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Daily Milage

Daily Milage Table

Daily Milage Chart

Weekly Milage

Driving A Long Distance

Before the Tour

From the Daily Milage Table...

Longest distance drove in a day:
DAY #23, from Nofolk, NC, to Sidney, OH, 839 miles. Driven by Saku-san, not me... He drove from 10:00am until 4:00am in the next morning. The longest I drove was DAY #16, from Van Horn, TX, to Hope, AK; I drove 725 miles.

Least distance drove in a day:
There were 6 locations I stayed more than 2 nights in a row. They are: Page, AZ., Zion NP, Sidney, OH, Glacier NP, North Cascades NP, and Eugene, OR.

Bonus Point:
In DAY #27, I drove through 10 states and district: VA, Washington DC, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, and MA.

Which States I drove:
I spend in Wyoming for 5 days, Utah for 6 days, Colorado for 7 days, Washington for 8 days. I was a little surprised that I spend most in Washington state, not Utah.

I stayed in...:
I camped 15 nights; stayed at my friend's place for 5 nights; rest of 32 nights are in motel/hotel.

From the Daily Milage Chart...

Peaks in driving distance:
There are 2 peaks in the chart. The first one was the East Loop; driving east from Texas to Ohio, as well as looping the Mid-Atlantic with my friend. The second peak was traversing west, from Niagara Fall to Mt. Rushmore.

Towards the end...:
I drove less and less towards the end of the tour. This could be because I got tired, or there were more interesting places to visit.

 

Weekly Milage
Here's another look at the tour: weekly milage chart.


The numbers in circle indicate the location at the end of each week.

Weekly analysis of the trip:
I spend first 2 weeks in the SouthWest region. Next 3 weeks, I drove to the east, visited several places, and came back to west. Last 2 and a half weeks, I went to Black Hills, Rocky Mountains, and Northwest area.

 

 

 

 

Accomodation

Milage

 

 

Day

Date

Location

Type

Total

Mile/Day

Major Attraction

States Driven

1
6/16/01
San Diego, CA
Motel
556
556
San Diego, CA CA
2
6/17/01
Blythe, CA
Motel
870
314
Joshua Tree NP CA
3
6/18/01
Page, AZ
Motel
1385
515
Sedona, AZ CA, AZ
4
6/19/01
Page, AZ
Motel
1400
15
Lake Powell AZ
5
6/20/01
Zion NP
Camp
1518
118
Antelope Canyon, Zion NP AZ, UT
6
6/21/01
Zion NP
Camp
1520
2
Zion NP UT
7
6/22/01
Bryce NP
Camp
1673
153
Bryce NP UT
8
6/23/01
Dixie NF, UT
Camp
1854
181
Bryce NP UT
9
6/24/01
Blanding, UT
Motel
2093
239
Natural Bridges NM UT
10
6/25/01
Monument Valley, AZ
Camp
2169
76
Monument Valley Park UT, AZ
11
6/26/01
Cortez, CO
Motel
2435
266
Monument Valley Park, Mesa Verde NP UT, AZ, NM, CO
12
6/27/01
Montrose, CO
Motel
2585
150
Telluride, CO CO
13
6/28/01
Gunnison NF, CO
Camp
2765
180
Black Canyon NP CO
14
6/29/01
Alamogordo, NM
Motel
3390
625
Santa Fe, NM, Alberquerque, NM CO, NM
15
6/30/01
Van Horn, TX
Motel
3747
357
White Sand Dune NM, Carlsbad NP NM, TX
16
7/1/01
Hope, AK
Motel
4472
725
  TX, AK
17
7/2/01
Forrest City, AK
Motel
4675
203
car broke! AK
18
7/3/01
Elizabethtown, KY
Motel
5065
390
  AK, TN, KY
19
7/4/01
Knoxville, TN
Motel
5645
580
Saku-san @ Ohio KY, OH, TN
20
7/5/01
Asheville, NC
Motel
5872
227
Great Smokey Mtns NP TN, NC
21
7/6/01
Jacksonville, NC
Motel
6371
499
Myrtle Beach, NC NC
22
7/7/01
Norfolk, VA
Motel
6819
448
Outer Banks NC, VA
23
7/8/01
Saku-san @ Ohio
House
7658
839
Shenandoah NP VA, WV, PA, OH
24
7/9/01
Saku-san @ Ohio
House
7663
5
Sidney, OH OH
25
7/10/01
Gettysburg, PA
Motel
8160
497
  OH, PA
26
7/11/01
Vienna, VA
House
8269
109
Gettysburg NM, Harpers Ferry NHP PA, MD, WV, VA
27
7/12/01
Seekonk, MA
Motel
8730
461
Washington DC VA, Washington DC, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA
28
7/13/01
Kingston, MA
Motel
8975
245
Cape Cod MA
29
7/14/01
Belfast, ME
Camp
9251
276
HWY1 MA, NH, ME
30
7/15/01
Lancaster, NH
Motel
9610
359
Acadia NP MA, NH
31
7/16/01
Amherst, NY
Motel
10142
532
Niagara Falls, Adriondack park NH, VT, NY
32
7/17/01
Janesville, WI
Motel
10794
652
  NY, PA, OH, ID, IL, WI
33
7/18/01
Chamberlain, SD
Motel
11400
606
  WI, MN, SD
34
7/19/01
Keystone, SD
Motel
11661
261
Badlands NP SD
35
7/20/01
Devils Tower NM
Camp
11918
257
Devils Tower NM, Crazy Horse M, Mt. Rushmore NM SD, WY
36
7/21/01
Windsor, CO
Motel
12400
482
Deviles Tower NM WY, CO
37
7/22/01
Estes Park, CO
Camp
12485
85
Rocky Mtns NP CO
38
7/23/01
Dubois, WY
Motel
12981
496
Rocky Mtns NP CO, WY
39
7/24/01
Grand Teton NP
Camp
13128
147
Grand Teton NP WY
40
7/25/01
Bozeman, MO
Motel
13339
211
Yellowstone NP WY, MO
41
7/26/01
Glacier NP
Camp
13830
491
Glacier NP MO
42
7/27/01
Glacier NP
Camp
13902
72
Glacier NP MO
43
7/28/01
Colville, WA
Motel
14276
374
  MO, WA
44
7/29/01
North Cascades NP
Camp
14528
252
North Cascades NP WA
45
7/30/01
North Cascades NP
Camp
14600
72
North Cascades NP WA
46
7/31/01
North Cascades NP
Camp
14710
110
North Cascades NP WA
47
8/1/01
Port Angels, WA
Motel
14872
162
  WA
48
8/2/01
Qunault, WA
Motel
15148
276
Olympic NP WA
49
8/3/01
Seattle, WA
Motel
15340
192
Olympic NP, Seattle WA
50
8/4/01
Eugune, OR
House
15720
380
Mt. Rainier NP WA, OR
51
8/5/01
Eugune, OR
House
15725
5
Eugene, OR OR
52
8/6/01
Menlo Park, CA
House
16317
592
San Francisco, CA OR, CA

