GREYHOUND UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

HITCHHIKER: 4 month old female Greyhound puppy. Tentatively named Iruska Valentine.

Please see the suggested route table below the map. Backup people are still needed on some of the legs. If you are willing to serve as a backup driver, please email Kate.

Click on city links for weather forecasts
Leg	To - from	Approx. Miles	Approx. Hours	ETA	Volunteer	Date Avail.
1	Abilene to Kansas City KS	142	2h 30m	DONE	Jan Stewart	2/19
	Foster overnight in KC area	--------	--------	DONE	Jan Stewart	2/19
2	Kansas City to Kingdom City MO	154	2h 30m	DONE	Janie Nydegger	2/20
	backup				Gaye McKean	2/20
3	Kingdom City to St. Louis MO	104	1h 30m	DONE	Gaye McKean	2/20
	backup				Adrienne Forsythe	2/20
	backup				Jackie Wolfmeier	2/20
4	St. Louis to Bloomington IL	166	2h 45m	DONE	Adrienne Forsythe	2/20
	backup				Jackie Wolfmeier	2/20
5	Bloomington to Chicago IL	126	2h 15m	DONE	Donna Strawbridge	2/20
	backup				Anton Straughn	2/20
	Overnight foster in Chicago area	--------	--------	DONE	Ken & Donna Strawbridge	2/20
	backup foster/Toledo				Sue Williams	2/20
6	Chicago to Elkhart IN	104	1h 45m plus time change	DONE	Cammie Hernandez	2/21
	backup				Carol Wardzinski/ Ann McInerney	2/21
7	Elkhart to Toledo OH	137	2h 15m	DONE	Sue Williams	2/21
	backup				Manda Rice	2/21
8	Toledo to Akron OH	134	2h 15m	DONE	Jen Lyons	2/21
	backup				Manda Rice	2/21
9	Akron to Barkeyville PA	83	1h 30m	DONE	Michael Bollon	2/21
	backup				Jennifer West	2/21
10	Barkeyville to Port Allegany PA	116	2h 15m	N/A	Carol Stiles	2/21
Total	Abilene KS to Port Allegany PA	1267	21h15m*		A lot of wonderful people!	------

* Total driving time only. Potty stops, meal stops and transfer times between runners have not been factored in. Figure at least 15 minutes per transfer stop.

ALL VOLUNTEERS: Some of you are old hands at this, but some are new, so here are some suggestions/instructions. You will be receiving email messages as a group from me as the plans develop. Please save these messages, as all the email addresses will be on the last few. If/when you reply to a group email, it's usually best to use your "Reply All" button.

If you have questions, ASK! The only dumb question is the one not asked.

Please contact both of the people you will be meeting (unless you're the first or last leg) as soon as possible. You will need to decide on specific meeting places, swap phone numbers (cell phone #s if you have them!), and descriptions of the vehicles you will be driving.

When you have decided on your meeting places, please let me know. For security reasons, these will NOT be published here, but I do need to know. If you are meeting at a truckstop, restaurant or other place that will have a phone, please try to get the phone number for me. Also send me the descriptions of your vehicles. This is so I can reach you at your meeting place if necessary.

If you have trouble coming up with a meeting place, let me know. I may be able to help find something.

I will start filling in the ETA blocks on the tables when I get the first start time. I'll check with each of you as I go through them to be sure you think you can make the posted times. If you can't, we can adjust.

On the day before the run, and the day of the run, please check the weather in the areas you will be driving and make necessary adjustments to your estimated driving time. If the weather becomes dangerous, the run will be postponed until it can be done safely. It's possible that dangerous weather conditions could develop without my being aware of it. Of course it is up to each driver's discretion whether or not he/she deems it safe enough to travel. If this happens and you can't make your leg, please let me know ASAP so that we can cancel the rest of the run and figure out what to do with the dog(s) until the weather improves.

As far as I know, I will be at home near my phone and computer during most of the run (at least until I have to leave for my leg). If I have to leave before that, I will arrange for somebody else to be the central contact and let you all know who it is. If you run into any kind of problem before you leave, email me. If you run into any kind of problem after you leave, call me.

When you get back from your run, email me so I'll know your leg has been safely completed. Better yet, email the whole group. Once everybody has gotten home, it's fun to hear how the other legs went. This is especially important for winter runs.

If you are listed as a backup, please make sure the primary driver for your leg knows all possible ways to contact you if you are needed.

The dog(s) will have enough food for the trip, a leash and safe collar, and whatever medical records and other documents are required.

See where we've been and sometimes see pictures of our passengers along the way and/or with their new families.


Valentine Puppy