Each summer, people from all walks of life take part in the uniquely American ritual known as the road trip. Families pile their two kids and the dog into a station wagon or minivan to see the nation's historical monuments and oddities. Groups of college kids race from one side of the country to the other as a rite of passage. Foreigners try to get a sense of America, up close and personal. And some people try to get their kicks recreating the drive along historic "Route 66."

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to travel across the USA multiple times.  Each trip was for slightly different reasons.  Some trips were solo, some were with people near and dear to my heart.  The shortest trip was 5 days, and the longest was 14 days.  On every trip I managed to see planned and unplanned sights and find the wonder and beauty that is America.

For the first two trips there are thumbnail maps that you can click on to see the details of the trip.  For the second two there are no maps because I didn’t have the same software. Sorry. L

Road Trip I: June 11-25, 2000

Philadelphia

Rochester, New York

Niagara Falls and Toronto

State of Michigan and Chicago

St. Paul, Minnesota

Walnut Grove, Minnesota; De Smet, South Dakota; Badlands, South Dakota

Rapid City and Mount Rushmore, South Dakota; Deadwood, South Dakota

Cody, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park; Grand Tetons National Park; Jackson, Wyoming; Salt Lake City,Utah

Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe, California

Sacramento, California and San Francisco, California

Los Angeles, California

 

Road Trip II: August 23-September 2, 2000

Los Angeles, California

Las Vegas, Nevada

Hoover Dam and Albuqurque, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico and Taos, New Mexico

Denver, Colorado

Omaha, Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa

Amana Colonies, Iowa and Madison, Wisconsin

Chicago

Niagara Falls

Rochester, New York and Philadelphia

Epilogue: Atlantic City, New Jersey

 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cincinnati, Ohio

St. Louis, Missouri

Mansfield, Missouri

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Amarillo, Texas

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Painted Desert, Arizona

Los Angeles, California

 

Road Trip IV:  August 25-September 3, 2004

Los Angeles, California

Berkeley, California

Vancouver, Washington

Multnomah Falls and “The Dalles”, Oregon

Spokane, Washington

Kalispell, Montana and Glacier National Park, Montana

Malta, Montana

Jamestown, North Dakota

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Chicago, Illinois

Buffalo, New York

Boston, Massachusetts

 

Road Trip V:  August 24-31, 2007

Los Angeles, California

Las Vegas, Nevada

Woods Cross (Salt Lake City), Utah

Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park

Cody, Wyoming

Deadwood, South Dakota

Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Custer, South Dakota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Madison, Wisconsin

Rockford, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

Cleveland, Ohio

Fallingwater (Mill Run), Pennsylvania

Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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