America's Quietest Roads

[WanderingRose]

I’m a bit challenged with electronic terms, but I think the answer to PocketEarth using gps is “yes”.

You can set it to navigate for you, telling you your turns, etc., but I have only used that function a few times.

I plot out a route and mark my turns on their maps, then delete them when I have reached my destination.

It must use a satellite, right, if it tracks your location in real-time even without signal?

 

[user 423]

Right, which is why I rely on the PocketEarth app the past 7 years or so.

It without fail tracks your location in real time, even without internet signal.

Sounds good but need to wait for an Android version.

 

[Morgana]

Yes, it's GPS-based. Just like my little Garmin eTrex, which I love (but I assume with better maps).

For some reason the Pocket Earth website isn't loading for me, but here's one description
https://justuseapp.com/en/app/481679745/pocket-earth-pro/reviews

 

[user 35711]

Time to BUY a new map.............................

Have things changed that much?? It has much of the basic and I figured I would fill in with GPS...

 

[user 423]

Another list. This one from Popular Mechanics, "12 Underrated National Parks":

I've only been to two of those (Shenandoah and Petrified Forest) but want to visit more, especially the ones in Utah. I think the only other ones I would add to my bucket list are Big Bend and the Badlands.

In June I did head out on my motorcycle towards S.Dakota but had mechanical problems and only made it to Burlington,CO before needing to head back to AZ. Just in time to enjoy monsoon season .

Forest fires and closed NF campgrounds in New Mexico caused quite a dent in my wallet as I had to spend a lot on motels.

 

[maki2]

Not all tablets are gps devices. Be careful what you purchase of you want to use it for that.

 

[user 22017]

Forest fires and closed NF campgrounds in New Mexico caused quite a dent in my wallet as I had to spend a lot on motels.

You couldn't push on? Not being snarky, I'm curious if I could be stuck anywhere needing to pay for motels. <<< With a working vehicle /edit

 

[Tony's Dream]

We just got back from Lousiana. Interstate 12 through Baton Rouge has billboards about every mile about calling a lawyer if you are in an accident. I see an accident on a 20 mile stretch of this road EVERY time I am down there.

We drove a stretch of highway from Sheppard AFB....through OK and KS......and there were times we didn't see anyone for hours. I would hat to break down along that highway!

 

[user 423]

You couldn't push on? Not being snarky, I'm curious if I could be stuck anywhere needing to pay for motels. <<< With a working vehicle /edit

Closed campgrounds wouldn't be a big deal if you're traveling In a van or other enclosed rig but on a motorcycle it's harder to find a place to just pull off and bed down for the night. You can't just pitch a tent anywhere and I mostly would prefer to do that instead of sleeping under the stars. It just depends on where you are though.

One night when I was really tired I did try to sleep at a WM and set up my sleeping bag between the bike and a curb on the edge of the lot. I was just nodding off about 11pm when it started to rain. Or so I thought. It actually was the water sprinkler system starting up! I packed up all my stuff and drove 25 miles or so to a busy rest area and ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep.

Some towns will let you camp at city parks but I didn't run across any. I was able to save some money by staying at a hostel in Santa Fe for a few days while my bike was being looked at.

 

[dhuff]

Not all tablets are gps devices. Be careful what you purchase of you want to use it for that.

True dat. Last time I checked, Apple iPads had to incl cellular data capability (e.g. 4G LTE or I suppose 5G now) before GPS apps would work. Wi-Fi only models need not apply.

 

[DLTooley]

Strange info on Rt.50 through Utah. "This entire 3,000 mile route is dubbed America’s Loneliest Road” but only 335 miles are in UT and most of it is actually I-70.

Rt.50, which runs from Ocean City,MD to Sacramento, isn't as busy as the interstates in the east but it's not exactly what you would call lonely. The section west of Ely, NV is the most remote section and is called the Loneliest Road.

In 2001 I set out to drive most of the route and departed from Arlington,VA but didn't make it to Sacramento because my car broke down in Montrose,CO. The aspens were at peak color, so it at least it was a pretty place to break down at.

Montrose to Moab is a great lonely road.

 

[user 423]

Montrose to Moab is a great lonely road.

Do you mean by the back roads? Rte.50 goes thru Grand Junction, so not so lonely in that area anyway .

I haven't been west of Montrose on 50 but have travelled from Rifle to Vernal,UT on a pretty lonely trip.

Never saw so many prairie dogs in my life on that road!

 

[Oldwolf]

Holy moly! Talk about quiet roads. I recently returned from a SD trip. I found state highways in Iowa and South Dakota to be barren. Now and then I would meet a car in the other lane.

 

[WanderingRose]

Yep, and in Iowa they are the same way.

Take it slow, poke thru old towns, admire the old homes and structures, the best way to travel.

 

[user 35711]

Holy moly! Talk about quiet roads. I recently returned from a SD trip. I found state highways in Iowa and South Dakota to be barren. Now and then I would meet a car in the other lane.

Amazing

 

[eDJ_]

I don't know about other states but Ohio has a program for motorcyclist where quiet back roads are laid out for day trips that are scenic and don't have lots of traffic. A lot of people take their older shut-in's for a car tour on these roads in nice weather as an outing.

Here's their site:

Ohio's Best Back Road Motorcycle Rides

 

[user 35711]

I don't know about other states but Ohio has a program for motorcyclist where quiet back roads are laid out for day trips that are scenic and don't have lots of traffic. A lot of people take their older shut-in's for a car tour on these roads in nice weather as an outing.

Here's their site:

Ohio's Best Back Road Motorcycle Rides

Thanks

 

[user 423]

Ohio has a program for motorcyclist where quiet back roads are laid out for day trips that are scenic and don't have lots of traffic.

What I've found on lightly travelled highways is that you need to be extra careful looking out for vehicles approaching from side roads. The locals who probably come up to the main highway most times without seeing any through traffic can be pretty careless and pull out without even looking. Or they're drunk. This is part of the reason that overall, interstates are actually safer than state highways.

Riding a motorcycle requires a lot more traffic awareness than driving a car or van since a bike isn't as visible.
I'm convinced that the habit of using extra caution while on a bike carries over to when I'm driving other vehicles. No accidents in 57 years ....(except for people running into me) .

 

[user 35711]

What I've found on lightly travelled highways is that you need to be extra careful looking out for vehicles approaching from side roads. The locals who probably come up to the main highway most times without seeing any through traffic can be pretty careless and pull out without even looking. Or they're drunk. This is part of the reason that overall, interstates are actually safer than state highways.

Riding a motorcycle requires a lot more traffic awareness than driving a car or van since a bike isn't as visible.
I'm convinced that the habit of using extra caution while on a bike carries over to when I'm driving other vehicles. No accidents in 57 years ....(except for people running into me) .

In my years as a paramedic, my response to accidents that involved motorcycles, bicycles or pedestrians...most often were caused by motor vehicles.

 

[user 423]

^Much worse today with cell phones and 'entertainment centers' in the dashes of new cars these days.