the plan
leaving in august
This is the year! Joe and I are taking a road trip, and never being ones to do anything half way – it’s a big one: six weeks from Maine to Montana and back again. It will be beautiful, and we’re very excited about it. We will be focused on scenic places, national parks, trains, microbreweries, photo locations, and on avoiding crowds and extremely touristy venues. The trip is still evolving, so stay tuned.
There has been some discussion about renting an RV, or purchasing a Sprinter van, but no… we are going to take the Acura. It’s more nimble and I prefer a hotel with clean linens, a full-sized shower, and breakfast. I did buy an electric cooler for the car, so we can have some of our favorite foods on hand.
the timeline
week 1
White Mountains, NH; Green Mountains, VT; Finger Lakes and Niagara Falls, NY; Cleveland, OH
week 2
Upper Peninsula, MI; Wisconsin; Minnesota
week 3
North Dakota; Glacier National Park
week 4
Yellowstone National Park; Mount Rushmore and the Badlands, SD
week 5
Ohio and Western Pennsylvania
week 6
New England
the numbers
20 states
in order: Maine; New Hampshire; Vermont; New York; Pennsylvania; Ohio; Michigan; Wisconsin; Minnesota; North Dakota; Montana; Wyoming; South Dakota; Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; New Jersey; Connecticut; Rhode Island; Massachusetts
10 National parks
Acadia, ME; Cuyahoga Valley, OH; Isle Royale, MI; Voyageurs, MN; Theodore Roosevelt, ND; Glacier, MT; Yellowstone, WY; Badlands, SD; Wind Cave, SD
5600 miles
If we were to drive directly to Glacier National Park, and directly back, it would be 5600 miles. It will be more than that – how many miles do you think? Should we have a pool? Leave your guess in the comments ~ Price-is-Right rules.
the resources
National Park Service
The National Parks are the crown jewels of the country and we should certainly make sure they are included in the planning. I found two great maps on the NPS website: a wall map [click here] of all of the sites and a trails map [click here] of scenic roads.
Scenic Byways
America’s Scenic Byways has a comprehensive list of all the Scenic Byways, state and national, some of which have their own websites. The Department of Transportation’s website of America’s Byways has information on all the national byways, including the All American Roads, which are designated when they qualify for recognition with 2 or more of the require qualities: natural, historic, scenic, cultural, recreational, archeological.
