Advise me on driving from Chicago to Seattle with a 24' truck containing all of my belongings.

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Has anybody ever made this drive?
Should I just take I-90 all of the way? Even through mountains?
Badlands? Devil's Tower? Mount Rushmore? Wall Drug?
What is there to see in Bozeman & Billings?

Thanks for your help.

A Derek Erdman, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:12 (fifteen years ago)

gbx to thread?

jaymc, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:14 (fifteen years ago)

I-90 will generally get cleared through the mountains before some of the smaller roads, especially in WA over Snoqualmie Pass.

Jaq, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:18 (fifteen years ago)

Made this drive a few times from St. Louis to Seattle. What time of the year are you going? If it's any later than October, I'd stay south as it gets pretty snowy/sketchy during the winter. That said, it's a beautiful drive. I found that highway 80 to 84 to I-5 was the fastest (but that stretch of 80 is booooooring).

Darin, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:20 (fifteen years ago)

Leaving tomorrow at 5pm.

A Derek Erdman, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:21 (fifteen years ago)

I-90 would be the easiest way through the mountains. Wall Drug is def worth a stop. I haven't been to Mt Rushmore, but everyone I know who has was disapponted. Billings is pretty non-descript, but I thought the area around Bozeman was spectacular nature-wise, all craggy and rocky. Pretty sure there's a state park just before you drop down to Bozeman right off I-90, which I unfortunately didn't have time to check out. Not sure about other states around there, but Montana has no sales tax so it's good to stock up on snacks and whatnot for the final push.

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:22 (fifteen years ago)

Best advice I have to offer:

- It's perfectly OK to drive slower than everyone else, if you are driving at a speed you feel comfortable with.

Other than that, Mt Rushmore looks exactly how you would expect it to look, if you've seen North by Northwest. I liked the surroundings more than the sculpture.

Eastern Montana has little to offer in terms of sights, but it has some small towns that were stuck in amber in the 1940s and have changed but little since, except maybe the songs on the jukeboxes.

Western Montana has great mountains, and if you want to see them properly, you'll have to leave the Interstate for sure and just wander some. The Bitterroots seem like a nice spot to wander a bit.

Idaho? I don't know it.

Eastern Washington is full of scablands that were scoured by Noahic floods during the Ice Ages.

The Cascades in WA have few passes through them, so you'll be stuck with few choices. But if you stop and poke around some, there are many pretty byways - mostly on gravel logging roads though.

Aimless, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:25 (fifteen years ago)

Taking I-84 down the Columbia Gorge in OR is a pretty stunning alternative to I-90, but the stretch of I-5 up from Portland is meh unless the mountains are out (not likely this weekend, but maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday). Twin Falls ID isn't a bad place to stop off I-84; you can see the gorge Evel Knievel tried to jump.

Jaq, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:33 (fifteen years ago)

Evel Knievel even seems like an Erdman subject.

jaymc, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:58 (fifteen years ago)

Buy a big fucking lock. Keep an eye on your truck out your hotel room window all night long. Sleep while you're driving.

a Bud Light Chelada 22 oz. on a sort of a date (kkvgz), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:04 (fifteen years ago)

srs pro tip: if u havent driven a 24' straight truck much before, use the early part of the drive to get really familiar about how slowly you have to take cloverleafs and other sharp turns

gg eileen (jjjusten), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:04 (fifteen years ago)

yeah and dont go all balls out, pull over and sleep if you start getting a little drifty, its better than edging a wheel onto the soft shoulder

gg eileen (jjjusten), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:06 (fifteen years ago)

Big trucks respond differently to wind.

a Bud Light Chelada 22 oz. on a sort of a date (kkvgz), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:08 (fifteen years ago)

As in, you can really feel it pushing against you when you come down a breezy mountain pass or something.

a Bud Light Chelada 22 oz. on a sort of a date (kkvgz), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:10 (fifteen years ago)

Yes I have done this exact drive (in the opposite direction). It's fine. 90 is mostly a breeze. Those trucks really can't go more than about 60 at best and up mountains you'll be lucky to get up at 30 MPH. In such circumstances it's best to follow the example of the big rigs and stay to the right lest you have others angrily tailgating you.

I recall driving more or less from 8 - 8. Roadside motel vacancies were not always the easiest to find for whatever reason, so if you need to get off the road, plan an extra hour to find some place to land for the night.

Mt. Rushmore will likely be incredibly crowded, I'd avoid it considering the nightmare of nearly running out of gas trying to get there last time.

Basically as long as you're not towing a vehicle behind you, any side trip you plan on will be alot easier.

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:16 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah try get a motel parking spot that you can see from the room and is right near a lamp.

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Thursday, 2 September 2010 19:43 (fifteen years ago)

Thanks a lot, y'all. I am totally terrified about having everything stolen. I couldn't get an insurance company to cover my things in the truck & I'm hoping that they have some kind of insurance at the rental place for belongings. Though it would be kind of wonderful to lose every single thing I own. I'd just look down at my overnight bag and say: "oh". I've been to Rushmore, it was rather underwhelming.

A Derek Erdman, Thursday, 2 September 2010 20:53 (fifteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

So did you get here okay?

Jaq, Friday, 24 September 2010 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

How is it now? Are there jobs?

kkvgz, Friday, 24 September 2010 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

Huh, I did this from Minneapolis at almost exactly the same time, but in a Corolla.

clotpoll, Friday, 24 September 2010 16:57 (fifteen years ago)


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