I enjoy US road trips immensely. I have driven across the continental United States twice so far: once from San Jose, CA to Newark, DE, via Chicago, IL; and once from Newark, DE to San Jose, CA via Dallas, TX.
Those were nearly 4,000 kms. They were solo trips. I generally drive around 12 to 14 hours, with a couple of gas station breaks. The most recent trip was from Phoenix, AZ to San Jose, CA.
Other important road trips have been to Death Valley National Park (five times), Yosemite National Park (about a dozen times), Grand Canyon (thrice), Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, etc. Most of them involved camping. I love camping, particularly in Death Valley because if you time it right — moonless night — then you can see the Milky Way.
I have done the trip between the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles at least 40 times over the years since 1985.
The route is simple. Head south on 101 for about half an hour, then at Gilroy (the garlic capital of the world), take State Route 152 to the Pacheco Pass to cross the Diablo Range mountains that separate the Santa Clara valley (where the Silicon Valley is) and the Central Valley (the richest agricultural region of the world.) SR 152 connects to Interstate 5. Take I-5 south all the way to LA.
I-5 runs straight and flat through the Central Valley till you get to Bakersfield. Then I-5 climbs up the Tejon Pass (elevation 1,270 meters) over the Tehachapi mountain. That part of the roughly 600 kms trip is the most interesting. Then you come down into the San Fernando valley.
During the Covid era between 2021 and 2023, I did five round trips between Newark DE and Chicago IL. I would cover the 1,300 kms in 12 hours in either direction.
Alright, here’s a video (handheld Pixel 7) I took on my Phoenix AZ to San Jose CA a couple of years ago. I was heading north on Tejon Pass.
I have been very fortunate in traveling across the continental US. This video brought back memories. I have been to all the places and cities mentioned in the video, except for one: Alaska. I will have to do a road trip to Alaska soon.
That’s it for now. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 