The Map

The detailed maps below show the route we took on our 9000 mile trek. The route stopped over at 21 different places spanning 13 different states (and provinces) in the U.S. and Canada.

We start out in San Diego (bottom left of photo) and head up I-15 to the thriving metropolis of Baker, CA (home of the world's tallest thermometer). From Baker, we jaunt into Stop #1, Death Valley National Park on routes 127 and 190.

After 3 days in Death Valley, we depart for Stop #2, Sequoia National Park. This seemingly short trip is actually one of the most grueling of the trek because it is all 2 lane windy roads which cut right through the southern end of the Sierras. The route takes us out of Death Valley on 190W, then into the Sierras on 178W, continuing through the Sierras on 155W and finally into Sequoia on 65 and 245.
After 2 days at Sequoia, we're off to Stop #3, Yosemite National Park. To get there, we take 180W to 41N and enter Yosemite through the South entrance.

We spend 4 days at Yosemite, leaving through the Western exit on route 140. Then, it's up 99 to 580 and 680 ultimately ending up at Stop #4 in Fremont.

After 4 days, we exit the Bay Area by taking 880 up through Oakland, cutting across 580 to 101N and taking 101N up to128W at Cloverdale. Then, its across 128W and up route 1 to Stop #5, Mendocino.

After 2 days in Mendocino, we dapart for Stop #6, Redwood National Park. Our route takes us up route 1 to 101 and up 101 to Redwood.
We spend 2 days at Redwood and then depart for Stop #7, Ashland Oregon by way of routes 199 and I-5. Our 3 days in Ashland include two pretty serious side trips, one to Crater Lake (via 62 north) and one to Mt. Shasta and Lassen Volcanic Park (via 5 south).

After leaving Ashland, we head for Stop #8, Yachats (pronounced YAH-hots) along the Oregon coast. To get there, we take 5 north to Sutherlin, then 138, 38 and 101 up to Yachats.

Four relaxing days at the coast are just what the doctor ordered, so we head up to Stop #9 for some city life in Portland. We take 101 to Tillamook (stopping for some cheese) and then head across route 6 into Portland.
After a big weekend in Portland, we head north on I-5 and 101 to Stop #10, Olympic National Park in Northwest Washington state.

After a 2 day campout at Olympic, we take the ferry from Port Angeles over to Victoria on Vancouver Island in Canada (Stop #11).
We spend 2 nights drinking at the pubs and seeing the sites before taking a different ferry again across to Vancouver, ultimately heading across the Trans-Canada Highway to Revelstoke (Stop #12) in Eastern British Columbia.

We spend 2 days seeing Mt. Revelstoke and the Canadian Glacier National Park and then continue on the Trans-Canada Highway (route 1) to Stop #13, Banff National Park.
From Banff (after 3 days), we head south through Kootenay National Park on route 93 and then take 95 to 3 to 6 into Waterton Lakes and Glacier National Parks in Northwestern Montana (Stop #14).

After a 2 day campout at Glacier, we'll spend 4 days with friends in Moscow Idaho (Stop #15). To get there, we leave Glacier through the Southwest and take a series of two lane roads ultimately ending up on I-90. We'll then take I-90 west to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and then take 95 south into Moscow.

Leaving Moscow, we embark on our longest travel day. We pick up route 12 out of Moscow and take it all the way across Northern Idaho to Missoula, Montana. Then we take 90 East all the way to Boseman and enter Yellowstone (Stop #16) through the Northern entrance (route 89).
After 4 days in Yellowstone, we exit on route 16 to the East and ultimately pick up route 90 again taking it East across Wyoming to Stop #17, Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

Two days at Rushmore and we exit South Dakota to the south on routes 18 and 20 finally picking up I-25 and taking it down to Boulder, CO (stop #18). Then, after 2 days in Boulder, we start heading out over I-70 west across nearly the entire state of Colorado to Moab, Utah (Stop #19).
After taking in Arches National Park for 2 days in Moab, we head back into Colorado via routes 191, 46, 90 and 145 ultimately ending up at Stop #20, Telluride Colorado.

We spend a leisurely 4 nights in Telluride before heading to Stop #21, Santa Fe, New Mexico. To get there, we take routes 145, 160, 540, 544, 44 and 25 (a rather complicated leg).

Finally, we wrap up the trip after 3 nights in Santa Fe by heading over to Phoenix by taking Interstates 25 and 40 to Winslow and then taking 87 into Phoenix.
So there you have it. That was the route. Not the most direct route from San Diego to Phoenix but, hey, it was a once in a lifetime thing!