nl7501's Diary

On our way to Gainesville, we stopped along US 27 for a break and remove some rain gear. Cynthia took her glasses off and after pulling off to continue, she realized they were still on the trailer! Well, no they weren’t. We went about a 1/10 of a mile and do you think we could find them? Nope, they just vanished. We walked the road and they were nowhere to be found. It is a bummer when you lose important things. Lesson learned. Next time bring extra of the important things if you have them…just in case! Fortunately for us, we had ordered them from Zenni and all we had to do was order them again and send them straight to Baltimore. No real harm done. However, if you are the driver and have to have them, be sure you do! We had a good night in Gainesville and the next morning was beautiful! Monday, June 1 saw us heading south on I-75 to eat up more miles to our next stop in Bonita Springs. The day ended with the obligatory afternoon thunder storm but by then, we were inside.

Tuesday June 2 we were up early and after a brief stop at Walmart, we were motoring down the Tamiami Trail aka, US 41. This was to be our route across Florida to the east coast. Our first stop was the Big Cypress National Preserve. The Preserve was created to protect the fresh water’s natural flow into the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands. Consisting of 729,000 acres, the Preserve is vital to southwest Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. It really is a beautiful area and not a swamp of backwater either. The water within the park is really clear since it is constantly flowing from Lake Okeechobee!

We left the Preserve and within a few miles, were at the Everglades National Park. We stopped at the Shark Valley Visitor’s Center to check out the film but was told they did not have one at that location. We were quite disappointed because the film at Big Cypress was so good, as are most park films. In addition, to get to the observation tower not far into the park, you had to take a tram that was $20 per person. We opted not to do that. There are 4 visitor’s centers around the park since the Everglades are so big. Created in 1947 to protect the Glades, the demand for fresh water from nearby Miami and other cities are stressing the environment. Any of the park visitor centers have additional information about the area.

After leaving the Everglades, we continued on US 41 to FL 997 to Homestead and then to the Atlantic coast to visit Biscayne National Park within sight of Miami and right on the Biscayne Bay. Florida 997 is a nice short cut but a really bad two lane road. Apparently, they are widening the road to four lanes so you might want to give that route a few years yet! Once at the Biscayne NP visitor’s center, we were pretty disappointed. Though the film was good, the rest of the displays etc. weren’t all that nice. I guess since the park is mainly a boater’s park, we didn’t find it all that interesting. I am sure other’s do though. Not staying too long, it was a short hop to US 1 south and our destination for the day at Marathon, in the Florida Keys. We got chased by rain the whole 50 miles or so to Marathon, arriving just as the heavens opened up! We continued to have good luck in that the hotel was right in front of a really nice restaurant called Tarpon Creek. We took our time settling in and sat at the Tiki Bar to enjoy the view, watch the rain and enjoy two of the best Cuban sandwiches we’ve ever had. The mojitos I had were pretty good too and quite fitting for the occasion!

Over the past few days our reservations to Dry Tortugas National Park had been fooled up one way or the other. I first made ferry reservations to go there from Key West on Tuesday, June 3 but thinking it through, the boat ride would have taken up too much of our day. The other option, though twice as expensive, was to take the floatplane. We’ve never been on a floatplane so we decided to go for it! Cancelling the ferry, we THOUGHT we had reservations on the plane for Tuesday (today) but found out we didn’t. Since I didn’t confirm with them soon enough, the best we could do was at noon on Wednesday. One things’ for sure- you have to stay flexible! Since we had all day Tuesday free now, we went on into Key West to visit Fort Zachary Taylor and the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, both being National Historical Landmarks. In the meantime, we made an appointment at BMW Motorcycles of Miami to service the bike on Friday morning, giving us Thursday afternoon after our flight back to go the 150 miles or so to Miami. It has been 6,000 miles since we left Las Vegas, and here I thought the country was only about 3,000 miles across!

The drive down US 1 can be tricky. There are LOTS of dangerous intersections and the opportunities for a car to take a left in front of you abound…and they do! If you are coming this way, take your time and be extra vigilant! Staying at the 45 mph speed limit (that is most of the way) is a good idea. Be ready for anything. We did not think the scenery got really nice until after Islamadora, which is about 40 miles down. However, once past Marathon, along the way the views of the ocean on both sides of the road are really nice. The remnants of the railroad that used to run down along the Keys is still evident. I believe that was mostly destroyed by Hurricane Irene in the 20’s or 30’s. Not sure but it was a MAJOR hurricane! It is pretty cool to realize that anywhere along the road, you are actually WAY out in the ocean!

