Has anyone ever taken route 36 across country?

[sonofamitch]

Tomorrow I'm flying from Colorado back to Chicago to pick up my '77 westy so I can drive it right back to Colorado. This past week I've been planning out some routes and it seems like route 36 is a straight shot from southern Illinois all the way to Denver. Has anyone traveled this route? What's the gas situation like? Is there a better alternative? I really don't want to drive on I80 due to the 75mph speed limit. Thanks!
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'77 Westy 2.0L FI

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568454&highlight=

[gt1953]

I am with you. Take the 36 nice easy laid back drive. Small towns all along the way. The nice thing about a road like that is you can stop and get an ice cream while the highway is right there.
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[coad]

36 across Missouri is great. Four lane all the way, very light traffic, and you avoid all the Kansas City congestion and road construction. The scenery isn't as nice as I-70, but it's still a pretty drive. If you have time, Chillicothe is a neat old town. I have friends in the antique business and they're always pulling treasure out of Chillicothe. Only one Waffle House on 36 though. It's in St. Joe, and it's not a very good one. Don't waste your time in Hannibal, it's a tourist trap.

I haven't taken it across Kansas in years, but it gets pretty empty in Western KS and Eastern CO. Once you pass Smith Center you're on your own. That might be something to think about with a new (old) car. If you break down, you're going to be there a while. The other thing is that if they're still doing the wheat harvest (they should be about done) you can get stuck behind endless old grain trucks and guys hauling combines doing 45 miles an hour out there in KS.

(if you do stop in Chillicothe, be sure to go downtown and see the nice memorial to the inventor of the automatic bread slicer. Chillicothe is the birthplace of sliced bread)

[janerick3]

I would consider taking US 30 (Lincoln Highway) to Big Springs, Nebraska, then US 138 to Sterling, CO, and finally US 6 to Brush, CO. Then you have the option of taking either US 34 to Greeley and US 85 to Denver or CO 71 to Last Chance, CO and US 36 to Denver (either way, you have short stretches of interstate to deal with).

Here are the reasons:

-US 30 is much less desolate than US 36

-You can get ethanol-free gas in Nebraska (Casey's General Store sells it)

-Southern Nebraska (Platte Valley) is usually 4-10 degrees cooler than northern Kansas.
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Thanks,
Jan K.