Last post - trip by adjective

As promised, here is my summary of the trip by descriptive adjective.  There is so much to see that is beautiful that whatever choices you make, you will have to leave something by the wayside.  Thanks everyone for your interest in our journey.  See you on our next one.

Synopsis of our trip by descriptive adjective

Abundant	Rocks of all shapes and sizes
Amazing	We neither saw nor were involved in any accidents (or near misses)
Annoying	The smoke from the Lassen Forest fire near Redding, CA Noise from the roads or the trains in the campgrounds
Anti-climactic	The drive on US 24 after leaving Capital Reef
Awe-inspiring	Redwoods
Beautiful	Grand Staircase Escalante and Capital Reef National Park
Best value	KOA card for discount on camping National Parks card
Blazing	sunsets
Boring	The plains of Colorado east of Denver
Breathtaking	So much it is hard to choose
Bucket list moment	Finishing the last of our Route 66 agenda – over three trips have driven all we intend to drive.
Crumbling	Route 66
Dangerous	Other drivers
Derelict	Abandoned farms and buildings various places
Desolate	Mojave Desert
Disappointing	Kodiak, AK
Dreary	Interstate driving – we get off whenever we can
Educational	Hop Farm tour Sequoia habitat
Frustrating	Internet access
Fun	The walk to Hoonah, AK from Icy Strait Point
Glorious	Sea lions on the rocks at Simpson Reef, OR
Gobsmacked	The drive through the Redwoods on the old stagecoach trail
Harrowing	The General's Highway, SR190, Sequoia National Park - coming down
Impressive	The Redwoods, Eureka, California
Inconvenient	The long driving distances to get anywhere
Incredible	Friendly people everywhere
Interesting	The drive through Zion
Panoramic	Top of the ridge, Highway 12, Utah near Boulder Utah
Pastoral	Washington state where the apple and fruit orchards are
Peaceful	Walking in the Redwood forest
Picturesque	Grand Staircase Escalante
Remarkable	Virtually no rain, only one night and a few miles on the road on a couple of days
Rugged	Rockies in Colorado
Scariest	The walk out to Bright Angel Point, North Rim, Grand Canyon - drops on both sides
Scenic	Oregon coast
Serene	Organ music at Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon
Sparkling	Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK
Spectacular	The Hubbard Glacier
Sun drenched	The cruise out of Tracy Arm Fiord
Surprising	Icy Strait Point – well done cannery display and Alaska made products and also how smooth the North Pacific was for our whole cruise
Towering	Capital Reef
Undulating	Kansas wheat and cornfields
Windswept	Kansas plains
Worst value	Price of gasoline

                                                 Contemplating the end of a great trip!!!

Sept. 11 day 40 OTR - statistics

We are home safe and sound.  We had a great time with friends in Coldwater Michigan yesterday and did some shopping this morning. 

This post consists of the statistics I promised all of you.  Enjoy the numbers.  One more post to come, a synopsis of the trip by adjective.  Thanks all for staying tuned.

Land distance covered – 11539 km

Ship distance covered - 6979 km

Total cost of gasoline - $1099.56

Highest price paid per gallon - $4.79 Needles, CA

Lowest price paid per gallon - $3.49 Bennett, Colorado

Number of days on the road – 40

Number of nights spent on the ship – 14

Number of nights spent at a KOA – 22

Number of nights in a motel/hotel – 1

Number of nights with friends – 3

Highest temps encountered – 39C San Joaquin Valley, CA

Lowest temps encountered – 9C Oregon Coast

Highest elevation – 11990 feet, Loveland Pass, Colorado

Lowest Elevation – sea level while on the ship

Most road construction – Kansas, Indiana

Longest tunnel – Eisenhower Memorial at Loveland Pass, 1.697 miles, 2,72 km

Darkest tunnel – 1.1 miles in Zion National Park

Sept 9 day 38 OTR

Well, here we are in Bluffton, IN and our last night on the road.  We spent most of today doing some shopping.  Tomorrow night we will spend with a friend.  I thought this would be a good time to reflect on this whole journey, so here goes.

We are truly blessed to be able to travel the way we do. I know some of our friends think we are crazy for camping in a tent but I can't envision a road trip without a tent. You get to be outdoors, you sleep on your own mattress and sheets. What started as a cost saving measure in 1992 on our first cross country trip has become the way we do road trips.

