A 3,000 mile conversational journey by foot

Previous Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV.

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I’ll be hugging The Loneliest Road in America in Nevada as I gradually make my way to Carson City, before hitting the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, inching my way across the mountains into Sacramento, and traveling around the North Bay (with a stop in Napa) for the home stretch. On the last day, I will cross the Golden Gate Bridge and plant my callused feet into the Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach, reaching the end of a 3,000 mile conversational journey!

Previous Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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The route becomes very desolate shortly after Delta, Utah. I’ll be spending five or six days walking across the Utah desert, before hitting The Border Inn at the Nevada-Utah border. Then we return to Wyoming-style walking, two days between towns and camping in between, before reaching the home stretch.

Previous Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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It was tricky to work out the route through Wyoming — in large part because of the mountains and the large swath of remote territory. In many ways, Wyoming will mark the beginning of roughing it for real. There will be two or three day journeys where I will be setting up camp in the wilderness. Fortunately, there are numerous towns along the way, where my conversations with Americans will continue. In addition to investigating Little America, Wyoming — a fascinating 80 acre oasis of luxury in the middle of the prairie — I will also be visiting Porterville, Utah, where Troll 2, widely considered the worst film ever made, was filmed. After I make my way across the mountains, I’ll reach the Great Salt Lake and start making a dip south in various Utah urban environments including Ogden and Orem. I’ll need all the urban adventures I can get. Because as we shall see with the seventh Google Map of the proposed route, there’s a marvelous desert that will be awaiting me.

Previous Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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After Nebraska, the terrain starts to get interesting. And by “interesting,” we are, of course, referring to the mountains. It took me several days to figure out the route through Wyoming and into Utah. Some friends have expressed concern about the terrain. But I have worked out a trajectory that will take me through the north edge of the Rockies. This is where most of my outdoors camping will begin. To account for the uphill climb, I’ve adjusted my Wyoming mileage down to 15 mile daily increments. And because this journey is more about having conversations with people in many regions of the States, I have designed the path to hit populated areas. But I do plan to chronicle much of the natural beauty that I will encounter along the way.

Previous Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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One of Iowa’s big draws is Adair, which has a smiley face water tower and is known as “the happiest town on Earth.” During the Midwest stage of the map planning, I became especially obsessed with making sure that I would hit a new town or city every night. Because by the time I get into Wyoming and Utah, it’s going to get desolate very fast. But I’m also very excited about visiting Des Moines and Omaha for the first time.

More Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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The third stage of the journey will push me slightly north, where I’ll be hugging the southern edge of Lake Michigan and heading into Chicago. From there, I’ll be hitting a number of small cities in Illinois that I had never heard about until I started planning this route. Then I’ll make my way into Iowa, where both Iowa City, Des Moines, and the heartland I have only known through headlines await the steady beat of my two feet.

More Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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Here’s the second stage of the proposed route. This will cover a little more than 400 miles. The pace will be somewhat slower in Ohio, due to the many wilderness areas and the mountainous region on the Buckeye State’s eastern side, which will greet me not long after I cross the Ohio River. But once I hit Columbus, the terrain will even out. And I’ll be moving northeast to South Bend, Indiana, which will put me close to Chicago.

More Maps: (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.

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Google Maps only gives you 25 waypoints to work with. But here’s how the proposed walking route looks like from its rough starting point in Brooklyn, New York all the way into Wintersville, Ohio. And this is only about 500 miles, or one sixth of the total journey.