Jan 2. Lebanon to Twin Falls, ID (stay with Ben's grandparents)
Jan 3. Twin Falls to Salt Lake City
Jan 4. SLC to Parshall, CO (visit Jed, Michael and Kristine Parmenter)
Jan 5. Parshall to Pueblo, CO
Jan 6. Pueblo to Enid, OK
This gets us to Enid the day before Ben needs to report for duty.
Jan 2. Lebanon to Grants Pass, OR
Jan 3. Grants Pass to Ukiah or Sacramento, CA (maybe Kelly can meet us there?)
Jan 4. Ukiah to St. George, UT (visit Denise's sister)
Jan 5. St. George to Parshall, CO
Jan 6. Parshall to Hays, KS
Jan 7. Hays to Enid
This one would get us to Vance on January 7, which is our deadline. That is cutting it really close.
Jan 2. Lebanon to Grants Pass
Jan 3. Grants Pass to Reno, NV
Jan 4. Reno to Salt Lake City
Jan 5. SLC to Parshall, CO
Jan 6. Parshall to Hays, KS
Jan 7. Hays to Enid
Again, this has us arriving on January 7, which is Ben's report date. I probably don't want to take this route because it involves a lot of snow.
I'm completely at a loss as to what to do. I would like to break up the trip as much as possible, so that James doesn't spend so much time in the car every day. I would also like to avoid snow, which I know is a lot to ask for during the month of January. But we are driving my little Corolla, and I don't feel comfortable driving in the snow AT ALL. It means I would leave Ben to do all the driving.
I feel like I need to start making phone calls to relatives and reserving hotel rooms as soon as possible. So if you see something I don't, please let me know!
Personally I'd suggest a 9-10 hr drive each day and make it in 3 days... 4 if you take a rest day.
ReplyDeleteDay 1 Driving: Lebanon OR to Twin Falls ID (stay with mormor). 9 hrs
Day 2 Driving: Twin Falls ID to Kremmling CO (stay with us) 9 hrs
Optional day of rest here in Kremmling. (of course I'm biased about this)
Day 3 Driving: Kremmling CO to Enid OK. 10 hrs
This also cuts out any hotels. I know it seems like 9-10 hrs is a long time in the car, but I think it's better than dragging out the trip and spending money on hotels... but that's just my opinion. You can make travel bags for James and get them out as the days go by so there are new things for him to do. As far as snow... if you take this route, once you get out of Oregon the roads will be well maintained even with snow. Oregon is the worst part of the drive (in regards to snow). This also gives you time to get to your destination without pushing the report date to much. If you do run into a snowstorm, you have the time to make a unscheduled stop and won't add too much stress.
Of course if you are trying to visit people along the way, more stops make sense.
Good Luck! It's not a fun drive anyway you do it. We'll be praying for you!
I actually really like this plan. Yes, it will be hard on James. That said, he would get a full rest day in Kremmling before we did the next 10+ hr stretch.
DeleteI hate to say it, but skipping CA makes the most sense. I would pick the shortest distance mileage-wise ( haven't checked that) or the one that avoids the most snow. Best case scenario you have cold, clear days and make great time. Worst case you hit a blizzard and end up wholee up somewhere. If you have people to stay with in case of storm so much the better.
ReplyDeleteUnless a storm comes through you should be fine, though. Keep in mind that James will need a break at minimum every 3 hours, and breaks have a way of being longer than you think. When we drove to St. Louis we did 6 hour driving days with our two year old and two month old, and got there in five days.