101-day Summer Exploration - Summer of '12

[LtBrannigan18]

I have been on road trips before and created a post asking about specific equipment for this trip. It's going to be a doozy. 101-days. Costs are roughly:

I am looking at anywhere from $10,000-$18,000 total cost - depending on how cheap I want to be (which I am never a cheap traveller...it always leads to me not enjoying my time, sleeping in cars).This is a pretty good deal for the time spent and a hotel each night averaging $80 (which I have searched to be the average costs of hotels, some as much as 200-300).

I am overall looking to revisit many areas, and explore new ones. I will post an itinerary soon if anyone is interested. It is mainly well-known back country and a few cities. My questions is this. Does anybody know of any non-tourist historical spots, particularly spots with local lore/tales. I absolutely LOVE following local history, treasure tales, etc. I am just unaware of any spots out west other than the main ones, that could satisfy my need for history, without interference from loads of tourists all around me. Any suggestions of areas would be great, and possibly, a brief description. Thank you in advance.

[LtBrannigan18]

Here is the itinerary if it'll help anyone with ideas of where and when I'll be.

Days: (starts may 6th)

1 - Departing Largo, FL and saying goodbye to city life. Heading for St. Augustine
2 - St. Augustine
3 - Savannah
4 - Charleston
5 - Myrtle Beach
6 - Myrtle Beach
7 - Williamsburg
8 - Washington, D.C.
9 - Gettysburg
10 - Gettysburg
11 - Intercourse - Amish Country
12 - NYC
13 - NYC
14 - Plymouth
15 - Plymouth
16 - Boston
17 - Lake Placid
18 - Lake Placid
19 - Rochester
20 - Lake Erie
21 - Columbus
22 - Ann Arbor
23 - Lake Michigan Beach
24 - Milwuakee
25 - Mall of America
26 - T. Roosevelt N.P.
27 - T. Roosevelt N.P.
28 - Badlands, N.P.
29 - Badlands, N.P.
30 - Mount Rushmore
31 - Wind Cave
32 - Rocky Mountain N.P.
33 - Rocky Mountain N.P.
34 - Denver
35 - Denver
36 - Colorado Springs (family)
37 - Colorado Springs (family)
38 - Aspen
39 - Black Cyn-Gunnison N.P.
40 - Capitol Reef N.P.
41 - Capitol Reef N.P.
42 - Zion N.P.
43 - Zion N.P.
44 - Las Vegas
45 - Las Vegas
46 - Death Valley N.P.
47 - Death Valley N.P.
48 - Great Basin N.P.
49 - Great Basin N.P.
50 - Boneville Salt Flats
51 - Grand teton N.P.
52 - Grand Teton N.P.
53 - Yellowstone N.P.
54 - Yellowstone N.P.
55 - Glacier N.P.
56 - Glacier N.P.
57 - Mt. Rainer N.P.
58 - Mt. Rainer N.P.
59 - Seattle
60 - Seattle
61 - North Cascades
62 - North Cascades
63 - Olympic N.P.
64 - Olympia
65 - Portland
66 - Corvallis, WA
67 - Crater Lake N.P.
68 - Crater Lake N.P.
69 - Lassen Volcanic N.P.
70 - Reno
71 - Sacramento
72 - San Francisco
73 - San Francisco
74 - Yosemite N.P.
75 - Yosemite N.P.
76 - Quick pass by Kings Canyon + Sequoia - been there too many times
77 - Hollywood
78 - Hollywood
79 - Santa Ana
80 - San Diego
81 - Yuma
82 - Saguaro N.P.
83 - Phoenix
84 - Phoenix
85 - Grand Canyon
86 - Monument Valley Navajo Tribe
87 - Mesa Verde N.P.
88 - Mesa Verde N.P.
89 - Great Sand Dunes N.P.
90 - Santa Fe
91 - Carlsbad Caverns N.P.
92 - Carlsbad Caverns N.P.
93 - Big Bend N.P.
94 - Austin
95 - New Orleans
96 - Mystic Caverns
97 - Mystic Caverns
98 - Mammoth cave N.P.
99 - Mammoth Cave N.P.
100 - Smoky Mountains N.P.
101 - Drive home wooooo

