Driving from Pittsburgh to Northern Virginia
And back. Uh, here, this is sort of interesting:
The car overstates its mileage by a little bit, but still, 51.1 for a 217-mile ride is probably as good as it’s ever going to get. And, uh — yeah, shoot, I got nothing. Here:
- There are about 18 different ways to get to the DC/NoVa area that all take about the same length of time. On the way down, I took scenic Highway 51, eventually routing through Uniontown, Cumberland, and Winchester. Took 4:15, got 51.1 mpg.
- On the way back, I took the Cadillac route: interstates all the way, including the fantastic Pennsylvania Turnpike: 4:15. And 20 extra miles or so and only 46.8 mpg.
- The car overstates mpg by 2-3 points.
- When I got off the dumb toll road, the tollbooth lady told me it’d be $7.25, so I handed her a ten, two ones, and a quarter and she says, “Did you know you gave me $12.25?”. I had no comeback for that.
- If I hadn’t known, would she have denied it ever happened and then not given me the five back? We’ll never know. We’ll never know.
- The hotel I stayed in for $40/night (plus 20-percent tax) was a real-live, genuine three-star Hilton Garden Inn.
- While I was there, I went to the Udvar-Hazy part of the National Air & Space Museum, the National Museum of the Marine Corps (they had some new stuff there), Mt. Vernon, and the National Firearms Museum.
- People who leave Yelp reviews for Bethesda, Md. restaurants are kind of catty. I’m not speaking of myself. Yet.
- I should have taken the Reader’s Digest book of road trips so I could have hit some highlights on the return trip. There appear to be a lot of forts, battlefields, historic transportation sites, and houses built over waterfalls.
bkd
The Indistinct Redwood National Park and a Bunch of Other Indistinct Little Parks
So after the coast, the trees. Y’know, on my cross-country road trip, during which I visited a bunch of parks, it came to my attention that not every national park is like the national parks in Washington state. The parks in Washington state make sense to me. They’re big, there’s a lot to do there, they have visitor’s centers, they’re where the important topographical features are, and when you’re in the park, you’re in the park. Some of the other parks violate these guidelines.
Redwoods, for instance — well mostly you just never know if you’re in the park or not. Many of the most “important” trees are in state parks that adjoin the national park for some reason. I dunno. There’s a reason: people got worried about the ability to protect redwood forests, some of which were already part of state parks, and so lobbied a then-friendly federal government into buying up a bunch of random plots of land (so ungefähr).
Plus it’s just trees.
No redwoods are actually included in this picture.
These trees' souls have now been stolen.
"Avenue of the Giants", which I don't think ever passes into land that's technically part of the national park.
They don’t charge to enter the national park, either, which on the one hand seems appropriate since I’m not sure anyone ever *does* enter the park, but on the other hand they charge for all the parks in Washington state, which is where the *correct* national parks are located. Or something.
It's sort of easier to appreciate how tall the trees are when they're lying down.
Up to 300 feet is how tall they are, tallest living things in the world. They’re not the biggest in volume, though (the sequoias are). ‘Course, they’re a little more normal-looking than the sequoias. Not that there’s anything not-wrong with that.
Oh, and:
In case you didn’t quite catch that, that’s $35 that the State of California is trying to charge for a night of camping. Surprisingly, the campground was empty.
bkd
Way Northern California Coast
It’s been a couple weeks, but I don’t know that the photo album idea is really going to take off and even if it did, it’s not really a great forum for expressing the deepest, inner-most feelings of my heart regarding, you know, topographical features, coast lines and tall trees and such.
Been a couple weeks.
Decided that when going up to see my parents for the holidays that I wanted to drive. I missed driving during the three weeks I was in SoCal after the trip officially ended. I miss driving now that I’ve been up in Seattle a couple weeks. Not sure how this driving-lust ends. Perhaps with a CDL. Mal sehen was wird. Wonder if I can work on my CDL the same time I do my PhD.
Headed up from SD, stopped in OC to pick some stuff up out of storage, went up to NB (CM?) for lunch with the DLF, then kept going. LA traffic sucked. Stayed the night in Stockton, then headed up the 5 through Sac-town, then turned left at Willits and headed west on Highway 20.
…Which cuts through the coastal hills down to the coast.
Camp 20, a CCC camp (I think).
The area is like a well-written eulogy: beautiful but somber.
Similes are cheap.
Here are some photos of the coast. (Which are also cheap.)
Russian Gulch State Park (between Fort Bragg and Mendocino).
On a nice day, there's probably a good photo in here.
Highway 1 (north of Fort Bragg somewhere).
Westport Union Landing State Beach: view from my campsite (looking south).
Morning has broken.
Trees in the mist -- where Highway 1 winds back up into the hills to re-join the 101.
Y’know, most places I’d resent the mist, but for this drive I think it adds to the experience. Or maybe I’m just trying to convince myself of that so I don’t have to go back there. Not that I wouldn’t want to. Although it’s a harder part of the country to get to than most.
I’ll do a separate post on the Redwoods, I guess.
Excelsior,
bkd
Cross-Country Road Trip v3.0: 48 States, 90 Days
Someday. I’m thinking spring departure and going counter-clockwise might be better than summer and clockwise (if nothing else, it should help avoid the problems of hurricane season). Anyway, here’s a map of the latest idea:
 The push-pins are only sort-of significant.
- [ ] Day 1
- [ ] Mission Viejo to Grand Staircase-Escalante NM (575 mi.,
CA-NV-AZ-UT)
- [ ] Day 2
- [ ] Grand Staircase-Escalante NM
- [ ] Day 3
- [ ] Grand Staircase-Escalante to Four Corners (356 mi.,
UT-CO-AZ-NM)
- [ ] Day 4
- [ ] Four Corners to Chaco Culture NHP (134 mi., AZ-NM)
- [ ] Chaco Culture NHP to Santa Fe (182 mi., NM)
- [ ] Day 5
- [ ] Santa Fe to Roswell (192 mi., NM)
- [ ] Roswell to White Sands NM (251 mi., NM)
- [ ] Day 6
- [ ] White Sands NM to Carlsbad Caverns (246 mi., NM-TX)
- [ ] Day 7
- [ ] Carlsbad Caverns
- [ ] Day 8
- [ ] Carlsbad Caverns to Big Bend NP (345 mi., NM-TX)
- [ ] Day 9
- [ ] Big Bend NP
- [ ] Day 10
- [ ] Big Bend NP to Fredericksburg (414 mi., TX)
- [ ] Day 11
- [ ] Fredericksburg to San Antonio (70 mi., TX)
- [ ] The Alamo
- [ ] San Antonio to Austin (79 mi., TX)
- [ ] Bat Bridge ("just before dark")
- [ ] Day 12
- [ ] Austin to New Orleans (509 mi., TX-LA)
- [ ] Day 13
- [ ] New Orleans
- [ ] Bayou Tour
- [ ] Day 14
- [ ] New Orleans to Vicksburg (224 mi., LA-MS)
- [ ] Vicksburg to Hot Springs NP (250 mi., MS-AR)
- [ ] Day 15
- [ ] Hot Springs NP to Joplin (270 mi., AR-OK-KS-MO)
- [ ] Day 16
- [ ] Joplin to Mammoth Cave NP (602 mi., MO-IL-KY)
- [ ] Day 17
- [ ] Mammoth Cave NP
- [ ] Day 18
- [ ] Mammoth Cave NP to Nashville (92 mi., KY-TN)
- [ ] Nashville to Collinwood (109 mi., TN)
- [ ] Natchez Trace
- [ ] Day 19
- [ ] Collinwood to Tupelo (120 mi., TN-AL-MS)
- [ ] Day 20
- [ ] Tupelo to Little River Canyon NP (234 mi., MS-AL)
- [ ] Day 21
- [ ] Little River Canyon NP to Everglades NP (813 mi., AL-GA-FL)
- [ ] Day 22
- [ ] Everglades NP
- [ ] Day 23
- [ ] Everglades NP to Key West (136 mi., FL)
- [ ] Day 24
- [ ] Key West to Homestead (129 mi., FL)
- [ ] Coral Castle
- [ ] Homestead to Savannah (515 mi., FL-GA)
- [ ] Day 25
- [ ] Savannah to Hunting Island SP (63 mi., GA-SC)
- [ ] Hunting Island SP to Charleston (88 mi., SC)
- [ ] Ft. Sumter
- [ ] Day 26
- [ ] Charleston to Great Smoky Mountains NP (342 mi., SC-NC-TN)
- [ ] Day 27
- [ ] Great Smoky Mountains NP (+Knoxville?)
