Nine By The Numbers

Back in June 2015 as we began our 9th year on the road, we had no idea the changes the year would bring.  We finished our season in Yellowstone, made our annual visit to St. Louis, and headed to Florida.  As the winter wore on, we found we would be unable to make the trip back out to Yellowstone this year, and I got a job.

 

So many of you have told us that through this blog you have learned and seen things that you may never get the chance to for yourself and are living vicariously through us.  It’s a sentiment that always makes us smile, and we’ve been happy to share our adventures with you.

 

As we begin our 10th year of this RV lifestyle, we feel blessed to have had the opportunity, and it’s been even better than either of us originally imagined.  We’re glad we boarded The Folly, and our hope is that each of you may someday get to see this great country as we have.  None of us ever knows how long we may have so we need to enjoy it while we can and try to find the joy in even the littlest of things.  Who knows what the future holds!

As is our annual tradition, below you’ll find the updated “By The Numbers” and other fun stuff…so enjoy!

 

NINE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS

71,830 Saturn miles

61, 672 RV miles

11,158 feet highest elevation

8,481 gallons of diesel

625 longest 1 day drive

260 National Parks/Monuments Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport books)

241 most consecutive days in one place

128 campgrounds

106 highest temperature

105 National Parks/Monuments visited

92 nights spent in a casino parking lot

80 cost of an annual National Parks pass (well worth the investment)

72 nights spent in Wal-Mart parking lots

64 times we’ve crossed the Continental Divide

45 cost of our C2C campground membership (best investment we’ve ever made)

40 states traveled in

38 states spent the night in

35 annual maintenance fee for our campground membership

30 nights spent in Camping World parking lots

28 Sweet Adelines choruses visited

23 Saturn mpg

21 Junior Ranger badges earned

21 family members visited

19 State Parks stayed in

18 lowest temperature

18 Missouri Tigers football games

10 nights spent in Bass Pro/Cabela’s parking lots

8.1 RV mpg

6 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games

4 MLB parks

3 ferry rides

3 Missouri Tigers basketball games

2 ferry rides that included the RV

2 states of residence

2 countries visited

2 shuttle launches

2 fish caught

2 St. Louis Rams football games

1 Missouri Tigers volleyball 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. Updated 6/19/11: Now that we’ve had the chance to explore Capitol Reef, we may need to add it to the best list though we still haven’t found a “worst” National Park. Updated 6/19/12: Since we keep returning to Yellowstone, guess you could say it’s at the top of our list.  Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  Mesa Verde definitely has to be added to the best!  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

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! Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in the FL panhandle was great and is probably even better in nice weather.  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: Obviously have to add Yellowstone National Park as a favorite location.  Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  The FL panhandle has a lot of nice locations.  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

Restaurant

If you ever make it to Titusville, FL, 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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: Lombardo's in St. Louis should of course be on the list as one of the best. Updated 6/19/15:  No change  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Outlaw’s in Gardiner, MT, is pretty good but Lombardo’s still ranks the best. Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  Pizza at the Employee Pub left a lot to be desired though their calzones are pretty good.  Updated 6/19/16:  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. Updated 6/19/11: A lot of money being spent but still not much better. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: Added to the best list is I-90 through SD, but definitely added to the worst is I-55 North in MS from the state line to Jackson! Updated 6/19/15:  Added to the worst are Hwy 49 & I-20 in MS…maybe we should just list all roads in MS!!  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: No change Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  Bozeman, MT has some of the nicest and friendliest staff though their parking lot is kind of congested and not laid out well.  The Walmart we stayed at in Amarillo, TX was one of the nicest with excellent customer service.  Updated 6/19/16:  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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change Updated 6/19/13: Unfortunately the Sweetbay in Clermont closed this year.  We still considered it one of the best, but the neighboring community didn’t sustain it. Updated 6/19/14: No change Updated 6/19/15:  Visited a small Piggly Wiggly along the Gulf Coast in FL and still not worth the price of admission!  Updated 6/19/16:  No change

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. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Haven’t really seen many bakeries on our travels so no change. Updated 6/19/13: Main Street Bakery at the Magic Kingdom is definitely one of the best! Updated 6/19/14: No change  Updated 6/19/15:  No change  Updated 6/19/16:  No change…just don’t see bakeries any more.

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. Updated 6/19/11: Watching wolf pups frolic in the sage and a mama grizzly teaching her cubs to forage. Updated 6/19/12: Elk surrounding the RV and observing them during the rut was pretty cool. Added to the worst…who moved the road and fence post?!?!  Updated 6/19/13: Among the best…watching two bull elk locking horns, an SEC football game in Columbia, MO, and Christmas at Walt Disney World. Updated 6/19/14: Added to the best…seeing the Milky Way appear as if it were a cloud against the dark night sky, a newborn elk learning to walk, a herd of elk grazing just outside our door, enjoying special times with special friends. Updated 6/19/15:  Watching a group of kids from different countries who were strangers only hours before enjoying a fun game of soccer in the campground can be added to the best.  Updated 6/19/16:  Added to the best…driving the beautiful Beartooth Highway, watching the super moon lunar eclipse against a very dark night sky.  Added to the not so good…trying to pack the car during a downpour after a night of tent camping!

 

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.

Updated 6/19/11:

12) As a campground host, you find that everyone is pleasant and super friendly until you have to tell them they cannot do something and then watch out!

Updated 6/19/12:

13) No matter the species, mamas are super protective of their young.

14) People are pretty much the same no matter where you go.

Updated 6/19/13:

15) Mice can get in through the tiniest of holes.

16) Good friends are priceless.

17) The SEC has a lot of good football teams.

Updated 6/19/14:

18) Don’t get caught up in the stories.

19) Make the most of the time you have and cherish your true friends.

20) All baby critters are just way too cute!

Updated 6/19/15:

21) When folks go on vacation, they obviously leave their brains and all common sense at home.

22) Mice have a way of finding even the smallest of hidden entrances into an RV…can’t be said enough!

23) No matter how far the distance or how long of time since seen, good friends always remain good friends.

Updated 6/19/15:

24) Life doesn’t always go as planned, but everything happens for a reason.