The eldest oyster looked at him, but never a word he said.

So, that's it folks.  Thanks for reading.  We certainly hoped you enjoyed our accounts of the trip.  We're currently working on making up a photo album of everything that we saw so ask us to share in the not too distant future. Overall, we had an absolute blast and will cherish this adventure for years to come.  Our country has a plethora of completely amazing sights to witness which can only be fully appreciated in person.  While the traveling takes a bit out of you and takes a bit of effort to make happen, the experiences are truly priceless.  So what are you waiting for?  Stop talking about it and go for it.  Quit your jobs.  Sell your children.  Whatever it takes, don't wait for the opportunity to come along because chances are it won't.  Make your own destiny and enjoy the results! 

We leave you with these 10 anecdotes/ lessons learned/ words of wisdom:

1.  Emergency license plate = 1 manila folder + Sharpee + Duct Tape

2.  2.1lb. container of Goldfish is essential to successful road tripping.

3.  If going with the thriftier, camping approach, a general loss of hygiene is simply an indicator that you're focusing on the more important aspects of travel.

4.  Travel during the summer.  Sure, you have to deal with the extra tourist traffic but so many of the Nation's most treasured areas are nearly unreachable during the winter months.

5.  GPSs are great but a good solid atlas is incomparable and doesn't have to search for a satellite to function.

6.  Drivers in the Northeast (excepting upstate New York) top the lis for the least courteous in the country.

7.  At some points in the desert regions, who knows when you'll see the next gas station so utilize your opportunities to fuel up.  Also, it helps to have a spare canister of gasoline with you.

8.  When utilizing a vehicle with a manuel transmission on a road trip, all drivers should be proficient in its operation BEFOREHAND and not rely on mountain slopes to get acquainted.

9.  Invest in a good, solid sleeping pad.  Your back and level of fatigue will thank you.

10.  Best campfire creation: Grill Dog topped with Spanish rice (hot sauce optional)

Much love,

The Walrus & The Carpenter.

PS  We don't actually mean for you to sell your kids.  Just rent them out temporarily.

We cannot do with more than four, to give a hand to each."

Final Travel Stats:

Days Traveled: 21 (6/25-7/15)
Miles Driven: 7,231
States Traversed: 25
Cities Visited: 76+
License Plates: 49/50 domestic (couldn't come up with Hawaii)
                         6/10 Canadian provinces
                         1 government official
                         1 European
Postcards: 23
# of bug bites: Also 23 (2 - Walrus   21 - Carpenter)
# of bugs splattered on the bumper: 984
    Advantage: Humans
Miles Hiked: 47
Hotels: 6
Campsites: 12
Phil Hokenson's visited: 1
Paranormal sightings: 2
# of rainbows seen: 3
# of National parks/ monuments/ forests / state parks visited: 21
# of people who asked what/ where Delaware is: 5
Average # of showers per person over the last 3 weeks: 5.5


- The W & The C

"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, along the briny beach."

As of Thursday night, finally back "home" in Delaware.  Here's our final itinerary:

TRAVEL LOG

 (STAR DATE: 2010) 

DELAWARE

  Wilmington (Home Base)

PENNSYLVANIA

  Audubon (hello, family)

  Norristown

NEW JERSEY

  Trenton

  Princeton

 

NEW YORK

  Lake George  (Wedding)

  Niagara Falls

  Buffalo

PENNSYLVANIA (2nd x)

  Erie

OHIO

  Cleveland (“At least its not Detroit.”)

  Sandusky (Cedar Point) 

  Toledo

INDIANA

   Nothin'

ILLINOIS

  Chicago (Lou Malnatti’s)

WISCONSIN

  Milwaukee (Miller Brewery)

  Lacrosse

MINNESOTA

  LaCrescent

  Dexter (Wind Turbine central)

  Blue Earth (60’ JGG statue)

SOUTH DAKOTA

  Sioux Falls

  Mitchell (Corn Palace) 

  Badlands National Park

  Wall (Famous Drug Store)

  Rapid City

  Keystone (Mount Rushmore)

WYOMING

  Hulett (Devil’s Tower)

  Moorcroft

MONTANA

  Billings

  Red Lodge

  Cooke City

  Yellowstone

WYOMING (2nd x)

  Yellowstone National Park

  Grand Teton National Park

  Jackson

  Wilson

IDAHO

  Swan Valley

  Victor (world’s largest potato)

  Idaho Falls

UTAH

  Salt Lake City (Oil Change)

  Panguitch (Bryce Canyon NP)

  Springdale (Zion NP)

ARIZONA

  Littlefield

NEVADA

  Groom Lake/ Area 51  

  Las Vegas

  Hoover Dam

ARIZONA (2^ndx)

  Kingman

  Williams

  Tusayan

  Grand Canyon

  Flagstaff

  Meteor Crater

  Holbrook

  Petrified Forest/ Painted Desert

NEW MEXICO

   Zuni Indian Reservation

   Bandera Volcano & Ice Caves

   Albuquerque

   Santa Fe (Loretto Miracle Staircase)

   Roswell (Int. UFO Museum)

   Bottomless Lake SP

TEXAS

  Lubbock

  Seymour (Chupacabra Sighting)

  Wichita Falls

  Burkburnett

OKLAHOMA

   Lawton

   Oklahoma City

ARKANSAS

   VanBuren

   Little Rock

   West Memphis

TENNESSEE

   Memphis

   Nashville

KENTUCKY

   Mammoth Cave

   Lexington

WEST VIRGINIA

   Huntington

   Charleston

   Elkins

VIRGINIA

   Harrisonburg (what’s up, JMU?)

   Springfield (hello, other family)

  

MARYLAND

   Baltimore

DELAWARE (2^nd x)

   Not just yet….

PENNSYLVANIA (3^rd x)

   Collegeville (Family visit)

   Audubon (Truck retrieval)

DELAWARE (last x)

   Done

DISCLAIMER: Qualifying landmarks had to have been visited, major cities driven through, and minor cities stopped at for one reason or another.  Minor cities simply driven through did not qualify as this would have extended the list by hundreds of spots.

TW & TC

(still a few more posts to come)

"Oh Oysters, come and walk with us!" the Walrus did beseech. "

Travel Date: 7/14

The odometer now reads over 7,000 miles for our trip.  Gooood gracious.  Fortunately, we are almost there.  We’ve had a blast but the copious amounts of driving has a way of making you bit weary.  In West Virginia, the terrain of the East truly began to take shape which was a welcoming sight.  Admittedly, we were a bit unsure how the landscape of the East Coast would appear by comparison to the spectacular sights further West but home is home after all and we were glad to see it.  Driving over the Appalachians were not quite the challenge of the Rockies but again, they brought not only their beauty but their sense of comfort and memories of many a past hiking and camping experience as well.  Out of the Appalachians, we reemerged in Virginia and took the convenience of the opportunity to give a quick hello to the campus of JMU.  My have they been busy. 

Still rolling on the road at the moment but the day shall end with our last overnight of the trip in “The S’field [Springfield, VA] - smack dab in the middle of NOVA.”

A few more entries still lay ahead so stay tuned.

- The Carpenter

"I doubt it," said the Carpenter, and shed a bitter tear.

Travel Date: 7/13

From Kentucky, it seemed just a matter of making back to home base.  Still, another 700ish miles lay ahead.  With most of our camping gear now drenched and the thought of a warm bed and hot meal beginning to tease our tired bodies, we pressed on a little further to make the final few legs of our drive a bit easier.  Post spelunking, we mustered up whatever remaining energy we could and put ourselves another 250 miles closer to home, bunking up for the night in Huntington, WV (home of the Marshall Thundering Herd).  One particular moment on the road that deserves mention came just outside of Lexington, Kentucky as we drove due East.  Several miles ahead of us, we learned that some manner of biohazard spill had shut down all four lanes of the interstate.  [Editor’s note: Local news stories revealed this event led to be the beginnings of a zombie uprising, quickly quelled by the shotgun to farmer ratio of the local populace].  My life’s experience (and federal law) typically dictates that this is where you moan, curse and sit in bumper to bumper traffic while an inefficient detour eventually diverts your course.  Not in Kentucky, however.  One by one, and then all at once, dozens of cars began coming straight at us, mind you they were now driving toward oncoming traffic while changing across multiple lanes at once.  Somehow we survived this dangerously bizarre encounter.

- The Carpenter

"If seven maids with seven mops swept it for half a year, do you suppose," the Walrus said, "that they could get it clear?"

Travel Dates: 7/12-7/13

From West Memphis, it seemed only logical to continue on to original recipe Memphis…. so we did.  Though neither of us are big Elvis fans, it seemed only right to make a quick salute to Graceland before chugging along any further.  Not far from there, we began to head back Northward, cruising through Nashville and on into Kentucky.  Having journeyed a bit further the previous day than originally planned, we arrived at our next destination, Mammoth Cave, a bit early which gave us time to hike around and explore some of the local flora and fauna before sundown.  This ended up working out well as the heavy storm systems which had previously been tailing us caught up during the night and thoroughly compensated for the ample nice weather we had been graced with prior to that point.  It took our combined weight and every firmly planted stake we had to keep our tent from floating away.  

