Cyber Maze Photo Gallery: Michigan 98

Another Michigan Roadtrip '98
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John & Jarrett & Ellie drive back to Michigan, Summer 1998.

So we left for Michigan early Saturday morning. No waiting for work this time, however I did find the need to wash the Jeep before leaving. We decided to take the more scenic and hopefully faster route of Las Vegas, NM to Tucumcari and then up through Kansas. This was a more northernly route than at Christmas (when I swore never to do this again.)

The first part of the trip (7:30 - 10 AM MDT) was more scenic. We found a nice mountain town with a lake for future camping and fishing. And Ellie got to meet cows for the first time. It was pretty funny. We stopped and figured it would be quick. But there she was, barking at the cows and next thing we knew she had crossed the barbed wire fence and she was trying to herd them. When they didn't listen, she would bark and nip at them. We called until she came out - we didn't want to start the trip with a squashed dog!

After McDonald's for breakfast in Tucumcari (the official roadtrip restaurant), we turned north to Kansas. We stopped in Texahoma at 12:25 for gas and premium was $1.59/gallon. (317.5 miles)

Then it was time to drive across Kansas. We got to see many many grain towers and billboards for historic places like Boot Hill and the house that Dorothy lived in from the Wizard of Oz.

Drive Drive Drive. All day and we paused briefly at 5:00 so I could take a toilet break. The nice thing about all the Pizza Huts is they have this door near the bathroom that you can sneak out of so they don't realize you only came to use the facilities.

At 5:30 we were in Whitchita (590 miles) and we gassed up at an island on the toll road (609 miles). This is where I had to stand in line for a long time again for the restroom and when I returned to the car, parked at the pump, the person in the car behind was swearing at me. I felt he wasn't being fair so I showed him I could count to 1. He didn't like that, and I was a little ticked off and this is where I lost the nice locking gas cap I'd bought two years earlier.

At 8:30 PM we passed through Kansas City. At 9:30 PM we stopped to clean bugs off the window in Cameron, Mo. (841 miles). By 10:09 PM I was pretty bushed and had to pull over to a roadside park to rest. At about 2:30 AM I woke up (the bugs were very loud) and continued on to Macon, Mo where we gassed up and walked Ellie (935 miles).

At 4:45 AM we crossed the Mississippi (1000 miles). I drove into Springfield, Illinios and didn't get back onto the freeway at the right turn so we got to drive by the Illinios State Fair on the way North. We hit Chicago at 9 AM and stopped to gas up and buy White Castle sliders for breakfast (1270 miles). At 11:50 AM we passed Grand Rapids and took a break to walk the dog. And by 3:30 PM we were at my parent's house. (1646 miles.)

If only we'd had time to stay at some of the scenic motels along the way.

This isn't Central America, it's the woods behind my parent's house.

It had been a long time since I'd made it home in the summer and it was great to see everyone and see how lush things were. It was the most scenic place since we'd left New Mexico. Mitch was almost a year old and although I had a lot of computer fixing to do, Jarrett and I visited Mackinaw Island and rented horses. The family rented a pontoon boat on Saturday and we took it out for half a day and a nice picnic. And then before you knew it it was time to head home for the Southwest. Jarrett started High School the following week and I had to get back to work earning money!

Mitchell Corey at 1 y.o.

The infamous pontoon boat adventure on Crooked Lake.


So we left for Michigan early Saturday morning. No waiting for work this time, however I did find the need to wash the Jeep before leaving. We decided to take the more scenic and hopefully faster route of Las Vegas, NM to Tucumcari and then up through Kansas. This was a more northernly route than at Christmas (when I swore never to do this again.) The first part of the trip (7:30 - 10 AM MDT) was more scenic. We found a nice mountain town with a lake for future camping and fishing. And Ellie got to meet cows for the first time. It was pretty funny. We stopped and figured it would be quick. But there she was, barking at the cows and next thing we knew she had crossed the barbed wire fence and she was trying to herd them. When they didn't listen, she would bark and nip at them. We called until she came out - we didn't want to start the trip with a squashed dog! After McDonald's for breakfast in Tucumcari (the official roadtrip restaurant), we turned north to Kansas. We stopped in Texahoma at 12:25 for gas and premium was $1.59/gallon. (317.5 miles) Then it was time to drive across Kansas. We got to see many many grain towers and billboards for historic places like Boot Hill and the house that Dorothy lived in from the Wizard of Oz. Drive Drive Drive. All day and we paused briefly at 5:00 so I could take a toilet break. The nice thing about all the Pizza Huts is they have this door near the bathroom that you can sneak out of so they don't realize you only came to use the facilities. At 5:30 we were in Whitchita (590 miles) and we gassed up at an island on the toll road (609 miles). This is where I had to stand in line for a long time again for the restroom and when I returned to the car, parked at the pump, the person in the car behind was swearing at me. I felt he wasn't being fair so I showed him I could count to 1. He didn't like that, and I was a little ticked off and this is where I lost the nice locking gas cap I'd bought two years earlier. At 8:30 PM we passed through Kansas City. At 9:30 PM we stopped to clean bugs off the window in Cameron, Mo. (841 miles). By 10:09 PM I was pretty bushed and had to pull over to a roadside park to rest. At about 2:30 AM I woke up (the bugs were very loud) and continued on to Macon, Mo where we gassed up and walked Ellie (935 miles). At 4:45 AM we crossed the Mississippi (1000 miles). I drove into Springfield, Illinios and didn't get back onto the freeway at the right turn so we got to drive by the Illinios State Fair on the way North. We hit Chicago at 9 AM and stopped to gas up and buy White Castle sliders for breakfast (1270 miles). At 11:50 AM we passed Grand Rapids and took a break to walk the dog. And by 3:30 PM we were at my parent's house. (1646 miles.)
If only we'd had time to stay at some of the scenic motels along the way.		This isn't Central America, it's the woods behind my parent's house.
It had been a long time since I'd made it home in the summer and it was great to see everyone and see how lush things were. It was the most scenic place since we'd left New Mexico. Mitch was almost a year old and although I had a lot of computer fixing to do, Jarrett and I visited Mackinaw Island and rented horses. The family rented a pontoon boat on Saturday and we took it out for half a day and a nice picnic. And then before you knew it it was time to head home for the Southwest. Jarrett started High School the following week and I had to get back to work earning money!
Mitchell Corey at 1 y.o.		The infamous pontoon boat adventure on Crooked Lake.