 

 

Driving A Long Distance
To Drive 800 Miles Per Day

If I drive 65 miles/hour for 16 hours, that will be 1040 miles. There will be 8 hours left for sleeping, eating, going bathroom, studying the next destination, etc. Maybe I can do some of it while driving. If I were like my friend, Saku-san, who can drive 20 hours a day, I did not have to wonder about this.

Here's my thought about how to drive a long distance.

Drive Interstate:

This I found: driving on surface road is slow. Unless driving in Nevada, surface streets have sharp curves, slow RVs without passing lanes, and slower speed limits in city streets. Staying on Interstate is definitely faster.

On-The-Other-Hand: most of the scenic routes are surface street, and even more winding than usual road. For a fun trip, avoiding surface streets seems to be a dumb thing to do.

Drive Not Rest:

Stopping for a restroom can take 5 minutes. Slow down the car, turn onto ramp, approach a gasstation, look for a parking space, park the car, walk up to the restroom, and do all over in reverse. I found driving without stop helps increase the distance. No stop for rest, food, drink, photography, stretching bodies.

On-The-Other-Hand: stopping frequently while long drive is important for safety. Also I love to stop when I see a nice scenery for photograph. This is not a good idea, either.

Drive Long Time:

Start driving early morning is a good habit. There are less traffic, which can be extremely important around big cities. Maybe I can see a great sunrise.

On-The-Other-Hand: driving until late make it difficult to find a place to stay. Most of the campsites maybe filled. I found big hotel chains, such as Motel-6 and Super-8, helpful.

Drive Fast:

I do not think this is a good idea. Getting speeding ticket must be the worst thing to reduce the driving distance. I got tired faster when I drive fast as well.

After all, my best advice is to plan a relaxed trip. Driving a long distance is not fun at all.

 

 

Before the Tour
Preparations and goals of the US tour

GOALS: Before I go, I set the following goals for this US tour.

  1. To experience the natural beauty of the US, visit as many national parks as possible.
  2. To experience more of the desert and red rock canyons, visit Colorado Plateau regions as much as possible.
  3. To compare the mountain ranges in the US, visit Rocky, Appalachian, and Cascades Mountains.
  4. To get to know some US history, visit parks such as Gettysburg National Cemetery, Mount Rushmore, and Mesa Verde National Park.
  5. To eat a lot of lobsters in Maine.
  6. Duration is minimum 6 weeks, or less than 2 months.
  7. Lose some weight!
  8. Money is not a restriction, but try to save if possible. Stay in campgrounds or in reasonably priced motels. Time is more important in this tour.

CONSIDERATIONS: The following are special consideration based on my personal.

  1. Visit my friend in Ohio, who will join me for 5 days, starting from 7/4 until 7/8, 2001.
  2. Visit couple more friends in San Diego (California), Washington D.C., Denver (Colorado), and Eugene (Oregon).
  3. I have already visited the following US cities: New York (New York), Boston (Massachusetts), Washington D.C., Atlanta (Georgia), New Orleans (Louisiana), Detroit (Michigan), Boulder (Colorado), and Chicago (Illinois). Visiting major cities is not my priority in this tour.
  4. I have also visited the following parks: Grand Canyon NP, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, and many parks in the west coast.

RESTRICTIONS: When I started the tour, I had to consider the following restrictions.

  1. Unfortunately, I had dislocated shoulder just before the tour. And I still had the knee problems. I could not walk down a steep hill, could not row a boat, etc.
  2. Give up visiting Florida and Deep South states since I do not have enough time to visit.

MINI-TRIPS: I went out to 3 mini tours before and after the US Tour.

  1. In May, I went to visit Southern Utah and spring skiing; in this 9 days of trip, I visited parks such as Canyonlands NP, Arches, and Mammoth Mountains ski resort. I also got used to camping, driving long distance, and got some idea about how many parks I could visit.
  2. In June, I went out for Northern California in order to check my right shoulder. I dislocated my right shoulder in May at Mammoth Mountain.
  3. From August to September, I visited Canadian Rockies. This time, I flew to Banff, Canada; I rented a car for 4 days to explore the Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks.
 

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