01/11-01/14/15 - Travel from NJ to Dillon Colorado

Another year, another trip out West to Ski country. We left Shark River Hills on Sunday Jan. 11, 2015 at 6:00am.  The morning was cold, near 10 degrees, but after the sun came up, it was a great start. After 543 miles, we were in Columbus, Ohio where we stayed at the Hawthorne Suites.  This is a pet friendly hotel and they charge $25 additional for Benny. The second day, the weather condition in the morning was less than desirable. We encountered rain, sleet, snow and freezing rain from Columbus to Indianapolis but after that the storm moved on and we traveled the remaining mileage in sunny conditions. The total mileage for the second day was 515 miles which put us in Columbia, Missouri. We stayed at the Drury Inns where the price of the hotel includes evening cocktails,  a buffet and a morning breakfast. And they only charge $10 for Benny. The third day was an easy 400 miles to Hays, Kansas  where we stayed at the Comfort Inn which is next to the Whiskey Creek saloon. The fourth day of our travel was another 400 miles and we arrived at our destination in Dillon, Colorado around 2PM.

Other than the 4 or so hours on our second day of travel, the weather along the way was great. Gas prices along the way ranged from $2.53 on the Penn. Turnpike to $1.65 in Missouri. Most of the time it was under $2.00. Speed limits was mostly 70 MPH and in Kansas and Colorado it was 75 MPH. We traveled thru 9 states - NJ, Penn, W.Va,  Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado.