Travels with Lucille

Many motorhome owners dream of a cross country trip visiting beautiful and interesting places. Like those adventurers, we have planned our Epic Ultimate Road Trip. After several years of anticipation, we were prepared to head out in mid-April, 2020, and then the pandemic hit. This is our itinerary of our Epic Ultimate Road Trip which we still hope to take.

Our Epic Road Trip's route begins from our cottage on Sanibel Island in Florida where we spend the winter months to escape the cold of New England. The trip begins mid-April and heads across the Southwest to San Diego visiting 8 national parks enroute. Then it heads up California's Sierra Nevada foothills to Lake Tahoe via Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. After a layover in Lake Tahoe, we will travel east, visiting Yellowstone, Great Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks, eventually reaching home on Cape Cod. Over the course of two months and 8,000 miles, we will have visted 24 states, 14 National Parks and family and friends in Destin, Johnson City, San Diego, and South Lake Tahoe. The schedule is optimized for the shortest driving distances, the best weather and hopefully the most fun!

Tentative Itinerary

Map	Stop	State	Distance	Arrive	Depart	Avg. Temp.

*First Half - Sanibel Island to San Diego*
A	Sanibel Island	Florida			14-Apr
B	Destin	Florida	580	15-Apr	17-Apr	74
C	Johnson City	Texas	780	18-Apr	21-Apr	79
D	Mesa Verde National Park	Colorado	919	22-Apr	25-Apr	52
E	Arches National Park	Utah	162	25-Apr	28-Apr	71
E	Canyonlands National Park	Utah	39	28-Apr	1-May	82
F	Capitol Reef National Park	Utah	145	1-May	4-May	68
G	Bryce Canyon National Park	Utah	127	4-May	7-May	64
H	Zion National Park	Utah	72	7-May	10-May	83
I	Grand Canyon National Park	Arizona	242	10-May	13-May	70
J	Joshua Tree National Park	California	372	13-May	16-May	89
K	San Diego	California	182	16-May	20-May	74
	Sub Total		3,630		36 Days

*Second Half - San Diego to Cape Cod*
L	Kings Canyon National Park	California	363	20-May	21-May	58
L	Sequoia National Park	California	15	21-May	23-May	58
M	South Lake Tahoe	California	334	23-May	27-May	62
N	Yellowstone National Park	Wyoming	825	28-May	2-Jun	70
O	Grand Teton National Park	Wyoming	52	2-Jun	4-Jun	71
P	Great Smokey Mountains NP	Tennessee	1779	7-Jun	10-Jun	86
Q	Shenandoah National Park	Virginia	377	10-Jun	12-Jun	83
R	Cape Cod	Massachusetts	718	13-Jun		81
	Sub Total		4,462		25 Days

	Grand Total		8,082		61 Days	*72°*

The Route

Average Temperatures

Location	April	May	June
Arches National Park, Utah	71	82	93
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah	54	64	75
Canyonlands National Park, Utah	71	82	93
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah	60	68	84
Destin, Florida	74	82	87
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona	60	70	81
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming	49	61	71
Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee	71	79	86
Johnson City, Texas	79	85	91
Joshua Tree National Park	80	89	98
Kings Canyon National Park, California	51	58	68
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado	52	71	83
San Diego, California	73	74	79
Sequoia National Park, California	51	58	68
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia	67	75	83
South Lake Tahoe, California	47	57	66
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	49	60	70
Zion National Park, Utah	73	83	93

Key
Too Cold: less than 65°
Ideal: 65° to 89°
Too Hot: above 90°

Source: U.S. Climate Data, http://www.usclimatedata.com