Day 35 - The Day I Got Back Home

Day 35
Manhattan, NY - Ipswich, MA

Home with Barley.  Sigh.  8:30am training tomorrow.  Back to work, but not back to the grind.

Day 34 - Room Service, Philly bus tour, Greenwich Village

Okay, vegetarian Chinese food gives you crazy dreams just like the regular stuff. Last nights dream involved me staying with who I think were Heifer International volunteers. They had a giant pizza oven in the house in which they stored people who had died on giant pizza boards. After realizing what was going on I decided I'd need to let the police know. (sound familiar yet). I played dumb while they jammed someone on in and then told them I was going to the top of the hill to plant some lilacs. Just as I made it to the random wheelbarrow with lilac roots, the leader came running out toward me yelling, "planting some lilacs, huh!?!". In the middle of my fight or flight thought I awoke. After checking the closet and under both beds I fell fitfully back to sleep.

This morning was my first room service. If I'm paying that much for pancakes they better taste good. They were sadly dry and had syrup from a bad year. However a first none the less.

So, I met an interesting fellow. You see his truck broke down and his wife wouldn't answer the phone. He just needed $7 for the bus...could I get some money to help him? Creative, but no. As I walked away he screamed, "someday you might need help!". I'm hoping if I do he's not the only person around for me to ask.

Bus tour, downpour, lunch place tried to rip me off, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, NYC rush hour, The Jane, Greenwich Village, Home Restaurant.

One more night.

Day 33- Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge & The Mariott in Downtown Philly

Day 33
Poconoke, MD - Chincoteague, VA - Philadelphia, PA (With a little Delaware in there.)

Too busy enjoying my hotel room to blog tonight.  Ahh....soft pillows, quiet air conditioning, clean carpet and soft towels.  I'm watching tv for the first time in 32 days and am considering ordering room service breakfast.  It is scaring me how quickly I am getting used to this.

Day 32 - The Outer Banks

Gull also waiting for the ferry to arrive

Day 32
Ocracoke, NC - Pocomoke City, MD
6 hours that took me from 8am until 10pm  :-)

Questions I asked myself today (technically yesterday I guess):
1)  Is that rain?
2)  I wonder exactly how cold "unheated" showers are?
3)  Why do people have dogs if they just leave them to sit out in the rain?
4)  Can it really be called a crepe if it's prepackaged and warmed on a round surface?
5)  I wonder if those people howling at the moon last night were actors from the new Twilight movie?
6)  How long could the wait be for a free ferry to Hatteras?
7)  I wonder if I'll ever get to Hatteras?
8)  How long would it take to swim to Hatteras?
9)  Ooo, a sandwich shop...I wonder if they have good sandwiches?
10)  How long could it take to make a tuna sandwich?
11)  Could I ride out with you to catch the tuna?
12)  Why is the family of the barfing, sea sick girl sitting on the deck of the sandwich shop where people are eating their lunch?
13)  Can I get that to go?
14)  Should I stay longer at this refuge or drive on to the next one?
14.5)  Is that tree with ROATAN written on it still around?
15)  Why is that family taking photos of themselves in every position possible on the replica Wright Brothers plane?
16)  Is that woman actually laying on top of Wilbur?
17)  Should I stay in Virginia Beach, should I drive on, should I stay in Virginia Beach, should I drive on?
18)  The shortcut costs $12?
19)  Why are all these people driving so slowly?
20)  How late will I drive before I stop?
21)  Will I drive to Ocracoke or stay on the highway?
22)  How dirty could the room really be?
23)  What's that on the carpet?
24)  What's "that" on the carpet?
25)  Could this toilet be any lower to the ground?
26)  What smells like its burning?
27)  What is that smell in the water?
28)  I wonder how long it will take me to go to sleep?

Day 31 - Ocracoke

Day 31 - Jacksonville, NC to Ocracoke, NC
Ferry ride: 2.5 hours
Stomach: Queasy
Campground: Right over the dune to the beach
Pony Pen: Saw some ponies having dinner along with a beaver chewing on some grass.
Grocery Store: fully stocked...slightly expensive
Fire: dying down
Today's blog: Finished

Day 30 - The day I only drove to Walgreens

Day 30
Jacksonville, NC - Jacksonville, NC

Two nights in the same place.  I think I like it.  I slept until 10:30am and then lounged around in my pajamas.  Made a bagel, organized my car, cleaned out the cooler, did some laundry, lounged around some more.  Went out to dinner with my aunts Cindy and Paula and then on to see The Help.  Highly recommend everything I did today to everyone.

Day 29 - Drive, Charleston, Drive, Sleep

Day 29
Madison, GA - Charleston, SC - Jacksonville, NC

Up at 7:00am to make it to Charleston for lunch and a 2pm nature boat tour.  I was hoping to do a series of, "You know you're too sweaty when..." but got concerned about my audience approval rating.  I will say, you know you're too sweaty when you sit down in a public restroom and catch yourself on the wall as you slide off the seat.  CAUTION:  Charleston is too hot to visit in the summer.  I was surprised there weren't people laying in the streets passed out from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  Very hot!  Very hot!  Great tour.  Saw dolphins, oystercatcher, gulls and some other birds I have yet to identify.  Then I drove 4.5 more hours to Cindy & Garrett's.  A bed with sheets that smelled good, a clean rug, friendly people, sofas, pets, hummingbirds & a safe place to park.  Ahhh....

