Road trips are pretty much ingrained in the mythology of the United States — like some last holdout of frontier days when the whole country was open to exploration. And from the way they’re treated in books, movies and songs, you’d think every long-haul jaunt by auto was destined to be a life-changing bildungsroman. But the fact is, lots of road trips turn into monotonous hours spent on interstates with concrete walls and nondescript scenery whipping by at 70 mph (or what have you).

Not for Boaz Frankel, a traveler I found via TreeHugger who’s planning an “Un-road Trip” beginning this April. Frankel will explore the United States for 10 weeks — an ambitious road trip even if we left it there — expect there’s one catch. He won’t be taking a car. Instead, he’ll be bounding across states by foot, bicycle, amphibious canoe, scooter, hot air balloon, horseback, kayak, dog sled and any other means of transportation that presents itself. Frankel says he’s taking the trip to avoid the fluctuations of gas prices, test out alternative methods of transportation and see overlooked parts of the country by staying off highways and big roads.

If you’re interested in following his progress, he’ll be keeping fans posted through Twitter, photos and short videos. And for now, there’s a funny trailer of the trip:

Go places (or go home):
How Sled Dogs Work
How Hot Air Balloons Work
5 Walkable Cities