2023 Road Trip Wrap-up

Rowland 2023 Summer Road Trip Wrap-Up

The picture below shows a route overview of our trip. If you look at the proposed route (from my first post), you will see a few changes. But overall we stuck pretty closely to the original plan. 

We drove 10,804.5 miles and were on the road for 48 days. We also stayed in 32 different locations (hotels, VRBO, with friends or family). We drove through 26 different states (listed below). The farthest west we went was Malibu, California (2,500 miles from Blackshear) and the farthest north was Glendive, Montana (2,000 miles from Blackshear). The hottest temperate we encountered was 110 degrees (Death Valley) and the lowest was in the 30s (Near Rocky Mountain National Park). 

We visited 38 National Parks, Historic Sites, and Presidential Libraries (listed below). This is a layout of all the park maps for the national sites we made it to (in the order we visited them). 

Here is a picture of all of Hannah's Junior Ranger badges and patches she got on this trip. Isaiah did 9 of them as well. Hannah earned 34 Junior Rangers badges while visiting those locations. 

A geocaching friend sent the kids some money and both Grandmas gave money for them to spend. We found a couple mini builds at Rocky Mountain National Park they wanted so we got them. They are off-brand Lego type builds. Apparently, they are available at a lot of the parks and we started collecting them as we travelled. We may have gotten a little carried away, but these should keep the kids occupied for awhile! I promise we did not buy all of them that we saw!

A few other interesting facts/takeaways from the trip: We did laundry 3 times (about every week and a half to 2 weeks). Both kids learned how to cut their own meat during the trip and Isaiah is officially booster seat free! I also thought I knew what rural meant, but my concept of rural has completely changed. There are places out west where you drive for HOURS without seeing more than a couple houses. Rural Georgia suddenly doesn't seem so rural!

I realized how much I love trees and rain (after not seeing either for about 3 weeks in the desert). In fact, it rained more on us the last day of the trip (from Savannah to home) than it did the whole rest of the trip. I also now understand what people mean by "dry heat". 110 degrees in Death Valley actually felt better than 90 degrees in Blackshear. That being said, I'm not a fan of the desert. Did I mention I missed trees and rain? The dry weather caused dry skin, chapped lips, and even a few nosebleeds. I also learned that I am a low elevation girl. Next time I travel to a high elevation, I will schedule time to acclimate (and always travel with an O2 monitor).

 I have said this a couple times, but I feel truly blessed to have seen so much of this country. I encourage everyone to travel as much as possible to see what's out there. Each area has its own unique things (like how the Midwest offers cottage cheese as a side with your meal). There were some things (like boiled peanuts and hush puppies) that I never realized were a southern thing. 

A couple people have asked if we had it to do again would we still do the trip. Absolutely. It took so much planning and we were so tired at times, but it was totally worth it. That being said, I doubt we will do another trip that's quite this long (at least not until we retire). On another note, everything is so much more expensive out west! 

Below is a list of interesting locations we visited, the states we drove through, and the National Sites we visited. There are now only 4 states David hasn't visited (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and Oklahoma) and 6 states I haven't visited (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana). 

Noteworthy Locations

Mingo (Oldest active geocache)

Oz Museum

Lowell Observatory

Field of Dreams Movie Site

Hoover Dam

Natural History Museum in L.A.

