Summer 2021

Roadtrip - Summer 2021

Thanks to my side job as a DJ, my cousin's son invited me to DJ his wedding just outside Seattle in the Summer of 2021. Originally this was planned as the great family Griswald-style road trip to see all the big and popular National Park sites around the country. However, life being what it is with finances and work leave, it was adjusted to a solo trip. Jump down to read what it took to put this together, why I chose the stops I did, and what the various pin drops in the map represent.

Bryce Canyon National Park - Bryce Point Overlook
Badlands National Park - Pinnacle Overlook
Capitol Reef National Park - Scenic Drive
Colorado National Monument - Scenic Drive
Devils Tower National Monument
Glacier National Park - Avalanche Lake
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Zion National Park - View From Angel's Landing

When this trip was first being planned, I was bringing Lindsay, Kahlan, Avery, and William along with me for a month long journey seeing all the BIG visits while picking up what stamps we could along the way. The Badlands, Wind Cave, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Bryce, Zion, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Disneyland, Sequoia & King Canyon, Yosemite, San Francisco, Redwoods, Crater Lake, St. Helens, Rainier, and then back home - Camping, hiking, hotels, family, the works!

As life continued to toss a monkey wrench or two into organizing a trip of this size, we had to adjust it to a solo trip. I still had to drive to Seattle for the wedding - there was no skipping out on that plan - as well as a ton of work leave I had to use or lose in 2021. I know I'll miss the family while I'm gone, but this also meant I had the opportunity to visit a number of smaller stops that would be less exciting for everyone else. I'd be able to 'clear out' some states, see a number of additional Historical Monuments, Sites, and Heritage trails with all the cancellation stamps I could snag along the way. Looking at the hours of availability, not every museum or site will be open as I drive by, but I'll be seeing everything I can and at least 'earning' the stamp with even the briefest of visits.

More importantly, I'd get to visit a couple of big places I've been itching to see that wasn't going to be originally possible - Glacier National Park, The North Cascades National Park, San Juan Islands, hike Angel's Landing in Zion, Canyonlands, Denver, and Kansas City. There's so much more I still want to see, but they will have to wait for future trips.

UPDATE: July 13th:

This route has now gone through four iterations to be finalized. In the end I've omitted heading south first and shaved about 4 days of travel off the total trip. about 80% of the original plan remains, but no more Tennessee, Alabama, and the rest of the southern areas before the jump north to the Badlands.

There are 9 separate regions as determined by the Eastern National Passport company who does the stamp program with the National Park Service. On this trip I'm currently mapped to visit 5 of these regions. Technically I'll be passing through the National Capital Region (DC), but I visit that so often I don't really count it. If I could find a way to hit the Western (Arizona?) and Southwestern regions (Oklahoma?), I'd only be shy of missing visiting one region in 2021. If I can add the West & Southwest, I'm going to HAVE to be sure to bounce up to New York for the 9th region before the year is out.

Leg 1
Leg 2
Leg 3

Trip Summary:

It was an incredible trip driving 8152 miles round trip. I saw so many things I had never seen before and been itching to do - especially the Badlands, Wind Cave, and Glacier National Parks. I took some incredible hikes like Hidden Lake, Highline, and Avalanche Lake in Glacier with the coup de grace being Angel's landing in Zion. The best driving views were Zion, as always, along with Grand Staircase Escalante and Colorado National Monuments. The scenic drive at Capitol Reef allowed me to finally see where Wile E. Coyote obviously spent his days chasing the Road Runner.

The best unexpected bonus was Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. After I-70 washed out due to mud slides, I decided to swing south though the Curecanti National Forest with a stop at the Black Canyon. I will definitely be going back to that site to do some hiking and take it in with the kind of attention it deserves like a Bryce Canyon or Zion.

As expected, Bryce Canyon was the real jewel for me. I have yet to see a more awe inspiring view than Bryce (OK- Mount Rainier & Zion are close a close 2nd/3rd place). I'll never be able to drive any where close to Bryce and not include time to stop by and just stare at the beauty of it all.

*Once the link below is active, then that page has been updated with photos, videos, and my feedback about the location.

