL said:

Rick & Alana    Our planned route for our western run was out over 40 for the balloon fest in Abq (5 days)and then on to Vegas and back to Williams. We would stay in Williams with day trips to The Grand Canyons. Suggestions?  Then Sedona, Phoenix,Tomestone, El Paso, Big Spring, Waco, San Antonio, Huston And then we start heading back to Ol Virgna. Recommended Points of Interest?    Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pat,

While you are in Williams, one excellent way to go see the Grand Canyon, is by way of the Train.  

Give us a holler if you venture toward Las Vegas.  We are actually over the hill to the West in Pahrump, but do go to the center of sin during the week.

[wtgeodog]

I'll second the train as a great way to see The Grand Canyon.

We also enjoyed a night at the El Tovar Hotel at the canyon.

 

ShortyO

[JPL]

Thanks for all of the help. We will get out there in Oct!   Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

[trailertraveler]

21 hours ago, HERO Maker said:

trailertraveler, Nice write up with Links!  That post is one to save,

Thanks for the positive feedback. I have a pretty extensive collection of links and write-ups for the places that we have visited and enjoyed since 2004. I try to provide as much information as possible to travel questions since they seem to seldom get the number of responses as say a question about "how do I fix X", "Where is the best domicile", etc. I have often wondered if it is worth the effort; so again, the positive feedback is appreciated.

Not sure how long this version of the forum keeps posts. In the past the archive seemed to only be for a couple of years. The write-ups can be copied and saved in Word and at least in the 2007 version I still use the links work.

[JPL]

TT    Thanks for all of the work you have done!  I shot a copy of your post and using it to help us plan the western run Right now it looks like 55 days on the road. Could change.Our second stop will be back to Deer Run in Crossville. I ask Kim how the Rally that was after us went and she told me they had a great time and scheduled for next year. Thanks again   Pat

'

 

 The Old Sailor

[Vegas Teacher]

On 6/4/2017 at 6:01 PM, VegasFlyer said:

 

As a disclaimer, we have no problem planning the route.  It is more a case of looking for interesting places to stop or places or routes to avoid.

You could always make a stop in Pittsburg (no H, yes that is the correct spelling) Kansas and see my parents. Also you would be very close to a huge truck stop in Joplin Missouri https://joplin44.com/

While in S.E.Kansas you could see the Quail farm and Whitmore strip pitts, go Dove hunting with my family on our land. You could take Jager tracking on my families farms - you don't even have to ask you just go. So of the special places to eat are Jim's steak house, Chicken Annie's or Mary's (both were on Restaurant Wars on the travel channel, Mary's won but I like Annies better.) Bob's Diner for breakfast by the middle school and the Mall Deli for lunch. John's Sport Center on North Broadway, is where I had one of my jobs. Pallucca & Son's Italian Grocery Store for the best Italian food around and Jim's steak house for dinner.

IF anybody out there wants to know what to do or where to go in Kansas let me know. That is my home state. The rally is about 3 hours from my home town. I lived there for the first 27 years of my life. I then taught in Stockton Missouri for two years before moving out to Vegas. I went to Pittsburg State University where I got my B.S. in Biology my teaching degree and my M.S. in Biology. I love Kansas but no where near the opportunities I found in Vegas.

 

[VegasFlyer]

1 hour ago, Vegas Teacher said:

You could always make a stop in Pittsburg (no H, yes that is the correct spelling) Kansas and see my parents. Also you would be very close to a huge truck stop in Joplin Missouri https://joplin44.com/

While in S.E.Kansas you could see the Quail farm and Whitmore strip pitts, go Dove hunting with my family on our land. You could take Jager tracking on my families farms - you don't even have to ask you just go. So of the special places to eat are Jim's steak house, Chicken Annie's or Mary's (both were on Restaurant Wars on the travel channel, Mary's won but I like Annies better.) Bob's Diner for breakfast by the middle school and the Mall Deli for lunch. John's Sport Center on North Broadway, is where I had one of my jobs. Pallucca & Son's Italian Grocery Store for the best Italian food around and Jim's steak house for dinner.

IF anybody out there wants to know what to do or where to go in Kansas let me know. That is my home state. The rally is about 3 hours from my home town. I lived there for the first 27 years of my life. I then taught in Stockton Missouri for two years before moving out to Vegas. I went to Pittsburg State University where I got my B.S. in Biology my teaching degree and my M.S. in Biology. I love Kansas but no where near the opportunities I found in Vegas.

 

Thanks for the write up VF, you need to get your priorities straight and get the time off to go to the rally in Hutchinson.

[Vegas Teacher]

10 hours ago, VegasFlyer said:

Thanks for the write up VF, you need to get your priorities straight and get the time off to go to the rally in Hutchinson.

Flyer,

Hey I wish I could go! However taking time off in the fall to do so is not possible. If they would move the rally to the week of Thanksgiving that would work because we now have a week long fall break just like a week long spring break. We could use Monday - Wednesday for the rally and I could travel over to see my parents for some turkey and make it back to school by Monday.