Trip Across America

The idea for this trip was born out of the pandemic. Looking to make the best use of my additional time at home, I turned to reading. I delved into a broad range of subjects, with particular favorites such as: History, Nature, Politics, Sports, Economics, Agriculture, Law, Geography, Business, and Technology. Out of these seemingly unconnected topics, a common theme began to develop. Over and over again, I would finish a book and come away with an increased appreciation for at least one of the 50 states. The more I read, the more these disparate subjects came together, like an intellectual jigsaw puzzle, with each book providing the next piece. Some of these puzzle pieces were hiding in plain sight, such as some of the lesser known National Parks. Congaree, Voyageurs, and Big Bend National Parks all come to mind. Other puzzle pieces were obscure, meaningless unless placed in the proper context, but fascinating within a broader historical perspective. Eventually I pieced together enough of the puzzle, that the idea to travel to all 50 states was born.

Along the way, I had been compiling a list of all the places in the United States that I wanted to visit, but it had primarily been an academic exercise. Developing an actual plan to visit all of these places was a different story. I quickly discovered why the “Traveling Salesman Problem” is often used as a benchmark for optimization algorithms. Staring at the map and considering all the relevant factors, you realize there is no “perfect” trip that allows you to see everything. After bemoaning the time constraints imposed by speed limits, lack of teleportation technology, sleep requirements, and a host of other human deficiencies, I set about developing the best trip I could. Below I have outlined the trip as currently envisioned. Also included below is a list of places I intend on visiting in each state. The list isn’t exhaustive but is generally representative of the types of things I’m interested in seeing and learning about.

April 2022 – California , Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada

May 2022 – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas

June 2022 – Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa

July 2022 – South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado

August 2022 – North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

September 2022 – Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey

October 2022 – New England, Pennsylvania, New York

November 2022 – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida

TBD 2023 – Alaska and Hawaii

Oregon

1. Crater Lake National Park
2. Portland
3. Multnomah Falls
4. Historic Columbia River Highway
5. Willamette Valley
6. University of Oregon football game

Washington

1. Seattle
2. Olympic National Park
3. North Cascades National Park
4. Mount Ranier National Park
5. Seattle Mariners game

Idaho

1. Boise
2. Shoshone Falls
3. Sun Valley
4. Lapwai Valley
5. Hell’s Canyon
6. Snake River Gorge
7. Coeur d’Alene
8. Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve
9. Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness

Nevada

1. Las Vegas
2. NFL Draft
3. Great Basin National Park
4. Reno
5. Lake Tahoe

Arizona

1. Grand Canyon National Park
2. Phoenix
3. Flagstaff
4. Sedona
5. Arizona Diamondbacks Game
6. Petrified Forest National Park
7. Saguaro National Park
8. Tucson
9. Titan Missile Museum

New Mexico

1. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
2. White Sands National Park
3. Albuquerque
4. Santa Fe
5. Taos – Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Texas

1. Big Bend National Park
2. Guadalupe National Park
3. Texas A&M football game
4. Austin
5. Dallas
6. Houston
7. San Antonio
8. South Padre Island
9. Corpus Christi
10. Galveston
11. El Paso
12. National Museum of the Pacific War
13. Spindletop
14. San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site
15. Texas Rangers game
16. Houston Astros game

Oklahoma

1. Oklahoma City
2. University of Oklahoma Football
3. Tulsa
4. Natural Falls State Park
5. Bartlesville
6. Cushing

Arkansas

1. Hot Springs National Park
2. University of Arkansas football game
3. Crater of Diamonds State Park
4. Bentonville
5. Little Rock

Louisiana

1. New Orleans
2. National WWII Museum
3. The Cabildo
4. Oak Alley Plantation
5. Baton Rouge
6. LSU Football Game
7. Shreveport
8. USS Kidd – Historic destroyer tour

Mississippi

1. Jackson
2. Natchez
3. Windsor Ruins
4. Longwood – historic home
5. Vicksburg National Military Park
6. Biloxi
7. Beauvoir – Jefferson Davis’ historic home

