some notes: i never sleep in public accommodations except if i find the place interesting. i therefore sleep in the car in rest areas, truck stops, or on-ramps.
i wash up in rest rooms, or in lakes or streams.
i never wear anything on my feet.
i always check the gasbuddy app for cheapest gas in the area i plan to be in.
i always am looking for new counties or highways while on my travels.
my biggest road trip of the year:
may 14 (start delayed by almost two weeks, forcing me to make a number of cuts to my route), left home and went south on u{s}-65, remaining on that road after 69 splits off and going into mo to slate rd, that to mo-sec-y, to the cemetery where my parents are buried to put flowers on the graves since i knew i would be unable to be there for mem day, and then retraced the route back to 65, going back north to u-136 wb and the day changed en route to bethany.
may 15: after going through a heavy rain, i stopped at a truck stop in bethany and slept until after daylight, then got back on 136 to u-71 nb. i picked up the brs of u-71 and ia-2 at clarinda, then continued wb on ia-2, eventually reaching i-29 which i ran north to i-80 into omaha. i wanted a nebraska map but was unable to find the visitor center so got back on 80 wb. there was a visitor center in sarpy co and i got my map there.
at milford i stopped for a bath in the big blue r. i then returned to i-80 and proceeded to exit 279. along the way, the day changed.
may 16: slept in a truck stop at that exit. then on to i-76, exiting at julesberg, getting a new map of the centennial state, and then hitting u-138 to u-6 and then to u-34, getting a new segment of that road to i-25 and staying on it to u-287 sb to co-52 (new segment of 287) and that east to u-85 nb to wy where it meets i-180, getting a new part of 85. then west on i-80, not sure where i slept but was in a rest area as the day changed.
may 17: moved farther west and eventually hit ut. got all of ut-201 and a bit of ut-154. then on to nv, getting there after dark and picking up the bl at wendover. the day changed and i slept in a rest area.
may 18: across the state after stopping at another rest area for a nap, hitting ca in the evening and sleeping in a parking lot in sacramento.
may 19: got to the bart terminal on university in berkeley, took the train to sf (the embarcadero) and riding bike to pier 35 to pick up my packet for the bare to breakers. then i biked across the city to golden gate park, stashed the bike in the woods so as to be able to ride it after the race, and walked to the bart terminal near ocean st. i then returned to berkeley, got the car, brought it into sf, parked near the beginning of the race, walked around a bit, and returned to the car as the day changed.
may 20: painted my feet bare-to-breakers yellow, ran/walked the race, getting a time of almost two hours(!) due to fatigue and all the driving. hung out at the end for an hour, then found the bike and rode back to the car. slept in the evening.
may 21: back to berkeley. checked out a place i wanted to visit but was too tired so stayed in the car, then drove to san jose, picking up ca-13 in the process. then to the bart at millbrae and back to sf. checked out another place, then left at night and took bart back after getting lost on the bike.
may 22: slept in the car in the bart parking lot, then tried to get back to sf to find a free t-shirt for a friend, but the place closed too early so i left and returned to sacramento where i spent another night.
may 23: spent a fair amount of the day in sacto, then headed out. my goal was to get all the rest of i-5 and ca-99 i needed north of there.
may 24: nothing much, driving and gaining roads, but had to sleep more than i had planned.
may 25: reached oregon just as the day changed.
may 26: intense fog as i went into or. proceeded north on i-5 to u-20 and east on that as the day changed.
may 27: slept in parking lot at bend (20 from i-5 to there was new). then went to church. crossed state on 20 (completing that in or). day changed.
may 28: slept in rest area near brothers. into idaho. back and forth a few times between the two states getting highways (or-201, a piece of i-84, and u-26). the last road provided my path back across the state, and i gained wheeler county (first new county of the trip!). i entered crook co and the day changed.
may 29: spent the night in a rest area near sandy. then got jefferson county. stayed on 26 to i-205, completing 26. south to i-5 and marion co, which was the last one i needed, but the day changed before i drove out of it.
