Epilogue (and fun trip statistics!)

Well, that's all she wrote - literally. A short flight from Orlando to Montreal, a re-acquaintance with the snow we left behind a month ago, 7 loads of laundry and a layer of cat fur on everything to welcome us home. Attempting to forget the comfortable routine we had  fallen into for 4 weeks, while attempting to remember the comfortable bed we both fell into out of exhaustion last night. Thankfully, our food stores are full, so there was no need to go to the store - a familiar bowl of oatmeal and glass of juice helped us greet the day, after the cats greeted us early this morning looking for their familiar bowl of snacks. And so I take a moment to look back on it all, as I look back on it all to finish the last few forgotten blog posts(sorry - turns out time really does fly when you are having fun, and I was having a little too much of it to keep up on my duties. I promise to do better next time!).

Distance travelled : 4509 miles (7214.4 km)
from Los Angeles to Orlando

Money spent on fuel : 1135.30$ CAD
Money spend on coffee : 183.79$ CAD (or fuel for humans)

Money spent on camping : 401.00$ CAD or ~$16/night
(note that I counted the $16 shower fee at Love's Travel Centers as a "camping fee" in this case)

Love's Travel Stops : 5

Abandoned couches spotted on the roadside:
California ||||
Arizona |
New Mexico |   (technically an office chair)
Louisiana ||||
Florida ||

Postcards sent home : 6 (including 3 with bonus dinosaur stowaways)

Tumbleweeds that met an untimely death under our campervan : 4

License plates spotted: 

(missing : Wyoming, West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Hawaii)
(bonus spottings: Alaska, BC, Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Germany, Belgium, France, Chihuahua and Mexico)

State Capitals toured : 2

National Parks stamps acquired:

• Joshua Tree National Park (Joshua Tree CA, Cottonwood CA)
• Grand Canyon National Park (Canyon View Visitor's Center, Desert View Watch Tower)
• Petrified Forest National Park (The Painted Desert, Petrified Forest)
• White Sands National Park (Alamogordo, NM)
• Carlbad Caverns National Park (Carlsbad, NM)
• San Antonio Missions NHP (Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada)
• El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail 
• Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve - French Quarter (New Orleans, LA)
• New Orleans Jazz NHP (New Orleans, LA)

TOTAL = 15

Highest temperature : 80 F (27 C) Los Angeles, California
Highest recorded elevation : 
Hyde Memorial State RV Park, Santa Fe, NM - 8500 ft. (2600 m)

Lowest Temperature : 19 F (-8 C) Hyde Memorial, Santa Fe, NM

Lowest recorded elevation :
Interstate 10, east of New Orleans, LA - 10 ft. BELOW sea level (-3.3 m)

Would I do it all again? 

In a heartbeat. What an adventure to be waking up and falling asleep in a new place every day. To be able to experience such extremes in temperature and weather and elevation in the space of hours or days. To see so many different ecosystems, so many geological areas, and yet begin to spot similarities in them, too, from west to east. And to be able to experience so many different types of people and cultures and lifestyles, yet all the same and all within the same country. Mario said that it was probably one of those "once in a lifetime" trips, and I would tend to agree. I think we will undertake similar experiences, but there will never be a trip as gutsy, as laissez-faire as this one. We really just let things happen, and I think it was ultimately for the better. What an adventure.

Thanks again for following along, and I hope to find y'all again the next time we head out the door in search of adventure, wherever that may take us.

Until next time.