Great American road trip: Wisconsin curds and Georgia O’Keefe

by Jamie Rhein on

Even when whizzing through a state on the way to somewhere else, it’s possible to make observations. One can discover something new or remember a detail known, but forgotten.

As I am writing this, we are whizzing through Wisconsin on our way to Minneapolis after a night at La Quinta Inn in Madison. This is one leg of our road trip to Montana. No time on this leg for stops–except to pee and fill up on coffee and gas. We’re on a schedule with people to visit by dinner.

Still, I want Wisconsin to have more impact than the breakfast we had this morning which was just like the breakfast we had at a La Quinta in Denver two summers ago.

La Quinta Inns might be the same everywhere, but I’ve noticed a difference in barns. In Ohio, where I live, most I’ve seen are white. In Wisconsin, red seems to be the most common. I’ve also thought about the cheese curds that I bought near Wisconsin Dells three years ago when we also took this route. We didn’t have time to linger back then either.

At a rest area stop this afternoon, I picked up a brochure for Sun Prairie, the birthplace of Georgia O’Keefe. Sun Prairie is not far from where we are at the moment. Her grandparents who were Irish immigrants who settled here in 1848. O’Keefe was born in 1887 and grew up not far from her grandparent’s farm. According to the brochure, O’Keefe’s family’s house burned down in 1976, but there is a historic marker in its place. The town also has celebrations in her honor.

As we’re whizzing through Wisconsin, I’m noticing the scenery and can see why O’Keefe might have been attracted to New Mexico where she spent years painting the desert. Although Wisconsin’s land is covered with green lushness, the shape is similar to many of the hills in the Southwest. There is a craggy quality. Peel off the trees and you could be at the back of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque. Wisconsin and New Mexico are like the yin and yang of landscape.

Years ago, a woman I knew who lived in Albuquerque said she was moving back to Wisconsin, her home state, because New Mexico was too frightening and harsh because of its lack of trees. Wisconsin is like a mother, she said-with fewer sharp edges.

I’ve heard people from the desert who live in the Midwest speak of feeling boxed in and smothered by trees. They miss the vistas.

As we flew by the Dells’ exits, my son salivated over the water parks. Every hotel seemed to have one. “Can we come back sometime?” he wondered.

“Yeah, maybe.”

He’s heard a lot of maybes. Fortunately, hotel water parks are not particular to Wisconsin’s scenery. I sure wish we had found the time, though, to stop for those cheese curds.

Hedge your gasoline purchases with MyGallons

by Grant Martin on

I was JUST thinking about this on the ride in this morning when I passed the Shell station at the corner of Platt and Ellsworth when I saw regular fuel at $4.25 a gallon: “Man, I wish I could buy gas at today’s price tomorrow”.

That’s basically what oil futures are: speculators decide that they think the price of oil is going to rise, invest in futures and watch their money go through the roof. More people make money, more speculate and the price goes up. It’s the phenomenon that many economists think is leading the surge in oil prices today, beating out real market supply and demand economics and essentially crushing our transportation infrastructure.

The theory is identical to what Southwest Airlines did. Back when oil was at believable prices, that airline decided to hedge their oil purchases and lock in prices at the past rate of $51/barrel. Now that fuel is at over $140, they’re making a killing over other airlines.

Now, with gasoline at $4.25 a gallon, you can purchase as many gallons as you want at that price with MyGallons.com and watch the market fluctuate independent of your fuel consumption. If gas keeps surging to $5.00 a gallon? You’ve just saved a bunch of money. If it drops to $2.50 again? You’re out.

Based on how many gallons you buy, the service sends you a “debit” card that lets you purchase as much fuel (per gallon, not dollar) as you have stored up.

The crux of your investment is on where you think the price of the oil is going to head. If you, like many others, think that the price will keep going up, now might be a good time to buy your MyGallons card before your summer road trip.

Subscription to the MyGallons service ranges from $30-$40 per year, but if gas keeps going up that will be a drop in the bucket compared to what you could save.

3 men, 1 van and 48 states in less than 120 hours

by Jamie Rhein on

This morning, when there was one woman (me) in one car (a Toyota Corolla) going along 3 streets in 5 minutes on my way to teach a class, I heard about these 3 guys who are in a car traveling this week to all 48 states in the continental U.S. They’re not traveling through each state, but are at least crossing borders to say they’ve been in each one.

One of the guys, Joshua Keeler, was being interviewed on the radio about the trip. Originally, years ago, this was going to be his father’s trip. His dad, James, had mapped out the journey, but James’ mother’s death kept him from going. Joshua got hold of the maps and corralled his two friends Joey Stocking and Adam Gatherum to go along with him on this journey they are calling, “The Great American Road Trip.” There is an attempt to break the Guinness record for a similar trip, although, Guinness no longer keeps such records for road safety sake.

