Great Western Road Trip Recap

It took me a while to put together all the pieces needed to post a recap on my late summer road trip.  Sorting pictures took me up through Christmas alone.  Since then, I've been working on this post in between keeping up with posts on my continuing adventures.  The size and uniqueness of the adventure also presented extra opportunities for analysis such as determining the dimensional superlatives for the trip, something I never thought to do on trips confined to a limited geography.  One tidbit I discovered is that while driving I passed over both the highest and lowest elevations on the Interstate Highway system.

The trip began September 13th when I left Niles and ended October 14th when I pulled in to Denver. In the intervening month, I drove nearly 9,000 miles, 1,000 more than I previously estimated, and entered one-third of the states.  I did a pretty good job posting as I went so I won't attempt a detailed narrative recap here, which would run too long any way, but a quick once-over is in order.

From Niles I headed west toward the Chicago, the only major city I would encounter until Phoenix, with the possible exception of  Salt Lake City, and save for L.A. the biggest city I would enter on the whole trip.  I stayed the first night with my Aunt in Wisconsin, the first of six nights I would stay in a family member or friend.  After Wisconsin, I entered the Great Plains and three states for the first time in my life—Minnnesota (excluding airport layovers), South Dakota and North Dakota.  I stopped a a few sites along the way, but the most interesting ones were clustered at the end of this section, Badlands and Mount Rushmore.

Full Screen Version


After staying a night in Boulder, I entered the Intermountain West, where I would spend the bulk of the trip, most of it traveling with my mom who joined me a day later in Salt Lake City.  We visited a couple National Parks that I'd already seen, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and then headed in to new territory in Southern Utah.  Our last major stop together was the Grand Canyon.  We parted ways after visiting we my cousin in Phoenix.

I continued west, determined to reach the Pacific Ocean and complete a coast-to-coast drive, admittedly done in two parts.  I spent more time in California than in any other state.  While there, I visited with two cousins, an aunt, and some friends who recently relocated from New York.  Yes, they all provided me with free lodging.  The trip ended on a high note with a cruise along the Loneliest Road. I took my sweet time, four days to be exact, and investigated every place that piqued my interest along the way.  The last day on the Loneliest Road, spent in Great Basin NP, was essentially the last day of sightseeing.  I spent they day after it driving the final 600 miles to Denver.


Statistics
Miles: 9,015 (8,891 driving, 88.6 hiking, 15.3 biking, and 10.3 boating)
Days: 32
States: 17
Total Counties: 166
New Counties: 93
National Park Units: 7
State Parks: 23
Highest Elevation: 12,135 feet (hiking along the flank of Wheeler Peak)
Highest Driving Elevation: 11,153 feet (I-70 at the West Portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Colorado)
Lowest Elevation: -52 feet (I-8 southwest of El Centro, California)
Easternmost Point: Niles, MI
Northernmost Point: Oakes, ND
Southernmost Point: Wellton, AZ
Westernmost Point: Weed, CA
Pictures Archived: 520
Fuel: 257.3 gallons
MPG: 34.3
Cost: $2,260.97

Elevation Profile

Mount Rushmore

Yellowstone with Mom

Bryce Canyon

Grand Canyon

Big Sur

The Loneliest Road