Great Salt Lake

Lake Michigan

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic Ocean 

Vegas Strip

Malibu

Rodeo Drive

Hollywood Sign

Palm Springs

Metropolis

Twin Falls

Garden of the Gods

Goblin Valley

Monument Valley

Mighty Eighth Museum of the Air Force

King's Island

National Parks & Historic Sites

Gateway Arch NP

Rocky Mountain NP

Florissant Fossil Beds NM

Great Sand Dunes NP

Curecanti NRA

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Mesa Verde NP

Glen Canyon NRA

Grand Canyon NP

Joshua Tree NP

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Death Valley NP

Lake Mead NRA

Zion NP

Bryce Canyon NP

Capitol Reef NP

Canyonlands NP

Arches NP

Golden Spike NHP

Minidoka NHS

Hagerman Fossil Beds NM

Oregon Trail NHT

Craters of the Moon NM

Grand Teton NP

Yellowstone NP

Theodore Roosevelt NP

Wind Cave NP

Jewel Cave NM

Mount Rushmore NM

Badlands NP

Effigy Mounds NM

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

Pullman NHP

Indiana Dunes NP

Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Blue Ridge Parkway

Congaree NP

States 

Georgia

Tennessee

Kentucky

Illinois

Missouri

Kansas

Nebraska

Colorado

New Mexico

Arizona

California

Nevada

Utah

Idaho

Wyoming

North Dakota

South Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Iowa

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

Ohio

North Carolina

South Carolina

Days 46 & 47 - We Are Home!

Spartanburg, South Carolina to Blackshear, Georgia

After 48 days on the road (I called the first day "Day 0" since we just drove and didn't sightsee) we are all tired. So the last 2 days were pretty low key. We have been very slowly working our way home.

Day 46 - Spartanburg, South Carolina to Richmond Hill, Georgia

We didn't do much today, yet it was a somewhat eventful day. I got interviewed for The Today Show while at Congaree National Park. If my interview airs, it should be Wednesday (8/2) around 8:30am. They were interviewing people about being outside despite the heat wave and venomous snakes. 

Congaree National Park

One last national park before we end our trip. We thought about saving this one for another time (since it's only 4 1/2 hours from home), but decided we should go ahead and check it out since we were close by. We found out that they also have synchronous firefly viewing (like the Smokies) in May so we might end up coming back after all! This makes National Park #21 for this trip. We also visited 14 other National Historic Sites and 2 Presidential Libraries.

I'll take a better picture for tomorrow's statistics post, but this is my stack of park maps from our trip. 

Hannah finished yet another Junior Ranger book and took the oath.

Once we get home I will do an official count, but I'm guessing she's sitting around 30 Junior Ranger badges. I will do one more post after we get home with statistics of the trip, including how many Junior Ranger badges she earned. A couple of these are Isaiah's but most are Hannah's.

Geocaching Event

Since we were passing through the area, we stopped for a geocaching event. It was great to see some geofriends we haven't seen in awhile and one of them even let the kids try on his Viking costume! This is the 5th event (1 of which was mega) on this trip.

Day 47 - Richmond Hill, Georgia to Blackshear, Georgia

After one more museum visit, we hit the beach really quick and then headed home. We even squeezed in lunch at Barbara Jean's.

National Museum of the Might Eighth Air Force

Isaiah trying out his hand at being a gunner.

This museum was one we could go to with our MOSH museum pass. It was an interesting stop close to home and I recommend stopping by if you're in Pooler and have some time. This was the 9th museum we visited on the trip with our MOSH museum pass. 

St. Simon's Island/Brunswick

Since we went to the Pacific Ocean on this trip, I also wanted to visit the Atlantic Ocean so that we can now say we officially made a cross country trip! The weather was rolling in so we didn't spend long here, but we did get our feet wet. We were in Malibu one month ago yesterday. My other pictures from yesterday and today are in my Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia album.

The picture above is the tripometer once we got home. Fun fact: our tripometer resets at 10,000 miles. I will do one more post tomorrow with the statistics from the trip, but I will say that we drove a total of 10,804.5 miles in 48 days. My "new" car (which I got 3 1/2 weeks before leaving town) now has a total of 12,152 miles. I think we will surpass our typical 20,000 miles per year this year!

It has certainly been a memorable trip and we are truly blessed to have had this opportunity. Now I guess it's time to start planning our next trip ;) And keep your eyes out for one more post tomorrow with statistics and a summary of notable locations from the trip.

Days 44 & 45 - Tennessee & North Carolina

Mason, Ohio to Spartanburg, South Carolina (2 days)

We were so worn out from King's Island that we got a really late start the next day. We didn't do any sightseeing either, so I'm combining days 44 & 45.  

Day 44 - Mason, Ohio to Townsend Tennessee

We slept in and then drove 5 hours. So the only thing we did of note today is meet some good friends for dinner in Maryville at one of our favorite restaurants El Jimador. We are spending the night just outside of National Park #20: Great Smoky Mountains NP. This area really is our second home. 