The visit to Fort Taylor was similar to any of the coastal forts built by the US in the mid-1800. Though smallish in size, it did afford pretty nice views of the ocean! Just around the corner is docked the Ingham. However, at $20 per person to do a self-guided tour, we decided against that and toured around Key West a bit instead. Key West will definitely be a future destination for us! It is a really quant city and I can see why folks like it so much! We headed back to Marathon and hit some strong rain just before our hotel. We relaxed the afternoon away and caught up on writing and organizing. It’s off to Key West again tomorrow and our first seaplane ride!

We got an early start on June 4 to be sure we would make it to the airport in time for our flight. We were SO early I decided to eat up some time and find the marker for the southern-most point in the continental US. It was pretty easy to find, follow South Street to the water! We met three guys from Ontario on motorcycles while there and had a nice chat with them. We got to the airport about an hour ahead so we had lots of time to visit the main terminal and get some drinks before we left. It was pretty exciting taking off in a small plane (it uses the runway just like other planes). I happened to look at the manufacture’s plate and took notice that the plane was about a month older than me! Born on September 18, 1957, this de Havilland DHC 3 Otter felt a little like me too! No worries though, it does land on water! Before you knew it, we were flying low (about 500 feet) above the water so we could spot turtles and/or sharks in the shallow water. I didn’t see any but Cynthia did. I did get to see a ship wreck though. The landing on the water was quite a thrill and I must say much smoother than a few Air Canada flights I have been on. The view of Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugas NP) was pretty nice. We taxied in and somehow went into reverse to anchor the plane to the beach. We had a full 2 ½ hours to roam the fort and surrounds. It was a beautiful day in a great location! The trip back seemed short but don’t they always? We got on the bike and made our way back up the Overseas Highway arriving in Miami close to the airport by around 7:00. Checking twice, I noted we were just across the road from BMW Motorcycles of Miami. How convenient!

We were up early as usual even though our trip to BMW would last all of three minutes. Waiting for the folks to open at 9:00 we planned to be in Winter Haven by evening. That was not to be. Besides the Friday traffic late in the day, we spent our day at the dealer till 2:30. Got lots done though! New software update, they replaced the turn signal switch (even though I told them it had been replaced already by my favorite dealer, BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas). Not sure why but they also replaced the starter switch. All free of charge which meant all we spent was the time waiting for it. We did get 8,500 miles out of the rear tire and had more to go. I suspect we could have seen 10,000 out of the Pilot Road 4 GT. With another one on, we may push this one to see. With the change in oil and a rear fluid change, we ALL felt much better and headed north up US 27. By the time we put 175 miles on, we were approaching thunder storms around Sebring so we decided to bail out for the night.

Saturday, June 6 we decided to put in a relatively short day and find a campsite early. We really miss camping when we get away from it for too long (this being about three nights).Little did we know but we would get the very last site! Its all too familiar- Friday and Saturday nights really require a reservation! Anyway, off onto US 27 again and hooking up with I-75 North just around Leesburg, we quickly ran into a back-up. The the ‘go’ extremely slow and it being 92 out in the sun, we prayed for the rain that never came. After losing about an hour, we got back up to speed but we were pretty spent after sitting in the sun without any wind to cool us. I had planned on a campsite at Stephen Foster SP but the attendant told us upon arrival they were sold out. She did call the next nearest park and found they had one site left and they would hold it for us. The 25 miles to Suwannee State Park seemed to take forever! Needless to say, the last spot was the least desirable but we didn’t care. We met a fellow biker that was traveling in his RV and towing the bike and got into a long conversation about each of our travels. Seems he is doing the same thing we are albeit only for this summer AND in an RV. Ken invited us over for some air conditioning in his rig and we could hardly refuse! We had a great visit, good conversation and made a new friend! We left soon after dark and after battling the gnats for a short time, we turned in.

Sunday June 7 started out good and stayed that way! We got an early start and headed north again on I-75 to Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, GA. We weren’t sure what to expect but the site is an excellent example of a Mississippian Native American settlement. From about 1,000 years ago till the infamous Trail of Tears, the Creek Indians’ ancestors built a very extensive settlement along the Ocmulgee River. Visible today are many of the mounds used as burial, temple and other unexplained facilities. It was a nice visit with the customary good film and we were off again in the Georgia heat to find our way to FDR State Park. It ended up being a really nice park on a manmade lake (CCC project) and we got a spot right on the water.

