Planned Route:
Actual Route:
The trip is broken up into four distinct legs:
My dad will be joining me for this leg. Our route starts in Denver, heading north through Cheyenne to our first stop in Dubois, WY. From there, we head into Grand Teton National Park, north through Yellowstone, and on to Bozeman, MT. After Bozeman, we’ll head north towards Glacier National Park, staying the night in Kalispell, MT. The next day will be pretty short, going to Spokane, WA via Bonners Ferry, ID. Since we’ll have extra time, we’ll take a quick detour north into Canada. From Spokane, it’s a straight shot across Washington to Seattle, where we’ll catch a few games of Copa America.
I’ll be on my own for this leg. I’ll start from Seattle by taking the ferry across the sound to Bainbridge Island. From there I’ll head northwest, up and around Olympic National Park and start down the coast. That night, I’ll stay in Long Beach, WA. The next morning I’ll head across the bridge into Oregon and continue down the coast to California. The last day of the leg will be spent driving down the California coast and through the redwoods. I won’t make San Francisco that night, but I’ll be close, just a short morning drive away.
Shelby is joining me for this leg. I’ll pick her up in San Francisco and we’ll head into Palo Alto to visit my alma mater. We’ll stay the night and then head out to the Pacific Coast Highway to start one of the best parts of the trip: Big Sur. That night we’ll stay in Paso Robles, probably catching a vineyard along the way. From Paso Robles, we’ll continue south to LA, where we’ll be staying the night on the Queen Mary, which is permanently docked in Long Beach, CA. To finish the leg, we’ll continue south to San Diego where we’ll get some beach time before Shelby flies back to Denver.
I’ll be alone for this leg, as well. From San Diego, I’ll head back north a bit towards Palm Springs, across to Joshua Tree National Park, and then north to Bullhead City, mostly just to add Nevada. This route will hopefully avoid the heat of both the Cali-Arizona desert and the Mojave, which is important to consider in an open-top car with no air conditioning. From Bullhead City, I’ll head east, which will put me on Historic Route 66 to Flagstaff. I’ve decided to skip the Grand Canyon, as I’ve been there twice in the past four years and I wouldn’t have much time to do anything there anyway. Instead, I’ll continue on to Tuba City. The next day I’ll head northeast through Monument Valley, one of my favorite drives in the country, with a stop by Four Corners so that I don’t miss my home state of New Mexico. I’ll stay in Cortez or Durango that night. For the last day of the trip, I’ll start up the Million Dollar Highway, then head east, climbing back over the Rocky Mountains and dropping into Denver.