Fortunately, cave systems are inherently underground so no amount of downpour could disrupt our agenda for the morning.   Mammoth Cave, the most extensive cave system on Earth, lies underneath hill country and weaves carefully together within about a 36 square mile area.  There are roughly 365 miles of surveyed passages with geologists estimating that there could easily be another 600 miles still undiscovered.  Though it would take dozens trips to truly explore the majority of the passageways, we felt fairly accomplished with the 3 miles we managed to traverse between two different hikes.  The caves offer everything from Native American artifacts and waterfalls to drip formations (think Lurray Caverns) and crawl spaces like the aptly named “Fat Man’s Misery.”  

It was also entertaining to reflect on a particular moment when the trail guides shut off all the lights to truly experience the natural pitch black of the cave and a couple dozen cell phones and digital cameras promptly lit the darkness back up.  Oh, the digital age….

- The Carpenter 

"If this were only cleared away," They said, "it would be grand!"

Travel Date: Sunday, July 11

After a delicious breakfast with our gracious host, we hit the trail on our way to Arkansas to camp at Hot Springs National Park.  As we entered the state, we noticed as the sunny skies became dark, streaks of lightning flashed in the sky, and rain poured on the windshield.  Despite the rainbow that appeared to the north, the radio declared severe thunderstorms with tornado warnings.  As much as we love a good adventure, camping outdoors with tornado warnings doesn’t sit too well with us.  We decided to adapt to our surroundings and get a head start on the travels for the next day and drove to West Memphis where a motel with a hot shower awaited us.

Not much else to say on that.  

-The Walrus


PS.  We've added travel dates to each of the entries since we've been adding a few at a time!

They wept like anything to see such quantities of sand

Travel Date: Saturday, July 10

Writing a bit out of order but to be posted chronologically (unlike most entries which get written sometime thereafter), we’ve just departed Oklahoma, a state we can honestly say we had no prior intention of ever visiting.  That said, the hospitality was served up in fine style by old pal Phil Hokenson who gave us ample cause for a visit during our return trip. We’d just come from New Mexico by way of Northern Texas and I’d be remiss not to mention the Texans’ uncanny ability to juxtapose a multitude of Pro Life billboards with those for gun shows/stores.  Also, we’d be willing stake our well-being on an affirmative Chupacabra sighting (of the canine variety), dead on the roadside in Seymour, Texas.  Well, I speak for one of us at least.

Cryptozoology aside, we were speaking of Lawton, OK and the good army folk who reside there.  After arriving, we were treated to a field trip to nearby Ft. Sill where an impressive array of derelict artillery from past US conflict was on display.  Further adventures of the local provided delicious eats and a late night visit to the one and only Scooter’s (mandatory shout out achieved) to witness an entertaining mishmash of thugs and rednecks gettin’ down.

Phil – All our best in your deployment to Korea.  Don’t let Kim Jong get too “ronery.”

- The Carpenter

The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand;

Travel Date: Friday, July 9

Eat your heart out, Fox Mulder, a major landmark was X’ed off the Bucket List today as we made our way into the heart of alien country: Roswell, NM.  A bit off the beaten path but well worth the trip for the true believer, the town was catapulted into infamy by the July 2, 1947 crash of what can be only logically concluded to be a spacecraft of extraterrestrial origins.  Whereas a sampling of the average American populace will yield only about 10% non-skeptics, the town of Roswell boasts an impressive 60% alien enthusiasts.  Needless to say, a certain member of our party felt right at home, especially within a community which has integrated all things ET into their commercial livelihood (the pictures below are but a small sampling).  Our trip culminated with a visit to the International UFO Museum & Research Center which housed an impressive compendium of information and documentation but which should pale in comparison to the future, state-of-the-art facility currently in the works.

Our day ended East of the town at Bottomless Lakes State Park where we took a dip in its refreshing waters but were slightly disappointed to find ourselves readily standing on the lake bed. 

- The Carpenter

No birds were flying overhead-- There were no birds to fly.

Travel Date: Thursday, July 8

On the recommendation of a friendly native Arizonian at our campsite, we chose to bypass the interstate in departing Arizona and travel through a Zuni Indian reservation to get to Bandera Volcano & Ice Caves.  Sounded cool enough.  The “Land of Fire & Ice,” as it was coined, was reached by a nearly endless dirt driveway, which tested the suspension on our four-wheeled warrior.  The trading post found at the birth of the volcano pass outfitted us with vague trail directions and sent us on our way.  With images of spewing of lava in mind, we hurriedly climbed up to the peak of the volcano, only to be reminded of the meaning of “inactive,” in this case for 50,000 years.  Just missed it.  After taking in the gaping hollow in the earth left in its wake, we trekked back down to drop into a rocky chasm in the ground housing an ice cave.  Although a bit skeptical of experiencing anything frozen in the midst of sun-baked New Mexico in July, a rapid descent into a cavern presented us with a sub-freezing chamber filled with icicles and a 20’ thick ice floor.  Our trail guide described how this area had once been used by early settlers to chisel ice chunks which were used to cool beer and other perishables, but is now preserved and continuously renewed by rainwater.

