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From: trz@drume.UUCP (ZehrbachT)
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re: driving XC: what to do after Cleveland
Message-ID: <3@drume.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Jul-85 17:37:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: drume.3
Posted: Wed Jul 24 17:37:40 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jul-85 22:16:30 EDT
References: <418@petrus.UUCP>
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     Having lived in Indiana (3 years), Illinois (9 years), Iowa (5 years), 
Kansas(2 years), and now residing in Colorado, I suppose I am fairly well versedon the first leg of your journey.  In Indiana, skip Indianapolis, as well as therest of the state (actually, I recall my brother going camping in The Dunes, or something like that, you might want to check that out, and Brown County State 
Park was a favorite haunt of my family for camping, don't remember it much, 
though).
     Illinois: skip it, too.  Unless you're into big cities, then stop by 
Chicago.  (I guess the southern part of the state actually has some trees and
hills in it, but that is a little out of your way).
     Iowa: I really didn't appreciate Iowa much until I graduated from there andlanded a job down in Kansas.  Compared to Kansas, Iowa is an oasis.  Fairly     pretty state.  Nothing spectacular, just nice and green and rolling hills.
     Kansas: skip.  It would be a real toss-up as to whether Nebraska is 
a better or worse route.  Probably the deciding factor would be which state 
has the more lenient speeding laws.  Definitely drive through either state 
at night.
     The one thing about all of the above states: NICE people (on the whole)
if you happen to be white and ordinary looking (this seems to be more of a   
factor in the southern states i.e. Kansas).
     Colorado: just moved here a few months ago, but I love every minute here.
As to MUST SEE things, you really should experience Boulder on a friday or a 
saturday night.  Street performers are around to entertain, people walking 
all around eating ice cream, pizza, cookies, etc.  Great place to people 
watch.  As far as nature goes, I have not been disappointed in any place I
have been so far.  I guess once I get into the Mountains, I am happy.
     One place you really should go is to the town of Idaho Springs (in the
mountains, just west of Denver, on I-70) and eat in a place called Beau Jo's
Pizza.  Great stuff.  If you have a heafty appetite, and a friend, you could
take them up on the Challenge.  If you and a friend can eat this pizza (the
Challenge), which is 12 to 14 pounds of good stuff, within an hour, 
without getting up from the table, then you get the pizza for free and they
will even throw in $100 (maybe enough to get your stomache pumped).
     If you can overlook the pretentious air about it, Vail is a fairly
neat town.  No cars are allowed on the mall streets, free busses take you
around, lots of designer-stuff shops, restaurants galore, horseback riding,
camping, rafting, bicycling, etc.  It might be worth a day.  Aspen is supposed
to be better that Vail, but I have no first-hand knowledge.
     Telluride is supposed to be magnificant.  To borrow a comparison from
a friend, the difference between Telluride and Denver (its nearby mountains)
is on the same magnitude as the difference between Denver and Iowa.

     I have been up to the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming.  NICE territory up 
there.

     In a nutshell, skip as much of the midwest as possible, come straight to 
the Mountains.  Once here, romp around the mountains wherever you are.  You're
going to miss alot, so don't worry about what to see and what not to see.  
Do as you did in Japan and England (?), just kinda bum around and explore
the mountains around you wherever you are.  One rule of thumb, the more North
you go, the more spectacular the Mountains are.  Colorado Springs (south of   
Denver) is a nice area, but the mountains are smaller.  It all depends on what
you want.

                                 Have fun,
                                 Tom Zehrbach