Road Trip in my New Forester.
Jan 18th, 2020, 10:21 AM
#83
We're back! The car was great. Comfortable, breezed along beautifully. Sirius was worth the money, so was the wifi hotspot.
We ended up going from San Diego -Tucson (big rain storm as we approached Tucson)-Albuquerque (via I-25, which was a lovely drive with very little traffic. Hatch, NM is a pretty little town)-Amarillo (very windy)-Joplin-St Charles.
We stayed in La Quintas everywhere. They were all very good to great except the one in Joplin which was not great and I'd never stay there again. The navigation system in the car is very good. In Amarillo, we stayed in the new one at the east end of town. Very nice, great breakfast. It was so windy there, I thought our little 4 1/2 lb dog would take off like a kite! She didn't, but it was close! LOL!
I was surprised, but pleased, to see so many wind turbines along the I-40 in Texas and Oklahoma.
The day after we arrived in St Charles, it snowed 4-5 inches. Good timing! I used my car's remote start for the first time. Never need that in San Diego!
We had a really lovely visit, during which my DG had her tonsils and adenoids removed. What a huge difference! Went to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert in the Enterprise Center. Absolutely spectacular! If you haven't been to one of their shows and you have the chance, go. Magic House, City Museum, First Watch ( I wish we had that in San Diego!). Another standout was Gardenglow at the Botanical Gardens. Really fantastic, especially the Blizzard Cafe which served hot chocolate plain and spiked (heavily) three different ways.
The drive home went via Lake of the Ozarks to Broken Arrow where there is a very new La Quinta which is very good. Then on to Amarillo, stayed at the west end of town in a MyPlace. This was a mistake, not nearly a good as La Quinta for the same price and the elevator broke so we had to carry luggage down from the third floor. Next up, Albuquerque and the same La Quinta Midtown that we stayed in on the way out. There is a lovely restaurant almost across the road called the Range Cafe.
On to Flagstaff, which had snow the night before. All the roads were clear, the La Quinta parking lot was not, but my trusty car was fine. We stayed there for two nights and went to Sunset Crater and the Grand Canyon. It was magical driving around with all the snow on the ground. The trees were highlighted against it. On the way back to our hotel on the 180, we had our only snow delay. The road went down and around slightly to the right. All the traffic had stopped ( not many cars) and I couldn't see what the problem was, I assumed an accident, becaue the road was clear of snow up until then. Turned out that there was a large meadow or something around the bend and down and the wind had blown snow over the road. There was a police car there and the officer told me the snow was 12"-15" and as my car was AWD, I could go if I felt confident that I could do it. Well, I've never driven through snow that deep so I opted for waiting till the plow, which was on the way, arrived. I'm sure the car would have been fine, but the humiliation of getting stuck, if I did, would have been too much! Anyway, it was about another hour and a half before we were able to go on.
Overall, a great experience. My daughter LOVED it all and now wants to move to Flagstaff. Her stutter has gone, her memory is returning and her confidence along with it. So all is good. She was very sick for a few days in St Charles and I got pinkeye from somewhere. So we went to Urgent Care. She had allergies! I got antibiotic eye drops.
We ended up going from San Diego -Tucson (big rain storm as we approached Tucson)-Albuquerque (via I-25, which was a lovely drive with very little traffic. Hatch, NM is a pretty little town)-Amarillo (very windy)-Joplin-St Charles.
We stayed in La Quintas everywhere. They were all very good to great except the one in Joplin which was not great and I'd never stay there again. The navigation system in the car is very good. In Amarillo, we stayed in the new one at the east end of town. Very nice, great breakfast. It was so windy there, I thought our little 4 1/2 lb dog would take off like a kite! She didn't, but it was close! LOL!
I was surprised, but pleased, to see so many wind turbines along the I-40 in Texas and Oklahoma.
The day after we arrived in St Charles, it snowed 4-5 inches. Good timing! I used my car's remote start for the first time. Never need that in San Diego!
We had a really lovely visit, during which my DG had her tonsils and adenoids removed. What a huge difference! Went to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert in the Enterprise Center. Absolutely spectacular! If you haven't been to one of their shows and you have the chance, go. Magic House, City Museum, First Watch ( I wish we had that in San Diego!). Another standout was Gardenglow at the Botanical Gardens. Really fantastic, especially the Blizzard Cafe which served hot chocolate plain and spiked (heavily) three different ways.
The drive home went via Lake of the Ozarks to Broken Arrow where there is a very new La Quinta which is very good. Then on to Amarillo, stayed at the west end of town in a MyPlace. This was a mistake, not nearly a good as La Quinta for the same price and the elevator broke so we had to carry luggage down from the third floor. Next up, Albuquerque and the same La Quinta Midtown that we stayed in on the way out. There is a lovely restaurant almost across the road called the Range Cafe.
