Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Am driving a car out to Silverlake WA for my son from the east coast next week. Advice on routes, and what to avoid would be great. My son the Marine will be out there for a couple of years at the base, I guess its under a hour to the seattle dragstrip.

Thanks

Eric

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Do you by any chance mean Silverdale, WA? Fairly large contingent of Marines at Bangor. If fuel prices in Canada aren't too prohibitive I'd head north to Montreal and then go across the UP of Michigan and follow Hwy 2 across until the snow stopped me. You could also cross into Canada at Buffalo and then head up to the UP and proceed west. Getting across the upper corridor Cleveland/Chicago/etc. just isn't my idea of fun. At some point going west the heavy snowfall in the upper West is going to drive you down to I-90, not all bad since you still have some good scenery along the way. I-90 drops you really close to the ferry terminal in Seattle and you can catch the ferry over to Bremerton (the Bainbridge ferry can also get you close to Silverdale so pick the ferry with the shorter wait times). You can also drive to Silverdale by going over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge but be forewarned all Seattle traffic is horrible, especially at peak traffic times. If you really mean the Silver Lake area then proceed to I-5 (or I-405) south to get there. In any case Silverdale is very close to the Bremerton Dragway which runs a nice program, check Pacific's and Bremerton's websites for what might be open.

P.S. Take your rain coat!

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Eric . Just hit I-90 and you will be fine. Enjoy the drive ...

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Thanks he is at Bangor. I'm from north of boston, so we are used to traffic, I think road rage was invented in South Boston.

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Not beyond the realm of possibility to have snow in some of the higher elevations that may require chains. If you don't have any Les Schwab Tire Centers and probably others have them and they can be returned for full refund if never used....just check weather along the route. Always a good idea to carry some blankets when going over the Rockies and Cascades.

And yes, I've driven in Boston; I feel your pain.

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

I'd recommend I-90 getting out here, and then pick your poison getting from Seattle to the base at Bangor. Every time I had to drive over there it was from Fort Lewis so I hit the Tacoma Narrows bridge from the south.

"Semper Fi" from a former Marine!

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Be advised that the Narrows bridge is free over from the Seattle/Tacoma side and toll on the way back.

Lived in the Boston area in the 70's. Drove and rode a motorcycle on the rotarys. After defensive driving in my home state of Ohio I learned aggressive driving quickly.

Bremerton is running a full program this season. They have test and tune Fridays with races on Saturday and Sunday. On site camping. Best info is on Facebook.

Pacific Raceway is home to the local Stock/Superstock series.

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Final feedback: Thanks for all the advice and texts traveling with my dad on 90 90% daytime driving, did it in 4 legs, from here to cleveland, cleveland to Sioux Fall SD, Sioux Falls to Missoula MT, Missoula to Bremerton.

Final leg of mountain driving is fun for those with the car and skills to enjoy it, would be work with motorhome and trailer. Quite pretty in areas, Baker Mountain ski area was still open. Went right by dragstrip exit on 15 I think.

Pretty straight forward drive, things of note: Once you hit SD, speed limit goes up to 80 which means 89 for safe ticket avoiding reasons, some sections of 75 and 70, 65 reserved for dense city areas. Gas prices start to go north in Idaho, then hit a steep peak in Washington.

There is also a "Apple Maggot Quarantine Area" sign in Washington which provided miles of entertainment.

Two areas of northern style city driving through/around chicago on 90, and a touch in Tacoma.

Saw 15 troopers, 3100 miles. 6 in new york. Finally, Washington state has the gas(normal gas) knozzles that make you push down and click almost to get to work, they did away with such EPA stuff in most of the country quite a while ago.

Glad I did it.

Thanks

Eric

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Dont count on driving 89 on I-90 and not getting stopped.

Re: Advice from the Northwest Racers Please
 

Silverlake is actually an Everett, Wa/Mill Creek, Wa. "neighborhood". He could very well mean Silverdale, Wa however. BOTH places are close to Navy installations. An hour to Pacific Raceways without heavy traffic, and 1 1/2 hours to Bremerton Raceway if he means from Silverlake . Silverdale 1/2 hour to Bremerton Raceway, and an hour to Pacific Raceways from Silverdale. Heavy traffic and you can almost triple those times. Traffic is terrible on I-5/I-405, and it's getting to where it does't matter on the time of day.
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