Blue View – Summer/Fall 2022 Road Trip Recap

We’re finally back in Las Vegas after our marvelous, almost five-month-long, road trip and bike trek. We put 15,343 miles on the van (requiring two oil changes during the trip, BTW), and 1,520 miles on the bike odometers (requiring no oil changes). The entire trip is mapped out below. Here’s a quick recap…

Our 2022 roadtrip and bike trek

Connector 1: Las Vegas to Everett, WA

The trip from Las Vegas to the west end of the Great Northern Route was a fun trip in itself. We drove up through Nevada, across Oregon to the coast and then along the coast to Seattle. Total mileage: 1,775 miles

Our Route from Las Vegas to Everett, WA

Great Northern Route

U.S. 2 is the longest and most northern of the great transcontinental road trips. It starts just outside of Seattle in Everett, WA, and follows the Great Northern Railway route to Sault Saint Marie in Upper Michigan, where the western portion of U.S. 2 ends. The route continues into Canada, following Canadian highways for several hundred miles before returning to the U.S. again in upstate New York. There, the route picks up the eastern portion of U.S. 2, traversing a small section of New York, then through Vermont and New Hampshire, and finally ending in Houlton, ME. Total mileage: 3,653 miles

Side Trip 1: Lake Superior Loop

We seem to have a penchant for circumnavigating things. On Nine of Cups, we circumnavigated, many, many islands as well as South America, Tasmania, the entirety of New Zealand, two-thirds of Australia, and, of course, the globe. When we were passing through Duluth, we happened upon a very knowledgeable man at the local tourist info center, who told us of the Lake Superior Circle Route. It sounded wonderful, and we couldn’t resist doing another circumnavigation, even if it did add more than 1,400 miles to the trip. Total mileage: 1,426 miles

Connector 2: Houlton, ME to Pittsburgh, PA

Once the Great Northern Route was completed, we headed south to connect with the Great American Rail-to-Trail (GART) bike route. A good starting point was Pittsburgh. Total mileage: 1,175 miles

GART Section 1: Pittsburgh to Washington, DC

The bicycle ride from Pittsburgh to DC is one of the more well-known bike treks in the U.S. It traverses the Great Allegheny Passage, then follows the C&O Canal Towpath and a few small connector routes to end at the Lincoln Memorial at the foot of the Washington Mall. Total van mileage: 515 miles; total bike mileage: 587 miles

The Eastern Portion of the GART

Side Trip 2: DC to Pawtucket, RI, to Pittsburgh

We took a break from the bike trek to visit family on the east coast. Total mileage: 1,328 miles

GART Section 2: Pittsburgh to Sunbury, Ohio

This section of the GART traversed several local trails as well as sections of the Ohio Erie Trail system. Total van mileage: 425 miles; Total bike mileage: 335 miles

Side Trip 3: Sunbury, OH to Pawtucket, RI to Richmond, VA to Sunbury, OH

Due to family commitments, we took another side trip back to Pawtucket, then down to Richmond, and back to Sunbury. Total mileage: 2,491

GART Section 3: Sunbury, OH to Illinois/Indiana state line

We picked up where we left off in Sunbury, OH, and rode to the outskirts of Chicago. Total van mileage: 765 miles; Total bike mileage: 598 miles

Connector 3: Munster, IN to Las Vegas, NV

And finally, the trip back home. Total mileage: 1,790 miles

All in all, a fabulous way to spend the summer and fall. Marcie will talk about the highlights and the ‘best of's’ the trip in her next blog. Stay tuned...