OKRoads -- Roadtrips -- Summer 2004 Roadtrip #2 Summaries

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This day began at work, as I worked the overnight shift. After getting off work at 7 am, I then went to church that morning at home. After church, I left for Wichita. The skies were cloudy and there were a few sprinkles as I left Oklahoma City. By the time I got to Wichita, the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky. I got to Wichita at about 3:30, and got a short nap in before going to church there that night.

Day One Trip Log:
Departed Oklahoma City, OK - 12:41 PM; mile 74,326
Sonic (Oklahoma City, OK) - Lunch - 12:47-12:59 PM; mile 74,328
Kansas Travel Information Center - 3:05 PM; mile 74,472
Arrived Holiday Inn Express (Wichita, KS) - 3:27 PM; mile 74,490

This ended up being the most sunny day of the trip. It was also the longest day of the trip in terms of miles driven, as I drove 725 miles. I left Wichita about 8 am and drove the entire distance of Interstate 235, which gave the mileage necessary to clinch the interstate mileage for the state of Kansas. I made my way back to Interstate 35 via K-96 and was on Interstate 35 for the rest of the day until I got to North Branch, Minnesota, where I spent the night at an AmericInn Lodge. For a chain I had never heard of before, it wasn't too bad. But, then again, all I cared about was that they had high-speed Internet access and that they were there! As it turned out, there were no more hotels to the north until Duluth, which is about 90 minutes north of North Branch! The clouds began to form in northern Iowa, and it was cloudy for the rest of the day, and would continue to be cloudy until Wednesday afternoon in Iowa, when the sun finally broke through for more than 30 minutes!

Day Two Trip Log:
Departed Holiday Inn Express (Wichita, KS) - 7:59 AM; mile 74,513
QuikTrip (Wichita, KS) - Gas - 8:30 AM; mile 74,541
Valvoline Instant Oil Change (Olathe, KS) - Oil Change - 11:07 AM; mile 74,720
Wendy's (Cameron, MO) - Lunch - 12:23-12:48 PM; mile 74,794
Iowa Welcome Center (Lamoni, IA) - 1:49 PM; mile 74,862
Shell (Osceola, IA) - Gas - 2:20 PM; mile 74,892
Minnesota Welcome Center - Wanted to get a map but were already closed for the day! - 5:14 PM; mile 75,086
Arrived AmericInn Lodge (North Branch, MN) - 7:28 PM; mile 75,238

Oh, the land of cloudy day! This was the cloudiest day of the trip. The sun did come out for about 30 minutes when I made it to Fargo, North Dakota, which is where I ended up for this night. I clinched Interstate 35 in Duluth, MN, at about 9:30 AM, then made my way back to Interstate 535, which I took over the state line to Superior, WI, and took U.S. 53 South to WI 124 in Eau Claire, which connects to Interstate 94 on the west side of town. Except for one loop around the Minneapolis/St. Paul beltway (Interstate 494 and 694), I stayed on Interstate 94 West for the rest of the day. As mentioned earlier, I spent the night in Fargo, North Dakota, and stayed at the downtown Radisson. Having a hotel room on the 10th floor of the second tallest building in the state of North Dakota was pretty neat. Temperatures were unseasonably cool, as the highs were only in the upper 50s/lower 60s. It made me wish that I brought a jacket with me instead of the short-sleeve shirts that I did bring!

Day Three Trip Log:
Departed AmericInn (North Branch, MN) - 7:32 AM; mile 75,238
Holiday (North Branch, MN) - Gas - 7:35 AM; mile 75,238
Minnesota Information Center (Duluth, MN) - 9:07 AM; mile 75,344
Wisconsin Welcome Center (Superior, WI) - 9:50 AM; mile 75,371
Burger King (Eau Claire, WI) - Lunch - 12:10-12:33 PM; mile 75,523
TA Travel Center (Hudson, WI) - Gas - 1:28 PM; mile 75,580
Citgo (Clearwater, MN) - Break - 4:07 PM; mile 75,744
Arrived Radisson (Fargo, ND) - 7:07 PM; mile 75,933

This day was pretty straightforward. Except for trips along Interstates 229 in Sioux Falls, Interstate 129 in Sioux City, and Interstate 480 in Omaha, I spent the day on Interstate 29 going south. I ended up at the Candlewood Suites in Overland Park, KS, with a $29 rate since I am an employee of Holiday Inn Express, which is owned by the same corporation as Candlewood. So it was a 29 kind of day, I guess! The skies finally cleared a bit in Iowa, but it was still relatively cloudy for most of the day. Also, I set a record on this day by driving in parts of seven different states, in the following order: North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas.

Day Four Trip Log:
Departed Radisson (Fargo, ND) - 7:23 AM; mile 75,933
Tesoro (Fargo, ND) - Gas - 7:28 AM; mile 75,933
McDonald's (Moorhead, MN) - Breakfast - 7:37-7:49 AM; mile 75,935
Fargo Tourist Information Center (Fargo, ND) - 8:01 AM; mile 75,941
South Dakota Welcome Center - 9:04 AM; mile 76,011
Flying J (Sioux Falls, SD) - Break - 11:26 AM; mile 76,184
Casey's (North Sioux City, SD) - Gas - 1:05 PM; mile 76,293
McDonald's (North Sioux City, SD) - Lunch - 1:11-1:33 PM; mile 76,293
Nebraska Tourist Information Center (Omaha, NE) - 3:20 PM; mile 76,410
Missouri Welcome Center (Rock Port, MO) - 4:48 PM; mile 76,487
Arrived Candlewood Suites (Overland Park, KS) - 6:44 PM; mile 76,617

The final day of Summer 2004 Roadtrip #2 went much like the final day of Summer 2004 Roadtrip #1 did; it rained, and I had to be at work by 3 that afternoon. At least, this time, I didn't have to drive from St. Louis to home between 6 am and 3 pm. This time, it was just from the Kansas City area, so I took it a bit slower. I got home just before 2 pm, with a bit of time to spare. Note: Pictures from this day are not uploaded because this stretch of road has already been covered on OKRoads and on OKHighways, and nothing has changed from when the pictures were taken before.

Day Five Trip Log:
Departed Candlewood Suites (Overland Park, KS) - 7:54 AM; mile 76,622
BP (Overland Park, KS) - Gas - 7:58 AM; mile 76,623
Towanda Service Area - Break - 10:27 AM; mile 76,788
KFC/Taco Bell (Blackwell, OK) - Lunch - 11:50 AM-12:11 PM; mile 76,869
Arrived Home (Oklahoma City, OK) - 1:50 PM; mile 76,978