Now That’s a Road Trip
By Joe Jancsurak
There are road trips. And there are road trips.
A post-retirement adventure taken by Bill and Heidi Watson of Solon belongs in the latter grouping. Their 10-part trek began in the spring of 2021 and ended in the fall of 2024 after visiting the 48 contiguous states.
The seasoned travelers racked up 80,000 miles in their Lincoln Navigator SUV, pulling their “hotel,” a 22-ft. Jayco Jay Flight 212QB travel trailer to nearly 100 campsites. Untethered from their camper, they headed off in the SUV and traveled within each state, stockpiling a treasure trove of memories along the way.
Nothing Left to Chance
A look at one of the 10 spreadsheets created by Bill, a retired sales engineer, shows how well-planned each of the travel segments was. The spreadsheet for the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC, includes not only travel dates, but also campground names and addresses, and fun things to do at each location: beach excursions, historical attractions such as Mount Vernon and Monticello, state and national parks, grocery days (yes, that can be fun, they say), and time with family and friends.
He has confirmation numbers for every reservation, a lesson he learned at the very start of their marriage. “I once made the mistake of not making a reservation, and I’ll never do that again,” says Bill. “It was a July 4th weekend, and we were returning from our honeymoon in the Poconos and Jamaica. Upon our return and after arriving at the Philadelphia airport, we must’ve stopped at eight or 10 exits before we found a hotel. Never again.”
Heidi, a retired nurse manager at the Cleveland Clinic, managed meal planning and kitchen prep for the road trip. Together, the married couple of 47 years became proficient at set-up and tear-down tasks: positioning and securing the trailer; connecting and disconnecting utilities; opening and closing the awning; and setting up and taking down outdoor furniture, among other campsite chores.
“Our travels required a lot of teamwork and preparation (including a 200-item checklist), and with campground and gas costs, it wasn’t always a cheap way to travel,” says Heidi. “But we got to sleep in our own bed each night and enjoy the natural beauty of our country.”
Wildlife, Friendships & God Things
During the four-year adventure, the couple camped on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts; visited more than 40 national parks; enjoyed the beauty of dozens of lakes and waterfalls; explored mountain trails; saw buffalo, eagles and bears; and attended events such as the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There were also stops at more than 20 state capitols and about a dozen presidential libraries and museums. In every state, they sampled the local cuisine and rode their bikes, with Iowa being the exception for Heidi, who had an unexpected hospital stay due to a kidney-stone episode, and where she received exceptional care — just one of many examples of “God’s provision during our travels,” says Heidi.
Other examples of God things involved right-place-right-time vehicle-related (mechanical and tires) issues and the May 2021 fuel shortage due to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and subsequent shutdown. That gave the couple an unplanned, but pleasant, extended stay in Asheville, North Carolina, until the pipeline reopened.
Some of the Watsons’ favorite memories weren’t on Bill’s spreadsheets.
While traveling through Utah to Nevada on an isolated stretch of highway, they were joined by 40 or 50 horse camper trailers at a gas station stop. One of the teenage boys making the trip explained with a “You see, ma’am…” and a tip of his hat, explaining that he and his friends were on their way to compete in the Utah High School Rodeo Association’s State Finals.
In North Dakota, they came across the Enchanted Highway, where farm fields are adorned with larger-than-life, 70-plus-foot tall metal sculptures that include a grasshopper, a leaping fish and a cowboy on horseback.
And in Kansas City, Missouri, they discovered the Arabia Steamboat Museum, a unique time capsule of frontier life during the mid-1800s, when the Steamboat Arabia, traversing the Missouri River with 200 tons of cargo destined for homes and stores in 16 frontier towns, sank west of Kansas City, with no casualties. Over the years, the Missouri River changed course due to erosion, leaving the Arabia buried 45 feet in a cornfield. In 1988, five men and their families began the arduous excavation process, and in 1991, the rescued cargo became the Arabia Steamboat Museum.
Through each segment of their trip, the couple documented their stops in journals and photo books, with images showing Bill and Heidi holding their mascot: a vintage Ohio license plate used on Heidi’s parents’ camper trailer. “Bill and I have the same TT333 on our license plate,” she says.
Onward
What’s next for the Watsons? You guessed it, more traveling. Having just returned from a Columbia River cruise from Washington state to Portland, Oregon, the couple looks forward to an Alaskan cruise next year, a European cruise in 2027, and a yet-to-be-determined adventure in 2028 to celebrate 50 years of marriage.
As for the trailer, it’s going up for sale. Says Heidi, “We spent a total of 365 days towing and living in our camper, so it got plenty of use.”
Joe Jancsurak is a freelance writer who prefers hotels and Airbnbs over campgrounds.
