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Last Wednesday I embarked on the longest road trip I have ever attempted: four days, eight states, and 2,225 miles. I drove from Champaign, Illinois to Mountain View, California where I will spend the next three months working as a "research intern" for a company that makes software testing tools.

I debated for several days whether to fly or drive to California. I decided on the latter for several reasons. First, convenience. It will be nice to have my car for groceries and other errands. Second, I hope to visit the many state parks in the mountains around San Francisco and San Jose. Third, and most importantly, I truly enjoy long road trips and eagerly looked forward to seeing the western United States for the first time. I was as excited about the journey as the destination.

I planned to leave early Wednesday morning, but by 10 PM on Tuesday, having nothing packed, I realized I might miss my deadline. I finished packing by noon on Wednesday, ate one final lunch with my CS friends, ran a few errands, and finally left Champaign at 3:00. That's the other good thing about driving: flexibility. I do not think a plane would have waited several extra hours for me to show up.

Day One

And I was off! I followed I-72 from Champaign across Illinois. At exit 31 near the Missouri border I took the first of several impromptu detours that peppered my trip west. I saw a lone power-generation windmill on top of a hill. Since I had never seen one up close before, I went to investigate. I was unable to find a path to the windmill, but did find a picturesque gravel road lined with farms.

Not long after that, I crossed the Mississippi River into Hannibal, Missouri, the home of Mark Twain. This was the first time I crossed the Mississippi north of Louisiana. From there I continued on US-36, a state highway that acts just like an interstate across northern Missouri.

I stopped for the night in Cameron, Missouri, having traveled 346 miles.

Day Two

Before leaving Cameron to begin my second day, I stopped at a grocery store to buy food. I was reminded of the old Oregon Trail game in which one had to buy provisions in St. Louis before starting the trip west. Fortunately I did not have to buy a shotgun, oxen, or extra wagon axles, but I did get sandwich ingredients and some vegetables.

Once I got underway, I heard several news stories about flooding in northwestern and central Missouri. I soon saw evidence of the flooding in the fields surrounding the highway.

I picked up I-29 north outside of St. Joseph, Missouri. I crossed into Iowa, but only drove 10 miles into the state before turning west on highway 2 near Nebraska City. I then followed highway 2 west to Lincoln, Nebraska where it met with I-80.

I left I-80 at exit 382 and instead followed US-34 which parallels the interstate. It was along this stretch that I got my first real taste of the Great Plains.

I found a plane on the plains near York, Nebraska.

I rejoined I-80 near Grand Island, Nebraska and stopped for lunch at the mile 270 rest stop near Kearney, Nebraska. It had a peaceful lake with an interesting sculpture.

I stopped for gas at Ogallala, Nebraska where I saw two semis struggling to get their very long cargo through a traffic light. That cargo turned out to be vanes for power-generation windmills like the one I tried to find in Missouri. I had no idea they were so big.

Throughout my trip, I was amazed at the changes to the landscape and foliage that unfolded around the interstate. The trees thinned and it grew hillier as I traveled across Nebraska. By the time I reached the Wyoming border, there were few trees and cattle had replaced farms.

I stopped at sunset in Cheyenne, Wyoming having traveled 629 more miles for a total of 975 miles.

Day Three

On the morning of my third day, I took scenic highway 210 out of Cheyenne. It traveled up the hills to the west of the city and passed through Medicine Bow National Forest. It contained some incredible scenery.

I was amazed to find snow remaining in shadows and depressions.

After about 40 beautiful miles, 210 rejoined I-80 at its highest point.

The landscape transformed drastically around Laramie, Wyoming. Trees disappeared almost completely and it became much more mountainous.

I passed through the desolate Great Divide Basin after which the land dried and became steadily more rocky.

The descent into Utah became greener and passed through a beautiful gorge lined with red rock formations.

There was even some wildlife.

I-80 dropped quickly through the mountains around Salt Lake City. I was unable to get pictures of the approach, but the views made me understand why Brigham Young decided to settle there.

I fought Salt Lake City's traffic and continued into the desert west of the lake.

I soon came to Utah's famous salt flats.

I did not try to set any land speed records, but I did see several deep ruts made by people who tried to drive on the salt.

The highway rose once again after crossing into Nevada. Every time I crossed a rise, I could see the highway continuing for miles ahead of me. Every so often, I passed a small town splashed across the foot of a mountain.

I stopped for the night in Elko, Nevada having traveled 670 miles for a total of 1,645 miles.

Day Four

Day four saw the largest and quickest changes to the landscape: I went from mountains to desert to alpine forest to lush farmland to the Mediterranean climate of Silicon Valley.

I ate breakfast at a restaraunt in a casino along Elko's main street. It seems like all Nevada cities, no matter how small, had at least one casino.

I spent most of the drive winding around mountains and through valleys. I saw several more salt flats, but none compared to the austere beauty of Utah's. By the time I neared Reno, the landscape had turned into true desert, the only green surrounding human settlements.

I even saw some tumbleweed. When I stopped for gas, one stereotypically blew across the road in front of my car.

After passing into California, the mountains exploded with trees as I passed between the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests. I ate lunch at the Donner Lake rest stop near the famous Donner Pass. The rest stop sat in a beautiful pine forest next to a small mountain lake.

I found a path through the trees that led to a rocky peak alongside the highway. I could see for miles from the top.

I stopped again at the Emigrant Gap where California settlers would lower their wagons by rope to the bottom of the valley.

From there, I-80 fell several thousand feet to Sacramento. I passed through the city and several miles of orchards. When I neared San Francisco, I turned onto I-680 which flows through the hills around San Francisco Bay. I transferred to I-880 near San Jose, then navigated the suburbs of Silicon Valley to my home for the summer.

Again, I was unable to get pictures while driving, but this entire stretch was incredibly beautiful. I saw Navy ships on Grizzly Bay, multimillion-dollar homes perched on grassy hills overlooking San Francisco Bay, and the tree-lined boulevards of Mountain View. The vibrant and colorful plantlife of California could not have been more different from the shining deserts I had passed through mere hours before.

I had arrived.

Epilogue

Yesterday I moved in and got settled into my room. I even went grocery shopping for the first time. I am living in a large, beautiful house with three Google employees and a microbiology graduate student who is married to one of them. I start work on Wednesday. Until then, I plan to explore Mountain View. I hope to write about the town and post pictures in a future post.