01
States of the Union
14 states. Pennsylvania to Los Angeles. 3,571 GPS miles mapped across the continent.
Pennsylvania
29 mi
PA
Start of the trip. Dug the Tacoma out before seven. City still sleeping.
Philadelphia
Delaware
12 mi
DE
Brief crossing on I-95. Wilmington through the windshield. Gone before it registered.
Wilmington
Maryland
94 mi
MD
Baltimore corridor. Last hoagie at a Wawa somewhere in here, eaten in the truck.
Baltimore · Annapolis Junction
Virginia
192 mi
VA
DC through the windshield — monuments grey in fog. Hard pack through Virginia, roads clearing south of Richmond.
Arlington · Alexandria · Fredericksburg · Richmond · Petersburg
North Carolina
234 mi
NC
Two segments. Day 1: I-85 south to Charlotte. Day 2: Charlotte south through the piedmont into SC. Night 1 in Charlotte.
Charlotte
South Carolina
95 mi
SC
I-85 straight through. South Carolina in the snow — the foothills grey and quiet.
Gaffney · Spartanburg · Greenville · Anderson
Georgia
179 mi
GA
Snowed the whole way. Spanish moss beaded with ice. Red clay frozen hard. The South under it looks wrong.
Lavonia · Gainesville · Atlanta · LaGrange
Alabama
216 mi
AL
Day 2: Auburn lunch crowd at Cracker Barrel on a snow day. Night 2 in Montgomery — AYA for dinner. Day 3: US-80 west through Selma.
Auburn · Montgomery · Selma
Mississippi
161 mi
MS
Two segments. Day 3: into Jackson after dark. Day 4: flat and green even in February, leaving west on I-20.
Meridian · Jackson
Louisiana
182 mi
LA
Cypress and still water and the smell of something rotting sweetly in the air. Pulled off in Shreveport — found Sam's Southern Eatery by accident. Top-rated. Lucky.
Monroe · Shreveport
Texas
1,367 mi
TX
The dominant state — 5 driving days, 40% of total distance. Hill Country into Chihuahuan Desert. Big Bend. The ghost town. The canyon. The best road of the trip.
Marshall · Longview · Dallas · Waco · Austin · +12
New Mexico
164 mi
NM
I-10 west from El Paso through Las Cruces and Deming to the Arizona line. High desert, 160 miles of it.
Las Cruces · Deming
Arizona
379 mi
AZ
Night 8 in Tucson — El Chorro, since 1922, packed on a Friday. Day 9: Sonoran Desert running out beneath the tires toward the California line.
Tucson · Casa Grande · Yuma
California
246 mi
CA
Saguaro giving way to sand dunes. The Salton Sea flat and strange. Mountains. Then coastal haze and the Pacific smell through the vents. End of the road.
Blythe · Indio · Palm Springs · Chino Hills · Los Angeles · +1
02
Roads & Highways
Interstates, two-laners, scenic byways. The specific roads that got us there.
I-95 S
Interstate 95
Philadelphia south through Wilmington, Baltimore, and Washington. Monuments grey in winter fog.
PA · DE · MD · VA
Day 1
I-85 S
Interstate 85
The spine of the trip's first two days. Charlotte south through the Carolinas, Georgia, into Alabama — snowed most of the way.
VA · NC · SC · GA · AL
Days 1, 2
US-80 W
Jefferson Davis Highway
Country road west from Montgomery through Selma. The old road. Slower and better for it.
AL · MS
Day 3
I-20 W
Interstate 20
Jackson west through the Louisiana bayou to Shreveport and into East Texas.
MS · LA · TX
Days 3, 4
I-35 S
Interstate 35
Dallas/Fort Worth south through Waco to Austin. Texas getting bigger.
TX
Day 4
US-190 / TX-190 W
Lone Star Highway
The road of Day 5. Two lanes from Menard through Eldorado, Iraan, Fort Stockton. Almost no other vehicles. Chihuahuan Desert taking hold past Fort Stockton.
TX
Day 5
US-67 / US-90 S
Trans-Pecos Highway
Fort Stockton south to Alpine, then west toward the Big Bend corridor.
TX
Day 5
TX-118 S
State Highway 118
Alpine south through Study Butte into Big Bend National Park.
TX
Days 5, 6
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Park road south through Big Bend to Santa Elena Canyon. Castolon, Sotol Vista, Mule Ears. The canyon at the end.
TX
Day 7
TX-170 W
El Camino Del Rio
The River Road. Big Bend to Presidio following the Rio Grande — river below, rock walls close, no guardrail. Best driving of the whole trip.
TX
Day 8
US-90 W / I-10 W
Interstate 10
Marfa to El Paso, then the long run west: New Mexico, Arizona, California. I-10 carried the last two days of the trip.
