Day Sixty

Austerlitz, NY to Berwick, ME

200 Miles

Sadly our journey has come to an end. 

Here is a breakdown of the entire adventure in numbers:

60 Days

10,000 Miles

4,256 Blog Views

1,428 Gallons of Gas

27 States

13 National Parks and Monuments

8 Time Zones

-10-11,000 Feet in Elevation

Endless memories that will last a lifetime

This truly was a trip of a lifetime. It was extra special to be able to spend the entire trip with my Dad. The trip was a dream of mine that came true.

When we first took off, I had no idea what the country had in store for us. To me it was a complete unknown. I never could have imagined the vastness of the desert, the distance one can see on the flattest of land, the enormity of the Rocky Mountains, the fear a mountain pass can induce namely Wolf Creek Pass, the intensity of color and delicate nature of Bryce Canyon, the beauty of the cliffs on the Pacific Ocean, the enormity of a buffalo herd, the poverty resembling that of third world country, but most of all the power of water.

I’ve grown up and lived near water my entire life. It is something I can’t live without. This trip gave me a new respect for water. In the desert it brings life. A green strip of land will follow an active or surface dry river. Yet, water can bring massive amounts of destruction and death. As we saw in the Big Thompson Canyon and New Orleans. Chills run up your spine when you see a flood search team marking on a house; the date, number of bodies, number of survivors, and water height. It is a circle symbol forever in my mind. All from the beautiful means we rely on for life.

Throughout the entire trip, we only met one couple who was traveling across country as well. They were from California and were taking our Southern route home in the next four weeks. It was fun to share stories and travel notes with them.

One thing I am still stunned by is the lack of recycling in this country. It appears only the Northeast recycles and the National Parks. No where else has single stream recycling or even makes an attempt. There is a massive amount of resources that are wasted each day.

The blog has been a lot of fun for me. Thank you to all who have read and shared the trip with us. Each day I write in a journal as well, just as my Dad did 53 years ago. Reading his experiences and comparing them with mine each day was very special. For now, the two journals will remain together on a shelf until the next journey West.

A