Tennessee

1. Nashville
2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
3. UT Football Game
4. Fort Donelson National Battlefield
5. Knoxville
6. Chattanooga
7. Rock City Gardens
8. Lookout Mountain
9. Memphis

Missouri

1. St. Louis
2. Kansas City
3. Cardinals Game
4. KC Royals Game
5. KC Chiefs Game
6. National WWI Museum
7. Gateway Arch National Park

Kansas

1. University of Kansas basketball game
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
3. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
4. Topeka
5. Wichita
6. Greensburg

Nebraska

1. Omaha
2. Lincoln
3. College World Series
4. Homestead National Historic Park
5. Strategic Air and Space Museum
6. Toadstool Geologic Park
7. Chimney Rock
8. Courthouse and Jail Rocks

South Dakota

1. Sioux Falls
2. Pierre
3. Badlands National Park
4. Mount Rushmore
5. Black Hills
6. Wind Cave National Park
7. Custer State Park
8. Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
9. Iron Mountain Road
10. Spearfish Canyon

Montana

1. Glacier National Park
2. Little Bighorn National Monument
3. Pompey’s Pillar
4. Anaconda
5. Helena
6. Missoula
7. Bozeman
8. Billings
9. Berkeley Pit

Wyoming

1. Yellowstone National Park
2. Grand Teton National Park
3. Jackson Hole
4. Devil’s Tower

Utah

1. Zion National Park
2. Arches National Park
3. Bryce Canyon National Park
4. Capital Reef National Park
5. Canyonlands National Park
6. Salt Lake City
7. Glenn Canyon
8. Golden Spike National Historical Park
9. Stewart Falls
10. Park City

Colorado

1. Denver
2. Colorado Rockies Game
3. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre
4. Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
5. Rocky Mountain National Park
6. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
7. Great Sand Dunes National Park
8. Mesa Verde National Park
9. Royal Gorge Bridge & Park
10. Telluride

North Dakota

1. Theodore Roosevelt National Park
2. State Capital Building
3. Bismarck
4. Fargo

Minnesota

1. Voyageurs National Park
2. Mesabi Iron Range
3. Minnesota Twins Game
4. Minneapolis
5. Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine
6. Duluth
7. North Shore Scenic Drive
8. Vikings Game

Wisconsin

1. Lambeau Field
2. Milwaukee Brewers game
3. Madison
4. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
5. Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Estate

Illinois

1. Chicago
2. Cubs Game
3. White Sox Game
4. Caterpillar Museum
5. Ulysses S. Grant Historic Home
6. Abraham Lincoln Tomb

Iowa

1. University of Iowa football game
2. Des Moines
3. John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum
4. Maquoketa Caves State Park
5. Iowa City
6. Cedar Rapids

Michigan

1. Isle Royale National Park
2. University of Michigan football game
3. Detroit
4. Soo Locks
5. Henry Ford Museum
6. Upper Peninsula
7. Mackinac Island
8. Michigan State Capital Building

Ohio

1. Cuyahoga National Park
2. Cleveland Indians game
3. Cincinnati Reds game
4. Columbus
5. Ohio and Erie Canal

Indiana

1. Notre Dame football game
2. Indiana Dunes National Park
3. Indianapolis
4. French Lick
5. Columbus – architecture

West Virginia

1. New River Gorge National Park
2. University of West Virginia football
3. Harpers Ferry
4. Wheeling
5. Blackwater Falls
6. Huntington
7. Charleston
8. The Greenbrier

Kentucky

1. Kentucky Derby
2. Mammoth Cave National Park
3. Louisville
4. Cumberland Falls
5. Natural Arch
6. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Virginia

1. Shenandoah National Park
2. Natural Bridge
3. Blueridge Parkway
4. Colonial Williamsburg
5. Monticello
6. Mount Vernon
7. USS Wisconsin Battleship
8. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
9. Yorktown
10. Virginia Beach
11. Richmond
12. Virginia Tech football game
13. Montpellier
14. Jamestown
15. Fort Monroe
16. Shirley Plantation
17. Chesapeake Bay
18. Norfolk

