Was having a debate with my friend on what constitutes a cross-country drive. Is the rule going from coast to coast literally? Eastern Standard to Pacific Standard? Plains to mountains? What about a long North-South stretch, think Maine-Florida or Alaska-San Diego (Credit to anyone who's done that drive though). I did Denver-Flint this summer and I like to think that's a cross-country drive. Curious what y'all think!
I would say from a state that either is on the Pacific or borders a state that is on the Pacific, to a state that is either on the Atlantic or borders a state that is on the Atlantic. Of course you have to make an exception for the Gulf (otherwise simply driving across the New Mexico/Arizona border would count as cross-country under my definition). So Texas and Louisiana don't count for anything in this case.
Subjective measure but if it's from the vicinity of one end of the country to the vicinity of another I'd say that counts.
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
I'd say if one starts in the Pacific time zone and ends up in the Eastern (or vice-versa), that would count as a cross-country journey. Otherwise, it's a "partial".
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
That seems a bit too generous, IMO. If I drive south to visit relatives in southern Florida (Pembroke Pines or Fort Myers), I'll be driving over 1000 miles one-way over two days, but no reasonable person would (or could, IMO) possibly argue I'd made a "cross-country drive" because it just a drive down a bit more than half of the East Coast.
I think this is one of those issues for which there is no one "right" answer, though, because it'll depend on how precise a particular person is (and we all know that on this forum there are some people who are obsessed with hypertechnical precision). If I drove from home to Phoenix to visit relatives, I'd regard that as a "cross-country drive" despite not entering the Pacific Time Zone or entering a state that touches the Pacific Ocean. It's far enough that I'd be going across such a substantial part of the country (and almost surely taking a different route back) that in my mind it would qualify. My parents had what they had termed a "cross-continent" car trip planned for 2018–Virginia to Banff to Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon and then home via St. Louis and I-64. The trip didn't happen (my father's health deteriorated to the point where Mom was unwilling to do a car trip, so they flew to Banff and eliminated the other stops...it turned out to be their final major trip), but I think "cross-continent" was an excellent way to describe that trip.
I'm sure there are forum members who would not consider either of those to be "cross-country" or "cross-continent," though. That's their prerogative as to their own travel.
Quote from: sparker on December 08, 2020, 07:45:44 PM
I'd say if one starts in the Pacific time zone and ends up in the Eastern (or vice-versa), that would count as a cross-country journey. Otherwise, it's a "partial".
I like that a lot. It's simple, contextual, and just makes sense.
PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
That is far too short for a cross country drive. I would say it has to be long enough for me not to guffaw when someone calls a dinky drive a cross country trip.
Quote from: Rothman on December 08, 2020, 11:41:28 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
That is far too short for a cross country drive. I would say it has to be long enough for me not to guffaw when someone calls a dinky drive a cross country trip.
Excellent word choice there! Perhaps it applies to my drive this summer ahaaha
From,
Young man studying vocabulary for the GRE
Any generally east-west oriented drive that crosses the width of the ND/SD/NE/KS/OK/TX stack of states, regardless of length otherwise.
I guess if I had to come up with hard criteria, I'd say it has to start somewhere west of US 385 and finish east of US 51 (or vice versa).
From suburban Minneapolis, I'd have to say it has to involve a coast or come close to the Mexican border.
Athletes only run seven miles and call it cross country, so technically anything over thatQuote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.
Depends on the size of the country. If you walk from the St. Peter's Square to the furthest end of the Vatican Gardens, you would have crossed an entire country :sombrero:. That should take a quarter hour at most, and it's technically a cross country trip.
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 03:25:22 AM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.
Nah. You can't cross the country if you start off in the middle.
800 miles gets me from NY to the IL/IA border. That's not a cross country trip.
As for how I categorize my own long trips:
-- Washington DC to Colorado, Utah, or other Mountain time zone destinations, I don't call "cross-country".
-- DC to California, I do call cross-country, even though my starting point usually is near the tidal Potomac rather than the Atlantic ocean. One trip where the turnaround point was in eastern California, more than 100 miles from the Pacific coast, I put down as "kind of" cross-country.
-- My three drives to Alaska from DC (other trips I flew out), I call cross-country even though I passed through Canada.
