2400 mile trip blog

[busypaws]

Day 3: Salt Lake to Cheyenne Wy. 460 miles or so. 52 mpg. I won't fill up till morning so I won't get the real mpg till next update. Slept in so did not get on the road till 8:30. Left for a shorter day then planned. First picture is out the windshield heading up the hill outside Salt Lake. I have not bought an Ice Scrapper yet (didn't carry any in the Target in San Jose). So first stop after picture cleared away more snow and tucked the windshield wipper back under the hood. Only lasted 5 minutes. Any car/truck passed had to run the wipper and it would not go back down untill I stopped. Few hours later got stuck in an instate closure. Sat on the Hwy 80 for 30-45 minutes with enigne off. Probably the only one with the engine off. Everyone else idling. Took picture of ice build up on car and line of traffic. Finally made it to Cheyenne. Took picture of reward. Next stop Omaha.

[SentraSE-R]

95 mph? No wonder you haven't reached your goal.

[slowmover]

Daylight is short. Not getting as many miles I thought --- adding an extra day to my plans.

Driving is never a video game, despite the beliefs of many . . just fill it and go. There is the assumption that all roads, signs, lighting, road surface, road services and traffic will be somehow seamless. The $$ cost to society make it appear so is tremendously high.

Building in a reserve ahead of daylight end (1.5 hrs) and planning to cover reasonable miles inside of that restriction is what works. Rest and good meals are worth more than another 75-150/miles.

Glad to read the other notes and observations. How are the winds? Steady, shifting, or . . ?

.

[busypaws]

Guess I better close this one out. Made it to Detroit on Monday 21st at 9pm. Total of the 5 tanks 50.3 mpg. I did not P&G as much as I thought. I spent more time listening to the books on CD then P&G. I learned I could not do both at the same time (and still be safe). I did not set any alarms at the hotels so I slept as much as I needed. That was good. I also stopped and "went" whenever I needed at an entrance/exit ramp. I did not wait (or plan) on the next rest stop. When I needed a bio break I did it on the next exit ramp and then got right back on. I had enough diet cokes, water to last the whole 9-10 hours a day. I filled up at the hotel breakfast bar every morning, snacked on fruit/cereal during the drive and then had a good meal in the evening. I've been driving a few days here in Detroit and have noticed a few things:
1) Need to put the passanger wipper back on. It rains/snows more here then in San Jose.
2) I can't EOC or shut off at long lights, I'm waiting for the front window to totally defrost before I EOC. I finally understand all you "Northerners" problems in the winter.
3) Covered parking a must here in Detroit at appartment. Electrical outlet will be a bonus.
4) Coroplast does not hold up under in lots of water. Lost both under engine coroplast sheets during drive. Also lost passanger side view mirror coroplast after a week in Detroit.
5) I'm debating on how much of my tools/parts I can put in my office while I search for an appartment. I want to get the weight out of the car but I know I'll have to carry everything back out, put in car, and then transfer to appartment.

Overall a good trip. I missed a few updates because the hotels did not have "free" internet and it takes some effor to get the pictures into a format that is "uploadable".
The 50.3 mpg is disappointing but that is running at a 5-10 mph below the posted speed and not P&G since I was listening to books on CD. (I listened to a Clive Custler and a Patterson book during the trip. I started another book but got bored after 5 hours and switched to Patterson).

[SentraSE-R]

50.3 mpg in snow, with lights, wipers, heater, & fan running isn't bad at all. Your 200% of EPA goal was just a goal. Glad to hear you made it safely. I guess coroplast isn't up to northern winters.

[slowmover]

50-mpg is always sweet, IMO. Glad the trip had no more drama than indicated. Good luck up there.