- [ ] Day 28
- [ ] Knoxville to Raleigh (360 mi., TN-NC)
- [ ] Day 29
- [ ] Raleigh to Cape Hatteras NS (203 mi., NC)
- [ ] Wright Bros. NM (20 mi.)
- [ ] Day 30
- [ ] Wright Bros. NM to Jamestown Settlement (126 mi., NC-VA)
- [ ] Day 31
- [ ] Jamestown to Richmond (57 mi., VA)
- [ ] Confederate Capital
- [ ] Richmond to Appomattox (95 mi., VA)
- [ ] Appomattox Courthouse NHP
- [ ] Appomattox to Charlottesville (65 mi., VA)
- [ ] Monticello
- [ ] Day 32
- [ ] Charlottesville to Shenandoah NP (78 mi., VA-WV)
- [ ] Day 33
- [ ] Shenandoah NP
- [ ] Day 34
- [ ] Shenandoah NP to Quantico, VA (66 mi., VA)
- [ ] Quantico to Washington (35 mi., VA-DC)
- [ ] Day 35
- [ ] Washington to Annapolis (32 mi., DC-MD)
- [ ] Annapolis to Ft. McHenry (32 mi., MD)
- [ ] Day 36
- [ ] Ft. McHenry to Philadelphia (101 mi., MD-DE-PA)
- [ ] Day 37
- [ ] Philadelphia to NYC (94 mi., PA-NJ-NY)
- [ ] Day 38
- [ ] NYC to Nantucket (282 mi., NY-CT-RI-MA)
- [ ] Day 39
- [ ] Nantucket to Boston (101 mi., MA)
- [ ] Day 40
- [ ] Boston to Acadia NP (283 mi., MA-NH-ME)
- [ ] Day 41
- [ ] Acadia NP
- [ ] Day 42
- [ ] Acadia NP to Bretton Woods, NH (254 mi., ME-NH)
- [ ] Day 43
- [ ] Bretton Woods to Tupper Lake, NY (278 mi., NH-VT-NY)
- [ ] Day 44
- [ ] Tupper Lake to Palmyra (225 mi., NY)
- [ ] Palmyra to Niagara Falls (109 mi., NY)
- [ ] Day 45
- [ ] Niagara Falls to Presque Isle State Park, PA (121 mi., NY-PA)
- [ ] Presque Isle State Park to Kelleys Island State Park, OH (182
mi., PA-OH)
- [ ] Kelleys Island to Dayton (188 mi., OH)
- [ ] Day 46
- [ ] Dayton (USAF Museum)
- [ ] Day 47
- [ ] Dayton to Nauvoo, IL (461 mi., OH-IN-IL-IA)
- [ ] Day 48
- [ ] Nauvoo to Wayne (240 mi., IL)
- [ ] Day 49
- [ ] Wayne (Chicago)
- [ ] Day 50
- [ ] Wayne to Beaver Island (453 mi., IL-IN-MI)
- [ ] Day 51
- [ ] Beaver Island to Charlevoix (36 mi., MI)
- [ ] Carlevoix to Pictured Rocks NL (179 mi.)
