Considering a redeye and a small plane - NERVOUS!!
Sep 18th, 2008, 05:06 PM
#41
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Well, I did decide to go with the earlier arrival time. Besides having to be up before the crack-of-dawn to get to the airport before my 6:30a flight, it just seemed like the wiser choice.
rkkwan - Even with the later arrival time of 4p, I would have twice as long to get to my son's game as what is quoted on Google Maps. It seems that Google Maps figures the times based on driving about 55 mph. I know that everyone has said to drive slower if there's snow, but is it possible that "slower" means driving slower than 30 mph? I'm not being sarcastic. I honestly don't know and thought that "slower" would just mean maybe 10-15 mph slower, not 25. Of course, I think I would get a feel for how fast/slow I should be driving for the conditions by following the flow of traffic and my own comfort, but I never considered that I might be driving THAT much slower.
rkkwan - Even with the later arrival time of 4p, I would have twice as long to get to my son's game as what is quoted on Google Maps. It seems that Google Maps figures the times based on driving about 55 mph. I know that everyone has said to drive slower if there's snow, but is it possible that "slower" means driving slower than 30 mph? I'm not being sarcastic. I honestly don't know and thought that "slower" would just mean maybe 10-15 mph slower, not 25. Of course, I think I would get a feel for how fast/slow I should be driving for the conditions by following the flow of traffic and my own comfort, but I never considered that I might be driving THAT much slower.
Sep 18th, 2008, 05:11 PM
#42
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Oh, rkkwan, I just reread your post and the "if...the snow is falling hard" part hit and stayed in the brain cells this time. So, my previous post doesn't make much sense as it relates to your post (please disregard). But, I actually am curious now just how slow one would typically drive while driving "slower".
Sep 19th, 2008, 06:49 PM
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Things may have changed in the years since I baby-sat missiles in that area, but at that time, some of the northern midwest states did not remove the snow from the roads; they just packed it down and trusted we had the skills to drive on top of it.
Plowing alone doesn't remove all the snow and ice, they need chemicals to do that. And the winds can recoat the roads in almost no time. Its true that ice can form at night, when the temperatures are lower, but it can also form during the day if it is cold enough, and I think the two most dangerous types of ice are invisible ice, or glare ice, which you don't see in either the night or day, and partially melted ice during the day, as a coating of water on top of the ice makes it slipperier than dry ice.
My advice to the inexperienced remains to take a taxi or van and let someone who knows that they are doing handle the driving.
As to speed, in inclement weather the police will be busy with other things, so there is little chance you will get a speeding ticket, so your best course would be to drive as fast as the car will go; that way you will spend less time on the road and there will be less time in which to have an accident!
Plowing alone doesn't remove all the snow and ice, they need chemicals to do that. And the winds can recoat the roads in almost no time. Its true that ice can form at night, when the temperatures are lower, but it can also form during the day if it is cold enough, and I think the two most dangerous types of ice are invisible ice, or glare ice, which you don't see in either the night or day, and partially melted ice during the day, as a coating of water on top of the ice makes it slipperier than dry ice.
My advice to the inexperienced remains to take a taxi or van and let someone who knows that they are doing handle the driving.
As to speed, in inclement weather the police will be busy with other things, so there is little chance you will get a speeding ticket, so your best course would be to drive as fast as the car will go; that way you will spend less time on the road and there will be less time in which to have an accident!
Sep 20th, 2008, 10:12 AM
#46
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Clevelandbrown, are you being serious? Drive as fast as the car will go so I'm not on the road as long? Sorry, but I don't think that is advice that I will be following. I wouldn't even do that at home on dry freeways on a clear day.
Sep 20th, 2008, 10:23 AM
#47
jlaughs, another benefit of the earlier arrival is that you will be driving in daylight.
As far as the speed goes, just see how fast other people are driving under conditions and realize that most are driving too fast. But don't be the slowest driver either.
As far as the speed goes, just see how fast other people are driving under conditions and realize that most are driving too fast. But don't be the slowest driver either.
Sep 20th, 2008, 08:36 PM
#48
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I sort of feel like an observer here, having found this post tonight. I live in Iowa, so some of the comments I find amusing. I totally understand your apprehension about driving in Iowa in the winter.
