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Geek Roadtrips Through the Heartland

Posted by chrisd on from the wireless-goodness dept.

While researching a roadtrip which I'll be taking from St. Paul, Minnesota to Placerville, Ca I did what any geek would do, I checked out the t-mobile hotspots along the route (some), did various searching on wi-finder (some) and other sites and have been doing some googling around on the topic. I know that there must be some 802.11b access points along and inside the towns along I-80, but for the life of me I'm finding it difficult for me to find any of them. I of course have various wireless sniffing apps, but that is hardly an efficient way to find access. I don't mind paying a small fee, so....with that in mind, if you were to take a trip across the country, where would you stop for access? For specifics, Read More... If you live along I-80, what are your favorite haunts with wireless? Specifically, I plan on stopping for meals or sleep in Des Moines, Lexington, Cheyanne, Rock Springs or thereabouts, Salt Lake City and maybe Reno and points along the long, bleak road between Reno and Salt Lake. But it's clear that the net needs a good reference for places to check your email through out middle america, so post here even if you want to talk about a great unknown spot in Oklahoma or something away from my route. If you own such an establishment, let us know!

On a side note, the futility of my search seems soemwhat silly, as there are clearly people who use the internet in these towns. Anyhow, I really look forward to seeing your responses! Also, any high quality, unique dining reccomendations would be really appreciated. Also, funny roadside attractions or must see geek spots are welcome, as I intend on blogging my cross country trip as it happens and would like to have something to talk about other than the state lines I cross and the number of retreads I dodge.

11 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  2. wifi is alive in central Iowa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    When you come the the Des Moines area, there is Prairieinet.net. They are a rural ISP that uses wifi. I don't know how open their sites are, but it is worth a try. http://www.prairieinet.net. and see a list of their sites.

  3. We got the O-face by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Skip the stop in Des Moines and just keep on trucking into Omaha. I know our downtown area is rife with wireless networks. And if you don't want to run the risks of tapping into a local business's WLAN, there are several hotels in the area which have free wireless setup right in the hotel. and have fun making that drive.....iowa through to denver is about the flatest, boringest drive in the entire world.

  4. My trip... by PhaseBurn · · Score: 5, Informative

    I live in Gold River, CA (not that far from Placerville) and basically did your trip in reverse... A co-worker of mine had to move back to Philly, PA, and we decided to road-trip it... Reno, believe it or not, doesn't provide an abundance of internet access at all... They want everybody to gamble instead... I think I found 1 cafe that provided internet access while up there (And it was for a LAN party months prior, not on this trip), and, it wasn't even wireless... was your standard RJ-45 jack, but it worked... There was nothing between there and Salt Lake City, at least on I-80... I didn't even see many signs of civilization, let along, technology...

    Salt Lake City has a few internet cafe's, though I don't remember any of their names... I know they were relativly close to the highway... We only passed through Salt Lake, so I didn't get to patron any of them, nor do I know if they're wireless or not...

    We then went out to Cheyenne and didn't find a hotel with access, or any establishments either... Over all, it was pretty dull... Nebraska was the same way... I did find a nice location out in Indiana that had wireless access advertized, but it was closed when we drove by... The only internet access I got my entire trip was in Chicago, when we stayed at a friend's house... He let me plug my laptop into his cable modem for a few to check my mail and what not... That's about the extent of my trip... We didn't look that hard, so I probably am missing a whole hell of a lot... but I hope it helps...

    Best of luck, Chris, safe trip!

    --
    -PhaseBurn Welcome to Linux country. On quiet nights, you can hear windows reboot.
  5. consider a plug by mlknowle · · Score: 5, Informative

    First, I'm sure a lot of people are going to suggest that you forgo the interenet altogether. There is something to be said for this; it sounds like you trip is, at least in part, designed to be an adventure, and being 'offline' might enhance it.

    That said, if you do decide to go online, for blogging or e-mail, pick up a prepaid phone card, enter the 800#, your pin, and a juno access number into the PPP settings, and then every phone jack you see on your way will be a 'net access point. Wireless is fun, but if you just need to transmit text, the phone connection is easiest, redily availible, and certinly powerfull enough.

    PS - it sounds like a lot of fun. Enjoy yourself.