TX · NM · AZ · CA
Days 8, 9
03
Elevation
Sea level in Philadelphia. 5,784 ft in the Chisos Basin. Back to sea level in Los Angeles. The land rose through the middle of the country and fell back into the Pacific.
Philadelphia, PA
Day 1
39 ft
Baltimore, MD
Day 1
20 ft
Richmond, VA
Day 1
166 ft
Charlotte, NC
Night 1
Day 1
751 ft
Atlanta, GA
Day 2
1,050 ft
Montgomery, AL
Night 2
Day 2
221 ft
Jackson, MS
Night 3
Day 3
287 ft
Shreveport, LA
Oyster po'boy stop
Day 4
181 ft
Austin, TX
Night 4
Day 4
489 ft
Menard, TX
Hwy 190 begins
Day 5
1,963 ft
Eldorado, TX
Day 5
2,533 ft
Iraan, TX
Day 5
2,133 ft
Fort Stockton, TX
Last real stop before the big empty
Day 5
2,952 ft
Alpine, TX
Walmart stop
Day 5
4,475 ft
Terlingua / Study Butte, TX
Nights 5–7 (ghost town)
Day 5
2,461 ft
Chisos Basin, Big Bend NP
Trip high point — Window Trail, Chisos Mountains
Day 6
5,784 ft
Window Trail — pour-off
Day 7
5,772 ft
Santa Elena Canyon
1,500 ft walls above the river
Day 7
1,880 ft
Marfa, TX
Coffee. Post office.
Day 8
4,688 ft
El Paso, TX
Day 8
3,740 ft
Las Cruces, NM
Day 8
3,908 ft
Tucson, AZ
Night 8
Day 8
2,389 ft
Yuma, AZ
Day 9
141 ft
Salton Sea, CA
Below sea level
Day 9
−227 ft
Santa Monica, CA
End of the road
Day 9
52 ft
04
Geography
Rivers crossed, mountains passed through, deserts driven, canyons entered.
river
Potomac River
DC in winter fog. Barely visible from the highway.
VA · MD · Day 1
river
Alabama River
Crossed by ferry from EJI Legacy Museum to the sculpture garden.
AL · Day 3
river
Mississippi River
Crossed on Day 4. Mississippi flat and green even in February.
MS · LA · Day 4
river
Rio Grande
Three days along or near the river. Toes in on Day 6 — first time for both. Walked ankle-deep into it at Boquillas Canyon. TX-170 follows the canyon on Day 8.
TX · NM · Days 6, 7, 8
mountain
Appalachian Foothills
Piedmont and foothills framing the I-85 corridor southward.
VA · NC · SC · GA · AL · Days 1, 2
mountain
Chisos Mountains
Sky island in the middle of Big Bend. Chisos Basin at 5,784 ft — the trip's high point. Window Trail looking out over the desert basin.
TX · Days 6, 7
mountain
Davis Mountains
Texas's highest range, west of Alpine and Marfa. The backdrop coming and going.
TX · Days 5, 8
mountain
Guadalupe Mountains
Visible from I-10 heading toward El Paso. Highest point in Texas at 8,751 ft.
TX · NM · Day 8
desert
Chihuahuan Desert
Largest desert in North America. Took hold past Fort Stockton on Day 5. Five days total in its terrain.
TX · NM · Days 5, 6, 7, 8
desert
Sonoran Desert
Tucson east and west. Saguaro cactus. Then the desert running out toward California.
AZ · CA · Days 8, 9
canyon
Santa Elena Canyon
1,500-foot walls on both sides of the Rio Grande. The left wall is Texas. The right wall is Mexico. Sky narrows to a strip.
TX · Day 7
canyon
Boquillas Canyon
Where the horseback vendor crossed from Mexico. Ankle-deep in the river. Raymond purchased here.
TX · Day 6
park
Big Bend National Park
801,163 acres. Two full days. Panther Junction, Chisos Mountains, both canyons, the river.
TX · Days 6, 7
sea
Salton Sea
Flat and strange. 227 feet below sea level. The landscape's last surprise before the mountains and the coast.
CA · Day 9
05
Cities & Towns
Every place the truck stopped, passed through, or stayed. In order.
Day 1 Philly → Charlotte
Philadelphia stop
Start. Dug out before 7am.
Wilmington drive-through
I-95 south. Gone in twelve miles.
Washington DC drive-through
Monuments grey in winter fog
Charlotte overnight
Night 1. City BBQ.
Day 2 Charlotte → Montgomery
Atlanta drive-through
Snowed through the city.
Auburn lunch
Cracker Barrel — full of AU students on a snow day
Montgomery overnight
Night 2. AYA Soulful Dining.
