Someone, who will remain nameless, has inquired (multiple times) about the travel schedule of this years trip. Let's have a discussion and come to an agreement. Old school thought is to leave out of town on Thursday afternoon, late, and drive through the evening, night and morning to arrive at said destination at a chipper and crispy 10am-ish in the land of corn. My thought was to leave at 4am and drive through the day and get there in the early evening. The old dog, from the old school, is the most experienced driver of this specific route and contends that it can be driven in 14 hours. He leaves at 3am and arrives in time for dinner. Since we won't be driving at 130mph, I would think that we could make the trip in 15 hours.
At this point, I could really give a rip when we leave. Google says 16 hours...if we can't beat google time, we're pretty lame. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=30017&daddr=68502&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.018647,93.339844&ie=UTF8&z=5
THE BOTTOM LINE
What does everyone want to do? Does anyone have any time restrictions? I have one caveat...I will not drive the 2am - 4am shift between No-where, MO and NorthWest No-where, MO if we choose to go old school. I'm just excited to be able to go and see my new dog ruin 3 days of hunting! I hope he survives the trip!
Still calling out a Nun for the trip. No response. I guess that once you get all city-fu-cated, you forget about values like TEAM and HONOR and RESPECT and FIRST ROUND IS ON ME.
Your fearless co-conspirator!
17 comments:
I definitely vote for the new school 4am ish departure. It will help us prepare for opeing day without throwing our bods all out of whack. We would still make it to Martel by happy hour.
LP, WHEN have you EVER driven the 12 midnight to 6 AM "deadman's run", between St. Louis and KC, on the trip????????????
I have no objections to a very early departure, and I agree with you that the "old dog" tends to stretch the truth about driving and a lot of "other" things. We have never made the drive in less than 18 hours and that was when we had 4 drivers alternating shifts.
If you feel we can make the drive in 15 hours that would put us in Martel around 6 PM Nebraska Daylight Time, I don't think we can do it but what the hell I am game!
It won't be the same without the cocktail party all the way out!
I will abide by the groups decision! Not another word about driving times, BUT let it be known, if we have any problems and DON'T make it in time to hunt the Colonels "honey hole" field on opening day, I WILL let you know about it!
LMAO!
HB
I gave you every opportunity to pitch the old school drive and I am OK with it. It's not like you to back down so easy. If we arrive at midnight and have a cocktail, I'll in the first field the following morning. Is there a compromise here?
There are several advantages to leaving at 4 in the afternoon (or earlier) on Thursday. One is traffic. You will avoid rush hour traffic in Atlanta (maybe), Nashville, St.Louis, and Kansas City. Also, interstate traffic is much lighter through the night and the traffic you will encounter will be mostly truckers, who are (presumably) safer drivers. Another advantage is that it's easier on the dog(s?). He (they) will sleep most of the way. A third advantage is that arriving earlier allows a leisurely process of unpacking and getting acclimated (getting all that ozone laden Atlanta air out of your systems) as well as leaving time to scope out the hunting areas and purchase any last minute needs. And, as an added advantage, you'll be able to experience the unique thrill (ordeal?) of driving "Dead Man's Run" in the wee hours, a prerequisite for the top level of membership in USOPHT. And, if you're careful not to wake up a certain member of the team, thus triggering a pit stop (or three), you'll make much better time. Enough advice from Old Dog for now.
There's one other thing to support the Thursday afternoon departure: It leaves time to deal with unanticipated problems that might arise. For instance I remember the van running out of gas at about 2 AM in East St. Louis (arguably the last place in the U.S. you'd want to run out of gas any time of day.) I recall some of the locals beginning to gather around us until we let the dogs out, at which time they decided it was wiser to pursue other nefarious activities.
That is exactly why departing at 4am would be better. I would certainly rather be low on gas at 2pm instead of 2am. There are plenty more places to get gas than east St Louis. Man, I will NEVER forget that one. The dogs taking a "walk" at that time certainly got the attention of the "locals".
There's another consideration I just thought of regarding time of departure. I've seldom made the trip when I didn't encounter either 1) a construction delay, sometimes as much as an hour, or 2)a delay due to an accident, any way from 30 minutes to several hours (if a spill is involved), or both. Driving at night eliminates both some of the construction delays and some of the accident delays (fewer accidents and far less traffic back-up if you should encounter one). I have to agree with HB that if you opt for a daytime trip, you should assume it could take up to 18 hours. That would put you in Corky's driveway at about 9 PM Friday night (allowing for the 1 hour time differential and assuming a 4 AM departure.)
Just to set the record straight, we ran out of gas in East St. Louis not because of a lack of fueling opportunities, but because the driver (who shall remain nameless) forgot to check the gas gauge.
Here is a reminder for everyone. Before leaving for the trip, you might want to make sure you have your non-resident hunting permit with the habitat stamp. I just got mine online. It is really easy and you get to print your license and habitat stamp immediately. Total non res cost is $97. They use that money to restock the birds in the field next to the Colonel's honey hole. I guess you can say that we are buying our birds ahead of time... Also, I would recommend that you get your new boots now so they have a chance to break in before opening day. I remember buying some new boots the day before the hunt and on opening day in the first field, I had blisters on both heals that were so bad they had to have padding duct taped to ease the pain. Pain is good...extreme pain is NEW BOOTS!
