Road Trip East to West.

[Jeepedo129]

Thanks for the input guys. We'll be headed out here on the 29th and hopefully be in Utah by the 1st or 2nd. We've decided to take I-80, the wife wants to see a couple thing along the highway, like the Antique Shop from the history channel there in Ohio I believe. Also, we have some friends in Lincoln, NE that we want to stop and say hi to along the way. Ill do a trip report once we land in Utah, But for now I need to fix a couple things on the jeep in preparation for the Journey. :cheers:

 

[Cottontail]

The antique shop is in LeClaire Iowa, just over the Mississippi River bridge in from Illinois

 

[Jeepedo129]

oh i gotcha, if i remember right it's not too far from I-80 either.

 

[md21722]

I would take I-70 and I-40/I-81.

I-70 will go through Saint Louis, Kansas City, Denver, and through what most people think of Colorado - Breckenridge, Vail - through Glenwood Canyon, and in Utah you're not far from the Moab (south of Green River), the San Rafael Swell (105 miles of no services and some of the most beautiful scenery ever).

I-40/I-81 will take you past the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Petrified National Forest, Amarillo, Memphis - Nashville - Knoxville in TN and Roanoke, Staunton, Lexington, Harrisonburg - VA, ... includes great BBQ, country music, honky tonks, blues, the Smoky Mountains, and the Blue Ridge. You might even consider heading a bit farther east on I-40 into Asheville and then either coming up I-26/I-81 or I-85/I-95. If you have enough time I would head straight out to the coast and hit up Charleston, SC.

 

[techno1154]

I would take I-70 and I-40/I-81.

I-70 will go through Saint Louis, Kansas City, Denver, and through what most people think of Colorado - Breckenridge, Vail - through Glenwood Canyon, and in Utah you're not far from the Moab (south of Green River), the San Rafael Swell (105 miles of no services and some of the most beautiful scenery ever).

I-40/I-81 will take you past the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Petrified National Forest, Amarillo, Memphis - Nashville - Knoxville in TN and Roanoke, Staunton, Lexington, Harrisonburg - VA, ... includes great BBQ, country music, honky tonks, blues, the Smoky Mountains, and the Blue Ridge. You might even consider heading a bit farther east on I-40 into Asheville and then either coming up I-26/I-81 or I-85/I-95. If you have enough time I would head straight out to the coast and hit up Charleston, SC.

Some really nice routes and sceneries you have listed there. I have done most of them over the past 20 years at one time or another from New Mexico/Colorado going East including South from Florida to North as far as Vermont.

 

[Jeepedo129]

That does sound like awesome way to go, but with us wanting to hook up with some friends in Lincoln NE, and a couple spots my wife wants to see, we're going to jump on I-80 and head west. However, this won't be the last time we make this drive, so the next time we make the journey west, I think we'll have to swing south to I-40

 

[Cottontail]

When you do that I-40 run give me a shout and we'll get some good BBQ in Nashville.

 

[Jeepedo129]

Ahh hells yeah, I love me some good BBQ.

 

[Jeepedo129]

Well, I am Pleased to report the road trip was a success. Jeep made it the whole way with no issues( until the end) as well as the wife and the 6 month old.

I took a bunch of pictures, but we did more than what I have shown.

Trip report:

Friday, May 29th

Jeep is packed and ready to roll.

We head west on I-84 into New York and crossed the Hudson River then on to Pennsylvania to merge onto I-80

New York and Pennsylvania are beautiful, but don't offer much to see because of the dense woods around the roads.

We made it into Cleveland, Oh around 11pm that night and crashed at a cheap Motel 8.

 

[Jeepedo129]

Saturday, May 30th

Woke up and got a Grand Slam breakfast from Denny's, then took a small detour up north to Lake Erie.

We played on the beach and stuck our toes in the water. (Still a little cold) couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.

Drove through the beautiful farm lands of Indiana. That's pretty much all to see there. Haha

From there we drove on to Chicago. The wife wanted to see the city and have herself a Chicago hot dog. Unfortunately we landed in Chicago right at the worst time, 4pm, plus add a down pour on top of that. So we didn't make it too far into Chicago.

This was the best shot I could get of the skyline.

Paid more money to the good state of Illinois than any other state we drove through.

Next we drove on and crossed the Mississippi and into Iowa. There're stopped and visited the American Pickers store, Antique Archyology and got some grub for our bellies.

Took a shot next to the Mississippi, thought it was a cool picture

From there we got a little crazy, the plan was to stop in Des Monies for the night, but we had an old friend invite us to stay in Lincoln, Ne. So, we bucked up and drove the extra 5 hours to Lincoln. Haha we're crazy.

 

[Jeepedo129]

Sunday, May 31st

We stayed in Lincoln for the day and rested, visited with old friends, and had more to eat.
My buddy works for Duncan Aviation and he took us on a tour of their facility. I must say it is a ver clean and modern overhaul facility.

From there, there's really nothing to report. If you've ever driven through Nebraska, or Wyoming, there is not much to talk about haha.

Monday, June 1st
Snapped a quick shot of the Utah sign. We made it!

.

After the 2700 mile journey across the country,we rejoiced to be back in Utah. We spent the next couple days having fun with family and friends.

The wife shot her first gun.

A little low, but not bad for her first time.

 

[Jeepedo129]

Then we did what I wanted to do since the beginning of the trip, Jeeping!

We took a drive up American Fork Canyon. It was a beautiful day, and the canyon was awesome. Went up to forest lake and hung out for a couple hours driving RC cars and planes.

Got some glamour shots of the jeep too.

All in all this was an awesome trip, and I want to thank all those who chimed in and offered advice, ideas and even your hospitality. atriot: just another reason I love the jeep community.

 

[Original_MudButt]

Where's the "like" button for this?

Beautiful Jeep BTW. What was the issue at the end?

 

[Jeepedo129]

Sorry for the late reply, Thank you much for the compliments.

I guess I didn't mention the issue I had. Coming down into the salt lake valley I noticed my temp started creeping up. I attributed it to warmer temps and steep grades, but later found out that my aux fan had given up. So I had to drop 80$ on a new one from Napa. I also noticed my exhaust from the muffler back had cracked and was rattling around, so next time I'm out in Utah I'll have to get that fixed. Other than that it was an awesome trip, I can't wait to go back and do some more jeeping. :thumbup: