The “Morning Eagle” from the base of Grinnell Glacier at Glacier National Park
Yes, we’re quite late on this post considering the trip officially ended nearly 10 days ago, BUT better late than never, right? Well, we hope so.
This summer has been hard to put into words, so we’re going to rely on lists and numbers…
BY THE NUMBERS!
Total nights on trip: 42
Nights spent camping: 22
Nights spent with friends: 9
Nights spent sleeping in the cozy front seat of the CRV: 7
Nights spent in a hotel: 4
Total STATES visited: 26 (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio)
State CAPITOL buildings: 8 (Baton Rouge, Austin, Santa Fe, Salem, Helena, St. Paul, Indianapolis, Frankfurt)
CITIES (Note: we considered any city where we got out of the car and walked through town. Basically, any city listed here we could conceivably say, “Yeah, we’ve been there.”): 56 (Listed in order: Roanoke, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Hartford, Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Manchester, Birmingham, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Beaumont, Houston, Austin, Fredricksburg, Marathon, Terlingua, Pecos, Carlsbad, Roswell, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Durango, Panguitch, Tropic, Springdale, Las Vegas, North Canton, Baker, Los Angeles/Venice Beach, San Jose, San Fransisco, Gualala, Eureka, Arcata, Eugene, Salem, Portland, Eatonville, Seattle, Spokane, Babb, Browning, Choteau, Helena, Jackson Hole, Riverton, Custer, Wall, Sioux Falls, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Eau Claire, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Frankfurt, Richmond)
NATIONAL PARKS visited: 16 (Smoky Mountains, Big Bend, Carlsbad Caverns, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, Red Wood, Mt. Rainier, Glacier Park, Yellowstone, Tetons, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave, Badlands)
MILES hiked on National Park trails: 123
BY THE LIST!
Top 3 Cities:
Top 3 Towns:
Bottom 3 Cities/Towns :(
Top 3 States:
Top 3 National Parks:
Top 3 Hikes:
Top 3 Campsites:
Top 5 Restaurants:
Top 5 Homecooked Meals:
Top 3 Drives:
Whew! Well I think that’s everything we considered counting and/or listing (which, by the way, we compiled on our last drive from Chicago to Charlotte). We still have a few more posts before we officially retire this blog (final picture post and a CD club recap), but this one really gets to the heart of the trip.
Thanks for following along with us! We’ve been amazed by the amount of comments and the shear number of visits we’ve had on this blog. We’d love to hear some of your top 3 lists if you’ve been to any of these areas because I’m sure there’s a lot we’ve missed.
Just got home from a great Ohio wedding. Another few days in Canton before I become a permanent resident of North Carolina! Pretty excited
First full day of nothingness since May…and it feels so good!
The view from our deck in Daytona Beach Shores (this is not part of our official trip, I just wanted to add a new photo to the blog - cz)
106 degree heat index in Daytona. I’m plotting the financials of opening a bar with my dad, @MikeRuggieri as mgr, @clairbaxter as bartender
AMAZING…I want to live here!…A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Different Rooms: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7423307?fr=yvmtf
Looking out over Daytona Beach from the 16th floor of Peck Plaza… I’m definitely not getting tired of this summer
Its 12:33 in the morning and we just entered the state of North Carolina. No longer is our license plate unique!
With fewer than 6 hours left of diving until we reach Charlotte, Chris had to change a headlamp bulb - the first major car repair of the trip! I’d say that’s not too shabby for a summer-long roadtrip. (To the Baxter parents: that’s two bulbs in two months… we’re now expert bulb changers though it wasn’t as tough the second time.)
Fourth Street Live in Louisville, Kentucky! Chris had such great memories here three years ago that he had to come back and grab a beer as we were passing through. Louisville is such a nice city.