Ohio to Mt Rushmore

kknowlton wrote:
Do not take I-294 to I-290 to I-90 unless you want to pay lots in tolls and unless you are prepared to deal with lots of rush hour traffic. Be aware that rush hour in Chicago is 5-10 AM and 3-7 PM most days. The routes you mention here are used heavily by commuters. Drove 294 myself very frequently! Unless you plan to visit someone in the Chicago area as part of your trip, drive on by via I-80 to I-39. Trust those of us who have lived there. :)

x2

Also, I-90 is under construction from Elgin to Rockford. Unless you really want to go through Chicago traffic, take I-80 to I-39.

kknowlton wrote:
...If you want to stay on 80 through Iowa, you can head north on I-29 from the Council Bluffs area....

If you want to stay on I-80 through Iowa, take I-680 a ways past Shelby rather than turning left to stay on 90. It saves quite a few miles and you'll avoid Council Bluffs traffic. I-680 hooks up with I-29, maybe 20 miles past the I-80/I-680 junction.

Or you can take I-35 north at Des Moines. I don't think there's much difference distance or time. Both take you through nice farm country. Sometimes I-90 through MN is kinda rough, don't know about this year.

Do not take I-294 to I-290 to I-90 unless you want to pay lots in tolls and unless you are prepared to deal with lots of rush hour traffic. Be aware that rush hour in Chicago is 5-10 AM and 3-7 PM most days. The routes you mention here are used heavily by commuters. Drove 294 myself very frequently! Unless you plan to visit someone in the Chicago area as part of your trip, drive on by via I-80 to I-39. Trust those of us who have lived there. :)

Thanks, I will look at routes around Chicago. Looking to go I-294 to I-290 back to I90 or the mention I-39. Have to look this over.

Agreed that Friday evening around Chicago is a bear. However, it is what it is. If you don't want to stop overnight before you get there and continue on Saturday (not a lot of good CG choices available for just a Friday night in that area, as all will be full with weekend campers), you can tough it out and take I-39 north, as already suggested. If you want to stay on 80 through Iowa, you can head north on I-29 from the Council Bluffs area. We've driven the I-39 to I-90 and the I-80 routes many times as well. If you need some CG suggestions, feel free to ask!

midnightsadie wrote:
I just watched on tv the guys that chiseled out those faces tv said they were paid $.50 cents an hr.

That was "the big bucks" for semiskilled labor in the 1930s.

The prevailing wage for non-farm workers was two dollars per day. Farm workers made only one dollar per day and worked from dawn to dusk.

50 cents per hour for a 10 hour day is $5 per day.

Those workers could have made the same wages working for Ford and not have had the same sense of accomplishment.

I just watched on tv the guys that chiseled out those faces tv said they were paid $.50 cents an hr.

We've driven this a bazillion times from IND to Minneapolis to visit family. Suggest you consider taking I-80 west into Illinois to I-39 and then north to Rockford, Ill. You bypass much of the Chicago metro area traffic this way. It is a little farther but just as quick and a lot less stressful. Enjoy your trip.

Saturday morning would be a lot better.

7 PM on a Friday the traffic in the Chicago area is unbearable.

Map of the current construction, traffic, etc. in the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor.