We've got a trip that's been planned since Dec/JAn to take my 87 year old farther in law from SE Michigan to near Kalispell Montana to see where his father ranched back in the teens and twenties. This is pretty much the last chance we'll get to do this. Due to Covid my 80 year old mother who is stuck here and can't get back to the UK so she's coming too. We're renting a mini van for people space and ease of entry and egress for an 87 year old who had a stroke last fall.
Ideally we'd punt another year, but at his age we don't want too. We thought that we'd have to cancel due to covid, but that's starting to calm down and stay at home / social distancing is starting to lift. Also the further West we get the lower the population density.
Due to my FIL's age we're going to take four days to get out there, rather than our normal cannonball approach. My biggest concern right now is rest stops and bathrooms. Here in Michigan basically all public restrooms have been closed since the start of lockdown. When I checked PILOT and Flying J websites the other day, both were saying their rest rooms were open for first responders and documented essential workers. Implying, but not stating, that they were closed to the general public. Here in Michigan I can't remember the last time I saw and open rest room. Trying to get info online from state websites is very confusing and not clear. So I'm here asking those in the states we're traveling through, are rest stops and gas station bathrooms open in your states, or will they be starting Friday June 26th?
Thanks for any pointers.
Though your trip does not go through Ohio, just to report a data point... I travel the Ohio Turnpike (toll road) often. The rest plazas are open including restrooms. The food court offerings are limited and they have removed the indoor seating. Net result, the places are functional with reduced amenities. There is no difficulty or hardship encountered crossing Ohio.
I would look into each states regulations right now, but a pro travel tip: The cleanest bathrooms you will find are going to be at Casey's gas stations.
With your trip a month away, things will probably change. Check with the states DOT to see if the hiway reststops are open. I was in OH-KY-TN-GA last week and they were open.
Currently Montana is saying all out of state visitors must quarantine for 14 days when they arrive. I don't know in practicality what that means. If they expect you to remain indoors for 14 days in a hotel? If they expect you to not interact with people except essential activities?
We have a multistate trip planned for a month from now. We are thinking it's going to get cancelled because there isn't a reason to expect we won't be able to perform it again in a year or so when things are more "normal". I understand why this isn't an option for you and think you are making the right call.
In reply to nocones :
Looks like the 14 day quarentine was lifted as of June 1st
In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :
Good news. thx
In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
I've always found the big Flying J and Pilots to be good too
In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :
I've tried, very unclear situation, that's why I was asking for boots on the ground reports. thx though
I like visuals. Is the blue line your intended route?
In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :
Close enough, although we'll probably head via, and stop the night in, Bozeman on the way in as it's 300 miles from Kalispell. The 'Museum of the Rockies' is there and It's an excellent museum with some really good dino's in it. My paleontologist daughter is friends with one of the curators she met a few years ago on a dig.
Being a summer trip, I would be more inclined to take the gray, Northern Route. Sure, it says it adds 2 hrs but I'll bet you loose 1 hour in Chicago traffic so it is really only 1 hour difference. The UP of Mich is back open and distancing is easy there, ha. That likely does mean less places to stop and I would recommend having firm hotel reservations assuring the hotel is open for business.
The south route give you the tourist attraction of seeing a major US City (Chicago). The north route gives the tourist attraction of seeing The Bridge and rural vast spaces of americana. Your choice.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:
Being a summer trip, I would be more inclined to take the gray, Northern Route. Sure, it says it adds 2 hrs but I'll bet you loose 1 hour in Chicago traffic so it is really only 1 hour difference. The UP of Mich is back open and distancing easy there, ha. That likely does mean less places to stop and I would recommend having firm hotel reservations assuring the hotel is open for business.
The south route give you the tourist attraction of seeing a major US City (Chicago). The north route gives the tourist attraction of seeing The Bridge and rural vast spaces of americana. Your choice.
As a Chicagoan who's parents live in the [Southern] Upper Peninsula, I would agree with everything here... Except that Chicago traffic is minimal right now. I kinda doubt it will change significantly in a month, as everyone who is able is working from home. As in, last week during "rush hour" on the Eisenhower, I was passed by at least 8 supercars in at least 3 groups all doing 90+.
We did it a few years ago. It looks like your hitting Route 2? I recommend it.
it was an awesome trip.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_2_in_Montana
No, we'll be going via Chicago, well Palatine, as my wife has a cousin there who we are great friends with and see several times a year (in normal times). We will be stopping there in the way out and back. Actually they will be stopping on the way back as I'm flying home on the 5th and they are staying a second week.
Still a great trip!
The middle states haven't been hit as hard and haven't been as strict. I predict easy travels but others will chime in.
In the early days of lockdown you heard stories of truckers having a hard time getting services.
Ohio did a short term, interesting thing. They gave free permits to health dept certified food trucks or carnival food vendors to open up and serve food at Ohio Hyw rest stops. The intent was to accomplish two things; food for truckers and customers (sales) for vendors.
Might I suggest taking interstate 90 on the way back? That way youll see a little bit more of the country on the way home. Maybe Mt. Rushmore or Crazy Horse. I have families in the area if you need assistance.
Maybe we can have a 6ft social gathering for Chicagoland. I'd like to meet you if that's possible. I'm sure others would as well.
Appleseed said:
Might I suggest taking interstate 90 on the way back? That way youll see a little bit more of the country on the way home. Maybe Mt. Rushmore or Crazy Horse. I have families in the area if you need assistance.
Maybe we can have a 6ft social gathering for Chicagoland. I'd like to meet you if that's possible. I'm sure others would as well.
Custer State Park and Devil's Tower are both not very far off that route as well and well worth the stop. I also find South Dakota to be less boring than North Dakota, though that isn't saying much. An added bonus to the I-90 route, you don't have to go through the Twin Cities and deal with that twisted maze of endless potholes.
RossD
MegaDork
6/5/20 8:04 a.m.
The area around the WI, MN, IA border is the driftless zone and has really pretty hills. If you skirt by on the interstate you dont quite experience. I am going to suggest crossing the Mississippi somewhere other than on the way to Minneapolis but more south.
Well how things change.
First my FIL is no longer coming. The doctor and social worker have said a big nope on him sitting in a car for so long as it increases the chance of him having another stroke. But we are still going with my mother, who's used to these long road trips with us. She already went to Florida with us back in Feb, which is why she's stuck here. She's been to Montana with us before, and Colorado several times. One small upside is we no longer need to rent a mini van, we'll take my Volvo wagon instead.
We've taken 90 across several times before, both to Yellowstone and Colorado so know it well. 94 across will be a first from memory, but I may have forgotten.
The biggest issue right now is my flight home. It was booked in Jan before all this. Kalispel to Denver, then Denver to Detroit. The thing is, it appears that one of my flights has changed and it's no longer possible to make my connection. I've spent, and I am not exaggerating here, over 5 hours on various phone calls to try and confirm / change the flight. United don't want to talk to me, they send me to who I booked it through. I've had several phone calls where I've been on hold for up too 1hour, 58 mins before the automated system simply hung up on me AGAIN. I'll keep trying.
I90 also gets you the Spam museum if that has reopened. I have nothing else useful to add but will second that Casey's General Stores were all very clean when we stopped out there.
