2024 travel days

I thought it’d be interesting and useful to include a summary of travel days in 2024. Here are links to blog posts, and a sample picture of the view of each, so you can see how the landscape changed as we travelled in our coach. Previous years posts are 2023, 2022, and 2021.

You can see all of the travel-related blog posts via the travel category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Travel from Carrabelle to Clermont, Florida:

Thousand Trails Orlando

Travel from Clermont to Homestead, Florida:

Florida's Turnpark

Travel from Homestead to Sugarloaf Key, Florida:

Overseas Highway

Travel from Sugarloaf Key to Ohio Key, Florida:

Old decaying bridge

Travel from Ohio Key to Fort Lauderdale, Florida:

Overseas highway

Travel from Fort Lauderdale to Disney World, Florida:

Walt Disney World

Travel from Disney World to Clermont, Florida:

Plane

Travel from Clermont, Florida to Adel, Georgia:

Thank you for visiting Florida

Travel from Adel to Pine Mountain, Georgia:

Interesting building in Reynolds, Georgia

Travel from Pine Mountain, Georgia to Red Bay, Alabama:

LaGrange College

Travel from Red Bay, Alabama to Scott, Arkansas:

Welcome to Arkansas

Travel from Scott, Arkansas to Texarkana, Texas:

Our coach on traffic cam

Travel from Texarkana to Paris, Texas:

US Highway 82

Travel from Paris, Texas to Scott, Arkansas:

Texarkana water tower

Travel from Scott, Arkansas to Red Bay, Alabama:

Bass Pro Shops pyramid

Travel from Red Bay, Alabama to Rutledge, Georgia:

Welcome to Georgia

Travel from Rutledge, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina:

Eisenhower Interstate System

Travel from Columbia to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:

I-20 East

Travel from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Chocowinity, North Carolina:

Neuse River

Travel from Chocowinity, North Carolina to Cape Charles, Virginia:

Bridge-Tunnel

Travel from Cape Charles, Virginia to Georgetown, Delaware:

Welcome to Delaware

Travel from Georgetown, Delaware to Manassas, Virginia:

Bridge over Chesapeake Bay

Travel from Manassas, Virginia to Hanover, Pennsylvania:

Barn

Travel from Hanover, Pennsylvania to College Park, Maryland:

Maryland Welcomes You

Travel from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia:

Welcome to West Virginia

Travel from Beaver, West Virginia to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee:

Tennessee Welcomes You

Travel from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to Park City, Kentucky:

Welcome to Kentucky

Travel from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana:

Rusty twin bridges over Ohio River

Travel from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri:

Gateway Arch

Travel from Sullivan, Missouri to Rochester, Illinois:

Flooded freeway

Travel from Rochester, Illinois to Cascade, Iowa:

Iowa 80 truck stop

Travel from Cascade, Iowa to Oakdale, Wisconsin:

Wisconsin Welcomes You

Travel from Oakdale, Wisconsin to Maple Grove, Minnesota:

Minnesota Welcomes You

Travel from Maple Grove, Minnesota to Mitchell, South Dakota:

Welcome to South Dakota

Travel from Mitchell to Custer, South Dakota:

Sculpture

Travel from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana:

Welcome to Montana

Travel from Hardin to Missoula, Montana:

Fun with zoom

Travel from Missoula, Montana to Quincy, Washington:

Welcome to Idaho; Entering Pacific Time Zone

Travel from Quincy to Shelton, Washington:

Columbia River

Travel from Shelton, Washington to Welches, Oregon:

Glimpse of Mount Hood

Travel from Welches, Oregon to Ashland, Oregon:

I-5 South

Travel from Ashland, Oregon to Red Bluff, California:

Mount Shasta view

Travel from Red Bluff to Manteca, California:

Rest area

Travel from Manteca to Groveland, California:

Curvy highway

Travel from Groveland to Dunlap, California:

Narrow road

Travel from Dunlap to Acton, California:

Pipes and vines

Travel from Acton to Orange, California:

Paladin on the dash

Travel from Orange to Palm Desert, California:

Marine layer

Travel from Palm Desert to Winterhaven, California:

Sand dunes and canal

Travel from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona:

Welcome to Arizona

Travel from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico:

Welcome to New Mexico

Travel from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Marathon, Texas:

Welcome to Texas

Travel from Marathon to San Antonio, Texas:

Another bridge

Travel from San Antonio to Galveston, Texas:

Houston

Travel from Galveston, Texas to Springfield, Louisiana:

Overturned big rig

Travel from Springfield, Louisiana to Lena, Mississippi:

Flooded road

Travel from Lena, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama:

Natchez Trace Parkway

Travel from Red Bay to Ozark, Alabama:

US-231 South

Travel from Ozark, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida:

Lake Morality Road

That’s a lot of travel!

2024 travel route

Let’s look back at our coach travel in 2024. You may also want to check out the 2023 travel summary, the 2022 travel summary, and the 2021 travel summary.

We bought our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP diesel pusher motorhome on September 2, 2021, and other than a few times when we’ve been out of it during servicing appointments or flying vacations, we’ve lived in it full-time since then.

When we bought the coach, it only had 5,161 miles on the odometer. In 2021 we drove it about 2,300 miles. In 2022 we drove another 8,772 miles. In 2023 we added 9,945 miles. In 2024 we added 12,248, so have driven it 33,265 miles on our adventures so far, for a grand total of 38,426 on the odometer. (The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 24,901 miles, so we’ve effectively driven it 1.3 times around the world!)

One of our goals is to visit every state in the US. In 2024 we stayed in 15 new states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. These join North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida in 2023, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas in 2022, and Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, California, and Arizona in 2021, for a total of 38. Just 12 left! (We only count states visited since purchasing our coach.)

We also revisited several states last year, as we headed back to our Pacific Northwest domicile. So all the states we visited in 2024 — in order — were Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi; a total of 29 in the year.

Here’s a map of our coach travels and stays in 2024, via the excellent RV Life Trip Wizard website, using a variation of their maps that more clearly shows the state borders and color-coded time zones. We started the year in the panhandle of Florida, then the route headed south to the Florida Keys, then north and west to Paris, Texas for the total solar eclipse, then to the east coast and up to Delaware, then all the way across to the west coast, south, then back east, ending the year exactly where we started, in the panhandle of Florida:

Timezones 2024 map

Another variation of the map, with more detail:

Route map 2024

Here’s the route map with the travel in 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 also displayed in different colors; our 2024 travel in orange, our 2023 travel in purple, our 2022 travel in blue, our 2021 coach travel in green, and our 2021 Yellowstone rental trailer trip in brown:

Route map 2021 to 2024

The same map as an animated GIF, adding each year:

2021 to 2024 maps

Here’s a fun variation, showing the 2024 route without the background map; you can clearly see the shape of the country (other than the northeast, that we didn’t get to):

Route map without background

We actually revised our route a few times from what we planned for 2024; here’s an animated GIF that compares what we had originally planned (as shown in last year’s 2024 travel plans post), and what we ended up doing (as above):

2024 maps

Another interesting animated GIF, showing the elevations along our route; see the elevation and gradient at the bottom, and a moving dot along the map route showing where those elevations occurred. You can really see where the mountain ranges are:

Map with elevations

Fascinating!

Travel from Marathon to San Antonio, Texas

We drove our coach 332 miles, about five hours of driving, from Marathon, Texas to San Antonio, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Map

An interactive map:

Sunrise on travel day:

Sunrise on travel day

Goodbye Marathon Motel:

Goodbye Marathon Motel

Heading east on US-90; it’s nice to travel on highways, more restful than freeways (as we did on the following day):

US-90

Javelinas crossing the road:

Javelinas crossing the road

Javelinas crossing the road

Nice canyon:

Nice canyon

A pleasant picnic area:

Rest area

Info sign and lookout:

Info sign and lookout

Our coach:

Our coach

Bridge:

Bridge

Pecos River:

Pecos River

Another bridge:

Another bridge

Low water level:

Low water level

Immigration inspection station:

Immigration inspection station

Our first sight of an H-E-B for many months (our favorite supermarket in Texas):

Our first sight of an H-E-B for many months

Rest area:

Rest area

Downtown San Antonio:

Downtown San Antonio

Arriving at our KOA destination for a one night stay:

Arriving at KOA

KOA

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Travel from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Marathon, Texas

We drove our coach 301 miles, about five hours of driving, from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Marathon, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading southeast:

Route

An interactive map:

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Recycled Roadrunner artwork at a rest stop:

Recycled Roadrunner artwork

Rio Grande with a little water due to rain (it was dry when we drove past earlier in the week):

Rio Grande with a little water

Nice mountains beyond Las Cruces:

Nice mountains beyond Las Cruces

Leaving New Mexico:

Leaving New Mexico

Welcome to Texas:

Welcome to Texas

Looking over the border into Mexico:

Looking into Mexico

Playing El Paso while leaving El Paso:

Playing El Paso while leaving El Paso

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Rainy drive:

Rainy drive

Immigration checkpoint:

Immigration checkpoint

Entering Central Time Zone:

Entering Central Time Zone

A long building on a trailer at stop opportunity:

A long building on a trailer at stop opportunity

Rainbow:

Rainbow

Sun rays:

Sun rays

A blimp (I think used for watching the border with Mexico), grounded probably due to the lightning storms in the area:

Blimp

Picnic area stop:

Picnic area stop

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park:

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park

Our site:

Our site

Travel from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico

We drove our coach 258 miles, about four hours of driving, from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Map route

An interactive map:

An example of why we don’t use picnic tables at campsites, at least without a tablecloth (but usually not even then): our neighbor was working on his sewer pipe connectors on the table:

Sewer pipes on picnic table

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Mountains:

Mountains

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Interesting rocks

The Thing? travel center (post about the attraction later this week):

The Thing?

We had DQ there for lunch:

DQ for lunch

The Thing? and other swag:

The Thing? swag

More interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sprawled on the dash as we got underway again:

Paladin on dash

Paladin on dash

Welcome to New Mexico:

Welcome to New Mexico

“Zero visibility possible”… yes, anything’s possible:

Zero visibility possible

“Gusty winds may exist”… indeed:

Gusty winds may exist

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Instructions on what to do if caught in a dust storm (not very readable in this pic, but basically pull onto shoulder, turn off engine, foot off brake, lights off… presumably to save battery power):

Fun with zoom

Welcome to Las Cruces:

Welcome to Las Cruces

We really enjoy the mountains behind Las Cruces:

Interesting rocks

Our destination, the Las Cruces KOA Journey:

KOA

All decked out for the holidays (in early November):

KOA

Travel from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona

We drove our coach 260 miles, about four hours of driving, from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route map

An interactive map:

Exiting the RV park:

Exiting RV park

I-8 East entrance:

I-8 East entrance

Arizona State Line over the Colorado River:

Arizona State Line

Welcome to Arizona:

Welcome to Arizona

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Closed US Border Patrol Checkpoint:

Closed US Border Patrol Checkpoint

6% downgrade:

6% downgrade

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sat in his dash bed for quite a while while we drove on the freeway:

Paladin in his dash bed on the freeway

Then Paladin snuggled with me for a while:

Paladin snuggling with David

Saguaro cacti:

Saguaro cacti

Parking area:

Parking area

Cotton field:

Cotton field

I-8 joined I-10:

I-8 joined i-10

Very large dump truck part:

Very large dump truck part

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Interesting rocks

Sun rays:

Sun rays

Arrival:

Arrival

Check in area (the gate guy said someone would come to us with the paperwork, but after waiting for 10 minutes someone told us that he was wrong, we needed to go into the hotel reception to check in):

Check in area

Double rainbow:

Double rainbow

Rainbow from our site:

Rainbow from our site