Day 28 - The "Things Don't Always Work Out As Planned Day"

Day 28
Tupelo, MS - Madison, GA
Officially back through all the time zones.

You can probably determine how your day is about to unfold based on your first important transaction.  Today I drove through the McDonald's drive through for a breakfast biscuit and some Diet Coke, drove to the first window, paid the cashier and then drove off without actually picking up my breakfast.  About 5 minutes later I felt kind of thirsty, looked down and didn't have a drink.  They got quite a kick out of my second time through the drive through.  I will refrain from including all the details of the rest of the day but let's just say I'm thinking tomorrow will be a lot better!

Travel Tip #1:  If you are trying to visit a tourist attraction that has moved to a new location, don't drive around the middle of Atlanta looking for the old one.
Travel Tip #2:  Remember, the time doesn't actually change until you drive across the time zone line.
Travel Tip #3:  If your hotel advertises rooms by the week and is right beside a big rig truck wash, don't expect clean towels...or really clean anything else.
Travel Tip #4:  Always have hand sanitizer and wet ones at your disposal...see above.
Travel Tip #5:  Don't be fooled by air conditioning.  If you are not in the Pacific Northwest it will be over 100 degrees when you step out of your car.

Day 27 - Armadillo Day

Day 27
Perryville, AR - Tupelo, MS (Birthplace of Elvis)

7:15am  Breakfast with Sarah & her cutie pie daughter from Heifer Study Tour trip
8:00am  Nap
10:00am Tour of Heifer Ranch - fed a camel & a llama
11:30am  Gift Shop
12:30pm  Hit the road for Little Rock
2:00pm Visited Global Village & took a tour of the super green Heifer Headquarters building and said hi to Todd, our Study Tour Team Leader
4:00pm On the road to Memphis
6:00pm Arrived at Graceland to realize they lock it up at 5
7:30pm Saw Armadillo
9:00pm Arrived in Tupelo, MS

Day 26 - The Day I Milked a Goat

Day 26
Elk City, OK - Perryville, AR  Heifer Ranch

Long day of driving through places that were about 108 degrees today but it ended at the Heifer Ranch where I:
* took a quick look through the gift shop to see what damage I can do tomorrow
* took lots of fun photos
* milked a goat
* walked three goats back to their pasture on a leash
* rode in the farm truck through the cow pasture with one of the volunteers
* had the best meal of the trip so far at a Mexican place in town
* checked into one of the rooms at the ranch that is super clean and comfortable
Tomorrow is breakfast with Sarah, one of the Honduras trip leaders...a tour of the ranch...more photos...gift shopping and then back to the road.

Day 25 - The Day of The Big Rainstorm & The Roadrunner

Day 25
Albuquerque, NM - Elk City, OK
432 miles
States So Far This Summer:  Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington State, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma & the a general state of confusion.  :-)

Now that the excitement of the west is over it's time to buckle down and get some hours in over the next few days.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR.  Driving through the Texas Panhandle today it rained for the first time on my trip.  And when I say rained I mean I couldn't see the white lines and pulled over using the rumble strip as a guide.  The sky was beautiful when the rain finally stopped.  I blame the Bush's for the Texas rainstorm.  I learned today that Amarillo produces 90% of the beef in the state of Texas and that accounts for 25% of the beef in the USA.  I think it was a great town to contemplate veganism while driving through.  Also, I learned today that broccoli is made from milk as you will see explained in my photos for the day.  Visited some petroglyphs, saw a rabbit and a roadrunner.  Stopped at some Cadillacs sticking out of the ground.  Interesting day full of a lot of driving.

Day 24 - The day I neither drove north to Arches or south to the Saguaros

Day 24
Flagstaff, AZ - Albuquerque, NM

I've somehow lost track of my mission...seeing every cool thing the US has to offer before returning home.  :-)  The days are fewer and the places more.  Better get busy on that list of places to visit once I get back home.  Today I went to Petrified Forest National Park.  It wasn't that scary.  The photo above is of the Painted Desert.

You may have been on the road too long...
...if your seat breathes a sigh of relief each time you get out of the car.
...if taking photos from the driver's seat seems like the perfect angle for any shot.
...if you get almost as excited about unlimited salad bars as you do National Parks.
...if you've seen at least one appendage that looks real floating downstream.
...if your new best friend is your container of Lady Anti Monkey Butt Anti Friction Powder.
...if you're not sure how many public restrooms you've made use of in recent weeks.
...if you have nightmares of dropping essential items into pit toilets.
...if you've worked out a plan of how to retrieve said essential items.
...if you've devised a way to wedge your cell phone between your bra and seat belt for hands free car chats.
...if you have no idea what city you are in when you wake up or go to sleep.
...and last but not least, you know you've been on the road too long when it just seems run of the mill that the old man checking into the Super 8 ahead of you asks where the hospital is because he has kidney stones and may need to go there during the night.  It's not odd that he's driven from Colorado after getting a shot of morphine at his home hospital, which has has followed up with morphine pills.  It hardly even seems strange when he mentions his leg is still bleeding quite a bit and you and the hotel clerk gaze down to see some sort of medical apparatus hanging from his leg under his shorts.  All in a days travel.

Day 23 - Day of the Bighorn Sheep & The Grand Canyon

Day 23
Boulder City, Nevada - Flagstaff, Arizona
Gas Price Range Today - $3.45 to $4.09

In honor of last night's stay at the Nevada Inn I'd like to give some tips on how to know if you are checking into and staying at a roach motel.
1.  If a sign on check in desk says, "Only two rolls of toilet paper will be provided per week and no extra tissues."
2.  If the rooms have a jacuzzi that can only be used for an additional $20.
3.  If the hotel sign lights up in neon like a casino.
4.  If a large banner near the street proclaims the largest parking lot around as one of the draws to stay there.
5.  If you walk into the room and it's 95 degrees because the air conditioner has been turned off all day and the mini fridge is also unplugged.
6.  If the carpet is so stained you keep your shoes on until you get into the bed.
7.  If you wear flip flops into the shower.
8.  If you take in your own pillow and sleeping bag and strip the bed to the bottom sheet and then get nervous because you know the pillow and sleeping bag have to go back in the car in the morning.
9.  And finally you know if you're at a roach motel if the giant bug on the window sill begs you to let it outside as you close the curtain for the night.

I would like to thank Rachel Maddow for her public fascination with the Hoover Dam without which I would have passed it over and missed seeing bighorn sheep, funky chipmunks and some yet unidentified birds.  I'd thank her personally, but she still hasn't accepted my friend request on facebook.  What's up with that Rachel?!?

The Grand Canyon was grand, living up to it's name.  Most of the people there today were French.  I noticed they have a different take on personal space.  For instance, if you're in the space they'd like to be standing in they just bump you out of the way if you don't make it a point to stand your ground.  It would seem they are a people who know what they want and get it.  Or at least this seemed to be the trend for those at the Canyon.

Tune in tomorrow for...Signs that you have been driving too long.

Day 22 - The Day I Saw a Bear

Day 22
Sequoia NP - Boulder City, NV
Milage: 7,700

Saw a bear, drove, saw lots of hills, drove, saw Vegas, drove, at cheap hotel, tired.

Tomorrow:  Hoover Dam and then 4.5 hours to The Grand Canyon

Day 21 - Back on Track

Day 21 

Merced, CA - Yosemite NP - Sequoia NP

Milage: 6700

Days remaining:  14ish  I’m slightly behind and hoping for a time warp of some sort

I’m feeling slightly stuck on the west coast and realizing that it may be time to get a move on.  I have about two weeks left and lots of stops left to make.  Today I made the two hour drive to Yosemite, snapped a few shots, did a few up in black & white in homage to Ansel Adams and headed on down the road.  Next stop, entrance to Sequoia National Park.  Tip:  If you don’t want your car to start overheating in the mountains, turn off your air conditioner and just sweat instead.  When I arrived at the visitor center at 8:30 the campground was full...but, the nice ranger lady gave me a special tag to park in the parking lot near a picnic table and bathrooms so I wouldn’t have to try to drive to another location.  It’s nice to sleep legally.  :-)  

Tomorrow I will finish out Sequoia NP and am determined to make it out of the state!  Next stop...The Grand Canyon - South Rim.

Day 20 - The Good News Is...Tomorrow Will Have to be Great Compared to Today

Day 20
Richardson's State Park, CA - Merced, CA (80 miles from Yosemite)

Milage:  Not sure because the oil change guy reset it!  I hate round about numbers!
Money Spent on Gas:  Not sure since I forgot to get a receipt today after 19 days of saving them all.
Are the Animals at Farm Sanctuary California as adorable as the ones in New York?  Your guess is as good as mine since I drove up and down mountains, on dirt roads, in The Mendocino National Forest most of the day and couldn't make it to Farm Sanctuary before it closed.
Are those sea lions still near the piers in San Francisco?  You mean the ones I missed to go to Farm Sanctuary today?
What should you do if you get lost in the Mendocino National Forest, you ask?  I recommend stopping at the Soda Creek Store to ask for directions.  You'll know it because it's the only store for about 2 hours in all directions.  You'll see lots of broken down cars, trucks and various other equipment strewn around the yard and if you turn down the radio you'll likely hear some gun shots from the people hunting in the woods.  As you approach the store be sure to check out the kittens in the playpen on the front porch and heed the sign to leave all your dogs in your truck.  If you dare go inside you can tell the owner I sent you.  He'll be the guy behind the counter cooking food with a grizzly gray ponytail and beard, no shirt, home done tattoos and several missing teeth.  Lucky for you he is extremely nice and great at giving directions even if they do take you 2 hours to get back down the mountain and on to pavement again.  Also, in case you're not great at remembering directions there may be a lady eating corn dogs sitting at the counter who will write them down for you while bickering with the shirtless man about the best route.  Oh, and when you walk in to ask for directions she'll tell you you're in Nevada but then feel bad when she sees the shocked look on your face.  About half way through the directions another lady will probably walk through to see if the dogs have been fed and watered yet.  The shirtless man with ask her to give you directions up over the mountain.  She'll look at your car, look back at shirtless man and mutter...I'm not sending her over the mountain in "that".  Apparently and Element is not a good mountaineering vehicle.  If you follow your directions well you will eventually make it out alive.  While on your journey you may see dozens of squirrels running beside your car, a wild turkey and some fabulous photo opportunities.  You'll surely be too exhausted, stressed out and worried you may not make it back to civilization to stop and take any shots though.  I'd recommend stopping once or twice.  Watch out for the fire rescue truck and the four wheelers, though.
Tomorrow a whirlwind tour of Yosemite and surrounding parks. Tonight I used to make to make it to Merced...not the GPS!

Day 19 - Redwoods, Roosevelt Elks & A Gray Whale

Day 19

Brookings, OR - Richardsons Grove State Park, CA

To Do List:  Purchase satellite phone, get a pop-up feature installed on the Element, send postcards, find a moose

Reasons to love Washington State Part 2:   poison ivy doesn’t grow there, Dunkin Donuts doesn’t exist there, there are as many recycling bins as trash bins and even the pit toilet huts don’t smell.  Did I mention that I didn’t sweat once the whole time I was there?  Well, actually I haven’t sweat since Wyoming.  I have a feeling that is about to change drastically starting tomorrow!

You might be in Oregon if...you don’t notice the light turned green and no one honks at you to hurry up.

You might be in Oregon if...someone nearly runs you down with a grocery cart and then gives you an apology instead of a dirty look.

You might be in Oregon if...you receive unsolicited advice about the best place in town to purchase windshield wipers and the ones you have in your hand are crap and won’t fit anyway.

You might be in Oregon if...there are more people riding bicycles than driving cars.

You might be in Oregon if...hitchhikers expect to get picked up and look for an explanation if you aren’t stopping for them.

You might be in Oregon if...you are eating breakfast at McDonalds and a crazy old man with caterpillar eyebrows sits down beside you and loudly complains about the milk being 1% instead of 2%.  He doesn’t know why they had to change it...he liked the 2%.  His attention was only diverted when someone in the parking lot, parked beside his vehicle which started an entirely new rant.

Number of people who have commented on the “slide to unlock” magnet stuck to my car door:  6...three of them actually asked me if it works to unlock the car

Number of restaurants I have seen that have signs that simply say restaurant: 4

By the way, if you’re coming to northern California be sure to buy gas before you get here.  $4.09/gallon is the cheapest I could find for over an hour. 

Funny thing...when you drive from Oregon into California they have a checkpoint set up that looks like a country to country border crossing.  I was asked if I was carrying any produce into the state.  I admitted to my one banana hoping the vegetable sniffing dog wasn’t around the corner.  She said one banana would be okay and offered me a map of the California State Parks.  It felt a little like what I imagine the twilight zone is like.  

Northern California is full of amazing Redwoods.  Everyone should walk in a grove of Redwoods at least once in their lifetime.  Photos cannot do them justice.  I met a man and his son from Kentucky there.  The father filled me in his sons interests, college choices and current grad school studies then offered me map of Kentucky in case I end up there on my way home.  I also met Jackie Rave.  Jackie is a nut.  I know more about her than I know about the majority of my friends.  I could not lose her.  She talked about her children, nieces, taking photos, her first camera, her first digital camera, her current camera, shooting weddings, facebook pages I should check out and much, much more.  I must look like I want to meet people.  I’ll work on that.  ;-)

Big driving day tomorrow.  Hoping to make it to the Yosemite area.

Day 18 - Oregon Coastacular

Day 18
Cape Lookout State Forest, Pacific Sunset Inn, Brookings, OR
Splurged on a flash back to the 70's hotel for $60 tonight.  The owner Lydia is nice.  She has lived in this area for about 35 years.   She likes the weather.  Who wouldn't?  Love it.  I'm only 14 miles from the Redwood Forests.  I've wanted to see them since I first heard about them in elementary school.  I still can't comprehend how a tree can be large enough for a car to drive through.  Oregon coast is spectacular.  It took me forever because I couldn't pass up a viewpoint.  Visited a spot with sea lions.  Wow!Maybe I'll be rested enough to think of something witty to blog tomorrow night.  :-)

Day 17 - The Day of No Room at the Inn

Day 17
Hoh Rainforest Olympic NP, Washington - Cape Lookout Campground, Oregon
Milage:  5,071
Favorite State Ever:  Washington State

It has...Seattle, the ocean, average temps in the 70's in the summer, rugged coastline, mountains with snow & baby deer.  It has...Chipotle, fresh, sustainable food markets, elk, wildflowers and diversity.  It has...rainforests, national parks, moose (although well hidden), marmots and wildlife sanctuaries.  It has fresh seafood, scenic vistas, ferries, inlets, sounds, herons, eagles, osprey and cool breezes.  Tomorrow...Oregon!

Today started with a walk in the rainforest where I spotted a pileated woodpecker, a Stellars Jay and a dark-eyed junco.  Traveled the rest of the Washington coast, crossed into Oregon and realized it was Saturday.  This seems to be a day when everyone decides to go camping.  After several failed attempts to find a campground or a hotel I pulled into the day parking of Lookout Point State Park in Oregon.  After avoiding the sign that said no admittance between 10pm and 7am I found a quiet spot and squeaked in a few hours of sleep before waking up early enough to beat it out of there before the people who put the sign up got there.  I even successfully snuck a shower at the campground bathrooms before hitting the road for Day 18.  :-)

Day 16 - The Night Camped in the Rainforest (Okay, it’s a temperate rainforest, but still.)

Day 16

Seabeck State Park Campground, WA - Hoh Rainforest Campgroud, Olympia NP

Milage:  4,780

Clothing:  95% dirty 

Accidents: 1 - thankfully I wasn’t in it, I just had to find a way to drive around it or wait the estimated 1-2 hours for the road to be cleared.  I love my iPhone navigation feature!!

Herons:  24

Bald Eagles: 1

Ducks:  6

Robins: 2

Gulls:  5

Deer: 17

Moose: 0

I’ve hit my favorite area of the country so far!  Northwest you are the best.  Washington state is super great.  For Seattle I’d go to battle.  Route 101, you’re #1.  Excellent breakfast at Barbie’s Cafe in Seabeck.  An omelette with onion, shrimp, avocado and cream cheese with hash browns and a grilled english muffin.  Mmm...in fact that was lunch as well.  :-)  When I move to the northwest I will live in the city and have a weekend home on one of the bays or sounds southwest of Seattle.  

Day 15 - Seattle Public Market

6:45am - Time I left the campground

10:00pm - Time I rolled into tonight’s campground

Cheney, WA - Somewhere else in Washington on the other side of the state.  :-)

Time in car...about 10 hours.  My foot is starting to resemble a gas pedal.

Today’s spot to not sight a moose:  Turnbull Wildlife Refuge - I did see lots of great birds including a Canadian Goose that just stood in the middle of the road and then ran alongside the car when I would try to squeeze past it.  See video that I’ll post to my page later.  (Does anyone know how to rotate videos before uploading to facebook?)

Seattle’s Public Market area could be days worth of fun!  Also, there is a Chipotle only three blocks away.  Double score!  I think I could live in Seattle.  It has a great energy.

After leaving Seattle I punched in my next destination and hit “go” on the GPS.  It let me to a ferry instead of giving me land directions to my next location.  An hour and a half through rush hour traffic both ways.  I think I may need to shut the GPS off and just use my spidey sense instead!  Worst news:  The ferry was in the opposite direction of where I was actually trying to go.  How did I not notice this?  I believe I had ceased to think at that point.

Oh, forgot to mention the guy who came running toward my car waving his arms last night when I got off an exit in Spokane to look for a park.  Luckily the light turned green and I sped off...only to have two people on the highway honk at me.  Doggone those headlights!  At least I didn’t have another run in with the men in blue.  

Tomorrow:  Olympic National Park - Hoh Rainforest, Oregon and maybe Northern California

Day 14 - The Vortex

At The Vortex ;-)

Day 14
West Glacier, MT - Cheney, WA
296 miles + detours

After sleeping in a tshirt, fleece, long pants and thick socks...under a sheet, down blanket and sleeping bag...I awoke to rain.  Nix the hiking idea.  Warmed up the breakfast I prepared the night before.  Stopped at a few more overlooks.  Saw a warbler of some sort.  Took Route 2, the road less traveled.  Saw lots of interesting little towns.  Visited the vortex, an area with some sort of special energy that makes people shrink and tree branches grow funny.  I think it may have been optical illusions...but I'm not so sure.  Stopped at lots of pull-offs that threatened to have wildlife viewing.  Ha!  Found the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge and did see some white tail deer, a kingfisher, three new kinds of hummingbirds, red tailed hawks and 2 bald eagles.  I also met a guy who recommended I go to Turnbull Wildlife Refuge, so I'm camped 3 miles away and checking it out in the morning.  He guaranteed a moose sighting.  ;-)  Tomorrow my toes should touch the Pacific.

Day 13 - The Day I Decided I Don’t Really Care If I See Wildlife (Reverse Psychology)

Me standing beside a huge wall of frozen snow.  Brrr!

Day 13

Caldwell, MT - Glacier National Park, MT Avalanche Campground

Travel Time:  5 hrs to park and 2 hrs driving half way through

What I can see as I type this:  my campfire and my breath...it is freezing!!

Yesterdays Temperature Span:  33 degrees in the morning to 88 degrees at noonish...tonight I think it’s colder.  I actually ran the heater in the car this morning.  So, in the past 13 days I’ve been at 33 degrees, 116 degrees, at sea level & at 6640 feet above sea level.  

Total Miles:  3763

With each new park comes a realization I might have made earlier had I researched any of the parks I’m visiting before departing home.  :-)  Here’s what I’ve learned about Glacier.  It’s all trails with one road cutting through the middle.  Although the road is called Going-To-The-Sun Road, it rained during 90% of the time I was driving on it today.  I think the mountain lions, moose, bighorn sheep and grizzly bears forgot their raincoats because there wasn’t a one in sight.  However, I’m sure they all have their designated spots along the hiking trails for people who take to the woods to have exciting wildlife sightings.  In the morning I am going to hike a trail near my campsite.  Before I leave I’m going to rub myself down with some good smelling food and not make a sound as I round blind corner and bushes, in hopes to see something terrifying.  I’ve already burned some paper towel with butter on it in my campfire in hopes of luring one in tonight.  Actually, I am just out of fire starters and had to come up with the next best thing.  

