June 17, the adventure begins. The road ahead is 4,248 miles of planned travel. The plans to see 99 sights making the American West beautiful takes 24 days from Phoenix until the return July 11. A family visit in Port Townsend, Washington, has a June 29 arrival date; another such visit is San Francisco on July 8. Hotel reservations lock in some dates, but there are vast stretches where no planned place to stay is on the route.

Multiple day stops are planned throughout the trip starting with Bryce Canyon National Park. Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Klamath Falls, Oregon; The and the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, Washington; will be overnighters. Camping is on the agenda in Great Basin National Park (Baker, Nevada), and the rain forest in Olympic National Park.

There are sights planned to see. Marble Canyon and Lee’s Ferry, Arizona, in the transition between the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park is one such visit. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park between Kanab and Panguitch, Utah, is another stop early in the trip. Later on, Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lava Bed National Monument will be on a day’s travel. On the return trip down the Pacific Coast, Florence, Oregon; Redwoods National Park, Arcata, and Mendocino, California are places to rest for the night.

The gear is ready to load, the cameras are juiced for video and still images, the writing supplies are charged, pens freshened with ink, iPad and iPhone ready for the workload.

The last two days before the adventure begins is filled with completing the research to compile to gather what to do, what to see and where to stay on a journey longer than San Diego, California, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

In two days, the journey begins.

Daily updates and photos will be posted on the author’s social media accounts at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest—Eric Jay Toll on each.