Something amazing happened this week. Someone posted an article on my Facebook wall from TrekTheHorizon.com. The article claims that the "ultimate" American road trip has been figured out, and charted.
I was immediately interested, as I've been dreaming about just such a trip since I was 13, and blogging about it weekly for the last four years. My vision for the ultimate road trip, "1/48/50", is a simple, if lofty, proposition: one drive through 48 states, in under 50 years...that is, before I turn 50. But over time I've become interested in how other people have conceptualized such an undertaking.
According to the article, blogger and University of Pennsylvania scientist Randy Olson used mathematical equations and algorithms to suss out what he considers to be the most "optimal" course across our great land - that is, covering the most ground, and seeing the most (in terms of landmarks), in the shortest amount of time, while hitting all 48 contiguous states.
Olson's trip looks like this:
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| BY THE NUMBERS - Using statistical data and computer algorithms, University of Pennsylvania scientist Randy Olson claims to have created the perfect American Road Trip. RandalOlson.com |
Almost two years ago, long before I knew anything about Randy Olson, I discovered a website, RoadTrippers.com. It is a valuable resource for charting, planning and budgeting road trips of all shapes and sizes, whether it's an epic cross-country voyage, or just a few days going nowhere. A live map powered by MapQuest allows you to chart your trip (we really live in an amazing age, in some respects).
1/48/50 will look something like this:
How and why the two maps are so similar is confounding to me. In plotting my course, I didn't bother with anything scientific, certainly nothing "mathematical". In fact, quite the opposite. I gave no thought whatsoever to what might be the most efficient roads to take, or specific landmarks (the numbered way points on my map are random, just anchors for the general course I want to take), my only goal was - and remains - to hit the lower 48 in one fell swoop, over the course of a summer.
Sure, there are a few things I'd like to see along the way, things that, frankly, it would be un-American not to look at - Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, etc. - and a few personal destinations as well - I'd love to catch a Braves game at SunTrust Park when I make it to Georgia; Key West will be on the itinerary; I have some family in New Jersey, and Maine, etc. - but for the most part, my course was conceived by answering questions that are based on weird predilections buried deep in my mind: Do I want to drive UP the California coast, or DOWN? Do I want to see the American Southwest heading west, or heading east? Would the Gulf Coast look its best on my left, or my right, as I'm driving? I'm planning on at least four months on the road, so where do I want to be on the longest day of the year? On July 4th? Labor Day? Where will autumn look its finest? What states will best serve when I find myself heading home?
Such considerations are completely subjective, and mine are not anything I would expect anyone to understand, or care about. Therefore, I find it fascinating that my route looks so much like Mr. Olson's. Even the numbers match up:
Randy Olson's trip: 224 hours of driving / 1/48/50: 257 hours of driving
Randy Olson's trip: 2-3 months / 1/48/50: 3-4 months
Randy Olson's trip: 13,699 miles / 1/48/50: 15,314 miles
In any case, reading that article really got me keyed up. This year I've decided I'm going to start making major moves toward making this fantasy a reality. Not just thinking about it, but endeavoring to really make it happen. I'm running out of time, after all.
Just six short years from now... :-/