Tips for Travelers  

• Remember the marshmellows. 
• Altitude is nothing to shake a stick at.  It’s harder to breathe, things cook funny and it feels like winter after the sun goes down.  
• It’s good to find a campsite by 7:00pm, even if you could drive a couple more hours.
• When passing through a National Park in 24 hours it is best to choose 2 things to focus on instead of driving through trying to stop indiscriminately and making yourself nuts
• Gas up before you have less than half a tank...there are a lot of corn fields and cow pastures between you and the next gas station. 
• Most of the northern half of the US is less developed than MA.  Forget finding a Whole Foods or a Chipotle.  You’ll feel like you’ve struck the lottery when a gas station has mini vegetarian pizzas ready in 8 minutes.  Today I ran across a market that sold organic and locally grown products...it’s the first one I’ve seen since leaving MA.  
• Have plenty of Wet Ones
• A clean & organized car is a happy car
• Figure out some way to be ready to take a photo of a pheasant as it flies out of the grass in front of your car...because that would be a really cool looking picture to post on facebook.  
• And last but not least...sometimes the quickest way to get somewhere is to slow down.

Day 12 - The Day I Met Lee and Tiva

Day 12
Yellowstone NP - Lewis & Clark State Park, Montana
Total Miles:  A lot
Total Bison:  Probably more than miles
Total Bug Bites:  About 15
Hours to Glacier NP: 4.5

Today's highlight was meeting Lee and Tiva...man and dog.  They are traveling from Oregon to Arkansas together...on a bicycle with an attached cart for Tiva to sit on as Lee pedals!  I caught up with them during a water break.  Apparently lots of people have been enjoying the photo op, even Tiva was looking great for the camera.  Yesterday they were being tracked by a wolf until someone in a truck came by and gave them a ride out of harms way.  Very interesting fellow.  I think I should have invited him to have some lunch with me and stolen a bit more time to talk.  The side of the road with bugs circling like vultures is not the best spot to chat.

Tomorrow it's off to Glacier where I am determined to see a moose, mountain goats a bear or two and bighorn sheep (I think they have those.)

Animals, new to me, I'm pretty sure I've seen so far: bison, elk, mule deer, marmot, pica, black wolf, pronghorn & lots of new birds I haven't IDed yet.

Day 11 - Here Moosey moosey...

Day 11 Yellowstone

Grand Teton NP - Yellowstone NP

Drove around all day stopping at various thermal features and animals sightings.

  

Realization of the day:  Yellowstone is huge and full of turnoffs of all sorts

Realization #2:  It is overwhelming to try to figure out what to do if you only want to spend 1.5 days in Yellowstone.

Realization #3:  This feeling of being overwhelmed is multiplied by lack of internet to research the sights you’d most like to see.

Solution:  Visit gift shop and purchase a cool mug and a bumper sticker and just keep on driving

Problem of the day:  Everyone else decided to camp in Yellowstone tonight, too.  Had to drive out of park and stay at a spot that only allows hard sided vehicles...no tents, no pop-ups...due to grizzly bear activity.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  

If had a photo of an animal in the roadway for every sign that said, “Caution:  Animal in Roadway” I’d have a lot of photos.  So far I’ve seen one deer cross the roadway.  I think they paid him just to make the signs not a total lie.  

Deep thought of the day:  “There are not enough warning signs in the world to account for stupid.”  After reading a huge sign about the importance of staying on the walkway at the thermal features, including statistics of people who have been burned to death in their acidic grips, I still saw people hopping off the boardwalk for photo ops, touching the ground to see if it was really hot and sticking their hand in the streams of boiling water.  Most of these actions sent the ranger on duty into a complete state of panic as she ran toward the people screaming.  I say there’s a lot to be said for survival of the fittest.  Let’s take down the signs and just let common sense be our guide.  

Day 10 - The day the mighty moose continued to elude me

Day 10

Lusk, WY - Grand Teton National Park (last possible campground before hitting Yellowstone)

Driving Time:  10 hours...including 2 hour drive through park

Found a great coffee shop in Lusk for a bagel and tea.  Successfully dodged a deer wandering into town and a pick-up adorned with Sarah Palin bumper stickers.  Considered myself off to a good start.  You might be small town if...funeral home notices are hung in the window of your only grocery store so people know when calling hours are.  Although earlier in the day I passed through Lost Springs pop. 4, so I guess Lusk is    kind of a big city with 844.  Continued on with a long drive.  Stopped at a Wyoming Audubon spot and found some new birds and got a lesson on poisonous snakes from a local couple walking two cute dogs that apparently eat salad.  It’s funny where conversations go.  Then a drive through the Tetons as the sun went down.  Beautiful.  Bison, deer, elk...no moose.  

Best name seen for lodging:  C’mon Inn

Range in gas price during this drive:  $3.32 to $4.09  Supply and demand...who knew there were oil wells in Wyoming?

