Decide which area of the country to visit, and make a list of the states. Go to each state visitor/tourism website and select the "things to see" (or similar) section. Then make a list by state, noting the monument, hours of operation, cost and recommended hours needed for the visit.
Circle each monument/site on the paper map. Using a pencil, connect the sites using roads on the map. Calculate the distance/time using the graph on the map. (If the graph is not available, use Mapquest. Enter the airport location for each city, and it will give you the mileage and travel time.)
Use the recommended (or your personal) monument visit times and road travel times to create a day-by-day itinerary, noting an overnight city. If necessary, reduce the itinerary to allow enough time at the monument, as well as travel times between each site.
Finalize the map, and print the highlights from the website of each monument that you want to visit. This serves as a travel guide. An alternative is to check out a travel guide from the library.