-- My longest cross-Canada trip, from Prince Edward Island province to Saskatchewan, was not "cross-country". PEI is on the Atlantic (though not nearly as far east as Newfoundland), but Saskatchewan is two provinces away from the Pacific.
By my own definition, I have made only 3 cross-country road trips. Upstate NY to California and back. Upstate NY to Seattle and back. Western Mass to Alaska, AMHS to Washington, then back. Each of these involved me either setting foot in or being on a ferry on the Pacific.
My several trips starting from New York or Massachusetts that go no further west than Yellowstone, the Colorado Rockies, or Albuquerque, don't qualify as cross-country for me. And certainly not the many trips that didn't even make it to the Rockies, like Omaha, KC, Austin, south Florida, despite them taking me more than 1500 miles from home.
One day I would like to have a trip that is truly coast to coast, hitting both the Atlantic (not Gulf of Mexico) and Pacific. I've always lived just far enough inland that it hasn't worked out that way.
I would consider a cross country trip as being a trip to or very near the Atlantic or Pacific coast, whichever is farthest from where you live.
I have had only one true cross country trip. The east end was Oak Island NC on the beach. The west end was West Point Lighthouse on Puget Sound.
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 01:09:44 AM
Any generally east-west oriented drive that crosses the width of the ND/SD/NE/KS/OK/TX stack of states, regardless of length otherwise.
I'm not sure about Denver to Kansas City.
Quote from: webny99 on December 09, 2020, 10:19:06 AM
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 01:09:44 AM
Any generally east-west oriented drive that crosses the width of the ND/SD/NE/KS/OK/TX stack of states, regardless of length otherwise.
I'm not sure about Denver to Kansas City.
It's a pretty lame "cross country" drive for sure, but between Denver and KC you definitely cross from the western US to the eastern US - KC is more similar to Baltimore than it is to Denver.
I'm trying to think of drives we've taken that at least somebody I know other than myself referred to as "cross-country":
1. When we moved from Chicagoland to Boise in 1997 we drove and my parents repeatedly referred to it as "driving across the country" - and I'd say that seems more accurate than not
2. Boise to Portland, Maine - I think this 100% has to qualify
3. Deer Lodge, Montana to approximately Spartanburg, SC - I also think this qualifies
4. Deer Lodge, Montana to approximately Nauvoo, Illinois - seems more fringey, sure - but I think it counts as a very lame cross country
drive.
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 10:20:46 AM
Quote from: webny99 on December 09, 2020, 10:19:06 AM
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 01:09:44 AM
Any generally east-west oriented drive that crosses the width of the ND/SD/NE/KS/OK/TX stack of states, regardless of length otherwise.
I'm not sure about Denver to Kansas City.
It's a pretty lame "cross country" drive for sure, but between Denver and KC you definitely cross from the western US to the eastern US - KC is more similar to Baltimore than it is to Denver.
Maybe, but in no way is this cross country. Not even close, KC to LA
maybe
I can see 2 ways of thinking it.
E/W, you could require going to/from a state that touches a state that touches the ocean. Yes, that means a trip from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas is "cross country" - and that's good enough in my book. But it also would include Memphis to Las Vegas - that's less clear to me.
N/S is a little less clear. I'd consider a trip from a state that touches Canada to a state that touches the Mexican border or Gulf of Mexico. I'm not quite sure how you categorize Great Lakes boundaries though. Michigan or Wisconsin to Alabama - yeah, probably that's cross country. But Cincinnati to Huntsville? Ehh, harder to justify that.
There should be some consideration for diagonal travel as well. For example, Seattle to Birmingham AL, or Boston to Albuquerque. Those don't meet the nearly-sea-to-sea or border-to-border definitions. But I'd consider both of them to be lengthy enough to count.
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 10:20:46 AM
It's a pretty lame "cross country" drive for sure, but between Denver and KC you definitely cross from the western US to the eastern US - KC is more similar to Baltimore than it is to Denver.
No disputing the first part, but I don't think KC is necessarily more similar to Baltimore. In what ways?
I'd classify KC as "Midwest" and Denver as "just beyond Midwest". I can't imagine they're as different as KC and a true East Coast city like Baltimore, but I don't know enough about either city myself to say definitively.
