48 states. 50 landmarks. One perfect trip. Could you do it?

Randy Olson is, according to his website, a “… postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Jason H. Moore at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Biomedical Informatics developing state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to solve biomedical problems.”

He also does things that are fun for the rest of us.

About a year ago he collaborated with Discovery News to create an amazing road trip across the U.S. The rules were simple:

“The trip must make at least one stop in all 48 states in the contiguous U.S.

“The trip would only make stops at National Natural Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Parks, or National Monuments.

“The trip must be taken by car and never leave the U.S.”

According to Olson, “Assuming no traffic, this road trip will take about 224 hours (9.33 days) of driving in total, so it’s truly an epic undertaking that will take at least 2-3 months to complete. “

[gtbutton link=”http://rhiever.github.io/optimal-roadtrip-usa/major-landmarks.html”]See The Optimal Road Trip Map[/gtbutton]

So, here are our questions to you:

Think you could make this trip in your truck?

How many of these national treasures have you seen while driving?

Ever delivery to any of these places?

Here’s the full list of landmarks in order:

1. Grand Canyon, Arizona
2. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
3. Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
4. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
5. Pikes Peak, Colorado
6. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
7. The Alamo, Texas
8. The Platt Historic District, Oklahoma
9. Toltec Mounds, Arkansas
10. Elvis Presley’s Graceland, Tennessee
11. Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi
12. French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
13. USS Alabama, Alabama
14. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
15. Okefenokee Swamp Park, Georgia
16. Fort Sumter National Monument, South Carolina
17. Lost World Caverns, West Virginia
18. Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, North Carolina
19. Mount Vernon, Virginia
20. White House, Washington, DC
21. Colonial Annapolis Historic District, Maryland
22. New Castle Historic District, Delaware
23. Cape May Historic District, New Jersey
24. Liberty Bell, Pennsylvania
25. Statue of Liberty, New York
26. The Mark Twain House & Museum, Connecticut
27. The Breakers, Rhode Island
28. USS Constitution, Massachusetts
29. Acadia National Park, Maine
30. Mount Washington Hotel, New Hampshire
31. Shelburne Farms, Vermont
32. Fox Theater, Detroit, Michigan
33. Spring Grove Cemetery, Ohio
34. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
35. West Baden Springs Hotel, Indiana
36. Abraham Lincoln’s Home, Illinois
37. Gateway Arch, Missouri
38. W. Parker Carousel Museum, Kansas
39. Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, Iowa
40. Taliesin, Wisconsin
41. Fort Snelling, Minnesota
42. Ashfall Fossil Bed, Nebraska
43. Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
44. Fort Union Trading Post, North Dakota
45. Glacier National Park, Montana
46. Hanford Site, Washington
47. Columbia River Highway, Oregon
48. San Francisco Cable Cars, California
49. San Andreas Fault, California
50. Hoover Dam, Nevada