Oregon to Tennessee Trip Summary:
From the ocean of the Pacific Northwest in Oregon, we made it back to our farm in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. Our adventure took us right at 3,700 miles and through 13 states.
The mission was to drive my sister’s car from Portland, Oregon across the country. My sister, her husband, and their new son are moving (escaping?) to East Tennessee.
We crossed rivers, mountain ranges, deserts, forests, plains, and the Continental Divide.
We passed through the native lands of the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains, as well as the lands they were forced to live after being displaced. This included the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Iowa, Kaw, Lakota Sioux, Teton Sioux, Missouri, and Omaha.
We visited the first national park (Yellowstone) and the first national monument (Devil’s Tower) as well as over a dozen more other parks and protected areas of ecological and historical importance.
Following are the lists we managed and tallied:
U.S. States for this trip:
1. Oregon
2. Washington
3. Idaho
4. Wyoming
5. Montana
6. South Dakota
7. Iowa
8. Nebraska
9. Kansas
10. Missouri
11. Illinois
12. Indiana
13. Kentucky
14. Tennessee
Total lifetime U.S. states visited:
John 47/50
Sidge 43/50
Abigail 42/50
Major Parks/Scenic Places:
1. Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach (Pacific Ocean)
2. Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
3. Umatilla National Forest
4. Grand Teton National Park
5. Yellowstone National Park
6. Caribou-Targhee National Forest
7. Gallatin National Forest
8. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
9. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
10. Custer State Park
11. Wind Cave National Park
12. Badlands National Park
13. Black Hills National Forest
14. Buffalo Gap National Grasslands
15. Hoosier National Forest
16. Daniel Boone National Forest
Total lifetime National Parks visited (there are 63 total in the U.S.):
John 24/62
Sidge 19/62
Abigail 18/62
License plates seen on this trip:
44/50
Major Bodies of Water visited/crossed on this trip:
1. Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
2. Nehalem River (Oregon)
3. Willamette River (Oregon)
4. Columbia River (Oregon/Washington)
5. Hood River (Oregon)
6. Deschutes River (Oregon)
7. Grande Ronde River (Oregon)
8. Snake River (Oregon/Idaho)
9. Boise River (Idaho)
10. Teton River (Idaho)
11. Blackfoot River (Montana)
12. Yellowstone River (Montana)
13. Little Bighorn River (Montana)
14. Crazy Woman Creek River (Wyoming) - Abigail’s favorite!
15. Powder River (Wyoming)
16. Belle Fourche River (Wyoming)
17. Missouri River (South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri)
18. Sioux River (South Dakota)
19. Mississippi River (Missouri, Illinois)
20. Ohio River (Illinois, Kentucky)
21. Kentucky River (Kentucky)
22. Cumberland River (Tennessee)
Notable Mammals seen on this trip:
1. Yellow-Bellied Marmot
2. Mule Deer
3. Elk (Wapati)
4. Moose
5. Bison (Tatanka)
6. Bighorn Sheep
7. Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
8. Wild Donkey (Burro)
9. White-Tailed Deer
Total bird species for this trip: 95
Birding Highlights:
Sidge’s 350th species: Black Oystercatcher
Abigail 350th species: Vesper Sparrow
John 500th species: Golden-Crowned Sparrow
New Birds Species for this trip: 17
1. Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
2. California Scrub-Jay
3. Anna’s Hummingbird
4. Golden-Crowned Sparrow
5. Pacific Wren
6. Varied Thrush
7. American Dipper
8. Black Oystercatcher
9. Pelagic Cormorant
10. Western Gull
11. Harlequin Duck
12. Surf Scoter
13. Tufted Puffin
14. Vesper Sparrow
15. Townsend’s Solitaire
16. California Quail
17. Greater Sage-Grouse
18. Mountain Bluebird (new one for Sidge)
List of the different bird species seen on this trip (* = new species for us):
1. Spotted Towhee
2. Canada Goose
3. Song Sparrow
4. Fox Sparrow
5. American Robin
6. Bewick’s Wren
7. Brown Creeper
8. White-Breasted Nuthatch
9. Red-Breasted Nuthatch
10. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
11. Bushtit
12. Chestnut-Backed Chickadee*
13. Black-Capped Chickadee
14. American Crow
15. California Scrub-Jay*
16. Stellar’s Jay
17. Northern Flicker (Red Shafted)
18. Downy Woodpecker
19. Red-Tailed Hawk
20. Anna’s Hummingbird*
21. Mallard
22. Wood Duck
23. Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Audubon)
24. Dark-Eyed Junco
25. Lesser Goldfinch
26. American Kestrel
27. Mourning Dove
28. Golden-Crowned Sparrow*
29. Red Crossbill
30. Pacific Wren*
31. Varied Thrush*
32. American Dipper*
33. European Starling
34. Violet-Green Swallow
35. Common Raven
36. Canada Jay
37. White-Crowned Sparrow
38. Pacific Wren*
39. Varied Thrush*
40. American Dipper*
41. Black Oystercatcher*
42. Pelagic Cormorant*
43. Western Gull*
44. Harlequin Duck*
45. Surf Scoter*
46. Common Murre
47. Tufted Puffin*
48. House Sparrow
49. Eurasian Collared-Dove
50. Bald Eagle
51. Common Goldeneye
52. Bufflehead
53. Great Blue Heron
54. Osprey
55. Turkey Vulture
56. Common Merganser
57. Red-Breasted Merganser
58. California Gull
59. Ring-Billed Gull
60. Killdeer
61. Ring-Necked Duck
62. American Goldfinch
63. Red-Winged Blackbird
64. Western Meadowlark
65. Vesper Sparrow*
66. Townsend’s Solitaire*
67. Cliff Swallow
68. Black-Billed Magpie
69. Northern Harrier
70. Sandhill Crane
71. American Coot
72. Rock Pigeon
73. American Wigeon
74. California Quail
75. Brewer’s Blackbird
76. House Finch
77. Barn Swallow
78. Black-Crowned Night Heron
79. Great Egret
80. American White Pelican
81. Northern Shoveler
82. Cinnamon Teal
83. California Quail*
84. Greater Sage-Grouse*
85. Trumpeter Swan*
86. Ring-Necked Pheasant*
87. Peregrine Falcon
88. Mountain Bluebird (new for Sidge)
89. Gadwall
90. Golden Eagle
91. Sharp-Tailed Grouse*
92. Wild Turkey
93. Snow Goose
94. Eastern Towhee
95. Northern Mockingbird
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