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| June 2007 - Bald River Falls, TN |
June 19, 2007, 6:30PM - that’s
when we hit the road and started this crazy, incredible adventure not knowing
much about what we were doing or the RV lifestyle other than what we had read
in books and online. As it turned out,
much of that information was old, and the lifestyle was more expensive and
different than we had anticipated, but we have learned so much, seen
so many amazing
places, and made lots of new friends. We
have been told by many that through this blog they have learned and seen things
that they may never get the chance to for themselves and are living vicariously
through us. It’s a sentiment that makes
us smile, and we’re happy to be able to share our adventures with you. Though we have not made it to all 50 states
(which some of you are quick to point out if yours is one of those we haven’t
visited yet!), one never knows where we may show up next,
and we hope you
continue to enjoy our travels.
As we begin our 9th year on the
road, we feel blessed to have been able to have this opportunity. 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. As is our annual tradition,
below you’ll find the updated “By The Numbers” and other fun stuff…so enjoy!
EIGHT YEARS BY THE NUMBERS
64,689 Saturn miles
59,106 RV miles
11,158 feet highest elevation
7,603 gallons of diesel
625 longest 1 day drive
547 monthly health insurance
premium
254 National Parks/Monuments
Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport books)
163 most consecutive days in one
place
128 campgrounds
106 highest temperature
105 National Parks/Monuments
visited
80 cost of an annual National
Parks pass (well worth the investment)
76 nights spent in a casino
parking lot
69 nights spent in Wal-Mart
parking lots
54 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
17 Missouri Tigers football games
8.1 RV mpg
8 nights spent in Bass
Pro/Cabela’s parking lots
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!!
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, and the Walmart we stayed at in Amarillo, TX
was one of the nicest with excellent customer service.
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!
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
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.
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.
23) No matter how far the distance
or how long of time since seen, good friends always remain good friends.
*Critters we’ve seen on our
2015 trip so far: elk, mule, mule deer, llama, prairie dog, donkey, bison,
coyote, pronghorn, Uinta ground squirrel, black bear, moose, bighorn sheep, yellow-bellied
marmot, wolf, least chipmunk, fox, bull
snake
The last half of June seemed to
fly by between work, visits with friends, and social activities. Friends Nancy and Steve who are working
in the 
Before leaving 
to work two of the days! Once
they got settled, I took the three of them up to the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel
so they could sign up for one of the guided bus tours of the park as they had
done before, but all were booked up for the next two days so their plan was to
just drive the RV on a self-guided tour.
From there I took them to see the 
newly remodeled 
up to making that walk. 
over the next two days since we wouldn’t need
it while working. After much insistence,
they finally agreed and were so grateful afterwards because they saw so much
more than they would have with the RV.
Too soon it was time for them to head out as they wanted to make it to
Little Big Horn for the battle re-enactment that was to take place in a couple
of days. A nice visit but way too short.
We’d seen very few elk in the
campground so far this year and only a couple of calves. However that afternoon after Joe, Nancy, and
Kara had left we were treated to not only several cows but also several
calves. They slowly made their way
across the campground, grazing as they went, and a couple even stopped just
outside my 
window (mama was definitely keeping an eye on me). And at one point there were 7 calves just
outside our door! In the picture at left you can see 5 of them standing in
the field plus one lying down, its ears visible just above the grass, and the
seventh was out of picture range. It’s
so fun to see them 
interact with each other, and I love hearing their little
“mews” as they call out to each other and their mothers. The next day a young bull also stopped stop by for a visit. Maybe the tide
was going to turn and we’d be seeing more of them.
Our next social event was another
retirement potluck, this time for Ranger Eric that was held at the Stephen’s
Creek Barn. It was much newer and modern
than what we had expected, having been completed in early 2011 with
contributions from the Yellowstone Park Foundation, the official fundraising
partner for the park. 
This 9,900 sq. ft. barn houses the park’s working horses
and mules, the proper storage of grain and tack, and provides rider
training. About 100 horses and mules are
used for visitor protection, law enforcement, backcountry trail patrols, and
wildlife management. 
For this evening’s
event the livestock had been ushered out to pasture, giving everyone the
opportunity to tour the place including the tack room and leather shop. Quite
an impressive facility!
This was a pig roast pot luck, and
the pig had been on the grill for hours.
While everyone continued to arrive, mingle, and check out the barn, a
couple of the guys were busy carving up the main course. As always there was more than 
enough food to
go around, and another specially designed cake.
Everyone marveled at how much the figure on top of the cake looked like
Eric right down to the radio mike worn on its shoulder! After everyone had eaten, several friends and
co-workers got up to share stories and pay tribute to his 30 years of service
including a long distance letter from someone he had worked with at Glacier who
also sent an American flag 
that had been flown over the park. After all the tributes, Eric’s wife, Jen,
joined him up front cradling a friend’s baby, and an emotional Eric said a few
words of thanks which ended in a well deserved standing ovation.