THE STOPS

---------Day 1 (Leaving from Stafford, VA)--------

    1. Meyersdale Area Historical Society

    2. Sembower (Rockwood) Visitor Center

    3. Connellsville Bed and Breakfast

    4. West Newton Station

    5. Bost Building Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area

    6. Point State Park
      ---------Day 2--------------

    7. Missouri National Recreational River

    8. Niobara National Scenic River

---------Day 3--------------

    1. Minuteman Missile Visitors Center, 24545 CottonWood Rd, Philip, SD 57567

    2. Badlands National Park! Ben Reifel Visitor Center, 25216 SD-240, Interior, SD 57750

---------Day 4--------------

    1. Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center, 26611 US-385, Hot Springs, SD 57747

    2. Jewel Cave National Monument, 11149 US-16 B-12, Custer, SD 57730

    3. Mt Rushmore, Mount Rushmore UT, SD 57751

    4. Devils Tower Visitor Center, 340 WY-110, Devils Tower, WY 82714

---------Day 5--------------

    1. Devils Tower Visitor Center, 340 WY-110, Devils Tower, WY 82714

    2. St. Mary's Park just outside Glacier National Park

---------Day 6--------------

    1. Glacier National Park

      • Saint Mary Visitor Center, Browning, MT 59417

        1. Hike Virginia Falls

      • Logan Pass Visitor Center

        1. Day Hike Hidden Lake Overlook

      • Apgar Visitor Center

---------Day 7--------------
(Possibly do another short hike in Glacier today and then continue West)

    1. Farragut State Park 13550 ID-54, Athol ID 83801

---------Day 8--------------

    1. Turnbull NWR Visitor Center 26010 S Smith Rd, Cheney, WA 99004

    2. Lake Roosevelt NRA Fort Spokane Visitor Center 44150 District Office Lane N Davenport, WA 99122

    3. Lake Roosevelt NRA - Spring Canyon Ranger Station Spring Canyon Campground Rd, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Grand Coulee, WA 99133

    4. Grand Coulee VC Washington 155, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Coulee Dam, WA 99116

    5. Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park 34875 Park Lake Rd NE, Coulee City, WA 99115

    6. Chelan Ranger Station 428 W Woodin Ave Chelan, WA 98816-9724

    7. Riverwalk Inn & Café 204 E Wapato Ave, Chelan, WA 98816

---------Day 9--------------
(Driving through the park and a day hike in North Cascades)

    1. Okanogan-Wenatchee NF - Chelan Ranger Station 428 W Woodin Ave Chelan, WA 98816-9724

    2. North Cascades NP - Skagit Information Center

    3. North Cascades NP - Visitor Center Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Marblemount, WA 98267

    4. North Cascades NP - Wilderness Information Center Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 7079 Olson Creek Road, Marblemount, WA 98267, USA

      • HIKE HIDDEN LAKE!

    5. Rasar State Park, 38730 Cape Horn Rd, Concrete, WA 98237

---------Day 10--------------

    1. Mt Baker-Snoqualmie NF Sedro-Woolley NPS USFS Park and Forest Information Center 810 WA-20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284

    2. NST - Pacific Northwest Trail Association Office 1851 Charles Jones Memorial Circle

    3. San Juan Island NHP - American Camp Visitor 4668 Cattle Point Road Friday Harbor, WA 98250

    4. San Juan Island HQ 650 Mullis Street, Suite 100, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

    5. San Juan Island NHP - English Camp Visitor Center West Valley Road Friday Harbor, WA 98250

---------Day 11 through Day 13--------------

    1. Tour randomly around Seattle Area, see family, and attend cousin's wedding

---------Day 14--------------

    1. Fort Vancouver NHS - Barclay House 719 Center Street Oregon City, Oregon 97045

    2. Columbia River Gorge NSA - Vista House 40700 Historic Columbia River Hwy, Corbett, OR 97019

    3. Columbia River Gorge NSA - USFS Information Center at Multnomah Falls Historic Lodge (Visitor Center) 53000 Historic Columbia River Hwy, Corbett, OR 97019

    4. Columbia River Gorge NSA - Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 5000 Discovery Dr, The Dalles, OR 97058

