The Route
The Ride
The Riders
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Lincoln Highway Centennial Caravan:
The Route
UPDATE 2-Jun-2013: Though the overall route remains much the same as visualized when this page was first posted in early 2011, there is certainly no surprise in the fact that many details have changed. The final overnights are at the end of this update but the Lincoln Highway Association website offers more detailed itineraries along with lots of other tour information here.
The original page speculates that there would be some sort of organized caravan returning or continuing to the coasts. That is indeed the case and I have signed on with the Kearney-San Francisco group. Part of that group will be following the Dugway-Ibapah alignment though I won't. I did, however, manage to drive that section on the way to the national conference in June of 2011.
Overnights for the eastern tour are:
June 22 Malvern, PA
June 23 Chambersburg, PA
June 24 Pittsburgh, PA
June 25 Mansfield, OH
June 26 South Bend, IN
June 27 Rochelle, IL
June 28 Ames, IA
June 29 Grand Island, NE
For the western tour:
June 23 Sacramento, CA
June 24 Fallon, NV
June 25 Ely NV
June 26 Tooele, UT
June 27 Rock Springs, WY
June 28 Cheyenne, WY
June 29 Lexington, NE
The route, at least the first half, is not under my control. Coordinators have been selected by the Lincoln Highway Association and they, in turn, have produced preliminary itineraries for the two groups. I know that's not the same as routes and the itineraries are rather general, just the overnight cities, but preliminary general itineraries are just fine for preliminary general planning.
The LHA is using the word "tour" rather than "caravan". I believe that is to avoid the idea of long strings of cars traveling bumper-to-bumper across the country. The eastern tour's planned departure is June 22. It will launch from Times Square in New York City. The western tour is to launch from Lincoln Park in San Francisco on June 23.
Planned overnights for the eastern tour are:
June 22 Malvern, PA
June 23 Gettysburg, PA
June 24 Greensburg, PA
June 25 Mansfield, OH
June 26 South Bend, IN
June 27 Dixon, IL
June 28 Ames, IA
June 29 Grand Island, NE
For the western tour:
June 23 Sacramento, CA
June 24 Fallon, NV
June 25 Ely NV
June 26 Tooele, UT
June 27 Rock Springs, WY
June 28 Cheyenne, WY
June 29 Lexington, NE
On Sunday June 30, both groups will connect in Kearney, NE, for the LHA Conference, a Centennial Celebration, and all sorts of other goings on including local 4th of July festivities. I'm guessing that, if there is a portion of the eastern group that continues west intact, it will retrace the western group's route in reverse and I will accompany them. If there is no organized Kearney to San Francisco tour, I'll probably try to follow the alignment through Truckee and the one through Stockton. I followed other alignments through these areas in 2009 and I'd like to see what I missed. I'd like to do the Dugway-Ibapah alignment but doing it in a fifty year old Valiant would be at least as foolish as doing it in a Corvette. I guess I won't do it this trip either.