Quite satisfied by our latest random exploit, we cruised onward through Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  Known for it’s multicultural art scene, we toured around the city and were amazed by the unique architecture.  Under Spanish influence, the city of Santa Fe was laid out according to the “Laws of the Indies” which stated that the town must be laid out around a central plaza.  Over the years, an eclectic mix of architecture that surrounded this plaza wasn’t drawing the crowds the city hoped for.  In 1912, it was decided that the city would be rebuilt using a unified building style – the Spanish Pueblo Revival look in attempts to better the economy through a boost in tourism.  This change in architecture was obviously successful, as we walked through the Plaza filled with live music and a few thousand people who were in town for the 7^th annual International Folk Art Festival’s opening events.  This festival brought more than 120 artists from 55 countries together to sell their crafts and share their culture.  Many artists use this festival as a way to provide for their families and small villages.    

   

Santa Fe is also home to the Miraculous Staircase of Loretto Chapel.  This staircase is considered an architectural impossibility due to its two complete spirals without a center support or use of nails.  The mysterious traveler who constructed this staircase is thought to be Saint Joseph, the patron saint of this chapel. 

After attempting to take in the energy and vibrancy of Santa Fe in only one evening, we found ourselves full of Mexican food and asleep in no time, for the next day would bring even more unique sites to see. 

- The Walrus & The Carpenter

You could not see a cloud, because no cloud was in the sky

Travel Date: Wednesday, July 7

Staying put in one place for two consecutive nights lured us into a false sense of comfort when Wednesday morning sneakily came along and, true to form, flung us back out on the open road.  This time, it was fortunately just a short jaunt over to Holbrook, AZ for our next stop offs at The Petrified Forest & Painted Desert NPs.  Along the way, however, we were once more tempted by a random roadside attraction for “Meteor Crater.”  Even if the name lacks any form of creativity (indeed, the official name for this impact site was “Meteor Crater”), there was a certain B-movie flair to the font on the billboard and it doesn’t take much to get us to alter our course for a quick detour (Editors’ score sheet update: Tourist Traps: 9 Weary Travelers: 2].  MC was essentially just that, a giant crater in the ground.  There was a well-kept museum adjacent to the site along with a movie theatre featuring meteor trivia, to which we naturally answered all questions with “Bruce Willis” (Mac: Armageddon is not thaaaat bad of a movie so we don’t want to hear it).  Not much more to say on that.

Back on course, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were easily found right off the interstate and quickly gave way to more of the desert’s innate splendor.  The Painted Desert featured more large outcroppings and mesas with alternating layers of different rock types, each providing its own color to the palette of the formations.  It’s also worth noting again that as the sun goes down for all of these natural sights, the shifting light can’t help but add even more intrigue to the already majestic. 

 Within the Petrified Forest, former waterways left large of hunks of multi-thousand year old tree debris covered in sediment, leading to unique wood/ rock combinations of uncompromising magnificence. 

They also inspired us to create petrified expressions and poses of our own.
 

-The Carpenter

The sea was wet as wet could be, The sands were dry as dry.

Travel Dates: Monday & Tuesday, July 5-6

After waiting through heavy traffic to cross Hoover Dam (indeed, quite huge), we made it into Arizona and on to the Grand Canyon (or as we came to rename it, Grand Canyon: Land of the Mega Raven).  We arrived at dusk, found our campsite and rapidly cooked up some campfire grub to appease our growling bellies.  Knowing that we were going into our only driving-free day the following day, we decided to call it an early night to rest up for some intense exploration in the morning.   

Early to rise, we found ourselves on the Southern Rim which seems somewhat more typical for tourists to visit.  Making our way up to the edge armed with copious amounts of H20 and a few Cliff bars, we plotted a course Westward and set out on what amounted to about a 14 mile hike into the mid afternoon.  We covered about 8 or 9 major vantage points and even hiked about a mile down into the canyon at one point.  For the true outdoor warriors, we learned that you can expect to spend a solid 2.5-3 days if you want to hike down to the Colorado River and backup.  Yearly, rangers haul dozens of folks out of the canyon who have underestimated the physical exertion needed to take on the enormity of the hike, with many others not making it back period.  [Editor’s note: When your body temperature reaches 105^oF, your brain is officially cooked.]  Next visit, we plan to come prepared to do the long haul down and back.  This go around, our trek was more than sufficient to reveal the vastness of the crevasse that the GC is:  277 miles long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles and attains a depth of over 6000 feet.  At the end of the day, we also made sure to snap a few shots of the sunset (see below).  Nature is truly spectacular.

- The Carpenter