[cwk]

You have so much crammed into 101 days that I hate to suggest anything more. But since you asked... I'm not going to try to talk you out of the Mall of America, but you won't learn anything historic there :-) It's interesting to see it though, and you might enjoy it. If you want to see something in Minnesota a little off the beaten path, I'd head north up to Duluth, which is about 2 1/2 hours north of the Mall of America. It's a beautiful city, perched on a hill overlooking Lake Superior. From there you could head straight west to T.R. national park in North Dakota.

Also, if you haven't been, I'd recommend Glacier National Park in northwest Montana and Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Throughout my travels, I have tried to keep an eye on the history of the region I'm in at any given moment. it's simply, in my opinion, the best way to understand what's there now, geologically, culturally, gastronomically, etc. There are of course major historical sites such as Jamestown, Gettysburg, and the like, but if you really want to understand an area you need to 'get down in the weeds' and the best way to do this is to visit some of the untold number of local history museums, sites. and lectures. The things I really look for are docent led tours of sites and museums where I can get some interpretation and ask questions. Now, if you're expecting me to give you some list of places to go, you're going to be greatly disappointed. There are just too many. I have recently had cause to look for sites pertaining to Native American Anthropology and Archaeology within a day-trip of Tucson, AZ. Now that's a pretty limited subset of "non-tourist historical spots, particularly spots with local lore/tales", and yet I easily found somewhere between 3 and 4 dozen such possibilities. So, if that's the type of attraction you want to see, you're simply going to have to inquire locally at such fonts of information as Welcome Centers, tourist information booths, and local libraries. And at the end of each visit, tell the people which way you're headed and ask what similar sites are particularly interesting.

AZBuck

[LtBrannigan18]

Awesome guys, thanks for the replies. And no, wasn't expecting a huge list, and yes, there are many places. I just find it hard, with research limited. The advice you gave about asking locally is definitely a great idea. In your experience, do you think that local libraries would keep full records of historical events available for a tourist (non-local) to research?

I have always lacked skilled in history research, which is one of the reasons I am unable to experience all of the country (besides N.P.'s and other well known back-country areas). All of your tips are greatly appreciated!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Does anybody know of any non-tourist historical spots, particularly spots with local lore/tales.

Just adding a source that is often over-looked when doing local research. Stop in at barber shops or nail salons in whatever town you are going to. Get your hair cut, a shave or whatever and ask the customers and the barbers about local events and local history. I've made some of my best discoveries from these informal oral history sessions.

Mark

[LtBrannigan18]

WOW, I didn't even think about that! That would be a great idea, as I would need to get my droopy hair cut several times anyways, and a few extra ones wouldn't hurt for the stories. Great share, thank you! I love these forums, everyone is so quick to help out a fellow traveller. I will take those tips into consideration.

PS: I am also considering knocking out a few of the bigger cities in my travels and taking the time to explore local history with those extra days.

[Mark Sedenquist]

There are thousands of good books detailing US history -- but one I would certainly pick up and take with you, was supposed to be the first of a series, but the authors grew disenchanted with the process and so, alas, there was only one published -- but check, out Suzanne & Craig Sheumaker's
America's Living History - The Early Years. and then here's a growing reference of books that RTA contributors are submitting for local historical reference.

Mark

[LtBrannigan18]

Awesome! Thank you again for all of the refernces. I will definitely be checking them out.

[bacarisse]

I am not an experienced traveler of the US but what I've learned from traveling through Europe is that it's best to not pressure yourself and just go with the flow... Sometimes you find gorgeous sights when you least are looking for them.
Try not to stay on the highways too much, sometimes just drive into a town and get acquainted with some locals. They can tell you some of the history and perhaps you could even go to a local festival or a race or something.

A few are featured on here but there's more of them when you just drive around.