We have met many Germans again on the trip – we always do. The older couple from Hamburg that shared the pool with us on a hot night in Needles; the younger family from the Ruhr that had rented a rather large motor home and would not be able to take it up or down the General's highway; the young man from Tuebingen who was an American Studies major and was hoping for a placement as an exchange student in Berkeley; the Czech photographer who was hoping to win the lottery so he could photograph the Wave. All these people, as well as others along the way – the Colorado professor who survived tongue cancer although his savings were wiped out (he had health care!) and who was doing an unofficial survey with all Canadians he met to see if we like our health care, the father taking his daughter camping who feared for his country, the group discussing “packing” handguns and which states had reciprocal laws to carry concealed.

All these and many more, the smiling faces of the KOA staff at every KOA for example, all these moments make the trip a journey. And you don't get any one of them by staying in a hotel or motel. You do have to contend with train whistles, noise from the highway and occasionally noisy campers like the extended Latino family who invited a Belgian student group to party with them on the Labour Day weekend. I wouldn't miss any of these interactions for the world. A friend of mine says that I can have a good time anywhere because I am not afraid to approach people. And she's right. It is the only way to enjoy the journey that the trip is all about.

Thanks everyone for staying tuned. It has been great fun, even if the internet connections were not always readily available or very fast. But, they were free, well except for coffee. I remember our first cross country trip in 1992 where I was happy to have one hour photo printing which allowed me to have our journey documented by the time we got home. Now my concern is internet connectivity and digital picture downloads so others can follow along in (almost) real time.

I have two more posts after this one. The first is a synopsis, by descriptive adjective, of our trip and the second one is a collection of statistics about the trip. Both may not be posted until Tuesday evening when we are home.

Our next big trip is not planned until September 2013. If you are subscribed to my blog you should get notification when I post again. And I will let you know via email when I will be posting.

Thanks everyone. As Otto always says “Life is good!” and yes, he has the t-shirt.

Sept 8, day 37 OTR

It was a good thing we slept in the van last night - the tent would have been soaked with dew this morning.  We had an easy ride through Kansas City, KS and MO since everyone was still asleep.

This was a driving day from Topeka, KS to Terre Haute, IN.  We have explored Missouri on other trips so we just drove through.  NPR (National Public Radio) got us through the drive.  Programmes like Car Talk, The Splendid Table, This American Life, All things considered, Fresh Air, and Prairie Home Companion make the drive seem shorter.

Tomorrow will be our last night on the road since we are spending Monday night with a friend.  I'll drop a short line to let everyone know we arrived safely.

Have a good night, everyone.

Sept. 7 day 36 OTR

We almost got blown away last night.  Around 1:30 am the wind started howling and blew the tent sideways even though we had a fence shelter behind us and the car on one side.  It also cooled off dramatically.  We drove to McDonald's for our oatmeal and coffee since we could not have kept the camp stove lit long enough to make breakfast.

Our drive today was through Kansas and we are in the Topeka KOA.  It is quite interesting as the rec room and office, etc. is a converted barn.  But of course it is on the highway so the noise factor is there.  We are sleeping in the van tonight - we don't want a repeat of the wind situation from last night.  Also, thunderstorms are being called for so no sense putting up the tent.

We made a stop in Hays, KS at noon and wanted to see some of the sights but it was raining so we just stopped at McDonald's for coffee and a quick bite.  Just as I was about to make a reservation for tonight on my computer and as a busload of people came in, the power went out.  So off we went to Russell, KS to make the reservation.  And the bus followed us.

We passed a huge windfarm near Vesper, KS.

And I must say, Kansas is NOT flat.  Up to Topeka, we still have rolling hills.  On the western end the elevation is still around 5000 feet, in the middle are the Flint Hills, and only now will be get into the grasslands and a lower elevation.  This surprised me the first time we drove through Kansas and still surprises me even though I know better.

We have been noticing a lot of roundabouts at the exit ramps off the interstates.  We first started to see them in Nevada and have seen them again now in Kansas.  It makes more sense than stoplights and keeps the traffic moving along.  Very progressive.

We turned 10,000 kms on the trip meter just outside of Topeka.  Interestingly, it went to 9999 and then flipped back to one.  Tomorrow's intended destination is Casey, IL with hopefully some shopping along the way.  My shopping list is intact - no shopping other than groceries so far.

