Plan B Forum

Scientists have figured out the ultimate United States road trip. Here it is.

Have you ever dreamed about taking a trip through all 50 states? It may sound impossible, but it doesn't have to be. Randal Olson used a mathematical equation to figure out the most optimal route that would allow travelers to hit every state (at least the 48 contiguous states) in the shortest amount of time.

The rules were simple: All 48 contiguous states must be visited, stops are only allowed at National sites (parks, monuments etc.) and the entire car trip must stay within the confines of the U.S. borders. "The result was an epic itinerary with a mix of inner city exploration, must-see historical sites, and beautiful natural landscapes. All that was left was to figure out the path that would minimize our time spent driving and maximize our time spent enjoying the landmarks," Olson wrote on his blog.

Using a lot of numbers and a bit of complicated math, Olson came up with this layout. The route, with clear roads and perfect weather, would take about 224 hours (more than 9 days) of driving time, but you can start at any point on the route and work from there. The trip itself would likely take 2-3 months.

More: http://trekthehorizon.com/2016/07/06/sc ... 73&t=fbsfg

BTDT

The only thing in NY they visit is the Statue of Liberty?
No Finger Lakes?




No Adirondack Park?



The Grand Canyon of the East

When I was in NYC in 1965, we went here.

No automats anymore SFAIK; I think the last one was in midtown manhattan and closed in the late 80s (along with the H&H coffee shops).

oldr_n_wsr wrote:The only thing in NY they visit is the Statue of Liberty?
No Finger Lakes?
No Adirondack Park?
The Grand Canyon of the East

I felt the same way when I read that the only listed Wisconsin stop was Frank Lloyd Wright's "Taliesin" historical site in southwest Wisconsin, near Spring Green.  But then I read their "rules"....
From the original post:

The rules were simple: All 48 contiguous states must be visited, stops are only allowed at National sites (parks, monuments, etc.) and the entire car trip must stay within the confines of the U.S. borders.

The Finger Lakes region, Adirondack Park, etc. would not have been acceptable stops given those qualifications — although it appears that the route drives through the northernmost parts of the Finger Lakes, just as they are passing through the "Driftless Region" (that part of the upper Midwest that pretty much got missed by the glacial ice sheets of the last great Ice Age) while on their route from Minnesota to Taliesin to the Iowa border.

-"BB"-

Far from "ultimate"...given those rules, it ought to be called "most pointless".

Misses pictured rocks national lakeshore and sleeping bear dunes both national parks.

Misses pictured rocks national lakeshore and sleeping bear dunes both national parks. And the Fox Theater really?!

There are a lot more beautiful places to see than could ever be incorporated into one trip. The point of this exercise was to incorporate as many things as possible.


yrs,
rubato

rubato wrote:There are a lot more beautiful places to see than could ever be incorporated into one trip. The point of this exercise was to incorporate as many things as possible while covering the least amount of mileage possible.

yrs,
rubato

FIFY, rubato.

-"BB"-

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Stop and smell the roses. This exercise was about a road trip to touch every one of the contiguous 48 states in the shortest travel distance. What is actually seen or experienced was very secondary. I could argue that one could have very pleasant experiences spending the same amount of time walking around New Castle County Delaware. I had a friend who had lots of money
(net worth over 10 million 15 years ago when he died) He had a bad heart and spent hours walking each day. He once told me he did not understand why people spent money to go on walking tours of Wales or Scotland or Ireland when there was so much to see walking around here in Northern Delaware.

We all have exactly the same amount of time in each day. We all 'spend' that time in different ways for different motivations. Now me, I would love to do that trip described in this thread. But I would skip West from Kansas City Kansas to make it to Wichita and say hello to MG Mechanic.

There is an informal association of motorcyclists who try to do something like this in the shortest total time. They call themselves 'The Iron Butts"

snailgate

The only States I have never touched are Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Vermont, Tennessee, and West Virginia. And in all actuality I think I've been in the Minneapolis airport for a layover.

