This page is all about my summer road trip around the USA...

This is something I should have done a long time ago, but better late than never I am making a permanent (?) record of my trip across the USA. I began my journey in Corvallis, Oregon in the summer of 2002. Days are still approximate until I fill it all out.

Day 1

The first day, I drove to Newport, Oregon, and north up highway 101 all the way to the border with Washington, stopping along the way for some hiking and some food. My first stop was for lunch and microbrew at the Rogue Ales pub in Newport - this would be a theme of my trip, as I made it a point to stop at breweries along the way and sample the local flavors. I grabbed a pizza as well, which accompanied me on my way north. Being familiar with the Oregon coast, I elected not to spend a great deal of time so close to home - after all, I was on my way east, ultimately, and could come back to visit Oregon again with ease.

My first detour off of 101 was to visit the three capes, where I went for a short hike (I would have gone further, but realized that the climb back up the hill would be long and arduous - and I had some miles to cover by nightfall). This is a beautiful area, amazing landscape along the ocean, and far enough off the main road to provide some quiet spots to visit. I spent maybe an hour at the rest area here before proceeding northbound on 101 - bound for the Washington border. I made it to the bridge around nightfall, and took a few quick photos (coming soon) of myself at the border. I consulted my handy road atlas, and elected to press on the city of Tokeville in Washington - it would be a long night, but I was in need of making some tracks. Around midnight or shortly thereafter, I made it to the famous Tokeland hotel, where I snapped some photos of myself at the sign for the hotel, and met a friendly local police officer, who seemed to be very bored with the lack of activity at that late hour. I informed him of my plans, and explained that I was not in fact lost, simply travelling at night to avoid the excessive heat of the day in my non-air conditioned vehicle. He seemed to be suitably convinced that I was not a danger, and took off to continue his patrol for speeders and drunks.

I made my way a few more miles up the coast before bedding down for the night in the back of the civic (my miniature japanese RV). My bed consisted of a pile of blankets topped by a very leaky air mattress. This mattress served as my alarm clock, waking me up early by becoming progressively less comfortable over the course of the evening as the air leaked completely out. Yes - I slept on the same leaky mattress the whole trip.

Day 2

Next on tap was a quick circuit of the Olympic peninsula. I would have skipped this detour, but for some odd reason I was compelled to reach the Northwest corner of the USA, which in this case meant the Makah indian reservation - a little corner of the peninsula jutting out into the ocean. The drive was beautiful, and the reservation has a nice scenic trail that provides a view of the lighthouse guarding the entrance to the Puget Sound - the lighthouse sits on a rock offshore, perhaps a quarter mile from the mainland. Following this, I made a beeline for Seattle, where I planned to spend the following day.

Day3

When I arrived in Seattle it was late at night, so the challenge was finding the best parking spot to spend the night. I ended up sleeping in the shadow of the space needle, where I found a three hour free parking spot. I jumped up early in the morning, walked briskly to the hotel down the street for a wonderful breakfast of french toast, and on my way back to the car, I spent about two hours at the Experience music project. Once my parking time was up, I crossed town to pike place market, where I made a stop for beer and a bagel, and killed the rest of the day cruising the shops.

I spent the whole day in Seattle, and wound up sleeping in the car near downtown.

Day 4

I woke up early in Seattle, and made a beeline for highway 20, on my way to explore the North Cascade national (and other) parks. I then shot southeast across the high plateau to Spokane for lunch, and spent a whole hour in the park at the center of town biking around and enjoying the carousel - in fact, I stayed a little more than an hour, and earned a parking ticket.

From Spokane, I headed east, intending to make it to Glacier National Park. On my way I stopped in Wallace, and took in a little history regarding a now-defunct brothel, bought some souvenirs, and grabbed a bite to eat. On my way out of town, I came across some high schoolers putting on a free car wash, and got a nice wash for a few bucks. Sated, I hit the road for Glacier, stopping only for dinner at a little roadside cafe. Once I made it to the park, I just cruised into the main parking lot by the lodge and made camp in the car.

Day 5

I woke in the car, parked in front of the main lodge at Glacier national park. I went in to have a look at the place, and found a chance to check the map and plot my plan of attack. I followed the precarious and precipitous route known as the "Going to the Sun Road", one of the best drives in the U.S., working my way from the valley floor up to 7,000 feet at the continental divide, where glaciers clung to the sides of the mountains, while mountain goats negotiated the sheer cliff faces to avoid predation. There was a short level hike at the crest, out to a viewing area where the mountain goats could be clearly seen through a telescope. I stopped long enough to breathe the mountain air and see a mountain goat, and then hit the road for the next park along the way - the greatest park of all - Yellowstone.

