This entry got EXTREMELY long, so I jumped it. Hope ya don't mind.
From New Jersey, we will...
- Hit national historic sites on the way north to Albany, NY, including the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, the Vanderbilt Mansion, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and others.
- See my BFF Kate in Albany, NY.
- Travel west and see my pseudo-brother Carl in Rochester, NY.
- Hit Niagara Falls (with any luck Pat's passport will have arrived in NJ by the time we leave).
- Hit the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historic Site.
At this point, we have two options: Continue South to see my brother in Pittsburgh, PA, which would then bring us around to see my friend Amanda in Columbus, OH; or we could head down the coast of Lake Erie and hit Akron, OH, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
- No matter what, I WILL be heading north to see the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, which is on the northern coast of Ohio in Lake Erie. It looks amazing.
- From there we will head north into Michigan and visit my friend Erin in the Ann Arbor area.
- After cutting West across the Michigan mitten, we'll drive north along the coast of Lake Michigan, hitting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the process.
- Trekking further and further north, we'll cross onto the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan and will hit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the coast of Lake Superior.
- There ain't much to see across Wisconsin, unless there's someone out there who wants to convince me otherwise.
- My friend Chrissie lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have heard amazing things about Minneapolis (the Paris of the Plains!), so I would love to see it and maybe spend a few days exploring.
- Cutting southwest across Minnesota, we'll hit Pipestone National Monument in the far southwest corner.
- Heading into South Dakota, we come upon the town of Mitchell, home of the Mitchell Corn Palace. It is exactly what it sounds like. My family stopped by there when I was 11 and we traveled cross-country. There's no real reason I want to go back, other than to simply be able to say that I have been to the Mitchell Corn Palace not once, but twice in my lifetime.
- Once we get to the southwest corner of South Dakota is when shit starts to go down. In one very compact area we have Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Jewel Cave National Monument and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.
- Outside the National Parks System, we also have the Crazy Horse Memorial, the Wounded Knee Massacre site, and - don't worry, I haven't forgotten it - the jewel of the American Roadside, Wall Drug.
- Once we FINALLY move on from southwest South Dakota, we will take a brief jaunt into Wyoming to visit Devils Tower National Monument.
- Skipping back out of Wyoming again, we'll head north toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
- Further north from Theodore Roosevelt is the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site.
- On to Montana!
Let's take a breather here.
*breathes*
Okay!
- Montana! Wahoo. Just west of Glasgow, Montana are some hot springs. I plan on finding as many hot springs as I can along this trip. Thank god for hot springs.
- My BFF Emilie lives in Great Falls, and we hope to make it there before she and her husband Elton move away in preparation for Elton's Air Force stint in Korea.
- From Great Falls we'll do one out-and-back trip north to Glacier National Park, and another south to Wyoming, where we'll visit Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
- Heading back North into Montana, we will also have the opportunity to visit my friend Shannon in Missoula. On the way to Missoula we could visit the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site and Big Hole National Battlefield.
- Heading further west, we will pass through the Idaho panhandle, go past Spokane, Washington and hit Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.
- Once we get to the Seattle area, it's kind of like the drive to Albany, NY, or the whole southwest corner of South Dakota, in that there's so much to do, I literally just drew a cloud shape around Seattle and figured that I'll decode it later. Our options include, but are by no means limited to, the North Cascades National Park, San Juan Island National Historical Park (which I would looooove to see), and Olympic National Park.
- Then of course there is Mount Rainier National Park. It would be stupid for me not to see it while I'm there, though it is a bit out of the way, especially considering we'll be heading south down the coast on US 1.
- Straddling the Washington-Oregon line is Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. We'll tap that.
*deeeeeeeep breath*
- Down the coast of Oregon is just a patchwork of state park after state park after state park. I can't wait to just shoot straight south down US-1 and freak out the whole time.
- My friend Jose lives in Eugene, OR, so we'll cut inland to see him about halfway down the state.
- Heading south and then east a bit will bring us to Crater Lake National Park, which came with a strong recommendation from my former co-worker Larry, whose opinion I hold in high regard. (Hi, Larry! Are you reading my blog yet?)
- Cutting southwest back toward the coast and the California border will bring us past Oregon Caves National Monument.
- It ain't a trip to northern California without the Redwoods (both a national and state park).
- From the Redwoods we resume our drive down US-1 until we reach San Francisco. Now, in my atlas, I honestly just put a giant pink dot over San Fran and labeled it "STUFF." There is so much to see here - including and not limited to Muir Woods National Monument, Alcatraz Island (which is part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area - I had no idea it was part of the NPS!) and Point Reyes National Seashore. Not to mention the city of San Francisco itself, where I do believe I have a few old friends stationed.
- From San Francisco, we're getting dangerously close to SoCal, so it's time to cut East again and meander our way to Yosemite National Park (or, as my grandmother pronounced it in 1997: "Yoz-Mite"), Mono Lake (not in the NPS), Devils Postpile National Monument and, slightly south, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
- Right in the area of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is Manzanar National Historic Site, so we'll see if we can hit that too.
- Onward we shall trek into the wilds of Death Valley National Park, which scares the shit out of me. But if my parents could visit it in the heat of summer in a Chevy Citation with no air conditioning, I figure my comfy little (big) Ford Focus will manage okay.
- On Patrick's last jaunt through the Southwest, he stopped by Las Vegas, Nevada and, quite literally, lasted all of five minutes before he had to turn around and head back into the desert. He ain't no city boy, that one. But we will have to pass through Vegas to get to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, both of which are tourist-heavy, but seriously cool places. (Plus, maybe I can make an appointment at a little chapel in Las Vegas and get Patrick sufficiently plastered so that he thinks marrying me is a good idea. Har har har... uhmmm NO.)
- To get out of the Lake Mead area, even though we really only want to go due east, we'll have to backtrack and go north a little bit, slip over the Utah line and then right back into Arizona, where I want to hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. Everyone goes to the South Rim via Flagstaff because it's much more accessible, but the North Rim is where I went as a kid and is much less crowded and, in my opinion, much prettier.
- Backtracking North again, we'll head into Utah, where I would love to visit Kanab, which is the home of the Best Friends Animal Society, perhaps the most famous domestic animal sanctuary in the country.
- Just north of Kanab is Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park.
- Heading East now, we'll hit Capitol Reef National Park, and this is where it got a little hairy and I had to make an executive decision about what to do next. I will post both options here, though, because who knows how I'll feel once I get to Utah?
If we are getting tired and feel like heading back toward Santa Fe, we can take a Southeasterly route which will bring us to Natural Bridges National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument (which is right on the Colorado border), Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado). It would open up an opportunity to either hightail it to I-25 and get to Santa Fe within a day, or we could go north into the mountains a little bit and check out Black Canyon on the Gunnison National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area and Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, from whence we can then hitch easily up with I-25 and get to Santa Fe by dinnertime.
Okay now - throw it waaaaaay in reverse and bring us all the way back to Capitol Reef in Utah. If we decide to take a northerly route, we could hit Arches National Park, take a brief southerly detour to Canyonlands National Park, then cross the Colorado border to visit Colorado National Monument. Jaunting through the mountains would bring us to Denver and Boulder, where there's plenty to see, and if we wanted to go north even a little further we would get to Rocky Mountain National Park. Once we get tired of Colorado and want to get outta there, as we go south on I-25 we would come across the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument for good measure. I also have some friends in Colorado Springs who I'd be charmed to run into.
Once again, we could then be in Santa Fe in time for the Daily Show.
That's what I'm thinking so far, internets. That's what I'm thinking so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment