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On this page, I will talk about how I planned past road trips so I could take all my route marker photos. For a graphical view of where I've been bumbling around, see my Travel Mapping site. Travel Mapping is a site maintained by a team led by Jim Teresco. Thanks to them, I can keep track of every marked segment of highway that I've driven on in the United States! 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:
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AuthorThe author is Paul from paulacrossamerica.com ! Archives
November 2025
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