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Pretty easy. MUCH EASIER NOW THAT TRIPS BY CAR COUNT.

This is all about reading maps and timetables. You only actually have to take one 25-mile trip.

#1., #2., #3. Get a timetable from a railroad, bus line or airline, use it to plan a trip from home to a city in another state, and find out what it costs per mile to travel on the line.

Here's where to get timetables and prices:

Internet World Wide Web, since you can make your own reservations this way. Search on AIRLINES
Amtrak station - Ann Arbor, Jackson or Dearborn.
Greyhound station - Ann Arbor.
Tour bus companies, maybe.
AATA - municipal bus line in Ann Arbor. Depot at Eisenhower and S. Industrial, near Briarwood
Any travel agency - they get new airline timetables each month. Ask for an old one.
Metro Airport - Romulus.

#4. Take a trip by bus, plane, or train OR CAR. See #1, #2, #3. You could just ride somewhere on an AATA bus in Ann Arbor. Most kids in this area have never been on a city bus. You could take the Amtrak train to Jackson or Dearborn; there's a special that goes to Greenfield Village (call Amtrak or the Village and ask about this). There are various excursion trains in the Detroit-metro area that do short loop trips for tourists. Or you could spend a lot of money on a big vacation (of course, if you were doing this anyway, it's nice to get a scout requirement out of it, too)

#5. Lay out 4 trips on a highway map that you would like to take, each over 25 miles long and having at least 6 turns in it. Take one of the trips. The trip can be as simple as just going to Grandma's. Your son needs to navigate while on the trip.

For plotting short trips, the Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority puts out a great detailed map of the 5-county area, which is free at any metropark office. Realtor maps are very good, too; ask at any realtor office. Meijer's sells local-area maps at some of the checkout lanes, but first make sure they include this area. AAA has big state maps, but those are hard to use for this requirement, because they have very little local detail.

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