Great Circle Tour of the USA and Canada itinery

Well, our plans are pretty much set. The shake down cruise to Florida worked extremely well and the rig is in the shop for some new oil and lubrication and is going for a new awning and fancy new radio/MP3/XM complete with dual remotes next week. The rig has some neat maps of the USA and Canada on the outside, complete with little stickers for each state and province visited. To date we have filled in the states from Maine to Florida and the states south of Ohio including Arkansas and Louisiana. So.... One of our objectives on this trip is to fill in everything else. While we will do that for the USA, Canada will have some substantial gaps. Hmmm... perhaps "Great Circle tour II". Anyway this is our current plan:

THE TRIP WEST

Leaving 5/16/09 for a four day trek through WV, KY, IN, IL, MS, KS, OK, TX, to Tucumcari NM then a night in Albuquerque to visit my aunt FAE, an honorary "REID". 2000 miles.

THE SOUTHWESTERN PARKS

Arriving Durango CO, 5/21/09 to ride the steam train to Silverton then on to Zion, Bryce and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Then we will hook up with Tom Allen in Washington UT, somewhat near Zion national park

Then on to Circus Circus in Las Vegas on the 29th. 1000 miles.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

We leave on Jun 1st for San Diego with a short stop at Cahon Pass, a famous railroad location then we go up to Teachapi railroad loop on our way to Morro Beach, north of Fort Ord on the coast. Then we travel up to the Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterrey, ending in SF on the 10th. 600 miles.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

We depart for Yosemite on June 15th and then swing up to Tahoe and then Down through Keddie to see the famous railroad wye on our way to the fantastic railroad museum in Sacramento on the 22nd. 450 miles.

LIGHTHOUSES, OTTERS and THE PACIFIC COAST

We then leave on the 23rd for a leisurely stroll up the coast to Vancouver. We make seven stops with most of the campgrounds located on the cliffs/beach overlooking the ocean. We should arrive in Canada on July 5th. 800 miles.

CANADA and the ROCKY MOUNTAINS,

We depart Vancouver on the 7th and then go across the Canadian Rocky's to Banff then down to Coeur D'Alene ID. Should see some spectacular scenery on the leg. 800 miles.

YELLOWSTONE and MORE!!!!

We arrive at Yellowstone on July 11th for 4 day then on to Teton for 3 more. We continue to Badlands and Rushmore and depart for North Platte NB on the 23rd. North Platte is the largest freight yard in the world and they have built an 8 story observation tower just for train nuts like me:) 1700 miles.

GREAT LAKES

We depart Nebraska on the 25th and arrive at a wonderful RV park at La Crosse in the Mississippi River between MN and WS on the 26th. Then its off to the upper peninsula to see Lake Superior, then down to see Michigan and Huron winding up at Niagara Falls between Ontario and Erie on August 2. 1700 miles.

HOME SWEET HOME

We then wind our way home through NY an PA stopping twice along the way just because. Arriving 8/8/09. 500 miles.

Total 10100 rig miles and another 2000 or so in Patti's new Ford Escape we will be towing for sightseeing, dinners out and neato photo ops.

I'm off to the basement/workbench for some great structure building, track laying, and scenery building on my beloved Allegheny and Shenandoah Railroad. Stay tuned for more blogs from the road!