On to Flagstaff, which had snow the night before. All the roads were clear, the La Quinta parking lot was not, but my trusty car was fine. We stayed there for two nights and went to Sunset Crater and the Grand Canyon. It was magical driving around with all the snow on the ground. The trees were highlighted against it. On the way back to our hotel on the 180, we had our only snow delay. The road went down and around slightly to the right. All the traffic had stopped ( not many cars) and I couldn't see what the problem was, I assumed an accident, becaue the road was clear of snow up until then. Turned out that there was a large meadow or something around the bend and down and the wind had blown snow over the road. There was a police car there and the officer told me the snow was 12"-15" and as my car was AWD, I could go if I felt confident that I could do it. Well, I've never driven through snow that deep so I opted for waiting till the plow, which was on the way, arrived. I'm sure the car would have been fine, but the humiliation of getting stuck, if I did, would have been too much! Anyway, it was about another hour and a half before we were able to go on.
Overall, a great experience. My daughter LOVED it all and now wants to move to Flagstaff. Her stutter has gone, her memory is returning and her confidence along with it. So all is good. She was very sick for a few days in St Charles and I got pinkeye from somewhere. So we went to Urgent Care. She had allergies! I got antibiotic eye drops.
Jan 18th, 2020, 02:58 PM
#84
Welcome back and I assume you are home safe.
Did you take the I 40 from Flagstaff to get t home.?
Been to some of those places so I was mentally trying to figure out where you were when you mentioned a location.
Boy that is a lot of driving.
I have a cousin in Broken arrow Oklahoma.
Hope you are well rested now.
or 
Did you take the I 40 from Flagstaff to get t home.?
Been to some of those places so I was mentally trying to figure out where you were when you mentioned a location.
Boy that is a lot of driving.
I have a cousin in Broken arrow Oklahoma.
Hope you are well rested now.
or
Jan 18th, 2020, 03:36 PM
#85
Hi Percy! Yes, home safe, thanks. From Flagstaff we took I-17 south to Phoenix, then I-10 to I-215 South. I-40 is just a little bit longer and by then we both wanted to get home. Altogether, from when we left San Diego to when we got home, we went 4400 miles.
Jan 18th, 2020, 06:22 PM
#86
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Barbara,
i’m doing a somewhat similar drive late next week. I-55 from Chicago to I-44. Thru Joplin, Tulsa, ABQ, Phoenix, etc. End of the road is Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs. 3 days and 2,000 miles in an AWD BMW convertible. Do the reverse the first of May. Best parts of the trip are MO, NM and AZ.
i’m doing a somewhat similar drive late next week. I-55 from Chicago to I-44. Thru Joplin, Tulsa, ABQ, Phoenix, etc. End of the road is Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs. 3 days and 2,000 miles in an AWD BMW convertible. Do the reverse the first of May. Best parts of the trip are MO, NM and AZ.
Jan 18th, 2020, 07:58 PM
#87
Barbara,
i’m doing a somewhat similar drive late next week. I-55 from Chicago to I-44. Thru Joplin, Tulsa, ABQ, Phoenix, etc. End of the road is Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs. 3 days and 2,000 miles in an AWD BMW convertible. Do the reverse the first of May. Best parts of the trip are MO, NM and AZ.
i’m doing a somewhat similar drive late next week. I-55 from Chicago to I-44. Thru Joplin, Tulsa, ABQ, Phoenix, etc. End of the road is Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs. 3 days and 2,000 miles in an AWD BMW convertible. Do the reverse the first of May. Best parts of the trip are MO, NM and AZ.
Without a doubt those are the best parts. I used cruise control the whole way so all I really had to do was steer. I found big trucks were awful. They move out right in front of cars to overtake other trucks, very slowly. It really messes with the mpg! There was high wind between Oklahoma City and a bit west of Amarillo. That shouldn't be much of a problem for you, but even in my Forester I could feel it pushing the vehicle a bit. Not coincidentally, that's where the wind turbines are. Have a safe trip.
Jan 19th, 2020, 11:51 AM
#88
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They move out right in front of cars to overtake other trucks, very slowly.
Last edited by tom_mn; Jan 19th, 2020 at 11:54 AM.
Jan 19th, 2020, 01:04 PM
#89
Barbara, that is fantastic news about your daughter's progress -- I hope it is smooth sailing for her from now forward! You must be so heartened to see her improvement.
Sounds like your trusty Forester is a real road champ.
Enjoyed your trip report tho sorry to hear about the undignified round of pink eye.
I love love love the Range Cafe.
Sounds like your trusty Forester is a real road champ.
Enjoyed your trip report tho sorry to hear about the undignified round of pink eye.
I love love love the Range Cafe.
Jan 20th, 2020, 03:27 AM
#91