Biggest benefit in small town America:  gas stations sell everything

Day 9 - More Prairie Dogs and Bison

Day 9
Badlands National Park, SD - Lusk, Wyoming
Travel Time:  3 hours
Visited:  Badlands NP - Wall, SD, Mt. Rushmore NP, Custer State Park
Highlight:  Herd of buffalo walking past car about 3 feet away

Tomorrow is a travel day.  Seven hours to Grand Teton and Yellowstone.  Looking forward to a shower...although I won't be touching anything in the bathroom.  Tonight I'm camping in a place with two RV's that people live in, rabbits and a raccoon.  

Day 8 - The day I didn't get arrested and fell in love with prairie dogs.

Day 8
Valentine, NE - Badlands National Park, SD
2 hrs + time driving around 2 parks
Total miles driven:  2,383.4
Highlights of day:  Feeding peanuts to prairie dogs, watching the sunset over the formations at Badlands...oh, and not getting arrested.

So, to kick off my police involvement I was pulled over in the booming town of Valentine, NE last night after driving for 9.5 hours...because I didn't have my headlights on.  Ugh.  Find license, find registration, wait with bright light shining in eyes...police returns and asks what's in the baggie in my front seat.  Oh, you mean my drug stash?!?  Just my teabags.  He did, in the end, recommend a hotel to stay at.  That was just my warming up.  So, on Monday I saw this hand in a canal:

I thought, what a great gag...someone put a fake hand in this canal.  On Tuesday a friend of mine said she thought the hand was real and I maybe should call the cops.  Well, I had already started having my doubts, but really...who finds a dead body on a random canal stop on vacation?  It kept nagging at the back of my mind though, so today I figured out where I took the photo and called the sheriff.  Kind of Dukes of Hazzard like.  I thought what a fabulous concerned citizen I was...until I got called back 4 times with questions about why I hadn't called sooner, if anyone had seen the hand with me, if I noticed anyone else in the area, how close had I gotten to the hand, what was the exact time of the photo, had I seen a body and why did I have a close up photo?  Suddenly, past CSI episodes started flashing through my head.  Was I a suspect now?  What are the laws on reporting a random hand you think is fake to the police.  My last call ended with the sheriff and crew at the canal checking into things.  Panic attack ensued.  I wondered what jail in small town Indiana might be like.  How would I get my Element back to MA?  Could I hide out in a cave in the Badlands?  After an hour of playing worst case scenario I called back to check.  The nice lady Joyce was gone.  What is your name and what is your business in calling was the response when I asked for her.  Gulp...I'm the person that called about the hand?  It was fake.  We had a shift change and got busy so we couldn't call you back.  Phew?!?  So, I guess I'll be traveling a few more days after all.  Tonight I am camping inside Badlands National Park.  It is amazingly beautiful and so far there haven't been any suspicious hands.

Day 7 - More Corn

Day 7
Cedar Falls, IA - Valentine, NE
9.5 hours of corn, soybeans & cows

Fun Facts:
* Rick and Terry Kottman are great hosts!  I recommend that everyone visit at least once in their lifetime.
* The size of one's ankles seems to run in direct proportion to the number of hours driven x temperature squared
* The USA grows crazy amounts of corn and soybeans
* Dairy Queen has a new mini size blizzard
* The midwest is just as barren as you've heard and there's more corn than you can imagine
* The Missouri River is flooded, don't plan on taking Route 29 as a scenic birding route
* It is impossible to keep a windshield bug free in Nebraska
* Try having your headlights on after dark if you don't want to get pulled over by the Valentine, NE police department
*  Heat index yesterday - 115 degrees
*  Heat index today - 106
* I know now that there must be air conditioning in heaven

Not fun facts:
* I witnessed my first cattle feed lot today.  It smelled like raw sewage with cows packed in like sardines, no room to move, no grass to eat and no shelter on a day that was 106 degrees.  Please eat meat responsibly...know where your meat comes from.
* A bird hit my windshield
* I got a sad animal chicken sandwich today when I ordered a Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's

The Mighty Mississippi & Yoga

Day 6
Brimfield, IL - Cedar Falls, IA
5ish hours with detours

Woke up in Jubilee Camp State Park thankful the raccoons from the night before didn't carry me off.  I was convinced on several occasions that the car was moving ever so slightly...but it may have just been the torrents of sweat pouring off me and dripping down to the floorboards of the car causing the shaking.  :-)  After a brief detour to the birthplace of Carl Sandburg it was off to the Mississippi.  Dipped my toes in while dodging a barking dog and no trespassing signs.  Apparently the people of Iowa want the riverbank all to themselves.  Arrived at Terry & Rick's place.  Ahh.  An oasis.  Throw in some restorative yoga, an ice cream cone and fabulous conversations and you can call it a day.  I wonder how many cornfields I'll see tomorrow?  Feel free to take guesses and I'll have some fun prize for whoever comes closest.  :-)  Next destination...Mount Rushmore.

The day with a Segway

Day 5

Cincinnati, OH - Brimfield, IL

6 hours travel time + 1 hour on a Segway

2 swollen ankles from too much driving

4 states passed through today

100 corn fields per state passed through

21 public bathroom used since start of trip

1,000+ miles driven

5 raccoons spotted near the dumpster

2 deer crossed my path as I drove to tent site

Location Information

Eureka, IL  The college home of Ronald Reagan

Kickapoo Creek, IL - no swimming allowed

Farmer City, IL - wins award for most oxymoronic city passed

Learned that the ship that delivered the bombs to be dropped on Japan was hit and sunk by two torpedos on its journey home.  800 of the 1,192 men made it off the vessel.  Because it was a secret mission, it took 5 days for help to arrive.  Only 300 men made it to safety.  (Or so my Segway guide said.)  She also said a wildflower garden looked like weeds to her, so I don't give too much credence to her information.

