Posts Tagged “maps”

Hi everyone! We got kind of a late start today, but we still made it to tonight’s Super 8 in Crossville, Tenn. Alas, I have NO state signs for you guys. For some reason, the Virginia sign keeps eluding me. We go to Virginia all the time, but we don’t usually have the camera; today we took I-66 out of D.C. and didn’t see the sign! Then, when we crossed into Tennessee this evening, it was already too dark to get a good photo. Hopefully we can get both of those state signs on our way back home.

Oh. Did I not mention we are on another road trip? The main event this time is Christmas in Jackson, Mississippi, with my extended family (hi, y’all!). Brian and I are adding a few extras, depending on how things go. Right now we’re en route to Austin, Texas, and we’re very excited even though apparently it takes 3 days to drive there!

Here’s today’s route log, courtesy of Brian.

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For this journey, we decided to wait until we got home to do a route log. This was a much smaller trip and didn’t seem to require daily updates. It ended up being a little more involved that we initially planned, but that’s okay—that’s what’s fun about a road trip. You may have to view the larger version of the map to actually see where we went.

Isabel and I have now each visited 42 of these 50 states (we were together for all of them except Texas and Florida). The states we haven’t hit so far are: Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. If we’re feeling ambitious, we could knock out three to five of those states on our December trip. I never had a goal visiting all 50 states before, but now I totally do. Looks like we could do it pretty easily now. Wonder what we’ll shoot for next?

On a somewhat unrelated note… after traveling thousands of miles and seeing the most fascinating things this country has to offer, I’m left with one burning question: New Jersey, what’s your deal? Do you really not trust me? Are you worried that I’m not smart enough to handle the complex operation that is pumping gas? Is this task really so complex that you must leave it up to a professional? Twice I have nearly run out of gas to make it over the state line so I can fill my own gas tank. Maybe I’m a little crazy, but I like to be in charge of my own petrol. Besides, I have no idea what tipping etiquette is for those guys and that’s enough to make me break out into a sweat. End rant, start log:

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Here’s the entire trip. Hmm, at this size it looks like just a bunch of green pins sticking out of the country. I recommend clicking the “View Larger Map” link just below the map to view this in its own window and then zooming in a couple of times to get a better look at it. I did have to take a few editorial liberties with the exact path because Google Maps wouldn’t allow me to use more than 25 destination points. It is, however, mostly accurate. Whew! That’s a long drive. Good job, Pearl!

P.S. This is not the end of the blog. Check back soon for Isabel’s post about our final day on the road (it will fall in below the “And We’re Home” post). We’ll also continue to blog on this site. We’ve had a blast chronicling our journey and, as I mentioned before, we have more traveling to do! Check back often for updates!

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Our final day took us through a record (I think) five states and one district. Whew. When we decided it was time to get home, we went for it. Sure, there were a few other spots on the map that we considered dropping in on, but we decided to save them for one of the three(!) more trips that we’re making before the end of the year. The last three days of this trip were pretty brutal driving-wise. We drove from Georgetown, Colo., to DC with only a very few minor stops along the way. Have a look at our last day’s route below. We are dedicated!

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How long have I been waiting to say that? Actually, we’re not in Missouri or Illinois anymore either. Today was probably the biggest distance push we’ve made so far. We realized that if we tried, we could actually make it home tomorrow!! So, that’s the goal. Huzzah!

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After moseying about the country for the past few weeks, Isabel and I realized the other day that we need to make it home, and fast. As is often the case, we find ourselves running late and scurrying at the last minute to arrive on time. Because of this, we need to make a beeline home. We did a pretty good job of putting some miles behind us today, but were foiled slightly by the switch from the Mountain to Central time zone. Not to worry though, we’re still doing okay. For some reason, the time zones have surprised and confused us during the entire trip. When flying, it’s easy to understand that your destination has a different time than your departure location. When driving, it’s much more disorienting to comprehend that it’s now 5pm, even though a mile ago it was 4pm… at least for us it is.

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I believe we reached a new high today… 11,158 ft. high, to be exact. Between Vail and Georgetown, we passed through the Eisenhower Tunnel—the highest vehicular tunnel in the world and also the highest point of the interstate system. That was just a few miles ago, so I’m assuming we’re still pretty close to the same elevation. I can’t wait to drop down to a normal elevation. After the Rockies, it must flatten out, right?

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We’re back in Utah! As you may know, Isabel and I are quite fond of Utah, so it’s always great to come back here… even if the last time we were here was just four days ago. We had to drive west to get to Moab, and I believe that will be the last time we drive west during this trip! Woohoo! No more evenings driving towards the sun. Here’s the log.

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For being in the desert, we sure have seen a lot of rain. Today the storms hit on the drive from Flagstaff to Four Corners. Yesterday it was on the way to the Grand Canyon. I thought this area was supposed to be dry! The interesting thing about the terrain out here (fairly flat) is that you can see the thunderstorms from miles away. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to avoid heading into said storms because there’s only one road.

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Not much to report today along the lines of travel. We drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and back. I’m still feeling a little woozy from the altitude, but I think we should be heading closer to sea level soon. I looked up Washington D.C.’s elevation last night: 410 ft. above sea level. No wonder it’s giving us such problems! The Grand Canyon is close to 9,000 ft! It’s even higher at some spots. Sheesh.

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