What is the purpose of CrossCountryRoads.com?

CrossCountryRoads.com was created for a few different reasons. The main reason is that I wanted to share my trip experiences with others in an easy, navigable way. Another purpose of the site is to provide information for people planning to make a road trip. This could include anything from road information and trip planning to photos and videos which allow people to see the roads before they drive them. In these ways, the site can serve as a resource for everything related to road trips. I want to collect all the road photos, videos, and information I can in one central location, and have this data available to anyone who wants it by making a navigable website out of it.

Do you run CrossCountryRoads by yourself?

Yes. I, Tom Valazak, am the only person working on CrossCountryRoads. I started it that way, and it remains that way today. I started and run the site as a hobby. Sure, it's a little overwhelming at times, but it's all worth it in the end.

Keep this in mind, however, when there comes a time when updates seem infrequent or my response to your emails isn't as prompt as you would expect. I do have a job, a life, and many other things to do than work on the site. I try to do my best to update and maintain the site in a timely manner as well as respond to emails in a reasonable amount of time, but please do remember that I'm only one person with only 24 hours in a day, just like everyone else.

I found a mistake on your site. Will you fix it?

Absolutely. I'm far from perfect, and I've been known to make mistakes on CrossCountryRoads. When visitors notify me of these errors, it gives me the chance to correct them and make CrossCountryRoads better. To report a mistake on the site, visit the Contact page for information on how to get in touch with me. If what you point out is verified to be incorrect, the error will be fixed as soon as possible and I will be very grateful to you for pointing it out to me.

Are all the photos and videos on the site taken by you?

Unless otherwise noted, yes. However, there are a couple of other road enthusiasts whose work I have posted on CrossCountryRoads.com. If their name is listed as the one who took the photo or recorded the video, then obviously it is their work and not mine. If you're interested in using the work of others on your website or blog, you must ask their permission. I was able to post their work on CrossCountryRoads because I did exactly that: I asked and received permission from them. Do not email me asking if you can use a photo or video on this site if it was taken by anyone other than me. I will not ask them for you.

Can I ask you a question about a road trip I'm planning?

Definitely! I will do all I can to answer any questions you may have about the planning of your road trip. I feel that it's an unofficial "duty" of road enthusiasts to help each other out as much as possible whether it be with route planning, sites to see along the way, or even good places to eat where you will be staying during your road trip.

Can I use a photo or video of yours on my blog/website?

It depends. If the picture or video you want to use was taken by me, Tom Valazak, then you can use it on your blog/website only if you meet the following three conditions:

If the photo or video was taken by someone else, however, you will have to receive permission from that person before posting their photo or video on your blog or website. The person's name will be stated clearly in the photo captions if it is a photo, and if it's a video there will be a link to that person's YouTube channel on the video page. It's up to you from there to contact the person and ask their permission to use their work on your blog or website, because I will not ask them for you.

Why don't you have photos/videos from *insert road/state here*?

The most likely reason is that I haven't yet had the chance to cover that particular road with either photos or video. I don't have every single road in the country covered. Sure, that's my goal, but if I had already achieved that goal, why would I still be doing this? In other words, you just have to be patient. Just because there currently are no photos or videos from a particular stretch of road posted on the site, that doesn't mean that there never will be. I'm open to requests, or questions regarding whether or not I have plans to cover a certain stretch in the near future. Other than that, these kinds of questions tend to get annoying. It's not like I have everything filmed and photographed an I'm just sitting on all those photos and footage waiting until someone asks about them to post them. Since my goal is to cover every mile of the Interstate Highway System, I hope to cover all of them eventually. However, some will obviously be covered sooner than others. You will have to bear with me.

Can I link directly from my blog/website to a photo on CrossCountryRoads?

You can LINK TO a photo on CrossCountryRoads, yes. What I don't allow is posting a photo of mine on your blog or website WITHOUT linking to CrossCountryRoads.com, and without giving credit where credit is due (to the photographer). Linking to photos is fine; posting them on your blog or website without my permission, without giving clear credit to me, and without linking the photo to CrossCountryRoads.com is prohibited.

Where are you going on your next trip?

Generally, when I have a trip planned I will annouce it along with the details via a blog. Recently, the blogs have been audio blogs which can be found on the Blog page. Since I get this question a lot, I would rather answer it once in the blog instead of answering each individual who asks. You can expect an audio blog with upcoming trip plans and details to be posted within a week of when the trip will begin. If no audio blog is posted, that means there are no planned trips in the next week or so.