THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 31, Number 33 Thursday, August 27, 2015 The Ultimate American Road Trip Local Man Visits 48 States in 29 Days by Kayla Weiss hen he was 14, Michigan City native Nick Barbknecht moved in with foster parents he describes as the most gen- Werous one could hope to meet. Over the years, he’s also worked pretty much non-stop. That’s why an experience called “The Ultimate American Road Trip” seemed like the perfect op- portunity to give himself a break and see the coun- try, all the while promoting awareness about the world’s orphans. The idea for “The Ultimate American Road Trip” was inspired by doctoral student Randal Olson, who charted the fastest route through the conti- nental United States. Tracy Staedter of Discovery News suggested to Olson that each state stop be a national natural landmark, national historic site, national park or national monument, making it the fastest site-seeing route through 48 states, and over the course of 14,000 miles. Barbknecht, 24, who attends Michigan City Christian Church, formerly worked with the Indiana Department of Transportation and now is a client-service manager with RQAW Corp, a consulting and en- gineering fi rm in Portage, but based out of Indianapolis. To participate in “The Ultimate American Road Trip,” he took one month off from work. Before embarking on his journey, he planned everything in immense detail, even al- lowing himself a spare day as a buf- fer in case he ended up running late somewhere along the way. Not only did he plan out each of his day’s des- tinations, but he also had friends who planned fl ights around him so they could partake in different parts of his journey. He also created a GoFundMe account. Any funds do- Nick Barbknecht at the Wright Brothers Memorial. nated to it, beyond the costs of gaso- Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 August 27, 2015 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. able to learn more about the country’s 16th presi- Road Trip Continued from Page 1 dent than he had known before. line, care rental and camping, supported Hippo Barbknecht made it to the Gateway Arch in St. Valley Christian Mission’s Children’s Homes and its Louis that night, staying there for the evening and 60 orphans in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. thus sticking to his detailed itinerary. Starting June 26, the fi rst stop Barbknecht made Every day from there on out, Barbknecht aver- was at the Indiana site on his itinerary: The His- aged two or three national landmark stops a day, toric West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick. In except in cases where he knew he would want to that day alone, he visited two other sites on his itin- spend more time. erary: Lincoln’s home and presidential library in One such example was Day 6 when he made it to Springfi eld, Ill., and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Glacier National Park, which is located in Montana “My fi rst stop was a local site I’ve never actually on the Canada-U.S. border. There, he spent the en- been to, so I didn’t go out of my way to spend too tire day and night. much time with most of the attractions that weren’t “My stop at Glacier National Park showed me the open in the morning, knowing that I could come back most beautiful part of nature that stretched straight to this one easier than my other stops,” Barbknecht into the sky,” Barbknecht said. “No amount of words said. “I arrived and spent a while looking through could do it justice.” all of the restoration pictures of the 8th Wonder of From there, he continued on to the Pacifi c North- the World, then west, making tried to fi gure stops at the out what was Hanford Site open at 8 a.m. – in Washington the spa and the (the former U.S. café. government “After brunch,” nuclear-produc- he continued, “I tion facility on decided it was the Columbia time to move on, River) and the and that I would Columbia River one day return Highway before for golf.” continuing on to By the time San Francisco to Barbknecht ar- see its legend- rived in Spring- ary cable cars. fi eld, the Lin- Traveling south coln home tour through Cali- was sold out, so fornia, he made he decided to several more walk around the stops, including neighborhood, the San Andreas showing himself Fault and in San through neigh- Bernardino, be- boring houses fore reaching the that didn’t re- iconic Hoover quire tickets, Dam at the Ne- and continued vada state line on to the Presi- and the Grand dential Library, Canyon in Ari- where he was Aboard the USS Alabama. zona on Day 10. THE August 27, 2015 Page 3 At Yellowstone National Park. Barbknecht continued on, heading east on his trip, making many one-day trips to big-name land- marks. Some of the stops included Yellowstone Na- tional Park in Wyoming, Pike’s Peak in Colorado, Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, The Platt Historic District in Oklahoma, Toltec Mounds in Arkansas, Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Tennessee, Vicksburg National Military Park in Continued on Page 4 On Ellis Island by the Statue of Liberty. THE Page 4 August 27, 2015 Road Trip Continued from Page 3 Mississippi and the famous French Quarter in New Orleans. By the middle of his trip, he had seen more sights than one person could hope to in one lifetime. During the last leg of the trip, he visited notable places such as the Wright Brothers National Memo- rial Visitor Center, Mount Vernon, the White House, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty and Mam- moth Cave National Park. These were places he’d always heard about and learned about in school, but never thought he would visit...until he accepted the 30-day cross-country challenge. Striking a dramatic pose aboard the USS Constitution. brought to its cause, with an appearance on HLN (a basic cable/satellite TV channel) and countless local news stations and newspapers across the country. He’s also the only person to travel this 48-day sce- nic route in fewer than 30 days. “This has truly been an experience I will never forget,” Barbknecht said. “While not all of the stops were ones that I would necessarily like to see again, many of them were unimaginable and completely unforgettable. I could have stayed forever.” (Visit Nick Barbknecht’s travel blog at http://park- srecreation.in/ for more information about his trip.) In front of the White House. While many states offered well-known attrac- tions, Barbknecht also had the pleasure of visiting many sites most people do not know about, includ- ing the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum in Kansas, the Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion in Iowa, the Fort Union Trading Post in North Dakota, the Cra- ters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Georgia and the Fox Theatre in Michigan. “On the whole, it was a great experience – once in a lifetime, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Barbknecht said. “Some states didn’t have much to see compared to others, but that’s OK. I’ve seen what I needed to see, and now I can say that I’ve seen it all. “In fact, right at the beginning of my trip,” he continued. “I ended up at the Carousel Museum in Kansas. Apparently, it’s the national headquarters for carousels. As soon as I got there, I could hear cheesy carny music playing, and they made me watch a 15-minute documentary on carousels before taking me on the rest of the tour.” Barbknecht returned home July 25, one day be- fore his 30-day deadline. 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