I'm driving a 4,500 mile route from Washington to Washington for the E30 Picnic

[golde30]

Keep this thread going. We are in Minnesota and are considering driving a V10 E30M3 out. A lot is up in the air at this point but we could run west with you from here if it all shakes out

I will make the trip up to see this car Blunt.

[dmmai]

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Here’s a rundown of some possibilities. Long-sorry.


If you take the typical north route, there will be endless mind-numbing interstate miles but, there are a few little off-shoots that can break up the monotony.

From Interstate 70, drop in at the Indianapolis Speedway / museum … Pretty cool. After that, take I-74 up to Davenport, IA and then up the Mississippi River road US-67 to Dubuque, IA. Nice drive. From there follow US-52 northwest (twisty) and then back over to the east side of the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, WI. Follow the river road again north up Hwy 35 to La Crosse, WI. This is where you’ll pick up I-90.

Or from I-80, visit Sandusky, OH on Lake Erie and ride a few amazing roller coasters. From there you have either a good or bad ahead, depending on how you look at it … Chicago. After Chicago you can run the Interstates, either up to Madison, WI and on up I-90 - or - north through Milwaukee and drop in at Road America race track in Elkhart Lake, WI. A third option from Chicago, avoiding the worst traffic would be to go straight west on I-80. At Joliet you’re just 10 miles from Chicagoland Speedway and/or Autobahn Country Club race track. Then on west to Davenport and follow the river road north, described above.

Interstate 90 will take you past the Black Hills in South Dakota. There are several entertaining twisty roads through the park and a few “tourist” spots to enjoy. Traffic can get a little congested in summer.
Later on I-90, a little after Sheridan, WY there is a turnoff for an out of the way road US-14 that will take you over the Bighorn National Forest and into the central valley. Scenic brisk drive usually with minimal traffic. Cross the broad valley to Cody, Wyoming for a taste of the old west.
From Cody you have two choices.

Dnguyen1963 wrote: Go through Yellowstone National Park. The road to the North entrance has some wicked curves.

You can go directly west into Yellowstone Park for truly beautiful scenery and wildlife. But, traffic on the main loops in mid-summer can/will be miserable. If you’ve never seen it, some day you should.
One of our favorite drives in that area takes us north from Cody up Hwy 120, maybe 15 miles to jct. Hwy 296. This is a little known entrance into the very northeast corner of Yellowstone Park. After roughly 40 miles you will jct. US-212. (If you want to see more of the park, turn left to follow the north road to Mammoth and the main loops.) We’ve been through the park several times so we now prefer the driving to the northeast from there. Turn right onto US-212 and enjoy a gorgeous drive northeast back out of the park to Red Lodge, MT. From there, we enjoy an out of the way back road Hwy 78, northwest, curving back up to I-90 at Columbus, MT. Modest to minimal traffic on this entire drive.
If you have the time, Glacier National Park is ahead to the north. The Going To The Sun Road is beautiful. It may take an extra day but, it’s a pretty drive.

From there it’s an easy drive down into Seattle.

If you choose to pick up the California caravan going to the picnic, take one of the north routes back home.

There is no limit to the alternatives you could enjoy.
It will be epic.

[Ether-D]

Hmmm. Yeah, me likey. We've got a damn good group of e30's here in middle TN. PM me if you come through here.

[megatron]

Keep this thread going. We are in Minnesota and are considering driving a V10 E30M3 out. A lot is up in the air at this point but we could run west with you from here if it all shakes out

Wow, that's awesome. I'll have to hustle to swap something in for my currently bone-stock 318is to keep up and not slow you guys down! :) Will let you know whether I end up deciding to take the north or south route westward (I'll take the other way back).

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Here’s a rundown of some possibilities. Long-sorry.

Thanks for the detail! I'll put what I can in the trip plan!

Hmmm. Yeah, me likey. We've got a damn good group of e30's here in middle TN. PM me if you come through here.

:up: will do! Planning on having the Tail of the Dragon in the route plan, so that would be awesome either on the way out or on the way back.

[lambo]

If anyone comes through Colorado, I will buy you a beer.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Are there gunna be Trina t-shirts for sale at the picnic?

[samurai pizza cats]

Swing thru Houston and we can go get some eats!

x2

man if i wasnt taking summer classes i would follow you up there lol

[megatron]

If anyone comes through Colorado, I will buy you a beer.

Sweet! Where abouts? Definitely going to be swinging through Denver at the least.

x2

man if i wasnt taking summer classes i would follow you up there lol

HOU is def on the route plan either on the way or back. Just looking to get the spacing between sites and stops worked out with enough slack in there to account for unforeseen breakdowns (knock on wood).

[lambo]

Sweet! Where abouts? Definitely going to be swinging through Denver at the least.

Well I'll be around south Denver but pretty much anything works depending on scheduling.

[megatron]

Just registered, so it's definitely on now. Will start some real route and stop planning in earnest, and hopefully can get to meet up with a lot of E30 enthusiasts along the way.

[lemansguy]

where in the DC area are you? my wife and I are trying to move out to seattle in the next year or two. she is from there originally. we are flying out this summer to visit family.

[megatron]

where in the DC area are you? my wife and I are trying to move out to seattle in the next year or two. she is from there originally. we are flying out this summer to visit family.

Rockville. Also am in Arlington and the city a lot. Grew up in Fairfax County.

[Hooffenstein HD]

As someone living in the southern hemisphere, this thread title did my head in. Washington DC and Washington State are different places.

[megatron]

Just did a preliminary route plan for the trip out. ~4500 miles, NBD. :)

Who's on this route? I'm gonna try to take it slow and easy, except of course on the twisty parts (Tail of Dragon, PCH, etc.)

[Keith M]

Epic trip! I'm located in southern Oregon (Roseburg) along I-5.