Gribblenation

Wyoming and South Dakota were amazing - but now it's time to head back to North Carolina with two long days of driving ahead. Day 7 Route: I-180, I-80, I-74, local roads to Champagne, IL. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 7 Day 8 Route: I-74, I-465, I-65, I-64, I-75, I-40, US 25/70, I-240, I-40, NC 16, I-485, Home. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 8 Friday, Day 7, was a true go as far as you can in as little time as you can.  The plan was to take two days to get back to Charlotte plus time for Joe to drive the three and a half hours to Wilmington on Saturday evening.   We left at around 5:30 am and finally traveled the infamous Interstate 180 to I-80 to start going west.  Since it was dark, no photos, which I know to some in the roadgeeking hobby is probably a good thing.   We did, however, catch a pretty nice sunrise in Western Nebraska. Snow flurries in Omaha - Somewhere in the Middle of America Interstate 80, as we discussed earlier, ...

The third day of the trip was across Interstate 80 from Lincoln, NE to Cheyenne, WY.  With it being a little over a six-hour drive, there was more time to make a few stops. Route: Interstate 80 with a brief dip into Colorado on I-76, US 385, and US 138. Photo Set on Flickr: Wyoming Road Trip Day 3 Interstate 80 is a long and at times tedious drive.  Throw in a dreary, windy, early November Monday - it can be boring.  However, there are a few ways to make it more enjoyable. The first is in Kearney - where what appears to be a giant covered bridge crosses over I-80.  This "bridge" is the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument .  Opened in 2000, the 310-foot "arch" celebrates early settlers and pioneers who traveled along the Platte River westwards towards Oregon, Utah, or California.  The living history then transitions to the early and mid-20th Century celebrating the automobile and the Lincoln Highway. Doug has done a lengthy feature on the Archway - and ...

In September, when my wife told me that I could use my extra week of vacation to go on a road trip, I at first was surprised.  But then, I started trying to figure out where to go and what to see.  It was too late to plan something for October, and I really wanted to go west.  I decided on Wyoming - specifically Cheyenne.  From Cheyenne, I would visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore, and also Devils Tower.  I invited my friend Joe to go along with me. Day 1: Charlotte, NC to Mt. Juliet, Tennessee: Route: I-485, NC 16, I-40 Photo Set on Flickr - Wyoming Road Trip Day 1 We traveled just over six hours on this day - this allowed us to break up the trip out over three days but also to see more on the way out.  While Day One was not big on sightseeing - there was some great fall scenery in Eastern Tennessee and the North Carolina mountains. The color was great!  And it was an easy drive to the hotel for the night jus...