28 Days Later….
We’re home! It was so nice to sleep in our bed the last couple nights. Things around the house were fine, thanks to the help of neighbors and friends. Though that garden – whew! Didn’t have to worry about things not growing. We had our work cut out for us on Saturday, but with two bodies, we actually made pretty light work.
So, some fun stats from our trip!
- 4,958 = miles traveled
- 18.5 = average mpg achieved on the Tundra (20.7 Max!)
- 5 = audiobooks listened to
- 10 = National Parks visited
- 1 = Strip of rain gutter trim lost on northern California highway
- 28 = days of sunshine
- 0 = rain-outs
- 2 = People with big smiles and great tans
Of course, with any trip, there are stories to tell. The entire contents of our truck melting in the Zion heat…polygamists at the pool in Moab…friendly campers in Yosemite bearing freshly-caught trout…being introduced to “bug hail”…Erin suffocating a mouse…tourists stealing the oldest trees in world…that infamous 911 call…why foreign tourists are more likely to injure themselves on trails… All of these tales are better told in person. Call us for more details.
Regardless of all that, I don’t know if we can explain just how great this vacation was. Many people might cringe at the idea of sleeping outdoors for a month, or make excuses on why they can’t make it happen. I beg to differ. Not only was this vacation extremely affordable (we’ve probably spent more on week-long vacations), it was relaxing, rewarding, and truly gave us time to unplug from our everyday lives and reconnect with each other. And a month is just about the right amount of time. For us, it takes about two weeks to really forget about our routines, giving us another two weeks of total bliss. You can ask for the time off work – really, it isn’t that big a deal. Work will go on without you, but you really have to make an effort to make these trips, and the memories that come with them, happen. You won’t regret it. In fact, we’re already thinking about next adventure. After all, a Wild West Extravaganza wouldn’t be complete without…. Alaska.