We will pick up again in the next chapter of our 2015 National Parks Tour. Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia

Our summer odyssey began May 10 after our Mother’s Day calls to our moms. We planned on a short 260 mile trip to the Grand Canyon as our first stop and believe it or not, was one of the parks we never got to last year during our National Parks Tour (for some reason!), even though it is so close. Before we left, I did receive the new windshield just in time to see how it functioned and I am pretty happy. I ordered the tall GT screen for the GTL and found the wind protection, particularly the additional deflection of air over my head, to be very good. The downside is I think the side wind has increased though not objectionably so. Aeroflow told me they are beta testing a GT screen that is slightly wider and I think that would provide a bigger still air pocket for the pilot of GTL’s. Cynthia says she likes the passenger protection the one we have now provides.

We had reservations at Mather Campground so there was no need to rush and we took our time even though it was highway practically the whole way. We had great weather for camping albeit cold at night (low 30’s). Besides the park itself, there are seven national historical landmarks (six on the south rim) at the Grand Canyon. One was really hard to find and the other no one heard of! The six are the railway depot, the El Tovar (hotel), the park operations building (that was a hard one to find), the power house, the Grand Canyon Village as a whole and a place called the 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site. That one we could not locate. Pictures will have to suffice for the rest.

We stayed two nights with plans to visit our friends in Tucson on Tuesday for a few days. On the way, I scoped out Tonto National Monument as a possible stop with AZ 87, 188 and AZ 77 thrown in as a ride attraction. Both AZ 87 and 188 are roads that have the telltale dots along them in the Rand-McNally book and they did not disappoint. All were low traffic-high fun rides in the high desert of east-central Arizona. Besides Payson and Globe, there are few towns. Places like Strawberry and Pine looked particularly interesting though we did not have time to stop and explore.

Good thing we didn’t! Our day ended up being 387 miles, a bit more than I really wanted to ride AND have time to explore places. Our visit to Tonto NM was pretty nice, no one there and we had the place to ourselves. They have a great film that tells you just about all you need to know about the cliff dwelling and the Tonto Basin, Salt River in general. The only thing the film did not tell us about but the Ranger did was the giant bee hive that has closed access to the dwelling. You can’t get any closer than 50 yards. Not wanting to tempt fate, we enjoyed the wonderful view from the observation deck above the visitor’s center. By about 5:30, we were in Tucson for our multi-day visit and stock up on a few things that we overlooked.

Sunday, May 17 we left early with a short trip to Gila Cliff Dwelling NM in New Mexico. We were going to stop by Fort Bowie along the way (just south of I-10) but with 16 miles of dirt road, we opted not to. We got to Gila just in time before the visitor’s center closed. The drive up NM 15 from Silver City is grueling when you are in a hurry! Very curvy road and not one that is conducive to carving the curves when pulling a trailer! Nonetheless, we were happy not to have to drive back down NM 25 (it is one way in about 44 miles) to find camping because they did have free camping in the monument. The evening was cold and VERY clear. The skies were alive with stars!

We packed early hoping to make a few stops along our way to the Texas border just past Clovis, NM but our plans got changed by the day’s circumstances. We spent a fair amount of time trying to find the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument just outside Las Cruces and never did have success. My GPS had us going down dirt roads, on private property and backtracking all over the place! Since the website did not have an address (other than Las Cruces, NM) we had to use the coordinates. Hence the problem. We decided to just move on with a quick stop at McGinn’s pistachio ranch to load up on green chili pistachios in Alamogordo. Since we were so far form Clovis, it being pretty hot and so late in the day, we decided to camp at Valley of Fires National Recreational Area just outside of Carrizozo, NM. With a storm front moving in as we were setting up the tent, it was tough to hold the tent (and everything else) while setting up. Everything wanted to blow out onto the malpias (lava field bad lands). The wind blew pretty strong all night with ample lightning but hardly any rain.