Day 6

I made it to Yellowstone after the park had closed, so I drove in with no fanfare, and parked in a small lot to sleep in the car. Thankfully I survived the noxious gasses and awoke to a bizarre sight - a field of geysers with a walkway over the top - directly in front of my vehicle. Starting from the north side of the park, I made a circuit around the whole area - visiting the famous sights, and witnessing the wildlife, from Bison to Elk, and Old Faithful of course. I actually ran south to get a view of the Grand Tetons, then looped back through the park to head east. A wild roadtrip... and I ended my day parking in an alley - one of the worst spots I could have picked on garbage day.

Day 7

Full day at Rushmore/Crazy Horse Slept by the road under an overpass(?) long long construction zone on a straight stretch of road (stay awake!!)

Day 8

headed for the corn palace - under construction (had a yummy plate of french toast a few blocks away from corn palace). Found the Devil's Tower from close encounters, took many photos -

Day 9

On to the mall of America in the twin cities - amazing rain in the parking lot after roller coaster.

Day 10

wisconsin dells?? Chicago - sushi

Day 11

Michigan - Ann Arbor/NWestern/on to Cedar Point -

Day 12

Cedar Point entire day of rollercoasters! Spent night by lake side??

Day 13

Niagara Falls - Tesla statue

Day 14

Drove to Mt Washington, New Hampshire, then on to Burlington, Vermont spent night in Burlington after grabbing coffee and touring downtown (reminded me of Eugene, OR).

Day 15

Today I made a trip out to visit the Ben & Jerry's factory, and rather than pay for the tour, I just toured the grounds, and picked up a souvenir. On to the coast...via a brewery just after the Maine border.

Day 16

Today I awoke at the Maine coast, at Eastport literally on the far edge of where I was just over two weeks ago. Visited Bar Harbor brewery for a tour and tasting - yummy fruit beers!

Day 17

Breakfast in Salem, Massachusetts Visited the loop, church, downtown areas. Made it to Providence, R.I. by midnight.

Day 18

Morning in Mystic, Conn. Drove the slow road on the coast to Brooklyn Bridge, Queens, New York for the night.

Day 19

Visit with Grandma,

Day 20

New York

Day 21

New York

Day 22

Philly

Day 23

Richmond to Rocky Mount

Day 24

Morehead City? to Myrtle Beach on to Charleston?

Day 25

Daytona Beach

Day 26

Miami

Day 27

Keys/Snorkel time... into the everglades

Day 28

On to Tampa - clean bed and laundry!

Day 29

into the Magic Kingdom for two days Disney World

Day 30

Epcot Center to Mobile

Day 31

In to New Orleans for the whole day til ~3AM went to sleep in the car near Bourbon street.

Day 32

Woke up sweaty in the car, drove to Houston, took a stroll around, then hit the road for Austin - had supper there and enjoyed a stroll by the waterfront.

Day 33

This was waterpark day, a full day in New Braunfels at the huge waterpark. Drove late to make mileage (MP420, I10)

Day 34

Caving...?

Day 35

Carlsbad Caverns to Roswell to Four Corners at midnight

Day 36

Arches Nat'l Park day/Moab was awesome

Day 37

Canyonlands

Day 38

Zion National Park

Day 39

Grand Canyon

Day 40

NEED TO CHECK MAP??? Flagstaff morning, locked keys in car. Made it to Vegas for RUSH show at MGM Grand. Drove all night through Death Valley - stopped at the bottom.

Day 41

on to Lancaster to visit Shari

Day 42

Visited with Grandma and Grandpa

Day 43

On to San Fransisco - strolled the hill and microbrew crawl.

Day 44

My most extensive travels have been in the last five years, when I have gone on increasingly lengthy roadtrips, culminating in the epic 45 day trip across the country that I took during my last summer at school. I drove from Oregon through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, (Colorado), Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and finally California, before returning home. Although I did miss a few states, now the list of states I have *not* visited is the shorter one. Not a small feat. So which states are yet to be graced with my presence? Hawaii, Alaska (although I did fly over..), North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Delaware. I have visited Washington D.C., but since it is not a state... that leaves me thirteen states to visit (coincidence?). I have had the fortune to explore parts of western and central Canada, but not the 'frenchier' parts to the east.

(Styrofoam Tuna was a spontaneous band name generated at the Experience Music Project. It represents the creativity of music, while also implying an image that is an implicit criticism of our consumer society.)

Is David real? Well, let's look at it logically. Styrofoam is real. Tuna is real. Therefore, Styrofoam Tuna is real.

if you like what you see here, drop me a line!

If you have constructive criticism or suggestions for additions, these are appreciated. The following is only a test of formatting.


fnord!

Coded by David with Love. Last edit July 25, 2008
XHTML1   CSS2