Busskipper wrote:
Padlin wrote:
Headed from Springfield Ma to Estes Park Co mid Sept, have 8 days for the trip or 7 days from Columbus where we pick up I70 from I71. Looking for some alternatives to staying on the interstate the whole way. Taking I-70 over I-80 as we took I-80 last fall going to Yellowstone, just want to see something different, not that we were on I-80 all that much.
Been looking at 24 across KS, and maybe 50 across MO. I do plan on stopping in St Louis for a couple nights.
Got any decent 2ndary highways you can suggest or areas to avoid? MO looks to be under construction from one end to the other according to Google map.
Out of Columbus - Indianapolis - I-74 to Champaign - I-72 to Hannibal then Rt 36 to Denver/Boulder - but if St louis is a stop it is out of the way.
Just a Thought,
What he said!:) If you're definitely going to stop in St. Louis, you could consider taking US 61 north from the western STL area up to Hannibal MO.
US 36 from Hannibal MO across Missouri and Kansas is a great alternative route and one that's been recommended here many times. It's 4-lane all the way across MO, and even though it's mainly 2 lane roadway in KS, it's a good road, with wide shoulders, climb/passing lanes in appropriate locations, and not near as heavily travelled as I-70. Small towns every 30 or so miles apart, so fueling needs are there (albeit sometimes only one choice and prices are higher the further west you go across northern Kansas).
At St Francis KS, you could either stay on US 36 on in to Colorado and Estes Park, or you could take KS 27 north and join up with US 34 west into Colorado, going through Wray, Brush, Ft Morgan and Greeley, before hitting Loveland and heading up the Big Thompson Canyon (US34) to Estes Park. This 2nd alternative, you'd avoid the Denver/Boulder mess and have a straight route in to Estes Park.
