I know ya'll are probably tired of this stuff, but this is the last one, I promise.

After factoring in the chosen bike's fuel effeciency, projected gas prices throughout the country, and the folks who have opened themselves to being stalked by a crazed soldier, this is the final base-route I have come up with.

I know it excludes alot of places that were noted before, and there are good reasons for that;
1) In order to fit the trip into my budget, I had to remove most of the zig-zaggy portions of the trip to reduce fuel cost and time.
2) I needed to reduce the time and milage of the trip in order to ensure that the bike does not run the risk of a breakdown in the middle of it.
3) Future tours...

That's right, I said FUTURE tours. Now that an efficient means of travel is procured, I can safely plan out not only this trip, but some to follow. That being said, I will note that this will be the single LARGEST trip I will undertake. This is because this summer is the only time I'm likely to have the funds and the saved vacation time to pull it off. Once I'm out of the Military and dealing with a normal "9 to 5", vacation time is likely to be much less.

So, with that in mind, I've taken to planning out a trip for July 2012. It's half the distance and time spent on the road, but it is conveniently planned to pass through all those landlocked middle states that I will be missing this trip. Specifically, I made a promise to that lovable lynx, Zack, that I would pass through Salt Lake's region to visit. Sadly though, I cannot deviate so far from the main route this year.

Now, to say this is the final draft does not mean that I can't visit some extra people on this trip itself. This only means that I will be limited to stopping in places that are relatively close to the main route. So, if you're just an hour out of the way, then no problem, we can work that. If you're in Nebraska... well, I'll probably see ya next year. {=3