  6. don't miss the real hotspots... by urbazewski · · Score: 5, Informative
    Looks like you'll be passing some of america's finest roadside attractions as well, like the Mitchell Corn Palace, Bedrock City, and the statue of Crazy Horse under construction in South Dakota. After that it's straight into Jackalope territory ...

    --
    foldplay your photos won't know what hit them.
    1. Re:don't miss the real hotspots... by erave · · Score: 3, Informative

      Some of those places are along a faster route than via Des Moines etc.

      I've done proof-of-concept driving on this route on numerous trips to The Cities, and one to Burning Man. (For us easterners that means driving I-80 to Wadsworth NV, which is almost "all the way to Reno.")

      1) US-169 to St James MN. Until Mankato this is a national scenic byway and correspondingly nicer than I-35.
      2) MN-4 to I-90
      3) I-90 thru Sioux Falls (www.getyourgameon.net) and Mitchell (the aforementioned Corn Palace, www.travelsd.com).

      4a) Speed route: US-83 Murdo SD -> North Platte NE, where you take I-80. The Sand Hills mean no cops but also no net access. Some find this area boring; others find it aesthetically pleasing. Good prep for upcoming desert driving.

      4b) Scenic route: continue on I-90 to the Black Hills, home of tourist stuff like Mt Rushmore, Wind Cave national park, Crazy Horse (Motto: "Hey, let's sculpt an entire mountain!"), and the for-kids-only (boring to adults) Bedrock City. From there, getting to I-80 is your problem; I've only ever taken the speed route. I-90 -> I-25 -> WY-220 -> US-287 looks promising... Teapot Dome, Independance Rock etc.

      5) I-80 takes forever. The semi trailers thin out after Salt Lake but never go away; it's their road and we just drive on it.

      In Wyoming, I recomend the Ft Bridger state historic site (remember the Oregon Trail games?) and/or a detour on US-30 to Fossil Butte national monument. Many old fish imprints there. Como Bluff (E of Medicine Bow) might also be cool.

      Nevada is an cycle of coaxing your overheating car over the mountain, drop into the valley at 90+ mph, and spend two hours crossing the sagebrush valley to the next line of mountains. Repeat. Repeat. You'll pass like two or three federal prisons and almost nothing else. The Pyramid Lake is over-rated as a photo site - skip it. Forget net access... you'll only have either 0 or 1 radio stations.

      Should take three days plus stop-and-look-around time. Enjoy.

      - Eric

  7. on i380 by crablouie · · Score: 3, Informative

    the hawthorne inn in cedar rapids (25 miles north of 80) has wifi access that blocks http but is open to ssh and pop3 last I checked.

    --
    I think so, Brain. But where will we get a duck and a rubber hose at this time of night? --Pinky
  8. In Twin cities area by dieman · · Score: 3, Informative

    www.surfthing.com -- free wifi.

    --
    -- dieman - Scott Dier
  9. St. Paul Wireless by SuperQ · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hopefully, you're aware of the Twin Cities Wireless User Group.

    http://www.tcwug.org

    We have a map system of available access points, and other fun stuff

  10. I have some book recommendations by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 4, Informative

    My girlfriend and I are planning a road trip for this May (our planned route is listed below), and I came across some books that you may want to look into. While they don't deal with wireless hotspots or technology in general, they do deal with things that are essential for any cross-country trip: weird stuff and good food.

    The first book is called Eccentric America by Jan Friedman... It highlights many interesting, different, and just plain weird places to visit. For example, there's a guy in Washington state who is building and plans to fly a hydrogen peroxide-fueled rocket, not unlike what John Carmack is currently doing. The book is also useful to find out what is weird/eccentric/etc. in your own city or town.

    The second book is called Roadfood , by Michael and Jane Stern. It is a compendium of restaurants, ice cream parlors, highway diners and so on across the country. I haven't read in too much detail, but it should come in handy.

    For those of you who are interested, my girlfriend and I are planning the following waypoints for our roadtrip: Tallahassee, FL -> New Orleans, LA -> Austin, TX -> Roswell, NM -> Albuquerque, NM -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas, NV -> San Francisco, CA -> somewhere near the CA/OR border -> Eugene, OR -> Portland, OR -> elsewhere on the way back home. The trip back will wind through Helena, MT and Denver, CO to visit some relatives, with everywhere else just being nightly waypoints. Am I bringing my laptop? Probably not... Am I bringing a digital camera? You bet!

    --
    Slashdot's first reaction to VMware