4 Years & Counting!

The old saying “time flies when you’re having fun” surely describes the past 4 years because it doesn’t seem like we’ve been on the road that long. Today marks our 4th anniversary, and this year, as you know, we tried our hand at campground hosting. This just happens to be one of our days on duty so no time to celebrate, but that’s ok…we can still reminisce and be grateful for this wonderful opportunity we’ve had to see so much and meet so many great people.

The animals are still hanging in there with us. Mikey will be 15 later this year and Abby just turned 9 while Jo turned 17 a couple months ago. All seem to enjoy discovering new places especially the dogs because of all those wonderful new smells at every stop!

Once again we made our trek out west spending a couple of months between Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone doing one of our favorite things…watching the wildlife. We also spent nearly 3 weeks just outside Washington, DC, making the drive into our nation’s capital many times day and night. So much to see and do there for free!

We made our annual month-long trip to St. Louis, spending time with old friends and family. Our annual tailgate party in downtown St. Louis that 4 years ago had 15 people in attendance grew to nearly 50 this year. And of course we went east to visit Russ’ sister and family in NJ, and Susan’s sister and husband in DE. It’s been so great that we’ve been able to spend quality time with so many, and we’ve joked that we’ve seen more of our family and friends in the last 4 years than we did in the previous 25!

Spending our winters in the Orlando, FL, area allows us visits to see Mickey and his friends as often as we like, and Walt Disney World is so beautiful at Christmas.

We don’t know where this journey will continue to lead us, but we are truly appreciative for all that we've experienced and look forward to another great year.

FOUR YEARS BY THE NUMBERS
35,409 RV miles
34,171 Saturn miles
11,158 feet highest elevation
4,651 gallons of diesel
1,852 monthly health insurance premium
625 longest 1 day drive
184 National Parks/Monuments Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport book)
151 most consecutive days in one place
106 campgrounds
106 highest temperature
85 National Parks/Monuments visited
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)
40 states traveled in
37 states spent the night in
35 annual maintenance fee for our campground membership
23 Saturn mpg
20 Junior Ranger badges earned
18 lowest temperature
18 family members visited
16 Sweet Adelines choruses visited
16 nights spent in Wal-Mart parking lots
12 Missouri Tigers football games
10 State Parks stayed in
8.2 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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!