The end of the journey –  and some of the stats

Kalispell, Montana to Redmond WA

Like all good things, our cross country adventure must also come to a close.  It has been our first long road trip together and I take it as a good sign that we are already planning our next one.

We spent the morning at West Glacier enjoying Lake McDonald.  A truly beautiful national park.  Lots of bikers were making their way to the top since it was the last weekend without cars.  Heard from my brother-in-law David that this was the 3,200 foot uphill climb he and my sister Therese had tandem biked on their honeymoon (!). Siri and I are not that adventurous.  We instead go from the short loop hike through the woods. 

We had planned on staying with a college friend on Flathead Lake, but she wasn’t able to make it, so we decide to just keep driving all the way home – since it is so close.  😉 We stop in for a No Kings protest in Kalispell for lunch and then catch the end of one in Spokane by dinner.  Had a lovely chat with one of the organizers in Kalispell who is there with her grandson.  She tells us there were a few earlier arrests as the counter protests who are literally in hoods created a ruckus.  An elderly couple leaving Spokane tells us how hopeful they are to see so many people out defending their rights.

We get our first glimpse of Mt. Rainier – we know we must be getting close. We drive over Snoqualmie Pass as the glowing red sun is reflected on Keechelus Lake.  We are reminded of how beautiful the area we live in is after having driven across the whole country.   We are truly blessed.

We finally make it to Redmond just as the sun has set. As is our typical pattern, we fully unpack the car, put things away and place the bike and gear in the garage.  Then, we sit in our living room with a cup of tea with our dog Yoda – who is very happy to see us – and relax.

It has been a grand adventure.

I will probably post a few more stories in the next few days, but I thought people would be interested in having some of the stats of the whole trip.

Days on the road: 67

Miles traveled: 11,584 by car and about 682 by bike

Number of states visited on this trip: 31 (including 11 new State Capitols)

States still have yet to visit: 8

National Parks, monuments and memorials: 19

Friends and Family visited: over 16 different people,  couples and families in unique cities – not including the Kentucky Cousins (several dozens) nor the Virginia wedding (mini-Cline family reunion)

Trolls visited: 8 (3 in Kentucky and 5 in Maine)

Furthest east visited: Acadia National Park, Maine

Furthest south visited: New Orleans, Louisiana

First lost item: two pillows on the first night in Idaho

Last lost item: swim goggles in the South Dakota Black Hills

Most extreme weather: 4 inches of rain in one hour in New Orleans, or the 8 inches of rain in Lafayette, LA in six hours, or the near miss by a few weeks of hail storm in Kentucky that had pool ball sized hail stones

Times tandem bike came off the car: at least 45 times (and three times taking it up an elevator to our room – otherwise it was the stairs)

National protests we joined: 3 (Baton Rouge, LA;  Kalispell, MT; and Spokane, WA – just missed the one in Owensboro, KY)

Home cooked meals: 14 (!) all amazing from Indian food to grilled salmon to family potluck to Chilean BBQ – and everything in-between.

Meals out: too many to count

Boat tours: 3 (Newport, Lobster boat, Glacier)

How many books brought: 10+

How many books read: 1 maybe 2 if audible books count too.  Did more podcasts along the way – Route 66, New Orleans, Let the Kids Dance (great Seattle story), Rest is History – Custer/Crazy Horse, radio play of Fredrick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony, and a few more.

Some good zero numbers – no trips to the hospital, no car troubles, no sleeping on the ground (and we even brought our air mattress and sleeping bags just in case) and no speeding tickets (I did slow down in Minnesota because that is where I received my first speeding ticket on my last cross country trip with my parents in high school – didn’t want to be a repeat offender).

Most useless item brought with us: ukeleles – yes, we brought two, broke one, and never used them.

Value of two month cross-country road trip: priceless