Most certainly expect snow. It could snow around your arrival/departure, and it couldn't. I suggest keep an eye on Iowa weather near to your flight time. Worse conditions to be aware of are when it is snowing hard, black ice, freezing rain, etc. Otherwise, we have snowplows with salt and sand and if you stick to the main roads, these roads are highest priorities. Twenty four hours after a snowfall looks very different than during snowfall. Pavement is usually fairly dry by then. However, pay attention to drifting snow across roads. You could be driving 55 mph down the interstate and conditions perfect - half a mile down the road, winds could be blowing snow across the road and creating icy patches. As someone said earlier, try not to break. Get a front wheel drive car (not a SUV, those ppl think they are invincible on interstates and usually the ones in the ditch ahead of you). Taking foot off gas helps. When you see a bridge coming ahead, think that it could be icy. Bridges ice over more than road does as there is not the heat below. Plan for WARM clothing, it could be 40 degrees above zero or -20 in January. People on interstates tend to drive too fast in winter, my opinion. Drive what you are comfortable, don't let the flow of traffic pressure you to drive much faster than you are comfortable. However, driving 20mph on dry road conditions is also unwise.
As someone else said, DM really isn't a touristy town in January. We do have a beautiful capitol building, complete with gold dome. If you plan on visiting here, check into a few things prior to your visit. I'd want to know hours of operation, what you can see inside, and most importantly how to get there and where to park. If I am correct, there are a lot of restricted parking areas. If it were just myself making this trek, I probably would be more concerned about getting to and from my destinations. If weather was nice and sunny, then I'd be more open to making side trips. I'm not found of driving in DM to begin with -- we do have some rush hour times as does any city. I suspect you would arrive at the DM airport, turn left out of the airport onto Fleur Drive. Drive a few miles until you reach I-235. Take I-235 east, exiting to I-35 north. Just outside of Ames you will see Highway 30. Take the Nevada exit, headed east on Hwy. 30 (this is a four lane road). Hwy 30 takes you to Marshalltown. If you take this route, you will have all main roads and unless there is a storm, the roads should be pretty clear. I personally would prefer to drive mid morning to early afternoon to avoid most traffic between DM and Ames/Ankeny area and this also gives road crews time to get main arterial roads open and clean in the daylight.
Most certainly expect snow. It could snow around your arrival/departure, and it couldn't. I suggest keep an eye on Iowa weather near to your flight time. Worse conditions to be aware of are when it is snowing hard, black ice, freezing rain, etc. Otherwise, we have snowplows with salt and sand and if you stick to the main roads, these roads are highest priorities. Twenty four hours after a snowfall looks very different than during snowfall. Pavement is usually fairly dry by then. However, pay attention to drifting snow across roads. You could be driving 55 mph down the interstate and conditions perfect - half a mile down the road, winds could be blowing snow across the road and creating icy patches. As someone said earlier, try not to break. Get a front wheel drive car (not a SUV, those ppl think they are invincible on interstates and usually the ones in the ditch ahead of you). Taking foot off gas helps. When you see a bridge coming ahead, think that it could be icy. Bridges ice over more than road does as there is not the heat below. Plan for WARM clothing, it could be 40 degrees above zero or -20 in January. People on interstates tend to drive too fast in winter, my opinion. Drive what you are comfortable, don't let the flow of traffic pressure you to drive much faster than you are comfortable. However, driving 20mph on dry road conditions is also unwise.
As someone else said, DM really isn't a touristy town in January. We do have a beautiful capitol building, complete with gold dome. If you plan on visiting here, check into a few things prior to your visit. I'd want to know hours of operation, what you can see inside, and most importantly how to get there and where to park. If I am correct, there are a lot of restricted parking areas. If it were just myself making this trek, I probably would be more concerned about getting to and from my destinations. If weather was nice and sunny, then I'd be more open to making side trips. I'm not found of driving in DM to begin with -- we do have some rush hour times as does any city. I suspect you would arrive at the DM airport, turn left out of the airport onto Fleur Drive. Drive a few miles until you reach I-235. Take I-235 east, exiting to I-35 north. Just outside of Ames you will see Highway 30. Take the Nevada exit, headed east on Hwy. 30 (this is a four lane road). Hwy 30 takes you to Marshalltown. If you take this route, you will have all main roads and unless there is a storm, the roads should be pretty clear. I personally would prefer to drive mid morning to early afternoon to avoid most traffic between DM and Ames/Ankeny area and this also gives road crews time to get main arterial roads open and clean in the daylight.
Sep 20th, 2008, 09:57 PM
#49
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Wow Sunnyshine, thank you for all the info. I will definitely be going to the capitol building and taking the tour. I have a "thing" about touring capitol buildings. Des Moines will only be my 7th, but that's mostly because all the capitals on the west coast are so far away from each other. I'd like to someday visit all the US state capitals and tour all the capitols.
Well, keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have horrible weather while I'm there. I'm looking forward to the trip and the whole experience.
Thanks!
Well, keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have horrible weather while I'm there. I'm looking forward to the trip and the whole experience.
Thanks!
Sep 20th, 2008, 11:51 PM
#50
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I found some info regarding the capital tour:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/Tour/index.html
Enjoy your trip to Iowa!
Sunny
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/Tour/index.html
Enjoy your trip to Iowa!
Sunny
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