Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah (Part 29)

This entry is part 29 of 30 in the series Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah

April 29, 2024

Coast-to-coast: San Francisco to Savannah (Part 29)

By Simon J. Lau

Today, we left Kingman. Founded in the late 19th century during the railroad and mining boom, the town’s early history is closely tied to the development of transportation and mining in the region. Its historic downtown still showcases architecture from that era, offering a glimpse into its past.

I was surprised by how much there was to do in Kingman. It’s one of the larger towns along Route 66, yet still relatively little-known. The town was also impressively well-kept. For example, Main Street was being completely repaved, and several hip breweries recently opened, including the one we visited yesterday. I still don’t quite understand why it’s not more popular, but I like it.

Knowing I’d be back in California today, where gas prices are sky-high and have actually gone up since I left if you can believe it, I decided to smuggle in some out-of-state gas. 😅 I filled a 5-gallon jerry can at $3 a gallon. At the station I stopped at in California, gas was $5.09 a gallon to top off my tank. Even so, I saved $10. Take that, California!

As a final salute to my trip, I wanted to share one of the historic cross-country journeys that inspired me.

In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson completed the first transcontinental automobile trip across America. With his mechanic, Sewall K. Crocker, and a pit bull named Bud, he drove a used Winton touring car called the Vermont from San Francisco to New York City. The 63-day journey was grueling—rough terrain, frequent breakdowns, and almost no real roads—but strangers along the way offered help and guidance.

On July 26, 1903, they arrived in New York, and their achievement captured the nation’s imagination, marking a milestone in the story of American automobile travel.

Photo courtesy of Ken Burns’ PBS documentary, Horatio’s Drive.

I was so inspired by the story of Horatio Nelson Jackson that when we bought our Mazda in 2016, we named it Horatio in his honor. I never imagined at the time that it would foreshadow my own cross-country road trip, but it did.

I especially loved that Jackson brought along Bud, a pit bull. Bud wasn’t part of the plan at first. Jackson had only started searching for a dog in Sacramento, and in Idaho someone offered Bud to him as a mascot. Jackson paid $15, and just like that the team became a trio.

Bud quickly captured the public’s imagination. Newspapers spun tall tales about how Jackson had acquired him, including one claiming he’d been rescued from a dog fight. Jackson himself said that “Bud soon became an enthusiast for motoring,” even learning to watch the road for bumps and turns. After the journey, Bud lived out a full life with Jackson and his family in Vermont. More importantly, he became a wonderful ambassador for his breed.

Photo courtesy of Ken Burns’ PBS documentary, Horatio’s Drive.

Like Jackson, I also traveled cross-country with my pit bull, Bruno. Although Bud and Jackson set out more than a century before us, we managed to top them in one way: we went coast-to-coast and back. I’d call that a feather in our cap.

Years ago, while traveling abroad, I met a man from Wales who said he found Americans unusual. To him, we seemed to value trips overseas more than travel at home. “You have a big backyard, you should explore it!” he told me. That line has always stuck with me.

Since then, I’ve made a point of exploring my backyard, from road trips along the West Coast to adventures in the Southwest. But this journey has taken me further, opening my eyes to parts of the South and Midwest I had never seen before. It has been remarkable, and a reminder that some of the best discoveries are waiting right here at home.

Finally, our route. Unlike earlier posts, this one includes a map of all our overnight stops from the entire journey, with day trips, side trips, and detours left out. Altogether, including those extras, we traveled nearly 7,500 miles, or more than 12,000 kilometers. An adventure for the record books!