Learned that salad can be a finger food.

Odd sightings

Sign in campground bathroom:  In case of emergency use phone at gas station 4 miles away.

A crop duster buzzing cars on the highway

A black leather whip in the middle of an off ramp

A hand sticking out of the canal I visited that I thought was fake, and now, that I've looked at the photo more closely, am not sure

Today's highlight:  Viewing hundreds of fireflies lighting up over a field at dusk.

Day w/Ducklings

Day 4
Barkcamp National Park, OH - Columbus, OH - Cincinnati, OH
Travel Time: 4 hrs.

This morning I awoke to the sweet sound of barking dogs and a neighboring camper throwing up in the woods near my car.  This should have been foreshadowing for the outcome of the World Cup Game that ensued.  Great company...sad ending.  Two new friends, topiary, baby ducks, grilled tuna, a bed and a shower in the morning that less than 2,000 other people have showered in.  :-)  Overall, a plus.

Wright On!

Day 3 - Ohiopyle, PA to Benton, OH  - 2.5 hrs

Number of Frank Lloyd Wright homes visited today:  2 (Kentuck Knob & Fallingwater)

Miles from Ohiopyle State Park campground to the first house, Kentuck Knob: 2

Number of states I've been in today:  3 (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio)

Campgrounds I tried to check into today:  2 (The first one looked like the Hotel California campground.  The doors to the office were chained shut with a note about calling for after hours check in...no, thanks.)

Chipmunks spotted: 2

Other wildlife:  birds and a raccoon...also, I can hear bats while I'm typing this

Today's Highlight:  Seeing two robins, in a nest attached to Fallingwater, feeding each other

Tomorrow I'll be visiting Anne, a friend from high school, in Columbus, OH to watch the Women's World Cup!  

Another Day...Another Goat

Day 2 - aka National Tapioca Pudding Day
Ithaca, NY to Ohiopyle, PA
Travel Time:  about 6.5 hours
Lowest Gas Price of the Day:  $3.59
Number of Bridges I Crossed:  Too many...see below.
What I Learned:  New York and Pennsylvania are full of mountains.  I think I went through the Adirondacks and the Allegenhys today.  
Most Unexpected Event:  Somerfest...complete with parade.  It was blocking my route so I stopped and watched for a while.
Expected Highlight for Tomorrow:  Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Today I visited Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY.  It is a giant farm for farm animals rescued from abusive situations.  It's amazing how relaxed animals get when no one is planning to eat them.  If you don't know where your meat and dairy come from it's likely produced in conditions that would give you nightmares and quickly make you consider veganism.  If you are eating animal products, it's healthier for you and kinder to living things to make sure the living things weren't tortured before you ingest them.  Hope you're not eating a big burger as you read this.  :-)  Farm Sanctuary has a great website and fun t-shirts as well.
Now, for the driving...I've realized today that our country spends a lot of money on signs that state the obvious.  I guess they are okay for people who have given up meaningful thought for Lent, but for the majority of people with a slight amount of common sense...they seem redundant and often a little ridiculous.  Here are a few of the messages that I surely would not have made it my destination without: Be Alert, Slow Down Now, Buckle Up, Slowing Down Can Save a Life, Bridge May Be Icy in conjunction with Bridges Freeze First...on every single bridge, didn't we all learn this in driver's ed??  And my favorite sign of the day...Beware of Aggressive Drivers (I'm wondering if there is a higher concentration of angry drivers in the areas with these signs...or if they are spreading like those attack bees from Mexico?)
Tonight  I also arrived too late for a fire but made one anyway.  Hope it goes out soon.  It's already tomorrow and I'm ready to hit the foam...that's on the seats...that turn into a bed...inside the car  :-)  

And the Journey Begins

Day 1
8ish hours
Ipswich, MA to Ithaca, NY
What surprised me today: a sudden lane split, a suicidal squirrel and something that fell out of a tree and almost hit me in the head
Word I most enjoyed saying today:  Schenectady
Place most likely to have a disease named after it: Schenevus
Things I learned today:  I still love goats, the Toyota Prius is taking over the roadways of America, out of the way is the way, although Ithaca is hip...it's hard to walk far before becoming overwhelmed by someone's body odor, the Erie Canal is a lot bigger than that photo in my sixth grade social studies book.
Best food I had today:  I guess the tofu burrito...that scares me.
What the Element would say about today if it could talk:  Phew!  (Should sound like my Grandmother when exclaimed.)
Most interesting famous site:  Bainbridge - Home of Elmer's Glue
Place I decided not to visit today: The Beer Cave in Oneonta
Tomorrow's predicted highlight:  Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, NY

Preparations

I'll be hitting the road soon for my summer road trip.  Not sure where I'm headed, when I'll get there or what I'll do there.  Very different from my usual way of travel.