Has It Really Been 3 Years??

Today marks our 3rd year anniversary of living and traveling on the road fulltime…and we’re still friends! The year saw us mourn the death of Russ’ mom, Bernice, and our very good friend and traveling companion, Scott Gad.

The year also saw us travel to new locations and meet new friends. We were able to visit Russ’ sister and family in NJ, and Susan’s sister in DE. From there we headed out west seeing many of the national parks that neither of us had been to before. We were so impressed with Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona during 2009 that we decided to head back out there for the summer of 2010. As we write this, we are finishing up over one month on the Colorado Plateau. We continue to explore new sights in The Folly as well as our trusty Saturn Vue. We hike those trails that we are able and are constantly amazed by what we see and learn. Water that is more than 4,000 years old finally making its way to the valley floor and exposed rock more than 2.5 billion years old boggles the mind. The stars you see without the light pollution of large cities are unbelievable.

We made our annual month-long trip to St. Louis, spending time with old friends and family. In Oct. we spent the month in the Florida Keys at three different state parks and made new friends who visited us while we were in Orlando. Speaking of Orlando, we spent the winter months there and continue to enjoy Walt Disney World. This spring we spent time on the white beaches of the Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coasts. Little did we know that a short time later these beaches would be threatened by a major oil spill.

We have taken many pictures over the last three years and have many fond memories of our travels. The trip has been much better than either of us originally thought it could be. We are still glad we got on the bus and our hope is that each of you may someday get to see this great country as we have.

THREE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS
28,220 RV miles
26,558 Saturn miles
10,996 feet highest elevation
3,596 gallons of diesel
1,787 monthly health insurance premium
597 longest 1 day drive
151 most consecutive days in one place
134 National Parks/Monuments Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport book)
106 highest temperature
91 National Parks/Monuments visited
88 campgrounds
80 cost of an annual National Parks pass (well worth the investment)
45 cost of our C2C campground membership (best investment we have ever made)
39 states traveled in
35 states spent the night in
35 annual maintenance fee for our campground membership
23 Saturn mpg
18 lowest temperature
18 family members visited
13 Junior Ranger badges earned
12 Sweet Adelines choruses visited
10 Missouri Tigers football games
9 nights spent in Wal-Mart parking lots
8 State Parks stayed in
7.8 RV mpg
5 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games
4 MLB parks
3 ferry rides
3 nights spent in Camping World parking lots
2 ferry rides that included the RV
2 states of residence
2 countries visited
2 shuttle launches
2 fish caught
1 St. Louis Rams football game

BEST/WORST- 6/19/08

National Park
Picking the best National Park is a tough one. We are going to go with Shenandoah Valley for its sheer beauty and solitude, and Gettysburg for its significance and the most humbling experience. There really isn't a "worst" National Park. Updated 6/19/09: Badlands National Park has to rank as one of the best. We still have not found a bad one. Updated 6/19/10: Badlands may not even be in the top 10 anymore. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Devils Tower are all amazing in their own right, and are listed in no particular order.
Campground
The Fiesta Key KOA in Long Key, FL, with its view out the front window of the Gulf and sunsets is hard to beat. Shiloh's RV & Travel Resort in Monroe, LA, was by far the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD, and Pine Island RV Resort in Jay, OK, are two of the best. Although Shiloh is still the worst, Frosty Acres Resort in Schenectady, NY, comes close. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park has to be added to the best…ocean 20 ft. in front of the RV.
Location
Long Key, FL, and Front Royal, VA, were equally enjoyable. No need to rush, no traffic, just the time to spend as you like. See Monroe, LA, for the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Add Rapid City, SD, to the list of best. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park and any of the national parks of the Colorado Plateau.
Restaurant
If you ever make it to Titusville, FL, the Dixie Crossroads is the place to eat. If you ever make it to DeFuniak Springs, FL, Bo's Family Country Cafe is a place of last resort. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Café Diablo in Torrey, UT, has been added to the best.
Pizza
Lombardo's in St. Louis, MO, is hard to beat. Think it has something to do with the cheese! Buck's in Denham Springs, LA, leaves a lot to be desired. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: No change.
Roads
Georgia and Texas seem to consistently have the best roads. Louisiana is the worst with New Jersey not far behind. Updated 6/19/09: Illinois and Minnesota have joined the ranks of bad roads. Although we are beginning to realize our federal highways are all in need of repair. Updated 6/19/10: Not sure that they are getting better.
Wal-Mart
The best Wal-Mart was in Front Royal, VA, and had only been open a few days when we visited. The worst is in Berlin, NJ, and we can understand why Russ' sister is not big on Wal-Marts! Updated 6/19/09: With Wal-Mart being our choice for basic staples, we do see a lot of them. Almost all of the newer ones are very nice, and one we visited outside Columbus, OH, is now #1. Updated 6/19/10: No change.
Supermarket
The Schnuck's in Eureka, MO, was great. We have never been to a Piggly Wiggly that is worth the price of admission. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Sweetbay in Clermont, FL, is added to the best.
Bakery
Tellico Grains Bakery in Tellico Plains, TN, was fantastic. As far as the worst, is there really a bad bakery?? Updated 6/19/09: We have stayed away from bakeries! Updated 6/19/10: No change.
Moment
Another tough one. Watching the shuttle launch, seeing the Milky Way from the Keys, and a big black bear on the Appalachian Trail. The worst moment....was that the awning?!?! Updated 6/19/09: Niagara Falls and Walt Disney World at Christmas can be added to the best, and the awning still ranks as the worst. Updated 6/19/10: Grizzly bears, eagles, and walking The Narrows.

A FEW THINGS WE'VE LEARNED
1) A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
2) There are 10,000 species of spiders, and most have visited us.
3) Gnats do not taste good.
4) The average person standing on any street corner of any city or town in this country has more common sense than the entire U.S. Congress combined.
5) There are as many varieties of camping vehicles as there are people out doing it.
Updated 6/19/09:
6) Our house batteries are important…take good care of them.
7) Anything under 32 degrees Fahrenheit is cold.
8) We will again watch fuel prices rise throughout the summer.
9) We have more fear coming down the mountain than we did going up.
10) Financial experts/advisors are pretty much worthless. Once they get your money, they never recommend selling. They seem to use the same pitch as the market continues to plummet, “All my big clients are buying because we are near the bottom.”
Updated 6/19/10:
11. Time is short and passes quickly.