may 30: toured state capitol building after a fiasco trying to find cheap gas according to gasbuddy only to find the station no longer in operation! the trip was not entirely wasted as i got a bath in the farmhill river and picked up the rest of or-22 and some of or-18. the day changed as i went back to bend and slept in the parking lot again.
may 31: i spent the day gaining u-97 and 197 (completing that) before going into wa. there, i drove in yakima co, then kittitas as the day changed.
june 01: slept in a rest area, not sure where. got on some state roads eventually ending on wa-240 and coming back to u-97 (now that highway was done) on i-82. where that highway ends at i-90 (i now had all of 82), i went into idaho, spending the night at the rest area at post falls.
june 02: south on u-95 to lewiston after nap on city street in moscow (picking up benewah and latah counties and giving me all of u-95 n from las vegas), going into wa on u-12 and picking up u-195 spur, wa-128 and id-128 and spur, and wa-129 spur. then east on 12 (getting clearwater co) as the day changed near the mt line.
june 03: got to i-90, slept at rest area, took that into butte. church, then south on i-15 to gain a piece of that, back to id. clark, jefferson, and bonneville counties were conquered. i was too tired to find a rest area so stopped on a ramp off the interstate.
june 04: bingham co (i-15), and madison and fremont (u-20) were my acquisitions before exiting into yellowstone park (park co, wy), where i got to see old faithful erupt for the first time since i was six years old! out the south gate (u-189/191 i believe that road is) through teton np and teton co, wy to u-26 and back to the gem state. i reached id-33 and the day changed.
june 05: teton county. back to wy, where the highway becomes wy-22. i returned to 89/189 (i believe those are the two there) to evanston, east on i-80 to u-191 nb and that to sublette co. another piece of u-26 got me back to u-89 which i took south into id as the day changed.
june 06: flat tire south of paris! i went to change it, but was unable to remove the lug nuts! so i called for help and napped for a while. they told me it would be a few hours. in daylight i bathed in bear lake after someone tried to help me but only succeeded in breaking off one of the studs. the guy showed up and got the tire changed. i continued south into utah and climbed a small mountain at a park. on to logan where i got on u-91. preston, id saw me get the tire and stud replaced. then back to i-15, picking up franklin co on the way and finishing 91. the day changed, not sure where i slept.
june 07: butte and custer counties were gained, on u-93 and 26. i then got on id-33 (and got some of id-28) and returned to u-20 for another pass at yellowstone np. this time, i planned to stay on the road that u-20 would follow (some people count u-20 through the park, but i do not as that road is a park road and not a highway), but turned the wrong way and missed a small piece thereof. i exited on e entrance rd to cody, stayed on u-14 to u-310, went into mt on that to mt-72 and back to wy on wy-120 (gaining carbon co in mt) as the day changed.
june 08: i slept in a truck stop in cody, then went east again, i decided to take u-16 to i-90 and i-25 south for washakie co. i took the interstate south to douglas, where the day changed.
june 09: got on wy-93 to wy-95 and back to u-20/26; slept somewhere. this time, i went to where 26 splits off for fremont co, and north to hot springs co, the last one in wy. the day changed and again i fail to recall where i slept.
june 10: went to church in thermopolis. north to u-14/16 to complete the county and east from there this time going on u-14 the rest of the way to sheridan and picking up a small loop of u-16 before getting on i-90 toward mt. there, i exited onto u-212 as the day changed.
june 11: a truck stop in alzada provided my sleeping site (powder river and carter counties also were added). on through a corner of wy and into sd. came back into wy later to gain a piece of u-14. day changed.
june 12: slept on ramp to i-90. back to sd, gaining pieces of u. s. 85 and 18. picked up i-190 in sd before getting the end of u-385 as the day changed.
june 13: i forgot where i slept. eventually i made my way back to u-18 to gain another piece of that. day changed.
june 14: slept on parking area along that road. finished it and headed home, gaining ia-37 and 191 before reaching my house late at night and falling into bed.
the trip covered about 12500 miles, gained 27 counties and completed two states, and added to and/or finished a number of highways.
that will end this post.