Day 3 Montgomery → Jackson
Selma drive-through
Country road west
Jackson overnight
Night 3. Arrived after dark.
Day 4 Jackson → Austin
Monroe drive-through
I-20 west through the bayou corridor.
Shreveport lunch
Sam's Southern Eatery — oyster po'boy, found by luck
Tyler drive-through
East Texas pine country on I-20.
Waco drive-through
I-35 south through central Texas.
Round Rock drive-through
North of Austin in evening traffic.
Austin overnight
Night 4. Rudy's BBQ.
Day 5 Austin → Terlingua
Fredericksburg drive-through
Hill Country
Menard drive-through
Hwy 190 begins
Eldorado drive-through
Still Hill Country
Iraan drive-through
Desert starting to take hold
Fort Stockton stop
Last real stop before the big empty
Alpine stop
Walmart — felt like the whole town was inside
Terlingua overnight
Nights 5–7. Ghost town. Starlight Theatre.
Day 6 Terlingua → Big Bend
Study Butte drive-through
West entrance to Big Bend
Big Bend NP stop
Panther Junction, Rio Grande, Boquillas Canyon
Day 7 Big Bend → Big Bend
Big Bend NP stop
Window Trail + Ross Maxwell + Santa Elena Canyon
Day 8 Big Bend → Tucson
Presidio drive-through
At the end of Hwy 170
Marfa stop
Coffee. Post office. Sent some mail.
El Paso drive-through
I-10 west begins
Las Cruces drive-through
Briefly into New Mexico on I-10
Tucson overnight
Night 8. El Chorro, since 1922.
Day 9 Tucson → Los Angeles
Yuma drive-through
Sonoran Desert running out
Chino Hills drive-through
Stopped traffic. Tacoma fit right in.
Los Angeles overnight
End of the road. Locanda Portofino. Walk from the beach.
06
Trip Statistics
The numbers behind the nine days.
3,753
Total Miles
Odometer-verified from Day 9 photo. Includes all park roads, city driving, and side trips.
9
Days
Jan 30 – Feb 7. Friday to Saturday. Nine mornings in the truck.
14
States
PA · DE · MD · VA · NC · SC · GA · AL · MS · LA · TX · NM · AZ · CA
21
Meals Logged
Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and a few gas station snacks.
42
Named Stops
Documented waypoints. Doesn't count every pullout on Hwy 170.
5,784
High Point, ft
Chisos Basin, Big Bend NP. Day 6. GPS-recorded peak.
−227
Low Point, ft
Salton Sea, CA. Below sea level. Day 9. Flat and strange.
3
Nights in Terlingua
Ghost town that didn't finish dying. Three nights at the Starlight. Stars every night.
1,367
Texas Miles
Largest share of the trip by state — 38% of the GPS total. Five driving days.
636
Longest Day, mi
Day 8: Big Bend to Tucson. Hwy 170 → Marfa → El Paso → Las Cruces → Tucson.
121
Shortest Day, mi
Day 6: Terlingua into Big Bend. A short drive into an all-day exploration.
141
Photos
Plus 2 videos. Nine days of the red Tacoma and everything around it.
07
The Route
Day-by-day. Nine legs. One truck.
| Day | Date | Route | Miles | Time | Tagline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Friday January 30 | Philadelphia, PA → Charlotte, NC | 510 | 8 hr | Dig out. Point south. Don't look back. |
| Day 2 | Saturday January 31 | Charlotte, NC → Montgomery, AL | 400 | 6 hr | Five a.m. Half an inch. We went. |
| Day 3 | Sunday February 1 | Montgomery, AL → Jackson, MS | 245 | 3.5 hr | Short drive. The longest day. |
| Day 4 | Monday February 2 | Jackson, MS → Austin, TX | 550 | 8.5 hr | Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas. All in a day. |
| Day 5 | Tuesday February 3 | Austin, TX → Terlingua, TX | 487 | 7.5 hr | Hwy 190. Two lanes. Almost nobody. |
| Day 6 | Wednesday February 4 | Terlingua, TX → Big Bend NP | 121 | 40 min | First day in. Toes in the Rio Grande. Raymond. |
| Day 7 | Thursday February 5 | Big Bend NP → Big Bend NP | 133 | All day | Sky island to sea of desert. Terry Klein at the Starlight. |
| Day 8 | Friday February 6 | Big Bend NP → Tucson, AZ | 636 | 9 hr | Hwy 170. Marfa. El Paso. Tucson. Carne seca. |
| Day 9 | Saturday February 7 | Tucson, AZ → Los Angeles, CA | 490 | 7 hr | The desert thins. The Pacific smell arrives. |
| Route total (point-to-point estimates) | 3,572 | 3,753 mi odometer-verified | |||