July 2005 Cross-country

[NY Joe]

Hi everyone-

I spent 29 days on the road by myself in the month of July. I covered 11,500 miles, visited several National Parks, and brought home hundreds of photos.

I want to thank everyone on this site who helped me prepare for the trip back in the Spring. Prior to July, I had never been on any road trips of great length, so I made sure to get advice from experienced road-trippers on this site.

The trip could not have gone better...I had no car problems, had great weather, and got to see some pretty incredible places.

While I was on the road, I kept an online journal where I could post photos to keep the people back home updated on my adventures. If you'd like to read a little more about the trip, visit the site at:

http://josephcurtin.blogspot.com

Thanks again, especially to the Editor who manages such a great resource online. The trip would not have gone nearly as well had it not been for all the information and tips available on this site.

Joe

[Mark Sedenquist]

I spent 29 days on the road by myself in the month of July. I covered 11,500 miles, visited about several National Parks, and brought home hundreds of photos.

Joe,

Thanks for the field report -- I read many of your entries and really enjoyed some of those photos. As an aside, I think you have to spend some more time in the mid-west before you will "get" the Corn Palace. I will probably feature your blog in next week's roadtrip memoirs page.

I am especially looking forward to some posts from you, (on this Forum), about attractions in the Johnson City area...

When you have a moment, there are some navigation issues on your blog site -- it is difficult to go back and forth -- but since we are buildling such a service on RTA-- I know how complex it can be to make something like this workable and still easy to use.

Mark

[PNW Judy]

You have some terrific photos! Beautiful.

What a wonderful trip. Other than the fact that you skipped the best state (Washington), you sure saw a lot of cool things. Hope you come visit my home state in the future.

I've read about the Crazy Horse Memorial and seen pictures but your little snippet about how all of the faces on Mt. Rushmore would fit in the area where Crazy Horse's hair will be was the first time I realized how grand the scale of this undertaking is. Wow. Thanks for that.

[NY Joe]

Yeah I'm sorry the site is a little tough to navigate, especially when you are looking for a particular day. At the time, though, it was the best I could do since I had no experience with creating/designing web pages.

Blogspot.com was great for me because it was easy to upload photos onto the site, and simple to use for someone not very familiar with the inner-workings of web pages.

I look forward to RTA's blogger. Hopefully I can use it on my next cross-country road trip.

Joe

[NY Joe]

I'm really glad you liked the site and the photos. I'm actually in the process of selecting some photos from the trip to submit in an NPS contest.

You're exactly right...when you learn about how huge the Crazy Horse Memorial is actually going to be, it's mind-blowing. I am so fortunate that I got the chance to stop there...it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

And though I did originally plan to visit Washington for some length, I was limited somewhat by time. I hope to get back there sometime soon, especially to see Mt. Rainier and Cascades NP.

Thanks again, Judy.

Joe

[Quebec Gen]

Hi Joe,
I just read your road trip report entirely, I just couldn't stop reading!:o) You write pretty well, very objectively, I also loved your pictures! Once you're finished with the US, come to Canada, we have lots of other wonders to show you, expecially if you enjoy quiet and "uncrowded" areas.

Gen

[NY Joe]

So glad to hear you were able to read through the whole thing... I thought most would tire of my reading after a day or two. Thanks for the feedback!

Shortly after my trip, I spoke with a seasoned traveler who raved about the Canadian Rockies...I hope to get up there someday, and enjoy what I've heard is nothing but spectacular country.

Joe

[PNW Judy]

I agree with Gen. You're writing is good. I read most entries completely. Only skimmed just a couple.

The Cascades are great but the not-to-be-missed places in Washington, imho, are Mr. St. Helens and Olympic National Park.

Good luck on the NPS photo contest. With those great photos, you would seem to be a shoe-in to win.