Day 23 : HOME!

I am pleased to say that I am writing this from the comfort of my own home!

I stayed in Midland, Texas on Monday night. Yesterday morning, I got up around 6:00AM, packed, ate breakfast, and hit the road by 6:45AM. I was on I-20 and only stopped to get gas when the gauge got to empty. I drove until 12:15PM last night. That was approximately sixteen and a half hours of driving. But it turned out to be a really easy drive because I knew what was at the end of it: home. The one thing I have learned on this trip above all others is the value and appreciation of home. My wife, my dog, and my house. I cared for each of them very much before the trip, but now it is only more so. It is easy for all of us to take those things for granted because they are omnipresent. But if you remove them, even for a little while, it becomes very apparent just how much they mean.

Here is the final tally:
start of trip: 140,512
end of trip: 148,197
total miles driven: 7,685 miles
I left on 06/03 and got back on 06/24. So, I was gone 22 days; just over three weeks.

yesterday's numbers:
start: 147,053
end: 148,197
distance: 1,144 miles
That's a personal best for me.


And here are some things I saw that I didn't post in the daily entries:

wildlife:
-a coyote trotting down the side of the road in Grand Canyon National park, looking like he had business to attend to.
-two roadrunners on separate occassions in New Mexico. And they were doing exactly what you'd expect them to be doing: they were crossing the road. Alas, I saw no coyote chasing them with fork and knife in hand.
-two crows attacking an owl in Mississippi. That was yesterday evening. Crows hate owls on principle. I'm not sure why, but it is true. My dad always told me so, and last evening I saw it firsthand.
-a group of about six doe laying down under one of the only trees in western Utah, trying to savor the shade it provided.
-the mountain goats and the pronghorn go on this list, but I did post about them.
-I was disappointed that I did not see a single buffalo on the entire trip; not even on a ranch.

activities:
-I rode an alpine slide in Keystone, South Dakota. It was like a curvy waterslide, except you go down on a sled with wheels. It was very fun.
-I went to a junk store outside of Crazy Horse and bought a Miller Highlife pull tab that I may use as a shifter in the hot rod.
-I paid an Indian $5 to show me some dinosaur footprints out in the desert east of the grand canyon in northern Arizona. I took pictures and would have posted them, but I had to use the other camera and I couldn't get the pictures off of it.
-I collected rocks from many of the places I visited. To be clear, I have an unusual collection going. I have a rock from many places I have been. I am not a rock hound or geologist. When I go somewhere, I pick up a rock and save it as a souvenier. It is an actual piece of the place I have been. You see? So, I now have an actual piece of Mount Rushmore granite, Crazy Horse granite, a piece of the Grand Canyon, a piece of sandstone from within Meteor Crater, and a piece of Carlsbad Caverns from deep in the earth. They aren't big pieces; you could close your fist around them. Oh, and the fossils from Utah. got those too.

So, that's it. This is the last post. I owe Chad and Nancy a sincere apology for flaking out and not going through Houston. Sorry, y'all.
Truth be told, Jennifer and I had both eaten something in San Diego that made us sick; some type of food poisoning. I was very weak after that stay in the truck bed and hike in Carlsbad Caverns. It was at that point I decided to cut the trip a couple of days short and head for home. Enough was enough.

Thanks for reading this blog, and following along on what has been a great adventure. I really love this country for its beauty and VAST variety of landscapes. You should really get out and see it. You won't believe the variety that exists out there. And I only saw a small fraction!

Lastly, the biggest thank you of all goes to my wife, the best friend I've ever had. When I was leaving my job, she reminded me of the dream I had had for this trip (I've wanted to do it for many years) and encouraged me to take advantage of the moment and do it. For that, I am humbled and forever grateful. I love you.

Till the next adventure,
Watson

PS
Check the post below for more Carlsbad Caverns pictures.