Tuesday, May 19 brought a really fine day and we decided to stay another day since we weren’t in a hurry and it would be nice to just relax after the more than 360 miles from Gila. Besides, we had a great site (at $7.00 a night!) and the campground had showers too (a real plus….). Since we had a whole day, we back-tracked to Three Rivers Petroglyph NM just a little south of our camp. Three Rivers Petroglyph NM is about two miles off US 54. It has a self-guided trail that takes you to hundreds of petroglyphs mostly done about 700 years ago. An easy place to get to, we recommend a visit. We spent the rest of the day journaling and organizing the trailer.

Our plan for Wednesday was to get to Lake Meredith NRA just north of Amarillo, TX with a stop at Alibates Flint Quarries NM. However, our plans got fooled up again. Little did we know a pretty big weather bomb was setting up for the whole southwest. Headed out US 380, we did get to stop at Lincoln, NM which is a national historic landmark on our way to Roswell. Turning northeast, we started to hit cool (felt cold really) weather as we traveled towards Clovis on a pretty lonely road, US 70. By the time we got to Clovis, it was clear we weren’t going to make Lake Meredith AND camp out in the damp cold. I think I saw more cows on this leg of our trip than I have ever seen in my entire life! It should have come as no surprise when we saw that Hereford, TX is the cattle capital of the world! I never saw so many feed lots ever! However, it was a good sign for dinner later that night! It was an astonishing 49 degrees by the time we checked in at the Holiday Inn in Amarillo. A few minutes on the Weather Channel made it all clear. We had to change our plans.

We decided to make a run for Russellville, AR where we had planned to visit one of Cynthia’s cousins, but later than it was working out to be. We hit the road early trying to get out ahead of the front. By the time we got to Oklahoma, the skies were much clearer (albeit not completely without clouds) so we decided to side track about 25 miles and visit Washita Battlefield NHS and Black Kettle National Grassland. Washita was the site of an Indian massacre perpetrated by none other than, you guess it, General Custer in 1868. After traveling out that way, I got a new appreciation for the Oklahoma countryside that stayed with me all day as we passed farm after farm. The Washita River is a beautiful area although cloaked in tragedy. We got back on I-40 headed east, set the cruise control for 75 and ground away the 552 miles to Russellville, eventually out-running the weather, at least for Thursday! Our gas mileage suffered quite a bit at 75 mph while fighting a head wind though. No matter, beats riding in the rain! We arrived safe and sound at Cynthia’s cousins and we had a grand time catching up. We plan a few days here visiting and waiting till the weather passes and then we’ll back track a bit and explore northeast Arkansas before continuing east into Mississippi.

Stay tuned!

We started out our 2015 tour with a quick trip to Manzanar National Historical Site just a little north of Lone Pine, California on US 395. We opted to take the scenic route through Death Valley and as usual, the ride and scenery did not disappoint. We had never been in the park as far east as Stovepipe Wells before. With a brief stop at the Visitor’s Center (long enough to drop the bike in the parking lot on a slow speed turn…) we had great weather all the way to Manzanar.

Manzanar NHS is the site for one of the 10 Japanese internment camps in the west built at the beginning of WWII to house Japanese-Americans for most of the war with Japan. Though not much remains of the camp, the history behind the decision to intern Japanese-Americans, build the camp and how the folks made it their home for many years is a fascinating story. There is a first class visitor’s center complete with a museum, gift shop and a truly great film outlining the events surrounding Manzanar. Easy to get to, it is well worth a visit to understand a bit of US history not widely known. After our visit, we drove back down US 395 for an overnight stay in Lone Pine. Not much was happening in Lone Pine and we made it an early night. The whole round trip was 486 miles and was a great opener for our 2015 quest.

With some fine winter riding in Nevada in between, fast forward to February 6. This day we left on another trip to bag an additional site in CA with our first trip to San Diego. Cabillo National Monument is a monument to Juan Rodriguez Cabillo who was the first European to set foot on what is now the western United States in 1542. Positioned high on the mountain peninsula separating the Pacific Ocean from the San Diego Bay, the views were pretty nice, albeit chilly! We had great weather for our visit and hiked around the visitor’s center for a while, taking in all the sights and ambiance of the place. There are lots of trails to explore and worth a visit is to see the tidal pools, the Point Loma Light House and stop by the Kelp Forest and Whale Overlook. We stayed north of the city to avoid the downtown traffic and did not get into San Diego at all. We will probably re-visit San Diego when we are on a different kind of quest. This round trip was 685 miles and it is an easy one day-one way trip.

