Trip Recap

We made it though the three weeks and without too much damage to the trail or ourselves. We trailed a total of 7053 miles, and through 18 states. These are only a couple of stats on the trip, so this last entry will detail these stats. I will also detail some best and worst of the trip.

As I stated, we traveled a total of 7053 miles. There were a couple of days that we didn’t do any travel, but of those days that we did travel by car, on day six we traveled 78 miles, which was the shortest time spent in the car. On day 2, we traveled 738 miles, which was more than any other day by at least 200 miles.

It cost $1168 in gas to make the trip. On day two, we spent $186, which was the most spent on a single day. There have been several days where we didn’t need to purchase gas. Of those days that we had to purchase gas, we spent $38 dollars on day 12, for the lowest total spent on gas for any single day. The average for gas was about $2.50. The lowest that we paid was $2.37 in Minnesota and the most was $2.92 in good old Lenwood, California.

There were 18 states that we traveled to excluding California. They are in the order that we visited. A couple states we crossed into a couple of times, such as Arizona and Illinois.

Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Ohio
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
South Dakota
Wyoming
Montana
Colorado
Utah
Nevada

We went to eight different national parks and monuments. I didn’t include the Minuteman National Monument, which was closed when we arrived at the visitor center. The Crazy Horse Memorial and Meramec Caverns are not part of the National Park Service. The kids were able to get six Junior Ranger badges. They already had one from Zion National Park, and they didn’t have time to get it at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which is also known as the St. Louis Arch. They also could have gotten one at the Crazy Horse Memorial, but again time was a factor. The below list is the parks that we visited in the order that we saw them.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Lincoln Home National Historical Site
Badlands National Park
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Devils Tower National Monument
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Arches National Park
Zion National Park

We had a lot of the best and worst on this trip, and I could probably go on for every, but I am going to keep it short. Some of the lists will have individual opinions and others will simply be lists.

What I liked best about the trip
I liked the going back to Columbus Ohio after 30 years, playing golf in Tomahawk and visiting the National Parks, especially Mount Rushmore.

Lisa liked spending time with her family and meeting people on my side of the family.

Miles liked the Mall of America the best.

Samantha liked Jakesville at my dad’s cousin’s farm outside of Columbus. She also liked picking blueberries in Tomahawk.

My Mom and Dad liked seeing my Aunt Jerry and visiting the National Parks

What I disliked the least about the trip
I didn’t care for the smell in Amarillo and the blowout on the trailer. I also didn't like that the Minuteman Monument was closed on Sundays.

Lisa didn’t like the long days. She wished that we able to spend more time seeing things. She felt like we were always in a rush.

Miles, Samantha and my parents didn’t like all the driving. They really are not very original.

Samantha didn’t like all the gas that Miles passed in the backseat.

Miles didn’t like all the games of Boggle that Samantha wanted him to play.

What was the funniest moment of the trip
I thought Miles “Mmmm. Wyoming’s air freshener” comment about a road kill skunk, was hilarious. The other moment was when my cousin Tom and I were betting on whose wife would call first, and I told him that Lisa will call and ask if we got lost, which is exactly what happened. I also enjoyed the Wall Drug billboards. You must go there one day.

Lisa thought when her cousin’s dog introduced himself to Miles by tackling him. The dog is a Saint Bernard. She also thought that little Mikey was hilarious when she tried to put some spay on his sun burnt cheeks and didn’t realize that it contained an aerosol. It started to burn his cheeks and he started to run around yelling “Get it off me! Get it of me!’

Samantha thought that it was funny that her grandmother had to go to the restroom all the time.

My dad thought it was funny that the bratwurst that we had in Tomahawk acted like a laxative.

My parents also thought it was funny when I fell on my butt and still saved the drinks that were in my hands. They also thought our visit with Ralph in Columbus was great. Ralph is a talker and he is very entertaining.

What was the scariest moment

The unanimous event was the wind storm that greeted us in Buffalo, Wyoming.

The best campgrounds that we stayed at
Springdale RV Campground, Springdale, Utah
Indian Trail Campground, Buffalo, Wyoming
Blake Ranch RV Park, Kingman, Arizona

Samantha liked the Blake Ranch RV Park because she liked there clean showers and bathrooms.

Miles liked the Springdale RV Campground because it had a pool or you could play in the Virgin River.

The worst campgrounds that we stayed at
Amarillo Ranch RV Park (the stench was really bad)
Terrace View Campground, Tomahawk Wisconsin
Joplin KOA, Joplin, Missouri

The states with the best rest stops
Oklahoma
Texas
Missouri

The states with the worst rest stops
Wisconsin
Ohio
Utah (All the stalls have half height walls, peek-a-boo)


The one thing that I would really like to do is spend more time in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There is a lot to see in the area. You could spend a week in this area alone to see everything, and two weeks would probably be more appropriate. If you get a chance to go to the Black Hills, you should take the opportunity, and do not miss the lighting ceremony of Mount Rushmore.

The one thing that I would skip is visiting the Amish country. There really isn't much to see. If I did it again, I would take an organized tour through the area, which should be more interesting. They take you to farms and workshops owned by the Amish. They also arrange a lunch cooked by the Amish, so it would be more interesting than just touring the country side. If you go to Amish Country, take an organized tour to get more out of it.

Well, that's it. I hoped you enjoyed this blog. The trip was amazing and something I would do again, but with some changes. I would do it again only if we had a different trailer that wasn't a pop-up. I don't know how we did it when I was a kid. During one trip, we went cross country using a canvas tent that was really heavy. I do look forward to visiting many of the locales in the future to see how things change.