Retiring in June of 2006 we started the grand adventure with several primary objectives:
We left Columbus and headed west on US-36 trying as much as possible to stay off the interstates and on the more interesting back roads. Our original plan was to primarily camp using the rig shown here at Turkey Run State Park, Indiana until reality rudely intruded:
Our plan has evolved to primarily motel camping and trying to have a single day of travel between longer stops. We will still tent camp when the weather is nice and there is something interesting to see in the boonies. We quickly found that weekly and monthly rates at many of the lesser known or independent motels are reasonable and we are first and foremost budget travelers. A morning breakfast in the room, a main meal in late afternoon while lunch prices are still in effect, and an evening snack works very well to control costs and leave us plenty of time for exploring. For only traveling six months of 2006 we ended up with a total of 28 days of actual travel spaced with a lot of wandering time.
For the curious this totals up to 7563 miles between motels and campgrounds with local travel about doubling the total mileage on the truck. It also passes through at least part of 18 states. From the menu above you can select more detail on any of the states, cities, and special attractions we enjoyed.
This link to the 2006 Travel Map will take you to an extremely detailed view in Google Maps that is fully interactive and can be zoomed in to see the exact routes if you'll be patient while it loads.