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Hi,
I'm leaving end of may from San Fran to Tennessee. I imagine the northern route is better w/ the heat in the south.
Anyone have experience taking hwy 70 versus continuing on Hwy 80 at Salt Lake City? I want to avoid large mountain passes and big rigs as much as possible. Which is the better bet of the two hwys?
can't help you with routes but you could check to see if there will be road construction on either. might help you make your decision.
I, too, traveled with cats. Can tell you from my experience it is important to keep them in a cat box and to stop at night and let them be comfortable in a motel room. They shut down and won't take in water or food while traveling.
I do not know about hwy 80. However 70 will have 2 passes over 10,000 feet going thru Colorado. 70 also spends quite a while between 6,000 and 9,000 feet.
I-80 is a much less challenging drive than I-70 with it's steep mountain passes through Colorado.
I-80 stays at lower altitudes, and the climbs/descents are gradual in the areas of the Continental divide, which it crosses several times through Wyoming.
Generally speaking, I-80 has less total traffic on it than I-70. I've driven both many times Denver or Cheyenne to SLC, and had days where I had almost no traffic around on I-80. Never had that happen on I-70 for the same trip.
What you will notice is that I-80 has several pretty long stretches without facilities. Essentially, it's a SLC ... Evanston ... Rock Springs ... Rawlins ... Laramie ... Cheyenne drive, with very few places to stop between the major towns of the route. I-70, OTOH, has a lot more little towns along the way, and places to stop for fuel/refreshment/entertainment ... it's also less windy.
As both are major E-W transit routes for the trucking industry, you will see a lot of semi's on both routes. Because there's much less car traffic on I-80, it will seem like most of your traveling companions on I-80 are semi's.
FWIW, Wyoming HP has stepped up their speed enforcement efforts along I-80. Best to travel at the posted speeds, and be especially careful in the lower highway speed areas West of Rock Springs. Where they used to be pretty tolerant of some amount over the posted limits, it's not unusual these days to see a patrol pulling a car over at only 2-3 mph over the limit. Similarly, I see the same thing going on the interstates in UT. Used to be a derby in Parley's canyon, for example (East of SLC) ... 10-15-20 mph over the posted speed was common. In the last year or so, however, the UTHP does get out there and start ticketing folks, especially those that weave through the traffic. And I've seen a lot of radar patrols in the stretch from Parley's Canyon to Echo Lake ... where the posted speed is lower than the rest of the interstate until you get a few miles East of Echo Lake (with the tight right hand curve as the route transitions from heading North to East). Pretty country along that stretch of road from the Park City area to Echo Lake, with all the farms in the valley and the lake at the end of it, BTW.
If you've got cruise control, you can use it a lot heading across Western Wyoming on your way eastward. Best, also, to bring your own music ... radio reception is pretty sparse in the region.
If you do take I-80, I'd break it up into stretches like SLC to Evanston (for fuel, typically one of the lowest price stops enroute ...), and then Rock Springs, then Laramie. Stop again for fuel in Cheyenne or Pine Bluffs, as the fuel gets much more expensive in NE. My trip last week out East, however, had decent fuel prices in Ogallala just off I-80 on the south side exits (by the TA truck stop) ... better by 15 cents than Big Springs.
can't help you with routes but you could check to see if there will be road construction on either. might help you make your decision.
I, too, traveled with cats. Can tell you from my experience it is important to keep them in a cat box and to stop at night and let them be comfortable in a motel room. They shut down and won't take in water or food while traveling.
good luck. love those little guys.
I think it depends on the cat. I always start them out in a cat carrier box and plan to leave them in their box but some cats do okay traveling and are happier stretching out with the dogs or people and adapt to the vehicle. They'll even stay inside or cautiously step outside but stay near the vehicle when we stop.
If the cat tends to freak out, then it's best not to take any chances and just keep them in the box.
Additionally, I'd like to point out that the last time I hauled out of Denver in to Grand Junction (On I 70), the road was down to one lane at one point because of rock slides, and I understand they're going to be a while clearing it all up.
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some advice
