Epilogue

Total miles driven on this trip were 6,074 and total expenditures for gasoline were $3,059 so roughly $ .50 a mile. The most expensive tank of gas was our last one in Weed California at $4.659 per gallon. All together our expenditures could have paid for that fall colors cruise that Donna has always wanted to take but it would not have lasted 52 days and we would not have been able to spend the time with so many family and friends has we have. Personally, after a little recuperation and a lot of motor home repairs and rethinking what we "have to" have with us, I would be ready to do it again. We can only pray that the cost of fuel will go down .

Day 52 - June 30

END OF THE RUN! I awoke at 5:00 AM this morning starting to think about all of the things that needed to be done when we get home. I tossed and turned for another hour before I heard Kallie give her morning cry to go out. By 8:30 we were on our way out of Carson City and we had planned to travel up 395 to Lakeview and then head west and stop between Lakeview and Klamath Falls for one last night out. As we were working our way north we started to run into smoke from the California wild fires and whether it was related or not our trusted Mildred malfunctioned. In the end we did not go the way that we had intended and actually got home at around 4:30 PM today.

With the exception of the cost of fuel and occasionally the cost of some campgrounds (KOA specifically) we can begin to see the interest of people in being full time RVers. It is literally hard to believe that we have been on the road for 52 days. Even the dogs have gotten into this travel routine and Kallie has begun to understand how things work. Go to the door and sit until you get your leash on and then you can go out. They have also learned to share and co-habitate the space in between the front seats.

It is now 7:55 PM and we have hard evidence of why our friends said they were going through so much cat food while we were gone.

Day 51 - June 29

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Today started with a leisurely morning and Donna fixed me a nice breakfast. It was just missing the birthday candle :-(.

In the early afternoon we headed to Donna's cousin Barbara's home in the Washoe Valley between Carson City and Reno. Barbara's husband's family was visiting but they had gone to Reno for the afternoon to give us time to visit with Barbara for awhile. After an afternoon of chat we had a nice dinner of ribs, roasted veggies, salad and bread. There was of course sufficient wine for the afternoon conversation fest as well as the dinner. All in all it was a very nice day.

Day 50 - June 28

Today we traversed the great state of Nevada. We had originally planned to go through Ely and across as it seemed a more direct route and was country that neither Donna nor I had ever seen. Well, Mildred (our GPS) had a brain fade and lost its satellites and by the time we discovered it we were north of our turn off. So, when we reprogrammed it to take us to Carson city it took us across I 80 rather than the original planned route. The short story of this long drive is I am ever so greatful for books on tape or I would have been bored to tears. We are only mildly more impressed with Nevada then we were in our route across Utah. For us it is the great Pacific Northwest that holds our hearts.

Oh yes, we did find the one lost and out of place barn. What a surprise that Donna would find it!

We arrived in Carson City around 4:00 PM and settled everything in then headed across the street to a small casino for an early dinner and of course a little rotary entertainment. Needless to say, as usual I lost my $5 and Donna turned hers into $15...it never fails...but at least we left with a net $5 ahead. A quick trip up the road to a local Costco for some new books on tape (CD actually) for the trip home.

Day 49 - June 27

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARI & RICK!

Todays trudge was from Grand Junction, CO to West Wendover, NV. First let me say that after having traversed the great state of Utah I can't for the life of me see what Joseph Smith (or was it Brigham Young?) saw in this territory and why on earth they would have decided to settle here.


We did get to see the Morton Salt Plant with its big picture of Leslie on the building and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Jon, someone needs to sue the State of Utah to get Carl Heap's name added to the list of record setters on the historical marker.


Oh yes, and to top it all off, it was a beautiful balmy day! The top number is the inside temperature and the middle number is the outside temperature.

And for those of you that want to know what the blogging office looks like here is your peak!

Day 48 - June 26

This morning our friends the Ledeburs picked us up to take us to breakfast. We drove for about an hour and a half to Gateway Canyons Resort. This is an impressive resort in the middle of nowhere. It is being built by the man that started the Discovery Channel and clearly he has plenty of money to burn. We had a nice breakfast and then toured the Gateway Auto Museum, a good way for him to put his private collection of vintage cars to use. This afternoon I tried to insert my usual dab of business and then a quick run to the Graystone Winery to pickup some of our preferred Port. Tomorrow we will be headed out of Colorado and on to Utah (go west young man, go west)!

Day 47 - June 25

A good portion of the day was the drive from Golden, CO to Grand Junction, CO. The first half of the trip cover a lot of climbing so needles to say it was much slower than our GPS was predicting. In addition to the climb to nearly 10,000 feet was the fact that much of Colorado is undergoing summer road repairs and we were down to single lanes with the usual amounts of gutter snipes that you would like to shove off the edge of the road.

Jon, we saw many old mining operations and know that you would loved to have been able to explore.

We got to Grand Junction and spent a nice evening with our friends the Ledeburs and enjoyed a great steak dinner. We remember when they told us that they were leaving Huntington Beach and we couldn't believe it. It wasn't all that many years later that we did the same thing and our other friends could believe that we were moving away. Now Grants Pass is so much our home that we have trouble remembering what life in Huntington Beach was like.

Day 46 - June 24

Today we met with Milt & Sue Batt the daughter and son-in-law of our old neighbor from Grays Creek. We enjoyed a nice lunch on the deck of the Golden Hotel overlooking Clear Creek and caught up on things. Then back to the RV to take care of some critical business items for Georgia. In the evening we drove to Boulder, CO to see Donna's cousin Art and his wife Maria and had the added benefit of their daughter Anja being home. Maria prepared a nice dinner and we spent much time catching each other up on the relatives we have been visiting. And then back into the car and let Mildred direct us back to our campground.

Day 45 - June 23

Today we moved to Golden, CO. What a pretty little town. And what a pleasant day. I had some work that needed to be done and once we got settled, I set up my office on the picnic table next to the jogging trail and Clear Creek. A very nice office environment I must admit. After I got caught up Donna and I took the dogs to an off leash dog park and then back home to the RV. We settled them in and then we went downtown and walked the streets of Golden.

The part that was most impressive to us was the riverfront that sports a walking jogging trial on both sides scattered with bronze sculptures and nice play areas. We would love to have Brady Adams come to see Golden, CO. After our walk we went up on the deck of the Golden Hotel and indulged in some appetizers and wine, enjoying the view of the river and the beautiful afternoon breeze. It doesn't get much better than this.

Finally, after our little repast we returned to the RV and took the dogs for a walk down to watch the kyackers working the course set up in Clear Creek. It looks like way too much work to me!

Day 44 - June 22

We took our time getting started this morning and got the RV to Deonna's sister's house at about 1:00 PM. From there we immediately packed into their SUV and headed to the "Taste of Lone Tree". Other cities have done this and it usually requires that you pay some amount at each restaurant or vendor's booth. Here in Lone Tree this is their first attempt at this and they are trying to promote their diverse cuisine. The fee to get in was $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 5 to 13. Since this also included your parking and there were no fees at any of the booths this was a great value. In addition to the excellent value of the admission, all of the restaurants were offering large samples of their food. I had grilled Ahi Tuna on a roll with two wonderful sauces, Mongolian ribs, three kinds of sushi, bread pudding, Calamari and Asian grilled chicken over rice and of course sampled some wine and Donna sampled some beer...all at no charge once we proved we were over 21 (ha!). Safeway was also there grilling samples of the Rancher's Select New York strip steak...juicy, done just right and well seasoned...YUM!

We returned to Sonya and Chris's house and watch the kids and the dogs play for another relaxing afternoon. Again, we are glad to have been able to spend time with family on this trip.