3,141.5 miles (part 1)

I just finished a marathon trip to Corona, CA, to help my brother pack up his stuff and move to Texas. The direct route is I-5 and back, but the timing allowed me to make a little side trip.

Intrigued by the geographic nuances (see trivia below), I went from Seattle to Great Basin National Park, NV. Once there, I had to add brief tours of Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in Utah. From that point, it was a straight shot down I-15 into the brown pancake of the greater Los Angeles metroplex. On the way back, I thought I’d be clever and try to get a quick stop in Sequoia and Yosemite national parks, but snow closed the road linking the two.

Later this week, I’ll post the best photos of the trip. Until then, here is the Harper’s index:

Miles driven	3,141.5
… with snow chains	23.4
Average fuel economy	30.1 mpg
Longest stretch without any signs of civilization	130.1 miles: Wells, NV to McGill, NV
Miles totally lost	18.3, after stopping for dinner in Stockton, CA.
States covered	7: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California
Number of unabridged audio books listened to	9
Three franchises most frequently appearing on Interstate “Food” signs	McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King
Not seen:	Stuckey’s, Whitecastle.

Interesting trivia:

Los Angeles is east of Reno, NV. Corona is east of LA.

Professor Hans-Henrik Stolum, an earth scientist at Cambridge University has calculated the ratio between the actual length of rivers from source to mouth and their direct length [… is close to pi]. (Source: Fermat’s Enigma, by Simon Singh)

This route was 1,000 * pi miles.

Highway 99 was dedicated in 1926 and flows along the west coast. It’s been largely superseded by I-5.

A “My” Safeway Card can score a $.05/gallon discount on gas at Safeways, and Rob gets the special promotional offers. Such a deal!