Day 45 - Townsend, Tennessee to Spartanburg, South Carolina

We spent today in the mountains slowly working our way closer to home.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Meigs Falls... It is so overgrown right now. We did not cross the river today, which is what we really like to do here :(

The Sinks... I have never seen the water flow this low. I guess they haven't gotten all the rain that South Georgia got while we were gone.

Cherokee, North Carolina

Playing on the water in Cherokee after we picnicked.

Blue Ridge Parkway

We drove part of the Blue Ridge Parkway... Only from Newfound Gap Road to Waynesville (halfway to Asheville). 

Hannah got another Junior Ranger badge. My other pics can be found in my Tennessee & North Carolina album (there aren't many though).

So far, we have driven 10,400 miles and have been through 26 states this trip. We have also visited 20 National Parks, 14 additional historic sites, 2 presidential libraries, 8 museums with our MOSH museum pass, and found 164 geocaches.

Day 43 - King's Island

Mason, Ohio

Much fun was had but not many pictures were taken! We spent the day at King's Island outside of Cincinnati. This was not in the original plan, but we negotiated to cut a couple other stops to allow less travel time on the last few days of our trip. We really wanted to go to Cedar Point but that will have to wait for another trip. The rides shut down a couple times due to bad weather, but it worked great because it cleared out the park and ride lines were short for the last couple hours of the night.

Rides

If you love coasters, this is the park for you. Hannah wasn't quite tall enough for several, so we did our own thing for awhile while the boys rode.

Water Park

We spent a few hours at the water park cooling off. It wasn't ridiculously hot, but it was warm. Everything shut down a couple times due to bad weather, but that just helped clear out the park.

Eiffel Towers

There were small Eiffel Towers and each one is based on a different coaster at the park. 

This Eiffel Tower is 1/3 the size of the actual Eiffel Tower. It is at the center of the park.

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower is beautiful. The roller coasters are especially cool looking.

Drone & Fireworks Show

This was a fitting end to not only the day, but also essentially a fitting end for our epic summer road trip. It really is amazing what they can do with drones these days. My other pictures from today are in my King's Island album. 

We are back on the road tomorrow inching our way back to Georgia.

Day 42 - Ohio Fun

Napoleon, Ohio to Mason, Ohio

Today was a low key day because we got a late start. Our only goal was to get to Mason, Ohio so we can do King's Island tomorrow. Nothing else was on the must-see agenda. The above picture was taken at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Site.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Site

This is where the Wright Brothers lived. They designed and developed their aircraft here, but did the test flight in Kitty Hawk because there was "wind and sand". 

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

We stopped here because it was free admission (with our MOSH museum pass) and they had animals. It was a nice little museum and the kids had fun. Other pictures (and a cute otter video) were added to my Ohio - Random album.

So far, we have driven 9,900 miles and have been through 24 states. We have also visited 19 National Parks, 13 additional historic sites, 2 presidential libraries, 8 museums with our MOSH museum pass, and found 164 geocaches.

Day 41 - Midwest Geobash

Wauseon, Ohio

We spent the day at the Fulton County Fairgrounds at the 19th Annual Midwest Geobash, which is a mega geocaching event (meaning there are over 500 geocachers in attendance). The theme was video games, so the kids were in heaven. In the above picture they are in a Mario pipe.

Midwest Geobash 2023

Treasure hunting today!

Pokemon themed geocache. The log is in the pokeball.

There was a ball that rolls down the course and you use the ball to open the cache.

You have to put on the "coin" to open the cache. It was Frogger theme.

Legend of Zelda themed geocache. The log is in the handle of the sword. 

This was such a fun event. If we lived closer, we would certainly attend again. Other pictures and videos can be found in my Midwest Geobash album.

Since we didn't drive to a new location, I'll give different stats today. We found 33 caches today. Check out the names below... They go with the video games theme!

1 Event

1 Mega Event (500+ people)

2 Letterboxes

4 Mysteries

1 Multi

1 Virtual

23 Traditionals