Doctoral student, Randy Olson, was challenged by Discovery News to plot the optimum road trip route across the U.S. This epic 13,699-mile journey stops at 50 landmarks which includes one stop in 48 U.S. states, as well as Washington D.C. and two stops in California for an even 50 stops. Each stop would be at a national natural landmark, national historic site, national park or national monument. Below is a list of the 50 destinations on the road rip route.
On our road trip in 2014 with our fifth wheel, we hit 18 of these stops (in bold letters) to complete our trip across the U.S starting in April through August 20th. We left our catamaran in Annapolis this year for the winter. Insurance is a lot more affordable when your boat is outside of the hurricane belt. Since we could not go cruising on Zuri, we decided to hit the road and make a journey across America to explore.
We started in Hollywood Florida from the Topeekeegee Yugnee Park and drove west. We spend the most time in Texas, California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. We stopped in Annapolis, MD in August through the end of October where we worked in our Annapolis office and did our anual exhibit at the biggest in the water boat show in the US, the Annapolis Sailboat Show. We made our way south again as soon as the weather turned cold and ended up in Key West for a while. This trip across America was one to remember and we decided to do it again in 2015.
| 1. Grand Canyon, Arizona
2. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah 3. Craters of the Moon, Idaho 4. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 5. Pikes Peak, Colorado 6. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico 7. The Alamo, Texas 8. The Platt Historic District, Oklahoma 9. Toltec Mounds, Arkansas 10. Elvis Presley’s Graceland, Tennessee 11. Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi 12. French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 13. USS Alabama, Alabama 14. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida 15. Okefenokee Swamp Park, Georgia 16. Fort Sumter National Monument, South Carolina 17. Lost World Caverns, West Virginia 18. Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, North Carolina 19. Mount Vernon, Virginia 20. White House, Washington, D.C. 21. Colonial Annapolis Historic District, Maryland 22. New Castle Historic District, Delaware 23. Cape May Historic District, New Jersey 24. Liberty Bell, Pennsylvania 25. Statue of Liberty, New York |
26. The Mark Twain House & Museum, Connecticut
27. The Breakers, Rhode Island 28. USS Constitution, Massachusetts 29. Acadia National Park, Maine 30. Mount Washington Hotel, New Hampshire 31. Shelburne Farms, Vermont 32. Fox Theater, Detroit, Michigan 33. Spring Grove Cemetery, Ohio 34. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky 35. West Baden Springs Hotel, Indiana 36. Abraham Lincoln’s Home, Illinois 37. Gateway Arch, Missouri 38. C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, Kansas 39. Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, Iowa 40. Taliesin, Wisconsin 41. Fort Snelling, Minnesota 42. Ashfall Fossil Bed, Nebraska 43. Mount Rushmore, South Dakota 44. Fort Union Trading Post, North Dakota 45. Glacier National Park, Montana 46. Hanford Site, Washington state 47. Columbia River Highway, Oregon 48. San Francisco Cable Cars, California 49. San Andreas Fault, California 50. Hoover Dam, Nevada |
Credit: Google Maps
