In case you haven't heard, Victoria and I are heading off on a two-month trip around the US this summer. We plan to update this travel blog to stay connected with everyone and share our thoughts and experiences as we explore the country. So if you'd like to stay updated on our travels, please bookmark this page. We'll send another email reminder and update right before we head out, but other than that won't keep bothering people with emails.

Since we haven't finalized a large portion of our trip, and expect to stay pretty flexible in general, we'd appreciate your advice with regard to any particular recommendations on roads to travel, sights to visit, trails to hike or drive, places and things to eat, people to meet, or any other recommendation for that matter. In general we prefer smaller more unique places, and don't want to do the typical tourist stuff unless it's important. And in case you haven't posted comments on a website like this before, just look for the "# comments" link at the bottom of each post, and click on it to post your thoughts; at least I think that is how it works.

Here's an overview of our trip, with our expected route highlighted in green and major stops in yellow:

(click on the image for a larger view)

Starting Out: CA to MT
The first part of our trip will take us from home in California through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. We will have extended stops in Great Basin National Park in Nevada, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and Glacier National Park in Montana. Any particular recommendations anyone has for hiking trails in Yellowstone would be appreciated.

Across the Top: MT to ME
On the second leg of our trip we'll head across the northernmost states: Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, into Canada, and then New York and Maine. We expect to stop and see my relatives in Minneapolis and Muskegon, then spend some good camping time in the Adirondacks. Other stops along the way will be the Standard Process farm in Palmyra, Wisconsin where Victoria's favorite vitamin company grows the ingredients for many of its products; we'll also visit Chicago, Niagara Falls and Montreal.

The Northeast: ME to DC
After visiting Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine, we'll drop down to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and then Washington DC. I've been to Boston and New York City before, but only on business trips, so the Northeast will be new for both Victoria and me. Any suggestions on what to do?

The South: WV to MO
I think Victoria is pretty excited about this portion of the trip. Australians tend to believe that everyone in the US who isn't an actor speaks with a southern drawl, and I'm looking forward to finally showing Victoria some people who do.

We'll drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a couple days of camping, then bounce around the south so we can see part of most every state. Major cities will include Charlotte, Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis. We expect to stay overnight on a plantation at some point, and will stop and see relatives in Arkansas before spending a couple days floating on the Buffalo National River.

Through the Middle: KS to NM
While we would like to spend some time in Texas, two months goes very quickly when you're taking it somewhat slow like we want to do, so we plan to head across the middle of the US in order to stop and see some friends and family in Colorado. We look forward to some good times in Denver and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. I know there must be a ton of good 4-wheel drive trails in Colorado that someone can recommend...particularly something along the 91 to 285?

Final Hurrah: NM to CA
On the last leg of our trip we'll visit Santa Fe, NM, Petrified Forest National Park, Sedona, and either the south rim of the Grand Canyon or Havasupai Falls. Given the crime on the Havasupai Reservation as reported in Backpacker last month, and even though it's been on my list of places to visit, it sounds like Grand Canyon might be the way to go.

And that will take two months. It seems like a lot and not enough, and I hope there will be plenty of days of reading by a creek where every fifteen minutes seems like an hour instead of the other way around.