We're Home!

We left home on September 2 and returned to sleep in our big bed on January 15. We're so grateful to have traveled so many miles without a serious mishap. So pleased to learn that we still have faith in the humanity of our fellow Americans. So here's a recap of some interesting statistics. Well, we think they're interesting! Thank you all for following along on our Grand Tour. We had a great time, didn't we?

Total Miles Traveled: 17,224
Least Miles Traveled in a Day: 47 from St. Ignace near Mackinac Island to Petosky, Michigan
Most Miles Traveled in a Day: 421 from San Antonio to Big Bend National Park, Texas
Worst Roads: New York and South Carolina
Best Roads: Texas and Oregon
Worst Drivers: Massachusetts
Best Drivers: Virginia and Texas

Most Expensive Diesel: $4.54 in Kettle Falls, North Eastern Washington on September 7, 2008
Least Expensive Diesel: $1.99 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on November 12 (no wonder I LOVE Myrtle Beach!)
Average Price of Diesel: $3.20

We were truly lucky with our weather! We had some serious thunder and lightning, but usually during the night.

Sunny: 86 Days
Rainy: 15 Days
Gloomy: 24 Days
Snowy: 4 Days

We had set a goal to average $20 per night for our lodging. Thanks to our family and friends who allowed us to stay on their property or in their gutters, we averaged $21 per night. Here's a wrap-up of where we stayed:

State Parks: 13
National Parks: 14
National Forests: 4
City/County Parks: 4
Private Parks: 61
Elks Lodges: 15
Wal Marts: 5
Family/Friends: 17

Several places we stayed were free, but our most expensive was $57 at Buellton, California. But we didn't care. We were both sick and anxious to stop and sleep!

Wild animals we saw:
Chipmunks (well...they're not so wild), Deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Prairie Dogs, Squirrels, Burros, Moose, Marmot, Bunnies, Armadillos, Coyote, Grey Foxes, Javelina, Muskrat.

Birds we saw:
Crows, Great Blue Herons, Egrets, Shorebirds, Goldfinches, Quail, Robins, Blackbirds, Ducks, Geese, Starlings, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Bluebirds, Jays, Cardinals, Sandhill Cranes, Swans, Ravens, Hawks, Wild Turkeys, Grouse, Pheasant, Turkey Vultures, Doves, Peregrine Falcons, Snow Geese, Bald Eagles and probably more I don't recall.

While traveling, we made note of hundreds of items to Google in order to learn even more. So, we'll be busy with that when we're finished cleaning the truck camper and getting it ready to sell.

And we absolutely loved many places for various reasons: Grand Tetons, Wyoming; Pend O'Reille, Idaho; Black Hills, South Dakota; Door County, Wisconsin; Petosky, Michigan; the area north of Niagara, New York; Belfast, Maine; Newport, Rhode Island; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Sullivan's Island, South Carolina; Saint Augustine, Florida; Sanibel Island, Florida (although we didn't go there on this trip); Destin, Florida; Fredericksburg, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Bosque del Apache Wildlife Preserve, New Mexico; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Coronado, California; Morro Bay, California; California, Oregon, and Washington Coastline. Anyone ready to go again?!