The Indiana toll road was the first one with a posted minimum speed. The minimum never went higher than 40 mph across the country and no one ever called us on it. With out speedometer reading high however we speed up whenever we see a cop. That's a switch.
Stockyards
We tootled into Chicago on the expressway on a windless, hot, smoky day. A black man offered us $200 for the car while we were driving 40 mph side by side down the Eisenhower Expressway. We stopped in Oak Park to get a new route to Denver from the AAA. They give you a personal "Triptik" or strip map which is easier to handle in our small "cockpit". The scale is not too accurate. however.
We didn't get away from Chicago until late. When we stopped for gas on the way out the car refused to even gurgle, let alone start. Bob pulled the front seat out and cleaned the battery terminals. He says he'll have to remember to check the battery water every night. We had this trouble (dirty terminals) about twice more.
Getting gas from where we mailed the film and letter
We made a wrong turn on the throughway and had to pay a double toll to get back on the right road. We started looking for a motel in Morris, but either they wanted $12.00 for a double, or they were full. Even the new 200-plus room Holiday Inn had nothing. It wasn't until we got to Peru, over 50 miles farther and well after dark that we found a vacancy $7.00 double. Not many motels near new Interstate 80.
Reflections
We still hadn't had dinner. While we were looking for motels we had seen plenty of hamburger joints, but couldn't find even ONE in Peru. Finally ended up across the river in LaSalle, where we got good roast beef sandwiches and something to drink for 99 cents. We also bought donuts for the morning. We couldn't use their window tray because our window mouldings slanted out at too great an angle.
It was after 9:30 when we got back to the motel, and we were so tired we went right to bed, after I did my usual laundry. Bob even forgot to check the battery.
Wednesday 14 October 1964 - Peru Illinois to Council Bluffs, Iowa - 415 miles.
We listen to the weather on every motel TV. It has been sunny and hot.
Highway on the flat land
Wheat fields
I did a rough calculation of the distance still to go, and Bob was shocked. He has never been this far west and I have only been as far as Colorado.
Bank of the Mississippi
Crossing the Mississippi
Bob has been trying to get SAE 40 oil to see if it would help quench the car's oil appetite. It takes about a quart every 200 miles. But sometimes he has trouble finding even SAE 30 non-detergent oil. When we got to Council Bluffs, we got gas and followed the filling station man's directions through town. Bob forgot them after about 3 blocks. We bounced around in the dark over about a mile of railroad tracks. Finally we did get back to the highway and found a motel and place to eat. Bob washed the car and I washed underwear.
Thursday 15 October 1964 - Council Bluffs to Sterling Colorado - 463 miles
Bob says the engine sounds lousy. We have acquired a few extra rattles. Just before North Platte outside Brady Nebraska a state trooper stopped us. Bob was driving with his shoes off. He tried to think what he might have done wrong, but all the trooper wanted was to "look at a good car again". Actually I think he would have liked a little drive, except he didn't know what to do with his patrol car. We got out, opened the hood and exchanged small talk.
North Platte River
I wanted to get to my uncle's house in Brighton (near Denver) tonight but we didn't get to Sterling until after 7:00. Of course 100 miles is nothing out there, but it means another three hours for us and we were too exhausted to try it. We went into an actual restaurant for a sit down dinner and got locked out of our car. The door on the driver's side has no lock (lock spring is broken), and the blanket we protect the upholstery with got jammed in it. After a little banging it finally loosened up.
Plymouth parked
Friday 16 October 1964 - Sterling to Brighton Colorado - 115 miles
We got to my uncle's house in good time. Bob had the car greased and I did a machine wash. Uncle Harry took us up to Boulder to see the fall color
Canyon up behind Boulder
Gold trees on a hillside
Golden Aspens
Hillside
Uncle Harry and his car
Sun on mountains
and helped us plan a route through the best scenery with the mildest uphill grades.
Saturday 17 October 1964 - Brighton Colorado to Vernal Utah - 374 miles
Aunt Alice and Uncle Harry seeing us off
We passed a nice old car junkyard west of Denver (where routes 6 and 40 intersect).
