49: California
Note: This web site shows the tour in reverse order. If, instead, you want to view the tour from the beginning, go to the first entry (Nevada), and keep clicking the “»next state»” link that appears near the top-right corner of each page. (For some pages, you may need to scroll the page to the right to see the “»next state»” link near the top-right corner.)
I made it! After 14,357 miles (23,105 km) and almost 2 months, I completed my tour of the 48 contiguous United States, plus the District of Columbia.
Some additional statistics:
- Latitude/Longitude extremes: North: 47.04 degrees (near Ovando, Montana); South: 29.16 degrees (near Grand Isle, Louisiana); West: -122.36 degrees (Redding, California); East: -68.18 degrees (Arcadia National Park, Maine)
- Farthest ‘as the crow flies’ distance from my home (in Mountain View, California): 2,812 miles (4,525 km), in Arcadia National Park, Maine
- Elevation extremes: High: 8,610 feet (near Crystal, New Mexico); Low: sea level (several places)
- Gas price extremes: High: $4.699/gallon (Chicago, Illinois; May 17th); Low: $3.359/gallon (Tulsa, Oklahoma; April 3rd)
- National Parks visited: Petrified Forest (Arizona); Hot Springs (Arkansas); Shenandoah (Virginia); Great Falls (Virginia); Acadia (Maine); Badlands (South Dakota); Wind Cave (South Dakota)
- State capital cities visited: Oklahoma City (Oklahoma); Little Rock (Arkansas); Jackson (Mississippi); Raleigh (North Carolina); Annapolis (Maryland); Augusta (Maine); Montpelier (Vermont); Des Moines (Iowa)
- Degree Confluence points visited: 37: 1 in California; 1 in Arizona; 2 in New Mexico; 1 in Oklahoma; 1 in Kansas; 3 in Arkansas; 1 in Tennessee; 3 in Mississippi; 2 in Louisiana; 1 in Georgia; 2 in South Carolina; 2 in North Carolina; 3 in Virginia; 1 in New Jersey; 1 in Massachusetts; 2 in New Hampshire; 3 in New York; 1 in Iowa; 2 in South Dakota; 2 in Montana; 2 in Oregon
I also did some sightseeing in the remote north-eastern corner of California, by visiting “McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park“, to see the magnificent Burney Falls (which I had not seen before).