With us in the campground tonight is a group, many on motorcycles, with Journey4Justice.  The campground was selling all you can eat spagetti for $5 and that came in handy since we are out of supplies, except for oatmeal, and the KOA is outside of town.  I can't face another mile in the car today and I am sure Otto feels the same.

Have a good evening.  Sorry, no pictures today!!

Sept. 6 day 35 OTR

It was a wonderfully cool night and not too much noise around us in Green River, Utah.  This KOA provides free coffee via a Keurig Machine - so many flavours and also muffins and danish for breakfast.  Green River is not big and is basically a stop off point for travellers with several motes, 2 campgrounds, a grocery store, a beauty shop and not too much else.

This morning we decided to take a detour to Arches in Moab, UT.  We visited here 20 years ago and since we have revisited some of our first trip stops, we thought we would stop here, too.  And since we have the National Parks pass, this park was free.  So off we went.

We drove the whole park and walked a few of the trails.  This of course didn't get us out of Utah until after lunch.  Moab is no longer the sleepy town it was 20 years ago.  There is a Subway but no McDonald's.

We drove through Colorado and are stopped on the east side of Denver in Limon, CO.  The Rockies were in a haze this morning .  We eventually climbed to 11900 feet at the Loveland Pass just before the Eisenhower tunner which is about 2 miles long or so.  We crossed the Continental Divide while we were in the tunnel.

By 6 pm we were out of the mountains and over 9000 kms driven.

I have posted some Arches pictures on the link above along with a picture of our sunset in Colorada.  This picture kind of sums up what we have been doing - we ran into this camper in Arches.

Sept. 5, day 34 OTR

This was another wow type day.  We stayed in Bryce Canyon KOA and it was so quiet, not even noisy neighbours.  We left the campground around 8 am and it was still cool,  around 14C.

Soon after we got back on Highway 12 we entered the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  There isn't really a staircase but a series of buttes and other outcroppings.  We continued on Highway 12 to Torrey where we caught Highway 24 into Capital Reef National Park.  Parts of Highway 12 run along a ridge with drop offs on either side.

This is the really wow part of the day.  Hwy 24 runs along the Waterpocket fold here and you see the rocks created by the earth's movement.

We took the scenic drive here in Capital Reef.  At one point I just stopped taking pictures.  I can't do this park justice.  It is just magnificent.  And it is my kind of park, where you look up at the rock formations, not where you have to climb to look down into the canyons, etc. like Bryce or the Grand Canyon.

We are camped in Green River, UT tonight.  It is just off of Interstate 70.  This will be the interstate that we will use to make our way east.  Initially we had thought we would spend some time in Denver but we will just start to make our way home from here.  I will keep you posted on our progress.

I have posted some pictures of Capital Reef National Park on the link at the top.  Enjoy.

Sept 4, day 33 OTR

We had thunderstorms all around us last night but not on the campground in Kanab.  We left around 8 am this morning to drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  Do do that we flip flopped between Utah, where we were, and Arizona, where the canyon is.  There is much evidence of forest fires on the drive in, either last year or early this year since some of the ground cover is back.  The road up to the North Rim is quite good and there was not much traffic since we are after the holiday.  Birch tree stands mix with the conifers.

At the entrance to the North Rim we were at 8827 feet and at the Visitors Center we were at 8255 feet of elevation.  We walked out to Bright Angel point and had a good view of the canyon.

the view is just gorgeous.  Before we left the park we got ice made from Grand Canyon spring water and we filled our water jug with the spring water.

We had some rain as we came out of the park, really the first rain pretty much since we started.  From Grand Canyon we went back to Kanab to us the wifi at McDonald's and then continued on to Bryce Canyon.  We are driving US 12, designated a Scenic Byway and an All American Road.  We drove through the Red Canyon before we hit Bryce.  As we entered Bryce we turned 8000 km on the odometer.

I have also added some more pictures to the link at the top so enjoy.  Tomorrow we had to Capital Reef and on to Green River, UT for the overnight.  That will truly mark the beginning of our homeward journey since Green River is on Interstate 70.

picture update

Me again.  I have such a good wifi connection I have been able to upload pictures to the link at the top of the blog.  I am again caught up to where we are today.  Enjoy!!!