Our next outing was a local run on February 9 with a quick visit to Hoover Dam (can you believe it we didn’t get here last year even though it is only about 30 miles away?!). We parked on the Arizona side and walked back across the dam to get a few pictures. I couldn’t believe how expensive the dam tours were! I thought by now the dam had been paid for! Not long visiting there, we headed south on US 95 into Kingman, AZ to ride the Oatman Highway, also known as part of US 66. This is my favorite part of US 66 in that it has plenty of flat straight road but the stretch up through the mountains towards Oatman (from the east) will challenge your corning skills. Though the road surface isn’t the greatest, it will still take you back in time. Watch out for those loose donkeys in Oatman! We were able to get a picture of the sign designating the US 66 National Backcountry Byway to satisfy another point in out tour. Back home it was a short 250 or so mile round trip for the day.

So far we’ve rode 4,207 (since January 1) and clocked 3 states and 4 parks in our National Parks Tour. Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia

Monday, September 8 greeted us with a few periods of morning drizzle but by the time we rolled out of the tent, it was dry everywhere, only a little damp on the wood park picnic table. The two fellows next to us were up early and had gone fishing and we packed and headed up into Mammoth Lakes to take the scenic route back to US 395 north. We needed to get back to Lee Vining and the road through the Sierras, CA 120. What a beautiful road! The only drawback we had was that the fire that was burning in Yosemite filled the air with smoke. Not enough to cause real damage but you could small it and it hazed out all the views. By the time we got to Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center, it started to rain. Just beyond the visitor center, we had a really close call when a minivan pulled out from the left just as we got to them! He almost hit us broadside! I don’t know what people are thinking sometimes. It wasn’t raining hard, only a drizzle and I had all the front lights on. I guess we are truly invisible! After that, it was just driving along because you couldn’t really see anything. After some spots where it was a one lane road and we had to wait our turn, it really poured intermittently till almost Yosemite Valley. Once we were there, the sun magically came out and it was glorious! We took the ride up into the valley but traffic was really bad. We opted to leave, hoping the southern area of the park was without rain so we could get a camp site. You have to stop at the Tunnel View overlook along CA 41 just south of the valley. It is the view most everyone has seen of Yosemite Valley. It was gorgeous! From there, and for about 50 miles it rained along CA 41. It convinced us that once we got to Fresno, CA, we would hit a hotel. Just about 30 miles from Fresno and just as we exited the mountains, the temps went from 65-70 straight up to 95. It was a scorcher! Under those circumstances, you just can’t get the rain gear off fast enough! We got a little turned around going out CA 180 from Fresno but found a hotel good enough to put us up for the night. It was a tough day between the rain, SLOW drivers, so many turns I couldn’t count that high and then to be blasted with heat just did us in.

Even though it rained on us and made our visit to Yosemite National park a brief one, there is no doubt that California needs rain. The Yosemite Falls and Bridal Vail Falls were both dry. It was odd to see that. There is another sure thing- Yosemite is a must visit park. As John Muir said, “It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter”. How true. The Sierras and specifically Yosemite are just awe inspiring. Words can not describe the feelings we would get as we passed over Tioga Pass at 9,945 feet and know we were beginning the trek across the heart of the park. Seeing the granite outcroppings almost everywhere you look helps define the majesty of what is Yosemite. We will definitely go back!

Tuesday, September 9 greeted us as a fine day. Almost all the clouds and the rained moved out of the central valley. We had a big day going out to Kings Canyon and looping down through Sequoia too. The drive out CA 180 was pretty easy and it heads straight for the park! We made our way from the entrance station to our first visit within the park, the General Grant tree and the Grant Grove of Giant Sequoias. These trees are nothing short of awe inspiring. Though not the biggest Sequoia, the Grant tree and grove are a wonderful place to visit and walk through. It is unbelievable. Giant Sequoias are the world’s largest tree, though one lives longer, one has a greater diameter and three grow taller but none is larger. The largest Sequoia, the General Sherman, grow enough new wood each year to produce a 60 foot tree of usual size! One year. This tree is estimated to be 2,200 years old and its largest branch is 7 feet in diameter. Just unbelievable! You have to see them, it is truly an amazing experience. Once out of King Canyon National Park, we headed to Sequoia on CA 198. A beautiful road with (at the time we were there) some road construction. In Sequoia is where you find the General Sherman tree. It is also home to the Tunnel Log. Though not recommended for any trailers and vehicles over 22 feet may be prohibited, CA 198 is a motorcyclists dream! Turn after turn awaits and MANY are hairpin, turning back on themselves! We tried to do our best with the trailer attached but there was no peg dragging on our part! We ended our day at a low elevation campground called Potwisha just before the southern exit from the park. I was beat after all those turns!

