Perfect Time to Plan a Summer Road Trip

Summer road trips are an American tradition that cannot be beat! On May 3rd, 1903, a former bicycle racer, his dog, and a retired doctor looking to collect on a $50 bet embarked on the first cross-country road trip. Previous automobile trips had ended in failure as roads were still extremely primitive. There were no road signs or gas stations, auto repair shops, or phone booths; you were basically on your own. Leaving San Francisco, it took 63 days to get to New York City. The Cannonball Run record is currently 25 hours and 39 minutes. Dwight D. Eisenhower signed The Federal Highway Act of 1956 which authorized $25 billion for construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways. It was by far the largest public works project in American history. We now have nearly 49,000 miles of interstates. Hop on the longest interstate highway in the United States in downtown Seattle and in 3,020 miles you will reach the end of I-90 in Boston MA. The United States of America has 63 National Parks that are operated by the National Park Service. President Ulysses S. Grant signed an act of Congress creating Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1872. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the world! We now have more than 52 million acres protected for future generations. We have 26 National Parks within a two-day drive. One of my all-time favorite road trips was to Yellowstone National Park coming in from Cody and leaving thru Grand Teton National Park to Jackson. I hope you are inspired to get out on the open road and celebrate our country’s lasting love affair with the automobile this summer.