Our Route

The Burro in our driveway - 6 weeks before leaving

One of the first questions we get asked when we tell a person about our adventure is, “where are you going?” It was actually one of the later things we planned. We had to be sure all the logistics were in place before we let ourselves dream of what we wanted to see and do. Our route is determined by several factors – the weather, family and friends we want to visit, and natural sites we want to explore. We plan to leave Wisconsin on March 1 so our first goal will be to head south in search of warm weather. Our progress may be hastened after a frigid night or two because the Burro does not have a heater. We plan to utilize state and national forests, parks, BLM land, campgrounds, rest areas, truck stops, and driveways of friends/family as places to stay. We recognize that we will need to be flexible with our travel plans based on weather, unexpected delays (breakdowns, road construction, detours), the needs of an almost three year old, and discoveries of amazing places we want to explore. We’ll feel more confident about all this once we are on the road, develop a routine, and settle into our new way of living on the road.

At this point, we project our journey might look something like this (obviously some states we will only drive through): March = Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma. April = New Mexico, Utah, Arizona. May and June = California coast north to Seattle. July and August = Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and finally back to Wisconsin. 

Some of the places high on our list to visit are Mammoth Cave, KY; Savannah, GA; New Orleans, LA; Santa Fe, NM; Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef National Parks, UT; Petrified Forest National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ; Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Redwoods National Parks, Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, CA; Olympic, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; Glacier National Park, MT; Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Parks, WY; Saint Louis Arch; MO. We also have family and friends who live in Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, California, and Washington that we hope to spend time with.