u/Threedawg

I say that because I grew up in Michigan and now live in Denver and drove home for the first time in 7 years. I had to stay in Omaha because I have a dog, and its wonderful.

I always said that there was "nowhere worth stopping between Chicago and Denver" but I was wrong. You have a cool downtown, decent food, and it looks like you are building more walkable infrastructure and a train downtown!? It looks awesome!

I stayed in Des Moines on the way to Michigan(otw back to Denver now) and it doesn't even compare. Big beautiful parks, POC walking around downtown(this matters a lot as a sign of a welcoming space for me), decent food, a selection of hip hotels with walkable streets...

Everyone that worked hard to make this city what it is should be proud. If I ever have to drive across the country, I will stay here. It is even better than Denver in some respects.

I was worried about it because of the politics of the area, but I was happy to be wrong. If I am ever driving through again, I am making a weekend out of this place.

Thanks for creating an oasis in the desert of bigotry that is middle America.

And thanks for letting me be able to skip stopping in the whole state of Iowa. That place is gross.

I saw the "why didn't they just hide in their hotel room" post and I couldn't believe this hasn't been thought of before. Its a great easy plot and could make some good money while telling an interesting story.

Vehicle: 2014 Jetta TDI Wagon with 100k on the clock. Just got new tires and an alignment as well as having it checked out by a mechanic before the trip started.

The trip is from Denver CO to Western Michigan over two days, interstate only, all driving was done between 9am-8pm(daylight, clear weather). Speed limit at all times with cruise control (75mph except Iowa, which was 70).

I am in Michigan for a week so I can get work done if necessary.

I tracked my MPG by state and it was concerning.

In Colorado, I got 46.7 MPG.

Through Nebraska I only got 41.9 MPG.

In Iowa it dropped all the way down 38.8 before I got to Des Moines(where I overnighted). This was weird because I was doing 70 as opposed to 75, my MPG should have been better. Also, I was using less A/C, which should have also had an impact and increased the number.

It stayed low around 39mpg through Illinois and Michigan(I had to go through Chicago and make a stop in town so take this number with a grain of salt). I could NOT get the average back above 40.

Other symptom, when I started the car up in Des Moines after the overnight and let the A/C run for five minutes, the engine surged a few times for the first time in my ownership of it. It leveled out after 3/4 surges and never did it again. It was VERY humid(if that matters), so humid my glasses fogged up when I got out of the car.

No matter what I do, I cant get the number above 40 unless I drop to 65mph. I always get 40+ on the highway in Colorado unless I am climbing mountains.

Should I get this thing checked out before trying to drive back? Does anyone have an explanation that makes sense?

Im the only active mod here. I took over years ago because it was unmoderated, It's a pretty quiet place and I just remove the occasional spam/common repost.

Its never gonna be huge, but I don't have the time/energy to make it anything more than it is.

If you have ideas/want to be a mod to make changes, please either post here or send me a DM.

My only conditions are that transphobia, racism, xenophobia, and sexism are not and will never be tolerated, so you gotta agree to enforce that.