Long Drive

I just realized this would be a long frickin’ drive.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally dense. I knew it would be a solid block of driving. No matter how you cut it, Alaska to Massachusetts is a long way to go. I had let google tell me the most direct route, and it turned out to be some 3700 miles. I didn’t think much of it because it simultaneously claimed that it would be around 3 days of drive time. No biggie, we’ve got 10’ish days to make it happen.

Then, I just did the math. If we want to do a 10 day trek, we’re talking around 370 miles a day, or just around 6 hours of driving… Daily. I guess 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the evening isn’t too bad, but if we add in the rest stops, the waiting for traffic, etc, etc. These could be (potentially) 10 long days on the road.

I suppose it’s a good thing we’re aiming to get there a week before orientation so that we can get settled.

Another thing that I’ve been pondering is breaking off of the straight and narrow, and taking a dip down to Nebraska if we did that, I’d be able to introduce my lovely wife to some of my extended family in the area: Aunt Beverley, Uncle Oscar, and Grandpa Darrell. It’d be nice to stop by and enjoy some friendly faces, but to take that short detour, it adds some 600 miles to the trip, driving our daily dosage of road to just around 7 hours per day.

I’m sure I can do the meat-grinder driving approach… I’m not sure that I want to.

I guess I can put that decision off for some time… We don’t get on the ferry till August 22 or 23!

Here’s the comparative routes that I’m considering (click for biggie sized):

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6 Responses to Long Drive

  1. Brett says:

    Cody and Heather,
    Edelweiss and I just returned to Alaska, specifically Ketchikan, after being in Chicago for awhile. We drove both there and back and camped all along the way, and if you are interested in any tips for sightseeing and camping, just let me know. Reads like all is going well for you guys.
    Brett

    • cody says:

      Brett! I’ve been thinking about you lately as summertime ultimate is ramping up… Glad to hear you’re somewhat nearby. Be sure to look us up when you come through (or back to) town!

      As for tips, yes please! You may have insider info on the sights worth seeing and roads worth avoiding that will be invaluable to our travels. Drop us an email at the_bennetts(at)codyjbennett(dot)com and that will go to both Heather & I.

      Great to hear from you!

  2. Beverley Lundell says:

    Cody and Heather – would love to see you in South Dakota. An overnight visit in the Black Hills may bring back childhood memories as wll as give you a break from constant driving. Perhaps we could convince Grandpa Darrell and Uncle Oscar to come here. For you, its only 50 minutes back to Rapid City to get you on I-90 heading toward Chicago. Keep us in mind. Look forward to reading your blog as you begin your next adventure. Love to both of you, Aunt Beverley

    • cody says:

      Hi Aunt Beverley!

      Yes, I’d love to come down to visit. I know we’ll be driving back with a more open schedule next summer, but why put off a visit if we’re (relatively) nearby! Right now as we sketch together our possible route plans, we’ll be sure to keep you in mind (and updated) in the case that we want to take you up on the stopover!

      -Cody

  3. Barney Norwick says:

    A long drive indeed! I have traveled between Wisconsin and Alaska many times over the years and can make some suggestions about routes you may find interesting. I also found that 500 miles a day while driving along was about as much as I could handle comfortably. That would amount to 10 – 12 hours on the road and a very sore butt.

    • cody says:

      Hey Barney,

      I’m sure we’ll be talking more in person about the route we’ll take, but I figured the online response would be good too. 🙂

      One thing that we’ll have to make sure we’re managing through our travels is the fact that we’ll be in a stuffed subaru, so we’ll probably need to take regular (and long’ish) breaks to stretch the legs. Initially, I was thinking of doing a 3hrs in the morning and then 3hrs in the evening type driving with a mid-day adventure somewhere along the way… But we’ll likely also have the extended power-through driving sessions of a 1000 miles at a whack.

      I’ll keep in mind your tips about Jasper and Banff!

      -cb

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