Best route...Pittsburgh to Denver (La Salle: motels, restaurants, dog friendly)

[surftb15]

Ohhhh...Im going from Pittsburgh to Denver though so it will be reversed.

Seems to be the best way to go.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by surftb15

Ohhhh...Im going from Pittsburgh to Denver though so it will be reversed.

Seems to be the best way to go.

OK, I assumed you were starting here in Denver. Yes, reverse the route. You should be able to get to Champaign or maybe the Quad Cities in a day, maybe to Kearny, NE the second night, depending, in part, on how far you get the first day, of course.

[surftb15]

Yes, it will be harder with two energetic dogs. I will stop every 4 hours.
My only concern is just finding dog friendly hotels though.

[maciesmom]

Motel 6 is dog friendly you just have to do a little research - some are better than others. The one in Kearney NE isn't bad - it's relatively new. It's not the quietest place but for just stopping and sleeping with the pups it'll do. I'd make reservations - you never know when something is going on that causes hotels along the highway to fill up. Trying to find a clean place to sleep when you have a couple dogs isn't something you want to be doing at 11 at night.

[surftb15]

Ok so here is what I should do (based on the 80 route):

Pittsburgh to Joliet Il

Joliet IL to Kearney, NE

Kearney NE to Denver, CO

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by surftb15

Ok so here is what I should do (based on the 80 route):

Pittsburgh to Joliet Il

Joliet IL to Kearney, NE

Kearney NE to Denver, CO

That would work. Lincoln or Grand Island, NE if you can't go any farther.

[surftb15]

Or is there any other place to stay in IL? Joliet seems good because its right off the 80 W. Also seems safe which is good with a trailer.

I am going to stop the second night in Lincoln, NE. This will be better because I also have to think I have a trailer hitch, which will slow things down quite a bit.

So Pittsburgh -> Joliet

Joliet -> Lincoln

Lincoln - > Denver

Man, it is going to be sad to leave.

Now I just need to find fun things to do along the wya.

[Katarina Witt]

Joliet would be fine, or any place else west of Chicago. After the Chicago burbs, there's not much till you get to Moline, IL, which is about 150 miles farther west.

[surftb15]

Yep.
I am just trying to book the hotels in advance unfortunately. Both Joliet and Lincoln have fine pet friendly hotels with free buffet (yum).
I will stop every 4 hours to let the dogs use the bathroom, so this route isn't too bad @ all.

Very manageable.

[Davros]

Why is your route taking you to Joliet ? If you were to take Katiana's route, you'd be on I-74, which goes through Champaign-Urbana / Bloomington / Peoria.