And THAT'S a Wrap!

 

My Full Route - Where I Overnighted

When I first posted on Facebook about my 25 day journey logging more than 7,000 miles, some folks were shocked, others amazed.  My closest family & friends were probably not surprised at all.  While most of my trip was planned to a pretty high degree of specificity, much of it was allowed to just flow as things happened.  Heck, I was barely on the road four hours on the first day, when I realized I had a small disconnect with one of my stays with a friend.

Quick action juggling a campground reservation, and an additional bonus day was added to what was already planned for a nice 3 day weekend in New Mexico.  I am so glad we had that extra day!  Come to think about it . . . both of my weekend stays with friends/family in New Mexico were expanded by a night.  Thank you Cindy & Debbie for having me and sharing your ranch homes with me.  Those days were truly highlights of a trip filled with wonderful experiences and sights.

And to my long-time friend Dawn, and her hubby Ray . . . I have missed you both so much since your move to Arizona!  It was good to get to spend a couple of days with you, and to share in Ray's birthday celebration.  Thank you for including me!  I thoroughly enjoyed "retirement living" in your community and look forward to David & my figuring out our retirement location soon.


Travel has given me so many wonderful friends throughout the years.  Here I am with Dave, one of my long-time timeshare friends.  We've "known" each other for more than 20 years thanks to the Timeshare Users Group (aka TUG).  When Dave read I was going to be driving through his area in Nevada, he insisted we finally meet up. I'm so thankful my schedule between Death Valley and Zion would allow for a visit along my day's journey.  Dave is another example of my favorite personal travel saying . . . "There is no such thing as strangers . . . only friends I've yet to meet."  Thank you Dave for being a friend throughout the years.

BY THE NUMBERS
11 states visited (IA, KS, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, NV, UT, CO)
39 U.S. National Park Service sites . . . 26 were new/first-time experiences for me

25 days on the road in my 2012 Santa Fe
7,034 miles driven; 240,762 final odometer reading
276 gallons of gas @ $2.975 average price/gallon (reg U/L)
25.5 average MPG
Cheapest gas (purchased):  Texas $2.59/gallon
Most expensive gas (purchased):  California $4.33/gallon (NO SURPRISE!)
   although I did see (and avoided) $5.91/gallon in Death Valley
Honorable mention(s):  Utah $3.54/gallon and Nevada $3.55/gallon
   (all other states were under $3.00/gallon)

24 nights . . . 13 car camping, 7 with friends/family, 4 in hotels

MEMORIES . . . COUNTLESS!