I think I tried to do too much in the nice weather. It was not as warm as I thought it was and now I have a head cold. Oh well, I had a couple of good days. I should be firing on all cylinders by the weekend.
So I think I will play around with my travel plans.
To start off, my first destination is Albuquerque, NM. My sister moved out there last June and I would like to see the house. But I think I want to break up the trip into several legs. I don't want to drive the 2200 miles in one long stretch. A good rule of thumb I've learned is planning the distance and time using an average of fifty miles per hour. Now I'm not saying I'm going to drive fifty miles per hour, this number works well because it takes into account the stops you have to make and potential traffic. It has worked very well for me even when the local speed is upwards of seventy-five mile per hour. It's not exact but it is very close.
So using this rule I can now decide how long I want to drive in one day. I used to be able to drive a strait sixteen hours with little problem, but now I get more fatigued faster so I will keep the legs to a maximum of eight hours. So using math I can calculate that my longest distance traveled with no interruptions will be four hundred miles in an eight hour leg.
In the past I would get out my truckers atlas and compass and swing an arc set at four hundred miles. But now with all the computer gadgetry available I can run a search at the four hundred mile mark and see what is in that area of the country.
One word on electronic gadgets, they are best invention since sliced bread except when they fail. So I still keep an up to date truckers road atlas in a safe place. I get the truckers atlas because it has more detailed maps and the pages are laminated to keep it from getting ruined.
So I look up the radius from my start point and since I'm taking the upper route (Int. 90) my first stop will be in Buffalo, NY.
I don't plan on doing any sightseeing there so I will just camp out at one of the rest stops. I will be hopping on Int. 71 in Cleveland, OH. and then changing to Int. 70 in Columbus. For those of you not familiar with the OH state police, here is some friendly advice, DON'T SPEED. I used to curse the fact that they are so strict but now days I don't see the need and I have respect for the OH State police for keeping their roads safe.
I will try to find an RV park near Richmond IN. My only prerequisite for a camp ground is internet access, preferably wi-fi. I've been to some places that say the have internet access only to find that it's an old 386 on a modem. I need wi-fi. Luckily there are a lot of hot spots around and if the campground doesn't have it I'm never too far away from an access point. A lot of coffee shops and fast food dives have this feature.
I located a KOA park in Richmond called Deer Ridge Camping Resort (I'm planning and looking up this stuff as I write this.) I will make a note of this and call them later.
The other prerequisite is a pull through spot. I don' want to do any off-roading with my RV. Some of the campgrounds I'm looking up are also open year round so it may be a little cheaper in the off season.
I'm going to take Int. 70 to St.Louis MO where I will change to Int. 44.
There are a few campground near the town of Rolla, MO. so I will have to take some time later to go through them.
The next leg will take me to Oklahoma City, OK. and I will stay there a for a day.
The last leg of the trip may be a little farther than 400 miles but Albuquerque, NM isn't much past my preset distance, I can always stop at a rest stop along the way.
Now to run the numbers, total miles driven, RV park costs, gas and a breakdown fund.
Ok, here are the numbers:
Total Miles: 2281
Stops: 4
Days: 5
Gas: $1150.00 @ 8 Miles per gallon
Camp Fees: $400.00
Food: $150.00
Emergency Fund: $1500.00
Total expenses for the trip: $3200.00
Once I get to Albuquerque I will look for some part time employment to subsidize my funds. I don't have any idea of how long I will be there but I know I will be exploring the NM, AZ area. I have no plans of visiting CA or CO.
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