I did a road trip back in April-May 2014 where I hit 38 States in 31 days. It may seem like it was a rush and I didn't get to see anything, but the 10,355 photos in my camera say differently. I hit over 40 different museum entities, over 50 different ships (some Museums, like Battleship Cove in Fall River Massachusetts have multiple ships). And my trip wasn't complete. I missed several key museums, one of which I will never get to see because the ship has since been closed and destined for the scrapyard. None of the skipped ships was by choice- some were closed, either for the season (USS Cod in Cleveland, USCGC Macinaw in Michigan) or due to circumstances (USS Salem in Salem, MA due to the pier being condemned, Seawolf Park in Galveston due to the 2014 Galveston oil spill, and the USS Slater in Albany NY was in drydock).

But I didn't go to any other significant landmarks. I was in New York City to go aboard the USS Intrepid, but went no where else. I drove through Washington, DC, in the middle of the night. In Key West I visited a single location- the USCGC Ingham- and nothing else. I didn't go to Ft Sumter near Charleston SC even though I could see it. I bypassed New Orleans as I traveled between Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama (I have been to NOLA on a business trip once so I have seen the French Quarter on a Friday Night. I was the only sober one).




I know I'm asking for trouble, but if anyone is interested in the gallery of my "Ship museum trip" I posted it (not all 10,355 photos, I just selected a few (dozens) of each ship and museum, and all photos are marked with descriptions) on Facebook earlier this year. Even if you're not on Facebook most of the galleries are shared globally, since I felt anyone could take a look.
https://www.facebook.com/people/Douglas ... 1719907657
You'd need to go to galleries, or check the timeline, since I posted them in April-July this year.

Does not make sense if the goal is just to hit the 48 CONUS in the least distance. Take a look at Florida- no need to go all the way down to Orlando if you are just trying to collect a corner of FL on your way from GA to AL. And from OKC to Albuquerque via Houston? Amarillo still gets you TX and saves you almost 600 miles.

Ex-KA, they went to San Antonio (site of the Alamo), not Houston, although they might have saved some mileage by hitting the LBJ Ranch and Boyhood Home west of Austin. But that's not on an Interstate highway, so it looks like the ability to drive 65-75 mph for long stretches at a time trumped shorter distances along slower roads.

After further review, it appears the intent was to devise a route that
1) made a stop at one National park/monument/historical site/whatever in each state (not just check each state off of a list)
2) in the shortest possible elapsed time.

And that probably also explains why they went from Okefenokee Swamp Park (GA) to Cape Canaveral (FL) to the USS Alabama (in Mobile AL).  The computer's algorithm was probably programmed with the location of all possible national historic sites, etc. and then told to crunch the numbers until it came up with a route that fit the parameters outlined above.  How else do you explain the choice of some of these sites?  Seriously, out of everything they could have picked from in Tennessee and Kansas they chose Graceland and a carousel museum?

-"BB"-

Yes I should have read past the second para of the OP. As it happens I just gave a training course yesterday on project management and one of the things I emphasized was: read the whole spec not just the summary. I should take my own advice.

Oh datsunaholic ! How did you ever miss the Hair Museum on Noland Road in Independence Missouri?

snailgate

Burning Petard wrote:Oh datsunaholic ! How did you ever miss the Hair Museum on Noland Road in Independence Missouri?

snailgate

Uh, yeah, no. While I did go through Missouri, it was only the extreme SE corner, traveling from Evansville, Indiana to North Little Rock, Arkansas.

I also missed Freedom Park in Omaha, Nebraska. It had been closed since the 2011 Missouri River floods, and didn't reopen until Oct 2015. Back when I took the trip, there was some question if the park would ever reopen.

Bicycle Bill wrote:

rubato wrote:There are a lot more beautiful places to see than could ever be incorporated into one trip. The point of this exercise was to incorporate as many things as possible while covering the least amount of mileage possible.

yrs,
rubato

FIFY, rubato.

-"BB"-

Did you have a point?

I have never been in the SE corner of Missouri. I believe that is where Sparrowgrass, from the old board, was located. Do they have any monuments to the New Madrid earthquake that shook church bells in Boston?

snailgate