US Tour 2001
June 16 ~ August
6, 2001
I have finaly made one of my
dreams come true; I set out for an around the US drive tour in the summer
of 2001. It was June 16, 2001 when I started this 52 days and 16,317 miles
of driving tour. This
means I drove 317 miles every day. Some of my friends praised me like,
"you're nuts", or "it is certified insanity". Yes,
it was hectic; I visited 18 national parks, 9 national monuments and memorials,
three cities, and many other regional and tribal parks. I woke up early
in the morning to see the sunrise; I hiked trails in many national parks;
I relaxed and enjoyed watching the sunset. Another friend of mine described
this tour as "army corps of tourist". I agree with my friends
about 52 days being too short for driving around the US; this tour was
the best thing I could do at the end of my
twelve years of living in the US. Now I can say to my friends and myself,
"yes, I did that."
Here is my route map; I spend most of my time in the west, between Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. and in the East Coast. In between I drove through the deep south and mid-west regions. I divided the tour into 6 regions based on geographical features; they are:
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1.
SouthWest Loop 15 days, 3747 miles, 250 miles/day This is one of my center pieace of this US tour: SouthWest. This is the country of red rock canyons and dry desert. I visited Joshua Tree NP, Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge NM, Antelope Canyon, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Grand Staircase Escalante NM, Natural Bridges NM, Monument Valley, Four Corners, Mesa Verde NP, City of Telluride (Colorado), Black Canyon of Garrison NP, White Sand Dunes NM, and Carlsbad NP. |
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2.
South Loop 10 days, 4413 miles, 441 miles/day After traversing the deep south, my friend and Imade a little loop in mid-Atlantic Ocean; we visited Great Smokey NP, Myrtle Beach, Outer Banks in North Carolina, and Shenanndoa NP. |
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3.
NorthEast Loop 6 days, 1982 miles, 330 miles/day In the NorthEast coast loop, I skipped most of the major cities. Instead I visited parks and historical sites: Gettysburg NBM?, Harper's Ferry NM, City of Washington D.C., Cape Cod, Acadia NP, and Niagara Falls. |
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4.
MidWest Loop 6 days, 2343 miles, 391 miles/day At the end of the flat (and boring) mid-west drive, groups of parks locates in the Black Hill region. I visited Badlands NP, Mount Rushmore NM, Crazy Horse Monument, and Devils Tower NM. |
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5.
Rocky Mountains Loop 6 days, 1791 miles, 299 miles/day This is another major pieace of this tour to visit parks along the Rocky Mountain Ranges. Park I visited are: Rocky Mountains NP, Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, and Glacier NP. |
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6.
NorthWest Loop 9 days, 2041 miles, 227 miles/day NorthWest is a beautiful place. It has one of the most rugged, steep, beautiful, and wild mountain ranges in the lower 48 states. It also has the northern most rainforest. In this last loop, I visited North Cascades NP, Olympic NP, City of Seattle (Washington), Mount Rainier NP, and City of Eugene (Oregon). |
After the Tour...
Although the tour was terrific, duration of 52 days was too short. Driving 317 miles a day means I spend 5 to 8 hours driving everyday. Ideally, I would like to spend at least a full day for every national park I visited.
I do not even know how much money I spend during this trip. Time was more important for me at that point. I could have saved a lot of money if I camped more.
More Tours...
- Before this US Tour, I spend 9 days visiting parks in Southern Utah: Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, and Grand Staircase Escalante National Parks. (Southern Utah Trip Page)
- Just before this US Tour, I spend 3 days in Cascades Mountains of Nothern California, visiting Mount Shasta, McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial Park, and Lakes Basin near Lake Tahoe. (Nothern California Trip Page)
- Just after this US Tour, I spend a week visiting parks in Canadian Rockies: Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks. (Canadian Rockies Trip Page)
- In September 1999, I visited Grand Canyon National Park for 4 days. That is why I did not visit the Grand Canyon in this US Tour. (Grand Canyon Trip Page)
- For parks in Southern California, how about a page about visiting the Southern California Drive 2000? In this 5 days of driving trip, I visited Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks, as well as drove along the Pacific Coast. (Southern California Page)
- My friend already have done the US Tour in 1996. Unlike my US Tour, he has visited all the four corners of the US: Maine, Florida, San Diego, and Seattle. (On The Road in America '96)
Daily Milage:
A table of daily driving milage and a graph.
To Drive A Long Distance:
Thought about how to drive 800 miles per day. The conclusion was...
Before the Tour:
Summary of goals and restrictions before I started the US tour.