Maryland

1. Baltimore
2. Orioles Game
3. Fort McHenry
4. B&O Railroad Museum
5. Sparrows Point
6. Antietam National Battlefield
7. Annapolis

Delaware

1. Fort Delaware
2. Nemours Estate
3. Wilmington
4. Cape Henlopen State Park
5. Air Mobility Command Museum

New Jersey

1. Atlantic City
2. State Capital Building
3. Ellis Island
4. Patterson
5. Delaware Water Gap
6. Port of NY & NJ

New York

1. NYC
2. Niagara Falls
3. Erie Canal
4. NY Yankees game
5. NY Mets game
6. Buffalo
7. Rochester
8. Albany

Connecticut

1. USS Nautilus Museum
2. Mystic Seaport Museum
3. Greenwich
4. Coltsville National Historic Park

Massachusetts

1. Red Sox game
2. Boston
3. Plymouth
4. Salem
5. Concord
6. The Berkshires
7. Lowell

Rhode Island

1. The Breakers
2. Newport
3. Slaters Mill
4. Fort Adams State Park
5. Providence

New Hampshire

1. Kancamagus Scenic Byway
2. Manchester
3. Flume Gorge
4. Bretton Woods
5. Wentworth By The Sea
6. New Castle
7. Portsmouth
8. Dixville Notch

Maine

1. Bath Iron Works
2. Acadia National Park
3. Portland
4. Bangor
5. Penobscot Narrows Bridge
6. Fort Knox
7. Augusta
8. Kennebunkport

Vermont

1. Burlington
2. Montpelier
3. Quechee Gorge
4. Route 100 Scenic Highway
5. Barre Granite Quarries

Pennsylvania

1. Gettysburg National Military Park
2. Pittsburgh
3. Fallingwater – Historic Home
4. Philadelphia Phillies game
5. Pittsburgh Pirates game
6. Penn State football game
7. Valley Forge National Historic Park
8. Horseshoe Curve – Railroad Engineering
9. Bethlehem – Steel Industry
10. Harrisburg

North Carolina

1. Biltmore Estate
2. Blue Ridge Parkway
3. USS North Carolina Battleship
4. Kitty Hawk
5. Wilmington
6. New Bern
7. Charlotte
8. Chapel Hill
9. Durham
10. Raleigh

South Carolina

1. Congaree National Park
2. Charleston
3. Fort Sumter
4. Middleton Place
5. Magnolia Plantation
6. Drayton Hall
7. Clemson and USC football games
8. Myrtle Beach
9. Columbia
10. Hilton Head

Georgia

1. Savannah
2. Atlanta
3. University of Georgia football game
4. Atlanta Braves game
5. Dungeness Ruins
6. Andersonville National Historic Site
7. Atlanta History Center

Florida

1. Everglades National Park
2. Biscayne National Park
3. Dry Tortugas National Park
4. Miami
5. St. Augustine
6. University of Florida football game
7. Key West
8. Jupiter
9. Tampa Bay Rays game
10. Miami Marlins game

Alabama

1. Mobile
2. USS Alabama Battleship tour
3. University of Alabama football game
4. Auburn football game
5. Montgomery
6. Birmingham

Hawaii

1. USS Arizona Memorial
2. Pearl Harbor
3. Haleakala National Park
4. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
5. Maui
6. Waimea Canyon State Park

Alaska

1. Glacier Bay National Park
2. Gates of the Arctic National Park
3. Kobuk Valley National Park
4. Denali National Park
5. Lake Clark National Park
6. Katmai National Park
7. Kenai Fjords National Park
8. Wrangell St. Elias National Park
9. Anchorage
10. Juneau
11. Aleutian Islands

California

1. Redwood National Park
2. Sequoia National Park
3. Kings Canyon National Park
4. Death Valley National Park
5. Lassen Volcanic National Park
6. Yosemite National Park
7. Pinnacles National Park
8. Joshua Tree National Park
9. Channel Islands National Park
10. Summit Train Tunnels
11. Big Sur
12. San Francisco