You are correct about the driver (who shall remain namelessShapelli) forgetting to check the gas gauge before changing drivers. It is my understanding that the individual who did that will not be making the drive this time...WONDER WHY???? lol
Well said about the boot thing JB. You might also have added, buy good quality boots, not plastic ones from K Mart.
Yes, SP, avoid "leatherette" or those with hyde from a "nauga". I just ordered mine from L.L. Bean. Hopefully I will have them broken in by opening day.
Let me get MY $.02 in here, as I RECALL the unplanned East St. Louis 2 AM gas stop, it was the vehicle OWNER who failed to tell the new driver that the '78 Ford conversion van's tank was EMPTY when the fuel gage read 1/8 tank! (FORD? Fix Or Repair Daily) But then the first liar NEVER has a chance!
That is the REAL story on that situation!
And. JB, buying the permits a tad early aren't we??????
Also, I have been doing considerable ruminating on "new school" v "old school" travel and have decided "old school" is better!
You "kids" that can operate on NO SLEEP and tequila at 0600 are tougher than us "old school" guys who need some R&R before hunting the "wily cock pheasant"! You know like at least 5 or 6 hours sleep!
But I know,I know, "pain is good, extreme pain is extremely good"!
Alas, I am retired and poor so I will have to wear my old LL Beam Maine hunting boots! Which ARE broken in nicely!
HB
I remember that night in east St Louis. The driver that had done such a great job all the way to St Louis was not the owner of the the vehicle. The driver was the slender guy with the bushy mustache who said, "I am tired, someone else has to drive". and HB said, "Ok, I will take over". Next thing we know...we are out of gas with HB saying "why the hell didn't you tell me....?" That is my story and I am sticking to it. Next thing I knew...we we unloading the dogs because the "locals" were moving in... All I know is that we ended up buying a gallon of gas and a gallon gas can and we made it to the pump. I do not recall that the owner of the vehicle caused that debacle. As I recall, he was snoring.
Our newest member to join us on this trip suggested that he we leave on Thursday evening and go as far as we can go....like Metropolis, IL...get a room (which he will pay for the group) and the next morning...drive to Martel and take it easy. His name is David and he can definitely back up what he is saying. The great thing is...no dead man's run....no missing opening day...and no extra cost....he even offered to use his Ford F 250 diesel King cab to pull the trailer...AND PAY THE FUEL COSTS..... Anybody want to top that? Not to mention, he just bought a new O/U shotgun for the trip... He is prior military and understands HONOR, RESPECT, TEAM and I WILL GET THE FIRST ROUND.
Haven't seen or heard from the Colonel, except for 1 anonymous post correcting me on the pain is good, ........etc.. But that COULD have been SP incognito!
Also, JP I am hoping we can get further than Metropolis MO before stopping for the night. I want to be able to get to Martel and experience the full effect and aroma of the goat pen and chicken pen, and be able to set up the spot for bird cleaning. I only hope our hosts have not gotten rid of their chickens that eat all the pheasant offal.
Another question, will there be a requirement for "formal" clothing in the event we have a "family" do and take our hosts to dinner! I don't remember any place we never went where the dress was "REAL" formal. I am thinking "formal" as in khaki's, sport shirt and jacket? Right?
Oh, and while I am thinking about it, I simply cannot let Shapelli take the blame for the East St. Louis gas fiasco. It was I who was driving when we coasted to a stop in the combat zone, and Timmy and Shapelli flagged a cab to search for gas! Of course, that is a story in itself.
As I remember, "old dog" had been driving from KY up through Illinois when we switched off drivers and I drove on totally oblivious to coming events. Meanwhile "old dog" was sleeping, no doubt dreaming of the many "wily cock pheasants" that would cross his gun barrel. When, all of a sudden he awakes from his fantasy sleep and asks, out of the blue, as the Hess station passes in the night, "how much gas do we have?" And, I reply, "not to worry, we still have 1/8 of a tank", to which he replies "s$!t, the tank is EMPTY at 1/8"!. THEN, he says, "oh well" maybe we can make it to the north side of town near the airport" and promptly goes back to sleep!
Not
Just as we crossed the Missippi the HUMONGOUS 302 CID Ford V-8 died of fuel starvation and I was able to glide down the exit ramp to a perfect 3 point landing beneath the elevated expressway and come to a stop in the heart of the East St. Louis combat zone!
I must say it was a masterful job of airmanship, landing that crippled van so smoothly!
Hopefully this will take the stigma from Shapelli after all these years of being in the dog house!
Respectfully submitted,
HB
HB,
I do believe your story is 100% correct. My apologies to Shapelli. I do remember him getting a cab to get gas. I guess I assumed he took responsiblity for the fuel starvation. Glad that has been corrected. I did admire the three point landing in the East St Louis combat zone. The German Grey Ghosts were superb reinforcements for the troops that night...
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