June 2007 - Bald River Falls, TN |
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!
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
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.
7 comments:
Wow! Keep on rollin' along Susan! Sallie
So glad you and Russ are having a great time! I still miss you! Dana
Just great reading, you need to turn pro and get paid for your work, miss you guys. Joe
Happy 8th anniversary! Think you should write a book. Sharon Kay
I have only one observation....you OBVIOUSLY haven't been to Yosemite yet...just sayin'.... (since it wasn't on your list anywhere...)
Betty (Capital Accord, one of the 28 choruses!)
Fascinating! How did you keep track of the "Eight Years by Numbers" entries? That's incredible! Beverly
Hi. I enjoyed your telling of your travels. It's hard to believe it's been 8 years. I know it would seem faster for you. Keep up the good memories for you and yours. Retha
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