2015 Southern States Tour

This year’s big adventure is officially the “2015 Southern States Tour”. Traveling more than 13,000 miles, this 22-state route will take me into each of the states of the South. Recall I visited 16 states in 2014. This trip will add 11 new states to the list of ones I’ve visited on my motorcycle.

Tentative Dates

Seattle Departure – April 13th
Key West Arrival – May 12th

Key West Departure – May 26th
Seattle Arrival – June 24th

Tentative Route Details for Return from Key West

The tentative details for the trip out to Key West were posted earlier. Find them here. The details below are a sketch of the return trip. Daily destinations may change as I learn more about the area or find more interesting places to stop, like a campground, or particularly scenic town. Daily distances average in the low 200 miles to allow time for photos, eats, and exploration.

Total distance for the return trip is 6,532 miles, making the round trip distance 13,264 miles. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

(Tues) Day 1 – Key West to West Palm Beach
230 miles leaving time for traffic, stops and side trips
(Wed) Day 2 – West Palm Beach to Daytona Beach
208 miles not including a side trip to Cape Canaveral
(Thu) Day 3 – Daytona Beach to Savannah
241 miles leaving time for stops and side trips
(Fri) Day 4 – Savannah to Myrtle Beach
200 miles with time for sightseeing

(Sat) Day 5 – OFF

(Sun) Day 6 – Myrtle Beach to Mt Airy
248 miles towards the Blue Ridge Parkway
(Mon) Day 7 – Mt Airy to Ashville
206 miles along Parkway
(Tue) Day 8 – Ashville to Tellico Plains
345 miles including Tail of the Dragon!
(Wed) Day 9 – Tellico Plains to Chatsworth
218 miles and last day in Smoky Mountains
(Thu) Day 10 – Chatsworth to Leeds<
251 miles and ready to visit the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum

(Fri) Day 11 – OFF

(Sat) Day 12- Leeds to Vicksburg
294 miles with stop to visit friends

(Sun) Day 13 – OFF

(Mon) Day 14 – Vicksburg to Hot Springs
278 miles with stop in Little Rock
(Tue) Day 15 – Hot Springs to Mountain View
239 miles and on an Ozarks mini-tour
(Wed) Day 16 – Mountain View to Hermann
317 miles tentatively bypassing St Louis
(Thu) Day 17  – Hermann to Branson
270 miles and last full day in the Ozarks
(Fri) Day 18 – Branson to Oklahoma City
370 mile dash to OKC hoping to limit exposure to potential weather

(Sat) Day 19 – OFF
(Sun) Day 20 – OFF

(Mon) Day 21 – Oklahoma City to Trinidad
463 mile dash into Colorado and (hopefully) out of tornado alley
(Tue) Day 22 – Trinidad to Durango
296 miles towards the Million Dollar Highway
(Wed) Day 23 – Durango to Basalt
335 miles via the Million Dollar Highway and Hwy 50
(Thu) Day 24 – Basalt to Steamboat Springs
181 miles and last night in Colorado
(Fri) Day 25 – Steamboat Springs to Grand Tetons
380 miles with first visit ever to Grand Tetons
(Sat) Day 26 – Grand Tetons to Yellowstone
60 miles to Norris Campground

(Sun) Day 27 – OFF

(Mon) Day 28 – Yellowstone to Missoula
303 miles – seems I can’t stay away from Missoula 🙂
(Tue) Day 29 – Missoula to Walla Walla
319 miles that include LoLo Pass and 99 miles of windy roadway
(Wed) Day 30 – Walla Walla to Seattle
280 miles and back home