Wednesday, September 10 greeted us with another fine day and the morning was warm. Unfortunately, we had a bad night because of all the campground noise and it was unusually warm. We got away about 8:30 and continued on CA 198 down out of the mountains and across the central valley where it was pretty hot, even in the early morning. After running on the straight CA 198 for about 75 miles or more passing field after field of fruits and vegetables growing, we passed Coalinga and took CA 25 north towards Hollister. California 25 is a really nice road, no traffic, winds up the San Benito Valley and enough straights for making time and plenty of curves to keep it interesting. We were headed to our next visit at Pinnacles National Park. Once we arrived at the park, we decided to stay since the day had gotten so hot and we really didn’t want to get on CA 1 so late in the day. It was a good choice. No one was in the campground and we had the place seemingly to ourselves! Pinnacles National Park is our newest national park being designated so in 2013. It was however a national monument prior to the national park status. Pinnacles is one of the homes to the California Condor, a bird weighing only 20 pounds but with a wingspan of over 9 feet! We didn’t get to see any but they do soar overhead and are sometimes seen there. Flying at 55 mph and at altitudes of 15,000 feet, it can be hard to spot! In addition to hiking to the pinnacles themselves, there are trails to caves and gulches that afford plenty of scenic views not to mention the exercise you get! Pinnacles is a volcanic area that was ripped in two by the San Andreas Fault. The other 2/3 of the ‘park’ lies 195 miles south in the Neenach Formation just east of Los Angeles. Another interesting fact about the park is that it is home to over 400 species of bees. But don’t worry, we only saw the yellow jacket variety. However, makes Pinnacles the protector of the largest diversity of bees in a single place in North America. Aren’t our parks just great!?

We had a good night at Pinnacles National Park and woke early, as usual, but took our time getting ready to go. Thursday, September 11 found us turning north again on CA 25 and at Hollister, went west on CA 156 towards Monterey. Lovely country up there. The homes built right on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean are tremendous! We turned down the famous CA 1 and it really is everything folks have said about it. It is an absolutely wonderful drive on a motorcycle that we are sure to do again. At one point as we were seeing whales off the shore, we thought about Newfoundland- fog, cool temps, ocean side road, rocky coastline and whales off in the water all reminded us of home. We were planning to camp at one of the National Forest campgrounds but seeing that Bakersfield (our intended last stop) was fairly close, we kept going. Just north of Santa Maria we took CA 160 east straight into Bakersfield. California 166 is a pretty nice road from the coast up into the mountains but get straight and flat as soon as you pass the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Not only that, it got HOT! Once again as we enter the central valley the temps went right up to 102. By the time we got to our hotel in Bakersfield, we were spent. After 350 miles and the last 100 or so at scorching temps, we were worn out. We agreed that our last leg into Las Vegas would be in the EARLY morning to beat the heat. Riding California 1 was a wonderful way to end our summer-long trip.

Friday, September 12 marked our last day on the road. We will be travelling some more before the year is out but this pretty much did it. Off on CA 58 east early was the beginning of our last day. Even though the heat was n the valleys, on the mountaintops, it was cold! We just set the cruise control and were back in Las Vegas by noon. Since we’re still homeless, our neighbors offered to put us up for as long as we needed. Its great to have friends like that and staying with them is always pleasant.

That wrapped up September and our trip so by the numbers the totals looked like this: We traveled 33,986 miles since January 1 when we started our National Parks Tour. However, since we left Las Vegas April 4, we travelled a total of 27,622. That’s averaging 172 miles a day. We visited a total of 243 sites in our quest and 42 states (including the District of Columbia and 5 Canadian Provinces).

Our gas mileage was pretty impressive. Even with pulling the trailer 99% of the time, we averaged 42 mpg for the whole trip according to the onboard computer. If any reader would like to know more about some of the details, please contact us at nl7501@hotmail.com.

Well, that’s the end of our summer odyssey. We hope you enjoyed reading of our adventure and that it in some way sparked a fire in you to get out and explore the wonderful parks that are in our United States. You never know what cool thing you might find in them and in some cases, what you might find inside yourself. Till next year! Greg & Cynthia