Reflections

Its been almost two months now since returning back to Maryland from our trip across the US of A—the rush that was the open road, clean mountain air, open spaces, eye-popping jaw-dropping vistas, glazed-eye inducing rock formations, wilderness and wildlife, interesting strangers, amazing friends and family.

You’ve seen (or can see each day by clicking on older posts) the pictures, so I’ll bypass trying to describe the physical grandness of the many many parts of this country we saw. I highly recommend visiting all of them.

I am sure we will continue to digest this experience for the rest of our lives, so to try to sum it up in a few paragraphs would be, of course, a blatant exercise in futility.

So instead, here’s some stats:

Total miles: 10137 (including our stops in Shenandoah National Park and Assateague Island National Seashore)

Notable wildlife we saw:

• Coyotes
• Armadillos
• Pronghorn deer
• Big horn sheep
• Mule Deer
• A Lynx
• A Ring-Tailed Cat
• Mama Black Bear and her two Cubs

Number of stray dogs found and adopted: 1

National Parks Visited: 13

1. Shenandoah National Park
2. Rocky Mountain National Park
3. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
4. Arches National Park
5. Canyonlands National Park
6. Capitol Reef National Park
7. Bryce Canyon National Park
8. Grand Canyon National Park
9. Mesa Verde National Park
10. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
11. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
12. Hot Springs National Park
13. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Other Federal Lands/Sites/Monuments etc.: 27

1. Assateague Island National Seashore
2. Monongahela National Forest
3. Dolly Sods Scenic Area
4. Seneca Shadows National Recreation Area
5. Daniel Boone National Forest – Twin Knobs Recreation Area
6. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the St. Louis Arch)
7. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
8. Roosevelt National Forest – Lion Gulch Trail
9. Pike National Forest - Wilkerson Pass Visitor Center
10. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
11. San Isabel National Forest
12. Monarch Pass – The Continental Divide – 11,312 Feet!
13. Gunnison National Forest
14. Fisher Towers Recreation Site (BLM)
15. Manti-La Sal National Forest – Oowah Lake Campground and Recreation Area
16. Cayon Rims Recreation Area – Needles Overlook
17. Kaibab National Forest
18. Dixie National Forest
19. Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument
20. Navajo National Monument
21. Hovenweep National Monument
22. Carson National Forest
23. White Sands National Monument
24. San Antonio Missions National Historic Park – Mission Espada
25. San Antonio Missions National Historic Park – Mission San Jose
26. Nantahala National Forest
27. Blue Ridge Parkway

States Visited: 16

1. Maryland
2. Virginia
3. West Virginia
4. Kentucky
5. Indiana
6. Illinois
7. Missouri
8. Kansas
9. Colorado
10. Utah
11. Arizona
12. New Mexico
13. Texas
14. Arkansas
15. Tennessee
16. North Carolina

Nov. 13, North Carolina

Went up to the Blueridge Parkway with Dave and dogs. Checked out the Folk Art Center and Craggy Gardens. Bid Adieu to Dave and made our way North on the last leg of our incredible journey. Drove through NC, Virginia, and on into Maryland! Our Heads are spinning!

Nov. 12, North Carolina

Mike, Dave, the dogs, and I went back up in the Smokey Mountains in Nantahala National Forest and found a sad little dog on the way back. Then we met up with Kendall, an old friend of Mike and Dave's at a bar in Asheville.

Nov. 11, Tennessee

Our last day in TN at Deb and Dave's house. Mike and Dave road up a mountain in the Smokies and then we headed East! We spotted a mama black bear and two cubs in the National Park and drove through the horror that is Pigeon Forge and Gaitlinburg. Found ourselves in Asheville, NC after dusk and met up with our friend (other) Dave for dinner at Mellow Mushroom!