Quote from: corco on December 09, 2020, 10:20:46 AM
2. Boise to Portland, Maine - I think this 100% has to qualify
I agree. I don't think it necessarily has to be coast-to-coast, which is why, as a general rule, I'm a fan of the time zone definition suggested by
sparker. Of course Boise is on MST, but then Portland, ME is almost to AST, so it's all relative.
Quote from: webny99 on December 09, 2020, 10:39:21 AM
No disputing the first part, but I don't think KC is necessarily more similar to Baltimore. In what ways?
I'd classify KC as "Midwest" and Denver as "just beyond Midwest". I can't imagine they're as different as KC and a true East Coast city like Baltimore, but I don't know enough about either city myself to say definitively.
1. Suburbs of Denver just suddenly stop at a certain point if you're going east or west; there are suburbs all around Kansas City and Baltimore (except where there's water in Baltimore's case). This is despite there being no physical barrier to the east of Denver.
2. Kansas City and Baltimore both used to be more important than they are now. Denver is growing.
3. The minorities in Kansas City and Baltimore are primarily African-American. Denver doesn't have as many African Americans, but it has a decent number of Hispanics.
East-west: Atlantic to Pacific
North-south: Canada to Mexico
Quote from: GaryV on December 09, 2020, 10:31:48 AM
I can see 2 ways of thinking it.
E/W, you could require going to/from a state that touches a state that touches the ocean. Yes, that means a trip from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas is "cross country" - and that's good enough in my book. But it also would include Memphis to Las Vegas - that's less clear to me.
N/S is a little less clear. I'd consider a trip from a state that touches Canada to a state that touches the Mexican border or Gulf of Mexico. I'm not quite sure how you categorize Great Lakes boundaries though. Michigan or Wisconsin to Alabama - yeah, probably that's cross country. But Cincinnati to Huntsville? Ehh, harder to justify that.
There should be some consideration for diagonal travel as well. For example, Seattle to Birmingham AL, or Boston to Albuquerque. Those don't meet the nearly-sea-to-sea or border-to-border definitions. But I'd consider both of them to be lengthy enough to count.
I'm not sure if I would count north-south as cross country.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 11:55:37 AM
I'm not sure if I would count north-south as cross country.
I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to a north-south trip as "cross-country".
As for distance... Wichita (KS) to Portland (ME) exceeds 1700 miles. I'm not even sure I'd attempt that in
two days. How can a trip that long, that goes from the high plains through the Midwest across the Appalachians to the New England coast
not be considered "cross-country"?
The north-south dynamic is an interesting one. I wouldn't think of a trip from here in New York to Florida as cross country, but a trip from here to Texas is a different story.
I've never heard anyone refer to a north—south trip as "cross-country." I'm sure one reason for that, though not necessarily the only reason, is that we're used to seeing maps on which north is up, so we visualize "cross-country" as east—west (or vice versa) because that is literally "across" the map as we're used to seeing it.
What if you cross both the eastern and western continental divides?
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 09, 2020, 03:14:25 PM
I've never heard anyone refer to a north—south trip as "cross-country." I'm sure one reason for that, though not necessarily the only reason, is that we're used to seeing maps on which north is up, so we visualize "cross-country" as east—west (or vice versa) because that is literally "across" the map as we're used to seeing it.
One other reason is that I'm not sure I've known anyone to cross the US from northern to southern border. Not personally known, anyway.
Quote from: Rothman on December 09, 2020, 07:10:45 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 03:25:22 AM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.
Nah. You can't cross the country if you start off in the middle.
800 miles gets me from NY to the IL/IA border. That's not a cross country trip.
Then it's a lame term that nobody should bother using.
Albuquerque to Chicago is a pretty impressive multi-day drive that takes you through a bunch of varied parts of the country, but we're not going to call it "cross country" because it literally doesn't cross the country? Then the term doesn't need to exist.
I think they should rename the high school running sport then, too.
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 03:41:06 PM
Quote from: Rothman on December 09, 2020, 07:10:45 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 03:25:22 AM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 08, 2020, 06:55:32 PM
I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.
I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.
Nah. You can't cross the country if you start off in the middle.
