2025 Trips

It's been a long time since I caught up on logging my travels on this page. Let's try and fix that problem.

In January, I visited a friend in Grand Rapids and we drove a circuitous path branching out toward the east on a day drive originating in that city.  The goals were to clinch US223, parts of I-75 from Toledo to Flint, and Michigan Highway 57. We clinched those routes in the order listed. I'm always amazed at how much snowier Michigan is than Illinois, being downwind of the lake-effect snow machine powered by Lake Michigan.

In April, I made a 3-day trip out of clinching US Route 35 and Interstate 79. Well, that was the original plan; I added a fourth day to the mix so that I could spend a day with a friend who lives along US Route 35 in Ohio. The first and second nights were spent on the east side of the Dayton area. As you can probably tell, going southeastward on US Route 35 came first. Clinching that route planted me in the middle of West Virginia, putting me in the perfect position to start going north on Interstate 79. Interstate 79 ends in Erie, Pennsylvania. The third night was spent in Erie. The last day involved me going back home toward the west, mainly on Interstates 90 and 80, but with some clinching of Ohio state highways sprinkled in.

In early July, I drove north through Wisconsin to northeastern Minnesota. I stayed in Menomonie, Wisconsin the first night, after driving on various state highways in the Driftless Region and western areas of Wisconsin. The destination on Day 2 was Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and I got there by driving north in westernmost Wisconsin and through Duluth. Day 3 was a sightseeing and hiking day, and I even jumped into a couple of lakes. It seemed like the right thing to do in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" on a humid day when the temperature pushed to 90 degrees. Day 4 was the start of my drive back south toward home. I went south through St. Cloud and the Twin Cities to drive US Route 52 between St. Paul and Decorah, Iowa. I stayed near Decorah that night, and then I did some sightseeing around Decorah on the morning of Day 5. On this final day, I took US Route 52 to Dubuque and then did a beeline toward home. I stayed on US Route 52 from Twin Cities to Dubuque because I have been working on driving the entire length of that route in the past two years. Two other 2024 trips netted me the mileage of US Route 52 southeast of Illinois. This trip, though, allowed me to finish my Wisconsin shield gallery except for one little route, and it marked the start of my endeavor to try and complete a Minnesota shield gallery. Minnesota's shield gallery will need a few more years to complete.

In late July, I went to see a friend in Alabama. On the way, I started taking photos of Missouri highway markers, focusing on the southeast portion of that state. It will take a few more years to finish Missouri's shield gallery. In 2025, I finished Wisconsin, but I started Minnesota and Missouri. Two other Midwestern states will turn into photo safari locations for me, soon, too. On the way south, I stayed in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and I drove all of Interstate 22. While staying in Alabama, a day drive north to Nashville allowed me to explore some of Tennessee. On the way north, I drove US Route 412 from Interstate 65 to Interstate 55. I stayed in Poplar Bluff on the way north. My last day's route was far from direct, though I did eventually get home that day. I drove all of Missouri Route 106 westward before starting to head northeastward. I was impressed at how rugged and forested the landscape was--it's not what I expected from a Midwestern states. I know about the Ozarks to some extent, but I didn't expect that ruggedness of the landscape to pervade that far toward the north.

In late September and early October, I took the longest road trip of my life so far. I was gone for 17 days.  The kicker is that I didn't drive in a circuitous path; I drove to Los Angeles and flew home. Here's what happened day by day:​

1. I didn't want to pay for a toll transponder, so I shunned the tollways heading north to Milwaukee. I-43 north to US Route 10. The first goal was to drive US Route 10 west of Lake Michigan. The first night was outside of St. Paul.
2. I continued west on US Route 10 to its end on the west side of Fargo. Then I switched gears to driving US Route 52 northwest to Minot, North Dakota. I started feeling kind of sick this day. Minot would be home to the CVS pharmacy where I stocked up on cough and cold remedies.
3. The morning was spent finishing the last piece of US Route 52. Or, this is what should have been the last piece of US Route 52-- a 7-mile portion was closed in July for a construction detour, so the bit just south of I-90 hasn't been clinched by me yet. But I digress. After reaching Portal, ND, home of the Canadian border crossing where US Route 52 ends, I cut west on State Highway 5 to US Route 85 south. Lunch was in Williston, and then I opted for a direct route to Billings, Montana. This involved driving a piece of Interstate 94 west of Glendive, which was the only piece of Interstate 94 I was missing at this point.
4. Day 4 was a rest day in Billings, Montana. Since it rained all morning, I used the morning to do laundry and use the hotel's exercise room. Then I got lunch at a surprisingly swanky brewery and I spent the afternoon walking around Zoo Montana.
5. I drove Interstate 90 west to Spokane, stopping at various gas stations to fill up on hot herbal tea to soothe my throat.
6. I drove US Route 2 west from Spokane to its western end in Everett. Then, I had a mission to pick my wife up at the Seattle Airport, so that she could join me for the remainder of the trip. We stayed in Auburn, Washington this night, and for the next night.
7. We drove to Mount Rainier National Park-- specifically to the Paradise area on the south slope of the mountain.
8. Interstate 90 east to Spokane, then US Route 2 east to Kalispell. Highway 18 ended up blocked by a stalled car in a construction zone, preventing all movement on the highway. This morning blunder set us behind by over an hour, leading to a harrowing drive in the pitch blackness of rural Montana east of Libby. I counted 11 deer in the right of way that could have easily destroyed my rental car-- and those are just the ones I spotted with my own eyes. We pulled into Kalispell pretty late.
9. Glacier National Park was the feature on this day. We hiked to Avalanche Lake and drove the entirety of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We drove down US Route 89 to US Route 2 east, and stayed in Cut Bank, Montana.
10. First I had to cut north to the north end of Interstate 15. That put me in position to drive Interstate 15 from end to end. On this day, we got as far south as Pocatello, Idaho, where we had to do laundry. Woohoo.
11. Continuing southward on Interstate 15 to Las Vegas.
12. We enjoyed Las Vegas. Mainly we enjoyed the Meow Wolf installation, but we walked around the strip for a while, too.
13. Finishing Interstate 15 southward, turning around at the Mexican border to capture a piece of Interstate 5 south of Anaheim. We went north on Interstate 5 to stay in Anaheim for predictable reasons.
14. This was a visit to the Disney parks in Anaheim.
15. This was a much-needed rest day after walking around the Disney parks. I slept very little, went to one of my favorite breweries, and checked into the next hotel as early as possible so we could take a nap. That night we returned the rental car right after dinner at a very yummy vegan restaurant.
16. This was the day we went to Universal Studios Hollywood.
17. Got to Burbank Airport around lunchtime, and we flew back home.

That sums up my travels for this year. What's going to happen next year? Who knows at this point!