Hello and thanks for (virtually) joining us on our cross-country trip. It was something we'd thought about and talked about for a long time. And now, we DID it! Yes, our great adventure has come to an end - at least this part of it. We finally called it quits after Cleveland since we were just a few hours from home (relatively speaking) and we'd really done and seen most of what we had talked about before we hit the road 91 days ago.
We started without too many set plans beyond the first week or so but we did have a general idea of places we wanted to visit and things we wanted to see - and as we expected there were a lot of unplanned side-trips along the way.
We got started on Weds, Feb 15th (cue theme song, "On the Road Again"). Our initial plans were to head to Kentucky to tour some of the bourbon distilleries, followed by a stop at Mammoth Cave NP, after that onto Nashville for a few days, then on down to Memphis. After that we decided to head west into Arkansas (Ozarks), then onto Oklahoma (Rt 66 side-trip!), then to the Texas panhandle country. After Texas (Palo Duro Canyon), we headed west to Santa Fe, NM,, then up to Cortez, CO, then northwest to Moab, UT (Arches & Canyonlands NP), then up to Salt Lake City for a day, then to Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park followed by a trip to Zion Nat'l Park (both in Utah - we've spent more time in Utah than anywhere else so far). After that we decided to make a rest stop in Las Vegas to catch our breath a bit (yeah, I know - Las Vegas is a "rest" stop??) and decide where to go next. And we decided to head to California! First up was Death Valley NP, then to Joshua Tree NP & San Jacinto State Park (the last two in the Palm Springs area), then to San Diego for a few days of sightseeing there. After that we headed north, first to Los Angeles then a stop at Morro Bay, then we headed north again to Carmel Valley for the weekend (with our son, Kelan) then onto the San Francisco area.
After San Francisco, we headed north through California, sometimes along the coast and sometimes through the redwood forests, then onto Oregon where we first went inland to Crater Lake NP, then back to the Oregon coast for a while then onto Portland, OR. After Oregon, we entered Washington (state) and visited Mt. St. Helens Natl Volcanic Monument, Mt Rainier NP, and Olympic NP. This past weekend we were touring Yellowstone NP and on Sunday late afternoon drove down to Jackson, WY and visited Grand Teton NP yesterday.
We've run into some unexpected (minor) travel interruptions. I sort of assumed that by the time we headed north we'd be able to get into these parks without problem but we kind of got ahead of ourselves. Any thoughts of visiting Yosemite & Sequoia/King's Canyon were shelved since they had a major snow storm when we were in San Francisco and all roads into & through the parks were still closed. We found some of the same at Mt. St. Helens, Mt Rainier, and Olympic - some-to-many roads and areas still closed due to winter snows. For the same reason, we decided not to go to North Cascades & Glacier NPs - not worth the effort to get there given that most of the park was still closed for winter. But we're got a bit lucky since Yellowstone NP opened another two sections of roads in the park just in time for our visit!
After a snow-delay in Jackson, WY we took off for Devils Tower WY (with a stop at Buffalo WY) then onto Theodore Roosevelt NP in Medora, ND. After that, we headed about 300 miles south to Custer SD to take in Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and other local sights. Leaving Custer, we continued south to Nebraska and headed east on Rt 80 before stopping for the night at North Platte, NE. From Nebraska, we dropped down into north-central Kansas, drove across Kansas (mostly on I-70) making a couple stops before getting into Missouri, then headed north (all back roads this time) up to Fort Dodge Iowa. After that, it was north some more to the Minneapolis MN area then into the great north woods of central & northern Minnesota before winding back to the western shores of Lake Superior. Next, we circled around Lake Superior and then dropped down into central Wisconsin before heading east to Green Bay and then north to the Door Peninsula where we ended up at Sturgeon Bay. Next day we headed back down the peninsula, for the most part staying along Lake Michigan (the Great Lakes Circle Tour route) until stopping north of Chicago at Lake Bluff, IL. Next morning, we drove into Chicago to do some sight-seeing but the drove onto South Bend IN for the night. Next day was a quick drive-thru at Notre Dame then through Indiana into Michigan on our way to Bay City MI, at the southern tip of Saginaw Bay, to pick-up on our Great Lakes Circle tour. We drove the "thumb" of Michigan continuing down and around Lake Erie to Cleveland for Mother's Day weekend. And then, finally (?), back to where it all began - Mechanicsburg, PA.
