Best California to Wisconsin driving route?

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sensibleS13driver
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Goals:

Fuel efficiency

No snow in early December is a must (is this possible?)

Cool brief sightseeing

3g coverage would be cool for sanity haha

Where are the best sleep stop points?

Dare I stray from I-80?


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nissangirl74
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You weren't specific about start and end points. Here's a general idea.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1s=ca&2s=wi

No snow? Good luck

sensibleS13driver
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Haha, ok I asked for that.

Snow is the primary concern then. Is there any route to northern WI that is sports car friendly (passable)? Is 3 weeks from today already putting me into a dangerous window?

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BusyBadger
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Since you didn't specify start and end points I ran one from LA to Madison, WI.

You can always drag the waypoints if you need to change the departure & destination. I already changed the default Google route by not having you drive through Utah and Colorado. You still might see some snow driving through Flagstaff and Albuquerque, but a lot less (with a much lower chance) than going through the heart of the Rockies.


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Since you are from CA, and going to Wisconsin in Dec and 'trying to avoid snow'... .I wouldn't even attempt this. Snow will pwn you. Do you have experience driving in snow? I'd roll out on snow tires to be safe.

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Bubba1
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Kinda hard to make recommendations with so little info.

Want fuel efficiency:, take the most direct route, preferably on an interstate with the cruise control on. Boring but effective.

No snow in December: if you're that afraid of snow, perhaps you should fly there and rent a car or postpone the trip til May. You might get lucky with weather, but there's no guarantee mother nature will cooperate.

Cool brief sightseeing: depends on how much time you want to invest in doing it and how far out of route you're willing to go to see those sights.

Best sleep points. Depends on how fast you want to make the trip and how much you are willing to spend per night.


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IanS
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Hahahahahah

Good luck with the no snow thing. I dont know what part of WI you are going to, but they could easily have 6 inches of snow next week, not to mention half way through December.

This brings me to my final question. Why would you want to drive a sports car, or anything for that matter, into the aweful land of WI?

sensibleS13driver
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I was considering going to hibernate for the winter. I figure I would want my car when I wake up. Sounds like an even worse idea than I had previously imagined!

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IanS
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sensibleS13driver wrote:I was considering going to hibernate for the winter. I figure I would want my car when I wake up. Sounds like an even worse idea than I had previously imagined!
What part of WI, and why?

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nissangirl74
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sensibleS13driver wrote:I was considering going to hibernate for the winter. I figure I would want my car when I wake up. Sounds like an even worse idea than I had previously imagined!
We really need more detailed information to help you better. Where are you, where are you going, when are you leaving, when do you want to return?

sensibleS13driver
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Last edited by sensibleS13driver on Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PEZi
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snow is sports car friendly... just don't be a poon! oh... and do not attempt to drive through any state that might have snow on summer tires

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nissangirl74
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Simplify your life man.

Expedia.comSan Francisco to Green bay, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. $137 one way. Borrow a friend or family member's car while you are there(preferably one you can have some fun in). 6 hours, 5 minutes with one layover in Minneapolis. Easy, breezy.

http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll

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Bubba1
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sensibleS13driver wrote:San Francisco to Green Bay. If it is possible I'd like to leave ASAP after Thanksgiving. I'm sure I would be begging to come back as soon as the roads allow in the Spring. I would be staying with family, and it would be a way to make myself buckle down for some school stuff or go insane. Maybe both.

I was thinking the road trip aspect would make it more enjoyable. Otherwise I probably wouldn't subject myself to such meteorological masochism.
Well, by car, it's about 33 hours non stop driving each way over Thanksgiving weekend with unpredictable weather. That's pretty tough, so Add in at least one hotel stop each way and you're talking literally 4 days of your vacation driving excluding recovery time at both ends. Compare that to a 4-6 hour jaunt in a jet arriving in the frozen tundra of Green Bay fresh and ready to party.

I think the novelty of driving a sports car that far will wear off before you hit Colorado. If the aim of your trip is to visit family, I'd recommend flyng to maximize quality time with them.

But if you're determined to do a road trip of that magnitude, I'd suggest renting a full sized luxury sedan and bring a fun attractive co-pilot.


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I once drove from chicago to phoenix and it was quite a nice drive, but that was in june.

if you really wanna do this, get some snow tires first, your really gonna need them especially if you've never driven in snow before (or in a long time)

oh and anfernee, i've had the same set of summer perormance tires on my DA for 3 years and that's including 3 winters wtih them....not fun at all but i manage, it's people in suvs with snow tires that i worry about.


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