- [ ] Day 52
- [ ] Pictured Rocks NL
- [ ] Day 53
- [ ] Pictured Rocks NL to Duluth (299 mi., MI-WI-MN)
- [ ] Bike Waterfront Trail
- [ ] Day 54
- [ ] Duluth to Voyageurs NP (171 mi., MN)
- [ ] Day 55
- [ ] Voyageurs NP
- [ ] Day 56
- [ ] Voyageurs NP to Ft. Abercrombie State Historic Site (334 mi.,
MN-ND)
- [ ] Day 57
- [ ] Ft. Abercrombie State Historic Site to Niobrara National
River (455 mi., ND-SD-NE)
- [ ] Niobrara National River to Minuteman Missile NHS (147 mi.,
NE-SD)
- [ ] Day 58
- [ ] Minuteman Missile NHS (Need reservations, tour starts at 9)
- [ ] Minuteman Missile NHS to Badlands NP (13 mi., SD)
- [ ] Day 59
- [ ] Badlands NP to Mt. Rushmore (97 mi., SD)
- [ ] Mt. Rushmore to Devil's Tower (131 mi., SD-WY)
- [ ] Devil's Tower to Sheridan (165 mi., WY)
- [ ] Day 60
- [ ] Sheridan
- [ ] Day 61
- [ ] Sheridan to Thermopolis (159 mi., WY)
- [ ] Thermopolis to Grand Teton NP (192 mi., WY)
- [ ] Grand Teton NP to Victor (103 mi., WY-ID)
- [ ] Day 62
- [ ] Victor to Yellowstone NP (120 mi., ID-WY)
- [ ] Day 63
- [ ] Yellowstone NP to Whitefish, MT (449 mi., WY-MT)
- [ ] Great Northern Railway Depot
- [ ] Day 64
- [ ] Whitefish to Glacier NP (44 mi., MT)
- [ ] Day 65
- [ ] Glacier NP
- [ ] Day 66
- [ ] Glacier NP to Spokane (303 mi., MT-ID-WA)
- [ ] Riverfront Park
- [ ] Spokane to Browns Point (290 mi., WA)
- [ ] Day 67
- [ ] Browns Point
- [ ] Day 68
- [ ] Browns Point to Mt. Rainier NP (97 mi., WA)
- [ ] Day 69
- [ ] Mt. Rainier NP to Mt. St. Helens NVM (121 mi., WA)
- [ ] Day 70
- [ ] Mt. St. Helens to Astoria (109 mi., WA-OR)
- [ ] Astoria to Seaside (16 mi., OR)
- [ ] Seaside to Tillamook (53 mi., OR)
- [ ] Tillamook Air Museum
- [ ] Tillamook to Bandon (68 mi., OR)
- [ ] Day 71
- [ ] Bandon to Crater Lake NP (180 mi., OR)
- [ ] Day 72
- [ ] Crater Lake NP to Lassen Volcanic NP (250 mi., OR-CA)
- [ ] Day 73
- [ ] Lassen Volcanic NP
- [ ] Day 74
- [ ] Lassen Volcanic NP to Yosemite NP (369 mi., CA)
- [ ] Day 75
- [ ] Yosemite NP
- [ ] Day 76
- [ ] Yosemite NP to Monterey (202 mi., CA)
- [ ] Monterey to Big Sur (29 mi., CA)
- [ ] Day 77
- [ ] Big Sur to Mission Viejo (354 mi., CA)
Yeah, so you might notice there are only 77 days in there. I was trying to keep things as compressed as possible when I put this itinerary together, so the next step would be to go back through and figure out where the breathing room needs to come in at. Could be things like spending an extra day at a few of the NPs listed, following the Natchez Trace all the way down to Natchez, going to see another cave somewhere, etc., etc.
Also, I kind of just threw things on there with only a little regard to whether I’d be driving in the morning or in the evening. I think the next step might also include taking a shot at indicating where I’m going to sleep each night — although I worry a little about over-planning. (On the other hand, I also worry about the availability of campsites at Great Smoky Mountain and other national parks.) We’ll see how it goes.
bkd
Cross-Country Road Trip Itinerary 2.0: 3 Months of Car Camping!
A follow-up to my initial cross-country road trip plans. Been thinking about this a little bit more and I figure, yes, three months is the right length. Maybe 3.5. I mean, if I don’t suffer due to the length and squalor, I haven’t really accomplished what I set out to do, right? Which brings me to my list of secret trip goals:
- Suffer.
- Learn how to enjoy the suffering.
Ultimately, and this is rational self talking here whom I should reference often during the trip (and I’ll need to create a list of dicta to ensure this), I need this trip to be memorable and educational more than I need it to be enjoyable. ‘Course, I’m hoping it’s all those.