Again, thanks to all who followed along with us on our roadtrip. We obviously had a lot of fun and hope you enjoyed it, too. Some have asked us what's next. Well, no real plans right now but I do have a few ideas percolating, but all I can say right now is stay tuned!
We started without too many set plans beyond the first week or so but we did have a general idea of places we wanted to visit and things we wanted to see - and as we expected there were a lot of unplanned side-trips along the way.
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| At Four Corners Monument (NM, AZ, UT, CO) |
After San Francisco, we headed north through California, sometimes along the coast and sometimes through the redwood forests, then onto Oregon where we first went inland to Crater Lake NP, then back to the Oregon coast for a while then onto Portland, OR. After Oregon, we entered Washington (state) and visited Mt. St. Helens Natl Volcanic Monument, Mt Rainier NP, and Olympic NP. This past weekend we were touring Yellowstone NP and on Sunday late afternoon drove down to Jackson, WY and visited Grand Teton NP yesterday.
We've run into some unexpected (minor) travel interruptions. I sort of assumed that by the time we headed north we'd be able to get into these parks without problem but we kind of got ahead of ourselves. Any thoughts of visiting Yosemite & Sequoia/King's Canyon were shelved since they had a major snow storm when we were in San Francisco and all roads into & through the parks were still closed. We found some of the same at Mt. St. Helens, Mt Rainier, and Olympic - some-to-many roads and areas still closed due to winter snows. For the same reason, we decided not to go to North Cascades & Glacier NPs - not worth the effort to get there given that most of the park was still closed for winter. But we're got a bit lucky since Yellowstone NP opened another two sections of roads in the park just in time for our visit!
After a snow-delay in Jackson, WY we took off for Devils Tower WY (with a stop at Buffalo WY) then onto Theodore Roosevelt NP in Medora, ND. After that, we headed about 300 miles south to Custer SD to take in Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and other local sights. Leaving Custer, we continued south to Nebraska and headed east on Rt 80 before stopping for the night at North Platte, NE. From Nebraska, we dropped down into north-central Kansas, drove across Kansas (mostly on I-70) making a couple stops before getting into Missouri, then headed north (all back roads this time) up to Fort Dodge Iowa. After that, it was north some more to the Minneapolis MN area then into the great north woods of central & northern Minnesota before winding back to the western shores of Lake Superior. Next, we circled around Lake Superior and then dropped down into central Wisconsin before heading east to Green Bay and then north to the Door Peninsula where we ended up at Sturgeon Bay. Next day we headed back down the peninsula, for the most part staying along Lake Michigan (the Great Lakes Circle Tour route) until stopping north of Chicago at Lake Bluff, IL. Next morning, we drove into Chicago to do some sight-seeing but the drove onto South Bend IN for the night. Next day was a quick drive-thru at Notre Dame then through Indiana into Michigan on our way to Bay City MI, at the southern tip of Saginaw Bay, to pick-up on our Great Lakes Circle tour. We drove the "thumb" of Michigan continuing down and around Lake Erie to Cleveland for Mother's Day weekend. And then, finally (?), back to where it all began - Mechanicsburg, PA.
Again, thanks to all who followed along with us on our roadtrip. We obviously had a lot of fun and hope you enjoyed it, too. Some have asked us what's next. Well, no real plans right now but I do have a few ideas percolating, but all I can say right now is stay tuned!
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| Map 3 - travel since Beaver Bay, MN |
So here's the final map showing the last leg of our trip, ending back where it all started 3 months ago. All told, we have traveled about 15,250 miles, including all the local driving.
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| Map 2 - San Francisco to Beaver Bay, MN |
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| Map 1 - First Half of Roadtrip |
Dan & Dolores
