Planned Route

Click the map to open in Google Maps

I created a green marker at each approximate stopping point for the day.  Sunrise and Sunset will be approximately 7am-7pm throughout the trip, and the hope is to be on the road from about 5:30am to 9:30pm each day to maximize the amount of daylight driving time.

• Anticipated start:  Friday, September 17, 2010 at Noon MDT (1:00 pm local time) on US-259 at the OK/TX border near Idabel, OK.
• Day 1: This is less than half a day, but the idea will be to make as much ground as possible towards Mobile, AL. I figure on arriving at around bed time.
• Day 2: This expect this will be a tricky day as there will be numerous states to cross including an loop into Kentucky on some state and federal roads. The C endpoint for the day could really end up being anywhere.
• Day 3: I think this will be the hardest day. There are some monster cities to get by in New England, a loop into Maine, and cutting across the mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont on non-interstate paths.
• Day 4: Hopefully I’ll start this day in at least Troy, NY. The only expected snarl left in the trip will be at the end of this day in Chicago. According to the map, I should it hit Chicago after dark, which I hope will allow me to sneak by into Wisconsin and quit for the day.
• Day 5: This is where the real adventure begins…a solid day of driving through farmland of the midwest and into the Badlands. This day will take me within 50 miles of my Kansas City, giving me an opportunity to abort the trip if something comes up.
• Day 6: Big Sky Country and into the Pacific Northwest. Most of this should be on some wide open roads at good speeds.
• Day 7: Across Oregon and the deserts in Nevada on US-93. Google maps clocks this day in at 18.5 hours, but my research would indicate otherwise. I’ve found several people on the net that say it is faster to take US-93 than to take I-15 through Utah. Google rates the Utah route over an hour shorter, so I figure US-93 must be even shorter than that. In either case, if I can make it to Arizona by quitting time, then the next day should be a breeze.
• Day 8: If I get a reasonable start on this day, I should have no problem making it to Four Corners by noon. “Resonable start” is most likely a fixed point in time, implying that the previous night will have a TBD amount of sleep.
• Anticipated Finish: Friday, September 24, 2010 at Noon MDT at Four Corners