chicago area guidance

sgip2000 wrote:
There's really only 2 ways around Chicago from that direction due to Lake Michigan. Going west bound, there aren't many tolls either.

You could go I-80, but that's out of the way.

80 is not out of the way. You just stay on it until you get to Ogallala, Neb, then turn onto US26 to Wheatland, Wyo - pick up I25 to Casper - pickup US26 again across the state to Shoshoni. At that point turn north to Thermopolis and Cody or just go straight west to Jackson.

like lots of said I80 to I39 and then north to I90 ... avoid all the traffic and stop and go! Its an easy drive.

I had to go cross country and the worst traffic I hit was in Minneapolis so the thought of Chicago just made me cringe. So I got on I39 and headed south to I80. On the way home, I cut off on I75 and took Hwy 2. I had all the time in the world and loved the sights

louiskathy wrote:
Weather underground trip planner

Learn how to use this site. You'll learn to love it.
It should give you travel times with construction areas flagged.
Check the boxes for WEATHER.
Move the departure times up or down and see how that changes driving time.

zoom in and DRAG the line from one road to the alternates and see if that gives you a better travel time.

Do a NY city to Cody WY and see what you get... then do a Porter, IN to Rockford, IL and see what you get.

It gives you current weather and current alerts.

ditto X2 Been using this for awhile and it is very helpful.

Best bet...get on I-80 (plan an early Sunday morning around Chicago) to I-29 to I-90 in Iowa and into South Dakota if you want to come in from the north into Yellowstone.

If you want to come in from the south and drive through Teton Nat'l Park enroute to Yellowstone (highly recommended) just stay on I-80 and choose one of several good routes with an RV once you get into Wyoming, depending where you want to end up at. A couple are 287 and 191 and are both good. Have a fun trip!

On that weather underground map... if you click on the blue line of your route, it will give you the current weather conditions at that point. If you click on that blue line in just the right way, you get a white dot...and you can drag that white dot to a different road...let the map recalculate on it's own, and it will give you the time and distance of that new route.

Check the fuel prices in Wisconsin and SD... then compare those prices (use any online fuel site to do that) with IL, Iowa, Nebraska... and see what the fuel savings might be by going through Omaha to Cheyenne and then to Cody WY.

Tolls are going to be an expense too so calculate that, too.

Weather underground trip planner

Learn how to use this site. You'll learn to love it.
It should give you travel times with construction areas flagged.
Check the boxes for WEATHER.
Move the departure times up or down and see how that changes driving time.

zoom in and DRAG the line from one road to the alternates and see if that gives you a better travel time.

Do a NY city to Cody WY and see what you get... then do a Porter, IN to Rockford, IL and see what you get.

It gives you current weather and current alerts.

I90 is under major construction right now, the whole Elgin to Rockford corridor is closed down to one narrow lane in some areas for many miles. You can hop on 294 north (tollway)from I80 to 88 west (toll) to 39 north- much more pleasant drive and avoid most of that mess (and avoid the city as well)

brirene wrote:
No, no, you don't want to stay on 90! That will take you directly through most of the metro area. If you're insistent on taking 90, at least take 80 west to 39, then take that north to Rockford to catch 90 again. Personally, I would stay on 80 and take either 35 or (better yet) 29 back up to 90. The unknown variable here is construction. My $.02.

X2 I80 to I29 It is about 20 miles further but driving times will be much shorter.

X2 I-80 to I-39. My be longer but much less pain.
Second option is I-80 to I-294 north. To Milwaukee and pick up I-90 west from there.
But option one is the best. Gas is much cheap away from Chi./Mil. Area alo.

We used to live in the north end of IL.