800 miles gets me from NY to the IL/IA border. That's not a cross country trip.
Then it's a lame term that nobody should bother using.
Albuquerque to Chicago is a pretty impressive multi-day drive that takes you through a bunch of varied parts of the country, but we're not going to call it "cross country" because it literally doesn't cross the country? Then the term doesn't need to exist.
That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 08, 2020, 10:42:57 PM
PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
I've actually changed my mind ...
So do you have a new working definition, then?
By your original definition,
this 2200-mile drive (https://goo.gl/maps/iaT82Hc8TYuHD71m9) isn't a cross-country trip either.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.
What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".
Quote from: kphoger on December 09, 2020, 04:04:08 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 08, 2020, 10:42:57 PM
PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
I've actually changed my mind ...
So do you have a new working definition, then?
By your original definition, this 2200-mile drive (https://goo.gl/maps/iaT82Hc8TYuHD71m9) isn't a cross-country trip either.
Yeah I changed my mind. Also for my first definition, I forgot WV.
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 04:04:59 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.
What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".
It's "cross country", Chicago to Albuquerque would be a "long trip", but not "cross country" in my eyes. If you don't even hit EST or PST then it doesn't count.
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:08:30 PM
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston
flight a cross-country
flight? I think it would go over Ontario airspace.
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:08:30 PM
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
I'd say so, as it's in the spirit of the term.
Quote from: kphoger on December 09, 2020, 04:17:36 PM
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:08:30 PM
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston flight a cross-country flight? I think it would go over Ontario airspace.
Yes duh
driving to a cross country meet doesn't count... :)
The longest I've had to drive for one of those was only a couple of hours.
Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.
Quote from: MikieTimT on December 09, 2020, 04:34:09 PM
Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.
You can't drive to Hawaii. (However, your definition doesn't specify the mode of transportation...)
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:34:47 PM
Quote from: MikieTimT on December 09, 2020, 04:34:09 PM
Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.
You can't drive to Hawaii.
https://www.matson.com/ocean-services/hawaii/ship-your-car-to-hawaii.html (https://www.matson.com/ocean-services/hawaii/ship-your-car-to-hawaii.html)
I'd bring a few days' worth of rations, though.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 04:06:12 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 09, 2020, 04:04:59 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.
What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".
It's "cross country", Chicago to Albuquerque would be a "long trip", but not "cross country" in my eyes. If you don't even hit EST or PST then it doesn't count.
Oklahoma City to Kansas City is clearly a "long trip", but it's also clearly not in the same class as ABQ-Chicago, nor, say, OKC-Washington DC.
I once drove from NOLA to Toronto...although I never truly considered that cross country even though it went from border to border. Not bad considering my starting/ending point was NJ!
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 04:05:10 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 09, 2020, 04:04:08 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 08, 2020, 10:42:57 PM
PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 09, 2020, 03:49:31 PM
I've actually changed my mind ...
So do you have a new working definition, then?
By your original definition, this 2200-mile drive (https://goo.gl/maps/iaT82Hc8TYuHD71m9) isn't a cross-country trip either.
Yeah I changed my mind. Also for my first definition, I forgot WV.
So do you have a new working definition, then? :pan:
Quote from: kphoger on December 09, 2020, 04:17:36 PM
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:08:30 PM
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston flight a cross-country flight? I think it would go over Ontario airspace.
It might even go over Alberta and/or Sask airspace, in addition to Ontario.
Quote from: GaryV on December 09, 2020, 06:08:49 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 09, 2020, 04:17:36 PM
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 04:08:30 PM
Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.
Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston flight a cross-country flight? I think it would go over Ontario airspace.
It might even go over Alberta and/or Sask airspace, in addition to Ontario.
Per Google's straight line tool, a straight line from Seattle to Boston does indeed go over Ontario but misses the 49th parallel by about 40 miles.
Here's an interesting thought: how much E-W driving in a relatively N-S drive makes it cross-country? For example, I'll use Houston.
I regard a trip from Houston to Boston or Seattle to be cross-country. But is a trip from Houston to Minot cross-country? Or what about a trip from Houston to Detroit? Maybe. In the same way, is Miami-Boston cross-country? Probably not. But is Miami-Chicago?