This morning the trio was in South Dakota. They started in Vermont on Sunday, and tomorrow they will end their trip at Four Corners, the spot where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet. You can see the path these three took and get more details about them at their Web site greatamericanroadtrip.us

Keeler said they are eating a lot of cold canned soup and snack packs. There really isn’t any time to stop except for gas and to use the toilet. They’ve noticed a 50 cent fluctuation in gas prices and have found that their 2005 Toyota Scion is perfect for the journey.

Here’s the route they’re taking.

Another reason why flying is frustrating and driving is a plus

by Jamie Rhein on

When I lived in Albuquerque, going to New York to visit family meant flying there. It’s too far to drive for a quick trip. Then, when I moved to Singapore from Albuquerque, flying was a definite must. The first time I visited New York after moving to Ohio, my brother asked me in a phone conversation, “So what time is your flight?”

‘We’re driving,” I said.

“Oh, that’s right. It seems weird that you’re driving.”

It did seem weird, but what a relief to not be rushing out of the house to try to catch a flight. When the car is loaded, we go. If we forget something and remember it by the time we get to the highway, we go back and get it. If we leave by 9 a.m., we arrive (with stops for a sit down lunch and gas) about eleven hours later. Along the way, we can see where we are going and know what has passed behind us.

There is such freedom in driving knowing that one can control time variables–unless of course, there is road construction or a wreck that slows down progress.

My dad about an upcoming trip that has reminded me, once again, why we’ve decided to drive to Montana this summer. In May, my dad is flying to Albuquerque from New York on a vacation, and he just received notice from Delta that his 6:40 a.m. flight is now at 6:00 a.m. His new departure time means a three-hour wait in Atlanta. As he said, “You can’t count on airlines when you’re making plans.” Because he has to drive a couple hours to the airport, this earlier flight is not welcome.

The unforeseen travel circumstances because of flying is one reason we’re getting our car tuned up and relying on our own volition to go from point A to point B during our summer trip. Flights have gone up in cost. Baggage costs more and delays are almost guaranteed. The past two years, we’ve flown, but it doesn’t seem worth it.

One beauty of driving is that we get to choose the places we may want to hang out for three hours or so to break up the scenery. My choice is an historic site over an airport. We’ll depart when we leave, and we will arrive when we get there. We can chose our route. Simple. We don’t charge extra for more luggage either.

The thing about driving, though, is that you have to have enough time to get there. We have the time and have friends we can stay with along the way to cut down on motel costs. Sometimes, you have to fly. In that case, make sure you check your departure time. It may be earlier than you think.

Check Flight Arrivals.com. It’s a Web site that lists the commercial flight schedules in the U.S. and Canada.

Trip to and from a funeral: White knuckle road

by Jamie Rhein on

We’ve written posts about dastardly roads before. (Martha’s, Justin’s , Willy’s, Mine) Many are windy, narrow ones that snake around mountains. One of my worst stretches of road, I’ve decided is I-75 between Lexington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. I drove along a several mile unlit portion of the highway after dark, not once but twice (!)this past weekend.

A relative of mine died earlier in the week, and with the funeral south of Hazard, I corralled my daughter into this impromptu road trip. With a full day of things that needed to be done on Saturday, we left Columbus at 5:30 PM for a night at my aunt and uncle’s house in Lexington, Kentucky in order to make it to the Sunday funeral. No problems until we reached south of Florence. Northern Kentucky is fairly populated with many exits. There is a sense that people are tucked in their homes not too far away–plus the road is straight and easy to follow. Then, about the I-71, I-75 split with I-71 heading to Louisville and I-75 continuing to Lexington, the scenery changed and I began to wonder where every one went. It didn’t help that it was pouring rain, and the road, from what I could see of it, started to have curves. Each curve seemed to come up at the last second before I needed to turn the wheel to not go careening off into a field or forest. I don’t know which; I couldn’t see.

Without many cars out on a Saturday night, there weren’t any tail lights to use as markers to locate where I was heading. I kept thinking that certainly Kentucky couldn’t be that broke of a state that there weren’t enough funds to do a better job showing the edge of the road. Guard rails were also few and far between. The numerous deer crossing signs reminded me to be on the alert for Bambi or his mother. I kept thinking about the news articles I’ve read lately about the number of cars that hit deer this time of year.

When we finally reached my aunt’s and uncle’s house, after I unclenched my fingers from the steering wheel, I was so happy to drink that glass of wine they offered me, that I had two. The funeral was worth the trip, but when I reached that stretch of road going the opposite direction back to Columbus, in the dark and pouring rain–with some fog mixed in, I envisioned a glass of wine waiting for me at the other end.

If Kentucky, or any other place with unlit roads wants to help drivers feel a bit more relaxed after dark, there is a solution. At Intelligent Traveler there is a story about Astucia SolarLite road studs in Great Britain that are solar powered panels that light up at night. From the picture they look a bit like bicycle reflector lights. It seems to me that on major highways in particular, having some method to light the roads is worth the expense.

The photo of the deer with a red blinking light was taken by Kate Shepard and posted on Flickr. She lives in Austin, Texas where someone was putting Rudolf noses on signs. It kind of fits the season, and the post, so there you have it.