After 90 nights and 12976 miles we are glad to be home but also sad that this wonderful trip/adventure has ended.
The map below was our route around the U.S. (Click on it to enlarge). The various colors indicate elevations/grades with red indication the highest/steepest grades, blue moderate, and the light blue- green indicating relatively flat and low elevations.
As we look back on the trip some highlights come to mind.
Montana has always been one of my favorite places and I think Linda agrees. Being able to spend some time in Red Lodge, travel the Beartooth Highway, and the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone was clearly a highlight.
Red Lodge
The Bear Tooth.
We enjoyed our time at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and the fun Medora Musical in a magnificent amphitheater. The population of the entire county is about 800 or less and I think all of them are employed in the park, town, or the Musical.
Bison in the park
Medora Musical
Ishpeming, MI
Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island
Relaxing after lunch at the Grand Hotel
Ship coming from Soo Locks
Soo Locks
A real treat for us was spending time at our friend's cottage on a lake near Parry Sound, ON. It was so beautiful and peaceful just sitting on the porch visiting and gazing at the lake just feet away.
We met several Northwood RV owners at the East Coast Rally in Kingston, Ontario, something I like to do wherever we go. The potluck was great.
Vermont was another state we really liked with small quaint towns and farms all across the state. The RV park we stayed in was one that Linda said she could spend more time in. Everyone was so friendly.
This time we were able to see Acadia National Park at Bar Harbor, ME in good weather. We visited it previously on a New England/Canada cruise and it was foggy, windy, and rainy.
We walked the bridge at Concord in Minuteman National Historic Park where the "shot heard around the world" was the beginning of the American Revolution. It was a incredible feeling and experience.
On to Gettysburg National Battlefield to another time and war. The incredible loss of life is unimaginable. It was a turning point in the civil war with Lee retreating to Virginia.
Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway were beautiful even if we were too early for the peak fall color. On this stretch we were able to visit Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and visit a cousin I hadn't seen in at least 40 years in West Virginia. That too was a pretty drive and we found out what is meant by the hills and hollows of West Virginia.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Ashville, NC and the Biltmore Estate, Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA allowed us to visit and enjoy places we hadn't been before. In Charleston a cousin and wife met us for lunch. We also visited Fort Sumter where the Civil war began. Being able to visit the place two American wars began was a special experience.
Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
Old Slave Mart, Charleston, SC
City Market
River Street, Savannah, GA
Next it was on to Great Smoky Mountain National Park for a few days but the weather wasn't the best to see the beauty of the park. There was some color but again, not near peak.
Nashville, TN and Branson, MO provided plenty of entertainment with shows at the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry and four shows in Branson. In Nashville our Chicago friends joined us for 5 days for the shows and we toured the Hermitage, the plantation of Andrew Jackson as well as a number of other attractions. Again visiting homes of two presidents from different eras was a highlight.
Backstage tour of the Ryman Auditorium.
Linda and Marge
At Branson the Dutton Family was the best show we saw.
Getting closer to home and back into the west we visited Santa Fe, Taos, NM, Canyon de Chelly and Grand Canyon, AZ. All interesting and well worth seeing.
Santa Fe Plaza
Canyon de Chelly
Grand Canyon
At the Grand Canyon the urge to get home was stronger than the desire to see more so we made the two day drive home with a stop in Bakersfield for the night.
Cody, WY quilt shop
Charleston, SC quilt shop
The ice cream was found in lots of places as were the quilt shops.
The real highlight was the trip itself, being able to see so much of the country, the history, and the people along the way. An incredible trip.
The best was that it didn't cost too much more than being at home. We suspended our telephone, cable, internet, and garbage services. As we weren't home our power bill was minimal which during the summer months is pretty big, Also if you subtract normal fuel, food, miscellaneous and entertainment spending at home along with the suspended services savings it was not expensive to spend three months on the road.
I am already thinking about where to go on the next trip and while Linda wants to go again, just not right away (not for at least three months!!). She has grandchildren to visit and spend time with.
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