BY THE NUMBERS

THE successful conclusion of an epic road trip demands that the outcome be examined to appreciate the enormity of the accomplishment, and for whatever bragging rights need claiming!

😎 Days "on the road" -- 25
😎 Hours driving -- 110
😎 Average Miles/Day -- 350
😎 Fuel Consumed -- 270 Gallons
😎 Days "at Sea" -- 6
😎 Miles Driven -- 6,619
😎 Miles at Sea -- 1,820
😎 States Crossed-- 17
😎 Major Rivers Crossed -- 4
😎 Mountain Ranges Crossed -- 6
😎 Animal species (native habitat) spotted -- 9
😎 Natural Wonders viewed -- 10
😎 Historic Sites visited -- 11
😎 National Parks/Forests encountered -- UNCOUNTABLE!
😎 Time Zones Crossed -- 4
😎 Greatest Latitude  -- 58०
😎 Least Latitude -- 30०
😎 Greatest Temperature -- 117० (F)
😎 Least Temperature -- 49० (F)
😎 Greatest Altitude -- 11,390 feet above Sea Level
😎 Least Altitude -- Sea Level
😎 Total Days of Rain -- 3 !

HOME SWEET HOME

BEGGING your pardon for my failure to wrap this up in a timely fashion.  Frankly, the last two days were longer than any of the others, driving wise, and once we arrived home, turning in the rental, unpacking, laundry, mail sorting, shopping for groceries...all of that got priority and I'm only just now getting back to the writing.

So...as I indicated in my last post, we spent the day on Sunday resting up and visiting at my brother's place in Richardson.  Paul had an exceptional day touring the 6th Floor Museum and the Perot Science Museum in Dallas with Unky Bob, Mom dozed and enjoyed Lily's lovely garden, I slept late, then sorted out the mountain of gear in the van and repacked it for the final run for home.

Bobby and Lily tidying up after a scrumptious dinner

 Mom admires Lily's fig tree, grown from a cutting from our Florida neighbors

WE had a fantastic dinner, cooked entirely by my niece, Jenny, and after another good night's sleep, we hit the road for home.  Well, we actually hit the road for the nearby Bass Pro Shop, an "event" I'd promised my grandson before we started the road trip!  It was rainy and late -- past 12:00-- before we got on the road for real.  11 uneventful hours later we were making a quick stop for milk at our local 24 grocery, and 10 minutes after that we were parked in our own driveway and, just like that, it was a done deal.  No snags, no accidents, no emergencies.  I'd say that's a good outcome in and of itself, let alone all we did in the last 24 days!

Happy to be home again, Mom raises a glass to our GREAT Adventure

Sorted, stacked and labeled -- Paul did a bit of souvenir shopping along the way!

Watch for a few more posts as I run down our epic adventure "by the numbers," and share a few thoughts and tips for any who hope to make a similar trip in the future.