Highway toward mountains
Plains and mountains
Stockyards
We tootled into Chicago on the expressway on a windless, hot, smoky day. A black man offered us $200 for the car while we were driving 40 mph side by side down the Eisenhower Expressway. We stopped in Oak Park to get a new route to Denver from the AAA. They give you a personal "Triptik" or strip map which is easier to handle in our small "cockpit". The scale is not too accurate. however.
We didn't get away from Chicago until late. When we stopped for gas on the way out the car refused to even gurgle, let alone start. Bob pulled the front seat out and cleaned the battery terminals. He says he'll have to remember to check the battery water every night. We had this trouble (dirty terminals) about twice more.
Getting gas from where we mailed the film and letter
We made a wrong turn on the throughway and had to pay a double toll to get back on the right road. We started looking for a motel in Morris, but either they wanted $12.00 for a double, or they were full. Even the new 200-plus room Holiday Inn had nothing. It wasn't until we got to Peru, over 50 miles farther and well after dark that we found a vacancy $7.00 double. Not many motels near new Interstate 80.
Reflections
We still hadn't had dinner. While we were looking for motels we had seen plenty of hamburger joints, but couldn't find even ONE in Peru. Finally ended up across the river in LaSalle, where we got good roast beef sandwiches and something to drink for 99 cents. We also bought donuts for the morning. We couldn't use their window tray because our window mouldings slanted out at too great an angle.
It was after 9:30 when we got back to the motel, and we were so tired we went right to bed, after I did my usual laundry. Bob even forgot to check the battery.
Wednesday 14 October 1964 - Peru Illinois to Council Bluffs, Iowa - 415 miles.
We listen to the weather on every motel TV. It has been sunny and hot.
Highway on the flat land
Wheat fields
I did a rough calculation of the distance still to go, and Bob was shocked. He has never been this far west and I have only been as far as Colorado.
Bank of the Mississippi
Crossing the Mississippi
Bob has been trying to get SAE 40 oil to see if it would help quench the car's oil appetite. It takes about a quart every 200 miles. But sometimes he has trouble finding even SAE 30 non-detergent oil. When we got to Council Bluffs, we got gas and followed the filling station man's directions through town. Bob forgot them after about 3 blocks. We bounced around in the dark over about a mile of railroad tracks. Finally we did get back to the highway and found a motel and place to eat. Bob washed the car and I washed underwear.
Thursday 15 October 1964 - Council Bluffs to Sterling Colorado - 463 miles
Bob says the engine sounds lousy. We have acquired a few extra rattles. Just before North Platte outside Brady Nebraska a state trooper stopped us. Bob was driving with his shoes off. He tried to think what he might have done wrong, but all the trooper wanted was to "look at a good car again". Actually I think he would have liked a little drive, except he didn't know what to do with his patrol car. We got out, opened the hood and exchanged small talk.
North Platte River
I wanted to get to my uncle's house in Brighton (near Denver) tonight but we didn't get to Sterling until after 7:00. Of course 100 miles is nothing out there, but it means another three hours for us and we were too exhausted to try it. We went into an actual restaurant for a sit down dinner and got locked out of our car. The door on the driver's side has no lock (lock spring is broken), and the blanket we protect the upholstery with got jammed in it. After a little banging it finally loosened up.
Plymouth parked
Friday 16 October 1964 - Sterling to Brighton Colorado - 115 miles
We got to my uncle's house in good time. Bob had the car greased and I did a machine wash. Uncle Harry took us up to Boulder to see the fall color
Canyon up behind Boulder
Gold trees on a hillside
Golden Aspens
Hillside
Uncle Harry and his car
Sun on mountains
and helped us plan a route through the best scenery with the mildest uphill grades.
Saturday 17 October 1964 - Brighton Colorado to Vernal Utah - 374 miles
Aunt Alice and Uncle Harry seeing us off
We passed a nice old car junkyard west of Denver (where routes 6 and 40 intersect).
Highway toward mountains
Plains and mountains
- Next entry in the series 'Driving Coast to Coast - Three Cross Country Trips 1964-1966': Taking the Northern Route in 1964 - Chugging Over Mountains in a 1932 Plymouth - part 3
- Previous entry in the series 'Driving Coast to Coast - Three Cross Country Trips 1964-1966': Taking the Northern Route in 1964 Across the USA in a 1932 Plymouth - The Start
