Tips & Suggestions for a long haul drive

From: photoduniya.com

It is extremely nice to hear a lot of interest within my readers to drive similar distances cross country. I am constantly being asked for any suggestion that could help in such a drive. I have updated the Travel section of photoduniya.com with as much of information as possible and I will jot the main points again here:

• This is our second cross country drive. We had most of our lessons on the first. And we also had a growing interest to do this trip again from the first drive!

• Travel for the fun of it. Look out, enjoy the beauty outside and take in as much as you can of the region you are traveling through. We took diversions, we stayed additional days in places we wanted to see in winter and we stopped where we wanted to spend a moment longer.
• Prepare your vehicle – oil change, tire pressure and the electrical circuits are absolutely necessary if you are traveling through a wide range of climatic conditions. Our car was practically new in this drive, with almost new tires and yet we had situations where the pressure faltered, where the grip wasn’t as good. I have never changed a tire before! Never. And all I am good at with my car is either driving it or re-fuelling it. And thank god, we did not run into issues.
  Our off road SUV – Nissan Xterra
  

• If you are planning to drive in the winter, you could have very difficult roads. So keeping to 1 or 2 interstate highways for the most part of the journey helps. The image below shows a spot on Interstate I-80 which was completely icy and the snow had not been cleared for quite some time.

Icy patches on I-80

• Carry extra wind shield fluid in the car. We faced a situation where we had used up all the fuild by the afternoon and it started snowing in the evening when we suddenly heard the fluid motor burring! We had run out of fuild on a winding dark narrow mountainous stretch close to Reno, Nevada.
• Keep water, fruit juice and dry food in the car. Water and the juice is to keep your body hydrated while on the wheels. The food is primarily for emergencies and will also help you to keep your stomach from running completely empty. Driving with an empty stomach could lead to fatal accidents.
• Keep one map & a torch lamp in the car. We used a five dollar Mapquest map book bought from Walmart. It helped us on course corrections for all closed highways and byways. We used a ten dollar maglite torch lamp from REI.
• Dont push your body or your vehicle to its limits. You are traveling to see and enjoy. So relax! Keep ample time in your hand to stop for some coffee and breathe in the fresh air!
• Keep in touch with a friend or a relative. For the most part, we had our family friend watch over us during the journey. They would call us and make sure that we were all right. We had also taken their help on navigation and weather information.
• While driving, know for sure that many other people on the road should not even be behind the wheels in the first place! So do not tempt or be tempted to exceed speed or do anything unusual or illegal. There would only be a few drivers along the way who are driving for several days at a stretch for several thousand miles. This is not a competition to reach first – this is probably a once in a life time opportunity to see the country in its natural best. So keep your focus.
• Last but not the least, enjoy the drive. Look out, stop to take some pictures or to exchange some greetings with the local people – you may never meet them again!

If you are planning to travel cross country we wish you good luck and hope you have a memorable trip. Do share your trip experience so that we could also plan something similar on a new route!

Cross Country Drive from California to New York – Day 10 Danbury, CT

From: photoduniya.com

We concluded our coast to coast drive from California on the West to New York in the East today at about 6:30 PM Eastern Time clocking 3425 miles on the odometer. It is the tenth day of our trip and we drove the last 400 miles from Pennsylvania to Connecticut in about 6 hours.

Hermitage, PA to Danbury, CT @ photoduniya.com

The day was mostly cloudy with snow dust blowing mildly but the wind was low and even though there were mild drizzle along the way, the drive had been mostly good. The I-84 Est that we followed into New York and Connecticut badly needs repair in many places in Pennsylvania and New York. There are numerous potholes, with the concrete coming off in several places that slowed us down quite a bit.

Pennsylvania landscape on I-80 @ photoduniya.com

 

 

The images on this journey are taken mostly while driving on hand held Nikon D200. More on the trip will come up later on the Travel section of photoduniya.com.

Cross Country Drive from California to New York – Day 9 Hermitage, PA

From: photoduniya.com

We reached Hermitage, about 15 miles east of Pennsylvania & Ohio border on route 80.  We traveled a total of about 420 miles from Chicago, IL to Hermitage, PA.

Chicago, IL to Hermitage, PA @ photoduniya.com

 

The day had been entirely cloudy with mild rain and strong cross winds throughout the  entire drive. This caused us to slow down and took us almost 6 hours to complete he 400 miles’ drive into Pennsylvania. The surrounding landscape had been snow covered plains for most of the time through Indiana and Ohio. On entering Ohio though we could see spots of green grass peeping from beneath the snow.

 

Landscape along I-80 in Indiana & Ohio @ photoduniya.com

 

We shall end our journey tomorrow after we cross into New York and then into Connecticut. The images on this journey are taken mostly while driving on hand held Nikon D200. More on the trip will come up later on the Travel section of photoduniya.com.

 

 

 

 

Cross Country Drive from California to New York – Day 8 Chicago, IL

From: photoduniya.com

Day 8 was planned to be a rest day as well as to see the city of Chicago. Fortunately, and quite by luck, we found an affordable hotel right on Michigan, about a block’s walk from the Millennium Park. The day had been cloudy with mild wind and temperatures hovering around the thirties.

Millennium Park in Chicago, IL @ photoduniya.com

 

We spent our day and the evening at Shedd Aquarium, Grant Park and walking along Michigan in downtown Chicago. In the evening the Sears Park, also known as McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, lights up with the decorations from the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and fills up with eager skaters of all ages.

 

McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Chicago, IL @ photoduniya.com

 

Our day ended at about 9:00 PM CST. Tomorrow we head off east from Chicago and drive through Ohio as close to Pennsylvania.  More on the trip will come up later on the Travel section of photoduniya.com.

 

 

Cross Country Drive from California to New York – Day 7 Chicago, IL

From: photoduniya.com

We have covered close to 2700 miles now and reached Chicago, IL where we want to rest for 2 nights before heading eastwards again. In the map below, you will see the deviation from I-80 (in pink) where we traveled northwards on I-88 East to Chicago, IL.

 

 

Today’s drive had been mostly through Iowa, starting from Council Bluffs in the western end through Des Moines into Illinois. The drive had been strenuous mostly due to the strong surface winds which blew northward at speeds of about 25 mph on an average. It is very hard to keep high driving speeds in such strong cross winds, but we covered the 650 miles in about 8 hours of drive-time.

 

Iowa landscape @ photoduniya.com

 

 

 

The landscape through the drive was quite monotonous, with wide snow covered land areas lying on either side of the highway. The drive suddenly changed when I-88 East neared Chicago, IL with very high traffic – mostly the office-time drivers. We touched Chicago, IL at about 8:30 PM Central Time. It is about 15 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill close to 2 degrees. I spent an hour and a half outside with my camera in the city hoping to find some interesting stories.

 

Night scene in Chicago, IL @ photoduniya.com

 

 

 

The images were done with hand held Nikon D200 with no flash. I shall update the Travel section of photoduniya.com with the more details on the cross country drive from California to New York.