Because I took almost 3,000 pictures, I broke the trip into separate articles linked at the bottom.

My dad was planning a vacation to New York and DC so he asked if I could watch his house and take care of his two border collies in late April/early May. He lives in Spokane, Washington and I graduated a while ago, so I was free to roam.

While I do miss my friends and family up there, I hate visiting Spokane for its lack of things to do, the long and miserable winters, the poorly maintained roads, high levels of property crime, draconian traffic enforcement, obnoxiously low speed limits, lack of culture, and its abysmal lack of hope. That isn’t to suggest that I’m brimming with sophistication or that Spokane doesn’t have its charms — its surrounded by lakes, rivers, and mountains and the summers are beautiful. I’ve met several wonderful people during the eight years that I lived there, but if I had the means, I would relocate all of them.

My dad’s vacation was going to be about two weeks long, and he asked me to leave a bit early so I could get settled in and get used to the feeding/walking routine.

I left St Louis, picked up my friend Ian in Wichita, arrived in Denver, and checked the weather in Spokane — snow was falling in Washington. I had enough of winter back home in St Louis and wasn’t about to subject myself to Spokane’s drearier, sadder version of it, so I took a 3000-mile detour along the Pacific coast and delayed my arrival in Spokane by more than a week.

This unplanned detour took me to Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Napa Valley, up the coast on Highway 1 and 101, Crater Lake, Portland, and Seattle.

After two weeks in Spokane, I headed home to St Louis to drop off the dog. I slept for six hours and wandered east to Carlisle PA for Carlisle Peformance & Style where I finally got to meet Andy from Australia. I then took a trip down to Gettysburg for a bit of history.

Finally, after 32 days of wandering around the country, I headed home.

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Vehicle: 2001 Cadillac Seville STS

Distance: 9000 miles
Mileage at start: 123,000
Mileage at finish: 132,000
Average fuel economy: 23.6 mpg, Northstar V8
Casualties: One tire, one bent wheel, scratched rear bumper, sent my Panasonic camera in for warranty service (dirt inside lens), lost a new shirt somewhere between Las Vegas and San Francisco (only wore it once!)

Travel Time: 32 days including two weeks in Spokane
States: Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania

Fuel cost: $1600
Lodging cost: $500
Food/entertainment: $1200
Las Vegas gambling losses: $20

In N Out beef patties consumed: 12

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Travel Log:

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Western Map:

Eastern Map:

Divided into sections:

PART 1: 9000 miles, 32 days – Main Index (This Page)

PART 2: 2011 American Road Trip – St Louis to Las Vegas

PART 3: Las Vegas

PART 4: Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Mojave Airplane Graveyard

PART 5: Computer History Museum, Silicon Valley, Apple HQ

PART 6: San Francisco, Castro, Golden Gate, and Berkeley

PART 7: Napa Valley, Highway 1, Highway 101

PART 7.1: Bodega Bay, Highway 1, Highway 101

PART 7.2: Mendocino, Highway 1, Highway 101

PART 8: Crescent City CA, Crater Lake National Park, US 199

PART 9: Crater Lake OR to Corvallis OR

PART 10: Corvallis OR to Seattle WA to Spokane WA

PART 11: First week in Spokane WA

PART 12: Second week in Spokane WA

PART 13: Spokane WA to Dillon MT

PART 14: Tornado in Colorado, Dillon MT to St Louis

PART 15: St Louis, Yeungling Brewery, Carlisle PA

PART 16: Carlisle PA

PART 17: Carlisle PA

PART 18: Gettysburg PA, National Cemetery

PART 19: Conclusions, Gettysburg PA to St Louis