I should mention I don’t actually know when I’m going to get around to doing this, but my new itinerary assumes a spring departure from Southern California. I think I’d like to do it in spring-summer rather than summer-fall. I just like spring better as seasons go. But if for whatever reason I don’t end up starting in CA, that could change the optimal start date. Like, if I were to be leaving from Seattle, I’d want it to be the middle of summer so I don’t freeze to death in Oregon. Freezing to death in Montana would be cool, but Oregon? No thank you.
Enough:
- Death Valley NP
- Grand Staircase-Escalante NM
- Glen Canyon NRA- Lake Powell
- Chaco Culture NHP
- White Sands NM
- Roswell
- Carlsbad Caverns NP
- Big Bend NP
- Fredericksburg
- San Antonio – Alamo
- New Orleans
- Vicksburg NMP
- Everglades NP
- Key West
- Charleston – Ft. Sumter NM
- Cape Hatteras NS
- Kitty Hawk
- Great Smoky Mountains NP
- Mammoth Cave NP
- Shenandoah NP
- Monticello
- USMC Museum (Quantico)
- Ft. McHenry NM
- NYC
- Acadia NP
- White Mountain NF
- Adirondacks
- Niagara Falls
- USAF Museum (Wright-Patterson)
- Pictured Rocks NL
- Chicago
- St. Louis Arch
- Chippewa NF
- Teddy Roosevelt NP
- Badlands NP
- Mt. Rushmore NM
- Devil’s Tower NM
- Yellowstone NP
- Glacier NP
- Columbia River Gorge
- Oregon Coast
- Crater Lake NP
- Redwood NP
- Lassen Volcanic NP
- Yosemite NP
- Monterey – Central Coast
For the sake of explaining a couple stops up there — I am kind of hoping to crash at the domiciles of friends and family members. I also worry that there are 47 stops listed above and 91 or 92 days to hit them — meaning it’s more programmed than not programmed, especially when you consider travel times. I could probably drop the Everglades-Key West leg, although those are both places within the USA that I’d like to visit.
Also should mention that the above itinerary was based on the thought of hitting all 47 legitimate US states and commonwealths.
Also, I mentioned before staying off interstates altogether. I still want to do that, but I’m guessing that intra-metro area travel would suck beyond reason if pursued off-interstate.
So: if anyone out there has any thoughts on this go-round, please lmk.
Thx,
bkd
Cross-Country Road Trip Plans
Not sure when I’m going to get around to it, but I’m planning on taking a three- or four-month cross-country road trip. I’d be interested to hear what anyone has to say about where I should or shouldn’t go.
Here are my priorities:
- States I’ve never set foot or tire in (from left to right: North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Aarkansas (it should be spelled that way), Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine).
- National Parks and places to hike.
- “Checklist” stuff I haven’t seen before (e.g., Mt. Rushmore).
- Historical sites, monuments, and museums.
Here’s what I have so far as must-see locations (ordered clockwise starting in SoCal):
- Big Sur and Monterey
- Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Mt. Rushmore
- That whole claw part of Michigan
- Wright-Patterson National Museum of the US Air Force
- Niagara Falls
- The Adirondacks
- The far northeastern corner of the country (probably Acadia National Park will suffice)
- New York City (I’ve been there, I’d just like to go again)
- Ft. McHenry
- National Museum of the Marine Corps
- Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail (I’m not walking the whole thing)
- The Outer Banks
- New Orleans (so at least I know why it is I don’t like the place — or can be convinced otherwise)
- The Alamo
- Carlsbad Caverns
Otherwise I’m wide open… If I were to leave in the summer from Southern California, I’d head clockwise (up north through California then into Oregon, across the top of the country, then back down the eastern seaboard and across the southern US). If I were to leave in spring, I’d go counter-clockwise (start out heading east into Arizona).
What else? Rules of the road:
- Stay in a hotel no more (or less than) once a week — just to get cleaned up.
- Camp or stay with someone otherwise.
- Cell phone and laptop: yes.
- Stick to the state highways (and avoid interstates) as much as possible.
- Stop to help anyone I see on the side of the road.
I’d need to get a different car for the trip — 17 mpg isn’t going to cut it over 10,000 miles. If I had to choose today, I’d probably go with the Honda Fit (better gas mileage) or the Subaru WRX Wagon (better driving). Both seem pretty versatile (read: I could sleep in either one).
We’ll have to wait and see when it happens.
bkd