Summer Road Trip - California -> UP Michigan

JamesDow

Thought I would share some information from a recent trip that concluded late last month.
Drove the T@G just over 6,200 miles along with wife and two dogs.
Went through 15 different states.
Often stayed at campgrounds with electricity to use air conditioning. Our 100Ah Renogy Smart Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery was key at keeping us at full power usage with no worries.
Had a good trip, lost one dog early on into the trip due to congestive heart failure. That was sad.
Of interest is how much we over packed.
- Never used the solar suitcase, propane generator, Clam screen shelter, canvas portable dog crate, ... ... ...
We only had planned camping reservations for the first three sites. After that we estimated the general area where we would like to end up, use the App The Dyrt and called as we were traveling that same day.

I will be making some YouTube videos soon which will be posted on my channel - jamesedwarddow
Production plan is one video per location trip (about 19 total). I am working my way through over 6,500 files from our phones, drone, GoPro and dash cam.

Below are the locations that we went to and a gas usage spreadsheet.

Vacation Locations 2021

San Diego CA to St. George UT (Snow Canyon State Park)
I-15 – I-215 I-15

St. George UT (Snow Canyon State Park) to Green River UT (Green River State Park – Moab (Moab Veterinary Clinic) – Arches National Park – Canyonlands National Park)
I-15 – I-70
I-70 – US-191 – UT-313

Green River UT (Green River State Park to James M. Robb Colorado River State Park CO
I-70

James M. Robb Colorado River State Park CO to Bever Creek CO
I-70

Bever Creek CO to Evergreen CO
I-70 – CoRd65 – US-74 – CoRd73

Evergreen CO to Lovewell State Park - Lovewell Reservoir KS (Walleye Point Campground)
CoRd64 – US-285 – I-70 – US-24 – US-83 – I40N (Dirt Rd) – KS-23 – KS-9 – US-281 – US-36 – KS-14

Lovewell State Park KS to Concordia KS
US-36- US-81

Concordia KS to Rock Creek State Park IA
US-81 – I-80 – IA-224 – F27E

Rock Creek State Park IA to Sand Creek IN
F27E – I-80 – I-280 - I-80 – IL-83 – I-94 -

Sand Creek IN to (Warren Dunes State Park MI to Detroit (Forest Lawn Cemetery) to Detroit/Ypsilanti MI
I-94 – M-53 – I-94

Detroit/Ypsilanti MI to Ludington State Park Beach
I-94 – US-23 – I-96 – I-196 – US-131 – I-96 - US-31 – M-116 -

Ludington State Park Beach MI to Onekama MI
M-116 – US-31 – - 8 Mile Rd

Onekama MI to Lake Michigan Campground MI

Lake Michigan Campground MI to Mackinac Island State Park MI

Mackinac Island State Park MI to Island Lake Campground MI
US-2 – M77 – M-28 – NF-13 – H-09 Buckhorn Rd.

Island Lake Campground MI to Shell Lake (Municipal Campground) WI
H-09 Buckhorn Rd. – M-94 – M-28 - US-41 – Co Rd 480 – US-41/M-28 – US-2 – WI-77 – GG – WI-77 -
US-63

Shell Lake WI to Sioux Falls Journey SD
US-63 – WI-64 – WI-35 – MN-36 – I-694 – I-494 – US-169 – MN-60 – I-90

Sioux Falls Journey SD to Black Hills / Rapid City SD
I-90 - SD-240 – I-90 – US-16BYP

Black Hills / Rapid City SD to Mt Rushmore to Crazy Horse to Guernsey State Park WO
US-16BYP – US-16A – SD-224 – US-385 – SD-89 – US-18 – CanAm Hwy (US-18 / US-85) – WY-270 – WY-317

Guernsey State Park WO to Rockport State Park UT
Lake Side Dr – US-26 – I-25 – WY-34 – US-30 – I-80 – S State Rd32 – UT-302

Rockport State Park UT to Quail Creek State Park UT

Quail Creek State Park UT to San Diego CA

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JamesDow

Here are some T@G photos from our cross country trip.
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WilliamA

Nice trip! I lived for 8 years in Shell Lake Wi and Spooner Wi. You likely went right by my house.....

You couldn't beat me hard enough to cross the big bridge between Mi and the UP...PTSD issues....

Please post an alert when you get the videos up!

Oh yeah...One more thing. You must live right. Most years having a screen tent at camp up here is pretty much a requirement. The skeeters are the size of buzzards. As we like to say:

There's not a single skeeter in Wi. They're all married and have huge families...

Bugs weren't bad at all this year. Don't get used to it.....

WilliamA

zgfiredude

Sorry to hear about the pup, we are packing now for a week around Utah and western Colorado and just found out one of our two pups has congestive heart failure. Just started her on some meds and hope the trip will not be too much for her, but she LOVES to go camping. It will be what it will be.

Otherwise it looks like you had a great trip, you drove about a mile away from our house when you passed from Joe Robb to Edwards. Small world.

JamesDow

WilliamA: My guess is why we did not have too many issues with mosquitoes is all the smoke from others with camp fires around us (Shell Lake Municipal Campground). Stopping at Lakeview Bar & Grill may have helped. The bridge was under construction when we crossed. (Outside lanes closed) Being from Michigan, I did not remember that the deck of the two inside lanes are metal grates. Can look right down to the water. That is supposed to minimize oscillation. Did you know that at the center, the deck can move side to side up to 35 feet?
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zgfiredude: Sorry to learn of your pups issues. Our dog was on Salix (Furosemide) which is a diuretic. We were told the the elevation changes from San Diego may have been an issue. In the event of need. The Moab Veterinary Clinic was great. I would trust them if the need arose.
We were lucky to get to drive by your house. I-70 was closed due to landslides. (fires/rain). We had our detour plan in place. We were able to get through during an open window before rain closed it down again.
Have fun on your trip.
My next camping trip is later this month (Colorado River-Picacho State Recreation Area) north of Yuma.
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LuckyJ

Sorry about your dog. We travel with ours as well, and can't imagine how hard it would be loosing one on a trip like that. Specialy since we have a tendandy to keep them close when they pass.

Nice trip.. perso, I love going over that bridge! 😊

mirasola

Had you been in MI before? If you come back, lmk and I can give you some tips on campgrounds we've liked. Ludington is a favorite of ours - busy campground, but amazing area.

JamesDow

mirasola:
Thanks on your offer. Tips are always good.
Yes, I have been to Michigan. Grew up in Detroit. That was many many years ago.
It is always good to go back to visit.
I liked Ludington.
In fact so much I brought some of it home.
I also really liked Lake Michigan Campground in the UP. ( 45.98590570272898, -84.97168270838725 )

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homerd

Great trip info and pictures! All the reasons why I bought the tag to go with minimum agenda except final destination. You gave me an extra bump of encouragement!