    5. The Dalles Dam Visitor Center 3545 Bret Clodfelter Way, The Dalles, OR 97058

    6. BLM National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center 22267 Hwy 86, Baker City, Oregon 97814-0987

    7. Three Island Crossing SP - Oregon Trail History & Education Center 1083 S.Three Island Park Dr, Glenns Ferry, ID 83623

---------Day 15--------------

    1. Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Visitor Center, 221 N State St, Hagerman, ID 83332

    2. Minidoka National Historic Site, Jerome, ID 83338

    3. City of Rocks NRES - Visitor Center 3020 Elba-Almo Rd, Almo, ID 83312

    4. This is the Place Heritage Park - Visitor Center 2601 E Sunnyside Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84108

    5. National Trails Office 324 State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

    6. Timpanogos Cave National Monument, 2038 Alpine Loop Rd, American Fork, UT 84003

    7. Cedar Breaks National Monument

    8. Kolob Canyons Visitor Center 3752 E Kolob Canyon Rd, New Harmony, UT 84757

    9. Watchman Campground, UT-9, Springdale, UT 84767

---------Day 16--------------

    1. HIKE ANGEL'S LANDING

    2. Bryce Canyon (Camping overnight in the park)

---------Day 17--------------

    1. Cannonville Visitor Center, 10 W Center St, Cannonville, UT 84718

    2. Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center, Torrey, UT 84775

    3. James M. Robb - Colorado River State Park, 595 595 Highway 340, Fruita, CO 81521

    4. Colorado National Monument Visitor Center, 11 Rimrock Dr, Fruita, CO 81521

    5. NHT Grand Junction Field Office BLM 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506

---------Day 18--------------

    1. Nicodemus National Historic Site, 304 Washington Ave, Bogue, KS 67625

    2. NHT Barton County Historical Society Museum and Village 85 S. Hwy. 281 Great Bend, KS 67530-1091

    3. NHT Kaw Mission State Historic Site 500 N. Mission, Council Grove, KS 66846

---------Day 19--------------

    1. Brown v Board of Education NHS - Gift Shop Room Inside School 1515 SE Monroe Street, Topeka, Kansas 66612

    2. Freedom's Frontier NHA - Headquarters 200 W 9th St, Lawrence, KS 66044

    3. Lanesfield Historic Site - Visitor Center 18745 S Dillie Road, Edgerton, KS 66021

    4. NHT Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm 1200 E Kansas City Rd, Olathe, KS 66061

    5. Shawnee Indian Mission SHS - Office 3403 W 53rd St, Fairway, KS 66205

    6. Alexander Majors House - Gift Shop 8201 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO 64114

    7. Trailside Center 9901 Holmes Rd, Kansas City, MO 64131

    8. Harry S Truman NHS - Visitor Center 223 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri 64050

    9. National Frontier Trails Museum 318 W. Pacific Independence, Missouri

    10. Fort Osage NHL (Jackson County Parks) Visitor Center 107 Osage St. Sibley, Missouri 64088

    11. NHT Arrow Rock State Historical Site 4th & Van Buren Arrow Rock, MO 65320

    12. KOA 18475 Old US Hwy 66 Eureka, MO 63025
      ---------Day 20--------------

    13. Ulysses S Grant NHS - Visitor Center 7400 Grant Rd, St. Louis, MO 63123

    14. Gateway Arch NP - Old Courthouse - Bookstore 298 N 4th St, St. Louis, MO 63102

    15. Gateway Arch NP - Tucker Theater Entrance

    16. Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, 1 Lewis and Clark Trail, Hartford, IL 62048

    17. George Rogers Clark National Memorial

---------Day 21--------------

    1. West Virginia Mine Wars Museum 336 Mate Street, Matewan, WV

    2. Coal NHA Matewan Depot at intersection of 49 and 1056 in Matewan, WV

    3. Country Roads Byway Visitor Center on Route 73, just past Fountain Place Mall

    4. Coal NHA Ashland Company Store 5663 Cherokee Rd, Ashland, WV 24868, USA

    5. Coal NHA Bramwell Depot County Highway 15/3, Bramwell, WV 24715

    6. Princeton Railroad Museum 99 Mercer Street, Princeton, WV 24740

    7. HOME!