Sept 3, day 32 OTR

Last night we went out after dark to see Vegas lit up.  I like to say that Vegas after dark is the reason for the Hoover Dam.

When we got up this morning it was already 31C.  This was at 8 am.  We had several hours of driving ahead of us today as we wanted to place ourselves close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for tomorrow.  Some of those drives were quite pretty. Interstate 15 through the Northwest corner of Arizona is carved out of the rocks along the Virgin River.  It actually looks like you are driving into the mountain.

We used Highway 9 to drive through Zion and reach Kanab, UT.  They have built almost all the way to the gates of Zion.  You now have to take a shuttle to see the park unless you are driving through.  What wonderful scenery, though.  Highway 9 is designated a Scenic Byway and rightly so.  And we had both forgotten how beautiful Zion National Park is.  It HAS been 20 years since we have been here, after all.

The pictures cannot do this park justice.

Tonight promises to be cool, we are at 5000 feet elevation.  Tomorrow we will visit one of the seven wonders of the world.  We are in an RV park tonight in Kanab, UT. That means we can't pitch our tent and will sleep in the van.  The reviews on this park said it had clean washrooms and fast wifi and the reviews were right.  It is also close to town so we may walk in after supper.

Sept 2 day 31 OTR

So, the saga of noisy campgrounds continues.  Last night we had no trains, no trucks but we did have two batches of noisy campers.  One extended Latino family and one group of Belgian students. They decided to have a campfire until 1:30 in the morning.  Oh well.  At least when I got up a six to take a shower they were all still asleep.

We drove north from Kingman to Las Vegas this morning.  We stopped at the Hoover Dam.  Lake Mead is down many feet just proving how dry this summer has really been. 20 years ago we drove over the dam and parked on the side of the road to look at it.  Now, it has become an attraction and another road passes way above it.  It seemed smaller than it did the first time we saw it.

The desert did have some colour to it this morning as there were thundershowers in a couple of isolated areas.  Amazing what a little water can do.

Vegas is crazier than ever.  When we were here 20 years ago, you could walk the strip from one end to the other, pop into a casino, never see a store.  Now, there are pedestrian flyovers - you have to climb stairs or ride an escalator or elevator to the top to cross The Strip.  Some of the major cross streets also have flyovers.  So a walk of 4 miles up one side of the strip becomes an obstacle course of ups and downs.  And the people, both tourists and those hawking things.  Like I said, crazy city.  Since it was 20 years between visits, I probably won't be back.

                                                   Just a little peak at Vegas in the daytime

Tomorrow we head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I may be out of touch for a day or so.  It seems the KOA campground we wanted to stay at is no longer a KOA so I don't know if they have wifi.

Sept. 1 Day 30 OTR

Well, Needles was warm overnight, to say the least.  I don't think it ever went below 33C.  The ground under the tent was so hot it radiated heat through our three inch sleeping mats.  We did not get much sleep.  We left early to have breakfast at McDonald's since it was even too warm to break out the Coleman stove.

We got back on Route 66 at Topock.  This stretch is more scenic than the one through the desert.  It also takes us to Oatman, a ghost town that has been revitalized with burros and, you guessed it, stores but all in the old buildings.  Actually not bad.

This is Roy's Cafe at Amboy, near the Amboy volcano, extinct.

Route 66 dips and turns its way into Kingman, Arizona. Somewhere on this stretch of road we turned 7000 km on the trip meter.  And it was 36C at 9 am.  We saw a handful of cars and one or two motorcycles on the whole stretch, until we came close to Kingman and the interstate again.

In Kingman, we visited the Route 66 museum, picked up some groceries and went to the campground for a much deserved rest.  Today was a short driving day and the curves and turns were not bad.  The road is posted - no vehicles over 40 feet but after driving down The General's Highway from Sequoia National Park, no road is too much.  That was the brake eater road.  Did I mention that we descended 6000 feet in 15 miles on that one?  You imagine the curves needed for that.  Today was nothing.

We have now driven much of the drivable sections of Route 66 over 3 different trips.  The section from Barstow to Santa Monica is covered by freeway and not interesting to us.  So we have completed our Route 66.

We will vegetate here today and then visit Vegas, maybe for two nights to rest up.  Once we leave Vegas we will truly be heading east and on our way home.  Thanks for staying tuned. By the way, the museum had our car on display!! That's what we look like when we camp.