April – June
I’ll take about four weeks to leisurely travel down the West Coast, across the Southwest, through Texas Hill Country, and along the Gulf Coast to Key West. Tentative details of this leg of the trip are posted below.
After hanging out with friends who live on Key West, I’ll take about four weeks to return, riding along part of the Atlantic Coast, through the Southern Appalachia and the Ozarks regions, into Colorado, and then back to Seattle through Yellowstone, weather permitting. Details of the second half of the trip will be posted in the next week or so.
Tentative Route Details to Key West
The exact departure date is not yet set, but I plan to leave on a Monday, allowing me to arrive in both Santa Cruz and Los Angeles for the weekend 🙂 The shortest distance from Seattle to Key West is 3,454 miles. This route gets me there in 6,732 miles, almost twice the distance. Suggestions and comments welcome!
(Mon) Day 1 – Seattle to Cape Lookout
302 miles including detour inland to Timber and back to the coast along Hwy 6
(Tue) Day 2 – Cape Lookout to Coos Bay
257 miles along another detour inland to Corvallis and back to the coast along Hwy 34
(Wed) Day 3 – Coos Bay to Leggett
314 miles with diversion to travel the Avenue of the Giants
(Thu) Day 4 – Leggett to San Francisco
266 miles with diversion into Napa Valley foothills
(Fri) Day 5 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz
90 miles along Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) and Hwy 9
(Sat) Day 6 – OFF
(Sun) Day 7 – OFF
(Mon) Day 8 – Santa Cruz to Morro Bay
192 miles of scenic beauty including Big Sur
(Tue) Day 9 – Morro Bay to La Cañada Flintridge
330 miles with diversion east of Sierra Padres NF and into San Gabriel Mtns & Salt Lake
(Wed) Day 10 – La Cañada Flintridge to Palm Springs
292 miles with diversion through San Jacinto Mtns
(Thu) Day 11 – Palm Springs to Borrego Springs
247 miles with diversion through Joshua Tree
(Fri) Day 12 – Borrego Springs to Huntington Beach
181 miles with diversion through Santa Ana Mtns
(Sat) Day 13 – OFF
(Sun) Day 14 – Huntington Beach to San Diego
113 miles with detour through San Marcos (optional)
(Mon) Day 15 – San Diego to Yuma
286 miles with diversion to Cibola
(Tue) Day 16 – Yuma to Nogales
461 miles with stop at Kitt Peak Observatory and Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge
(Wed) Day 17 – Nogales to Las Cruces
351 miles through Douglas
(Thu) Day 18 – Las Cruces to Carlsbad
284 miles through Lincoln National Forest and Roswell
(Fri) Day 19 – OFF
(Sat) Day 20 – Carlsbad to Big Bend National Park
293 miles along the border
(Sun) Day 21 – Big Bend National Park to Del Rio
250 miles further along the border
(Mon) Day 22 – Del Rio to Fredericksburg
278 miles through Texas Hill Country
(Tue) Day 23 – Fredericksburg to Austin
168 miles further through the hills of Texas
(Wed) Day 24 – Austin to Beaumont
306 miles taking us to the Gulf
(Thu) Day 25 – Beaumont to New Orleans
326 miles more of Gulf Coast
(Fri) Day 26 – OFF
(Sat) Day 27 – New Orleans to Panama City
308 miles and into Florida!
(Sun) Day 28 – Panama City to St. Petersburg
373 miles and into Tampa area
(Mon) Day 29 – St Petersburg to Naples
151 miles for an easy day of riding
(Tue) Day 30 – Naples to Key West
238 miles and arrival !!
Ambitious trip! I will be in Maui for Tina and Ian’s wedding April 5 to 11. Hope we will cross paths in Santa Cruz.