The Post-trip Recap

We traveled 7,643 miles in twenty-four days.

We saw the Field of Dreams, the Farm Toy Museum, a Minuteman Missile site, the Corn Palace, Mount Rushmore, Chief Crazy Horse monument, The Badlands, Little Bighorn Battlefield,  Priest River, Coeur d' Alene, Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Bryce Canyon, The Great Salt Lake, The Mormon Tabernacle, Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, the Air Force Academy, took the Cog Railway up Pike's Peak, went to the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, and visited Graceland.

We slept through an earthquake in Wyoming/Montana area.  The first morning in Colorado, we heard there had been a damaging rock slide on the road we had just been on the afternoon before.

We had a wonderful time and saw a lot of our great country.  Here are some things to remember if you decide to take a long road trip.

Make plans but be flexible. 

Don't believe everything you read or see online about a hotel when you are making reservations.  We have added Rodeway Inn to our "never stay there list".  Some of the places we stayed were more "rustic" than others, some were fabulous.  A couple places that were not "brand" name turned out to be very nice, although one of those was way the heck out of the way (a great beautiful drive though) and the only dining choice was the food truck that opened up in the parking lot at 5:30. :) Keep an open mind and be adventurous!

Don't let the gas tank get below half full.  It can cause a lot of stress if you think you are going to run out.

Take a cooler with some easy quick lunch foods you can eat along the way and lots of water.

Take along some Windex and paper towels.  The bugs hitting the windshield make a big mess!  While one of you pumps gas, the other should spray the Windex and use whatever scrubber/squeegee is available.  BTW, some stations don't ever change the water in those "buckets", and many don't add any cleaner to what water is in there, the Windex helps.

Don't rely on Google or the "restaurants near me" aps.  Several times we were led to places that were empty spaces and out of business.

Be prepared.  No matter how much you love each other with all your hearts, there will come a time when you are driving each other crazy and getting on each other's nerves.  It happens, accept it and get over it.  You love each other and all will be fine.  :)  We are fine.  A side note:  if those feelings happen to coincide with terrible traffic and too many trucks, you will find yourself wanting to jump out of the car and get away.  DO NOT try that.  :)  Things will get better.

Les and I will let you know when we plan another road trip.  It won't be for a while.  There is a lot of catching up to do with children to hug, kitties to woogie, household upkeep, yard work, errands, golf to be played, and Kirk has got to go have a major cleaning at the car wash! His collection of dead bugs is monumental!

Stay safe and God Bless America!