From this, I define a US cross-country drive is any drive that is at least 1500 miles long and crosses at least 25 degrees of latitude.
Quote from: CoreySamson on December 09, 2020, 07:21:58 PM
From this, I define a US cross-country route is any route that is at least 1500 miles long and crosses at least 25 degrees of latitude.
The Northwest Angle in Minnesota is at 49.38°N.
Key West is at 24.54°N.
This is under 25° – barely. Nothing counts as cross-country unless it goes into Alaska.
(tl;dr you meant longitude)
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 07:24:47 PM
Quote from: CoreySamson on December 09, 2020, 07:21:58 PM
From this, I define a US cross-country route is any route that is at least 1500 miles long and crosses at least 25 degrees of latitude.
The Northwest Angle in Minnesota is at 49.38°N.
Key West is at 24.54°N.
This is under 25° – barely. Nothing counts as cross-country unless it goes into Alaska.
(TL;DR you meant longitude)
No I meant latitude. Regardless of how north or south a certain drive goes, as long as it is longer than 1500 miles and goes across 25 degrees of latitude E-W, then I think it counts as a cross-country drive.
Quote from: Jim on December 09, 2020, 07:52:27 AM
One day I would like to have a trip that is truly coast to coast, hitting both the Atlantic (not Gulf of Mexico) and Pacific. I've always lived just far enough inland that it hasn't worked out that way.
My summer 2017 mega-road trip touched both the Pacific (several times) and Atlantic coasts. But my only "beach experience" that summer on the Pacific coast involved a bear killing a deer on a gravel beach in southeastern Alaska. I was fortunate, on the return trip, to visit some friends on the Jersey Shore for some much better beach time. That trip also involved three breakdowns, each delaying my travels for one or more days. I hope you can do better.
My first major 2011 road trip, which started on the first day of my retirement, took a jog east for some beach time on the shores of the Atlantic. Alas, the turnaround point at the west end of that trip was in western Colorado.
My "Bad Roads of the Arctic" tour of 2012 came closest to a tri-coastal "cross-country" trip, with beach time on the Arctic coast, and beach time or other contact with the Pacific in British Columbia, but no contact with the Atlantic on my way out from or back to D.C.
Quote from: CoreySamson on December 09, 2020, 07:28:29 PM
Quote from: 1 on December 09, 2020, 07:24:47 PM
Quote from: CoreySamson on December 09, 2020, 07:21:58 PM
From this, I define a US cross-country route is any route that is at least 1500 miles long and crosses at least 25 degrees of latitude.
The Northwest Angle in Minnesota is at 49.38°N.
Key West is at 24.54°N.
This is under 25° – barely. Nothing counts as cross-country unless it goes into Alaska.
(TL;DR you meant longitude)
No I meant latitude. Regardless of how north or south a certain drive goes, as long as it is longer than 1500 miles and goes across 25 degrees of latitude E-W, then I think it counts as a cross-country drive.
So you did mean longitude. Longitude is E/W, latitude is N/S
Oh I'm a dummy. Forgive me for that.
You must fully submerge your vehicle in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. No cheating with the Gulf of Mexico.
For what it's worth, I'm not comfortable with any definition that considers Boise—Chattanooga to NOT be a cross-country trip.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on December 08, 2020, 10:42:57 PM
PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,
By that definition, Vale, OR to Key West, FL, over 3000 miles, and going between states that touch the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, would not count because Vale is in MST. Maps link (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Vale,+Oregon+97918/Key+West,+Florida+33040/@32.963229,-116.7663079,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54a559b98f76d627:0x840261f7a0bda639!2m2!1d-117.2382311!2d43.9821055!1m5!1m1!1s0x88d1b134ad952377:0x3fcee92f77463b5e!2m2!1d-81.7799871!2d24.5550593!3e0)
My only cross country trip went NYC -> NOLA -> SF. I never had thought of the first leg of that trip as "cross country" even though I went north-south, but definitely thought the second part was. I've done some 1000 or so mile drives (upstate NY -> Nashville, Long Island --> Champaign, IL, Montreal --> UP) which I wouldn't have thought of as cross country. I think that from my current state of VT, I'd have to get west of I-25 for me to think of it as "cross-country".