Travel Forum / Destinations / USA and Canada / July 2006

I recently drove from Fairfax, VA to Seattle,WA and here is a quick
summary of the road:

Coming out of Virginia I took I-270 up to I-68 (MD) which was an easy
drive on the weekend. Then from there I took route 40 to I-70 heading
West through WV and Ohio which took was a fairly easy drive no traffic
problems or anything. Most of the road is flat.

In Indiana we switched to I-65 at Indianapolis. IN is all flat country
(I mean really flat not even a hill) Lot of farm land, interesting and
beautiful in its own way. People were very freindly in Indianna.

Out of I-65 I took a secondary route 36 which takes you all the way to
I-39 in Illinois. It's not the fastest route but I wanted to avoid
congestion in Chicago. Again most of route 36 was flat full of farms
with a clear blue sky and a lot of sunshine!

Took I-39 all the way through I-94 through Wisconsin, as you get more
and more north in Wisconsin it gets greener and greener. You also start
to see more hills and trees (again still an easy drive). As expected,
people in WI are extremely freindly and helpful! made a quick stop in
Eau Claire, very nice town.

Continued on I-94 through Minnisota. It's an interesting drive through
St. Paul/ Min. but as soon as you pass St. Cloud it starts to look more
and more deserted (mostly a farm here and there).

First point in North Dakota is Fargo. You don't know what flat means
until you see ND! it defines the world flat... now folks by Flat I
don't mean boring rather FLAT. But still great to see, it gives you a
nice calm feeling driving through flat lands and prairies. (Still on
I-94... easy drive)

Next was the big state of Montana... and yes Montana DOES have a
speeing limit, and you bet they will enforce it. On I-94 it's been
mostly 70mph, except for ND and MT where it's 75mph.
MT starts flat much like ND but after as you get close to billings you
start to see more mountains (start to increase elevation) and greenery.

So what's in MT? A lot of big farms, beautiful horses and great people!
Made a quick stop by Butte which is a nice mountain town, same as
Missoula and a few more mountain towns in the area. At Billings, MT
I-94 merges with I-90 where you now drive on I-90

Since this was summer, the drive was very easy, closer to the ID border
you see more curvey roads (I-90) but as long as you drive careful it
should be no big deal. In the short drive through ID it was mostly
mountain roads, because once you get into Idaho you start to go down in
elevation. Coeur d'Alene is very much worth visiting, it's in a very
nice location, surrounded by Mountains and sits near a lake.

I-90 through Idaho is a bit more challenging in the sense that you have
to pay more attention (still fairly easy road -- remember it's a pretty
sunny week no rain and not even a cloud).

Once you enter Washington (first point would be Spokane) it starts to
get flat again. If you need gas, be sure to get some in Spokane because
there is nothing for a while after Spokane. (I-90 -- very easy)

As you get closer to the Seattle metro area you will begin to once
again see more steeper slopes and mountains, as long as you drive
careful, it's pretty simple. Mountains are very beautiful, a lot of
scenery! (I-90 Moderate road -- not too difficult)

Made a visit to Vancouver when in this area, and boy do they have some
rude people in here. They seem to be very hostile when they see a car
with a Virginia plate for no apparent reason. Not to mention the lack
of driving courtesy which is non-existant. While I must admit, the area
of vancouver is a very nice area, the people are not. Downtown
vancouver can also be full of drug addicts and unwanted characters.
(Save your money and go somewhere else!)

Summary!

Very easy drive, a lot of beautiful country to look at and great
people! and that's what makes America such a great place!