Notes from the Traveler

I have been busy with the normal post-trip duties:  laundry, unpacking, etc.  I wanted to get the trip statistics on the record.  In the 22 days we were gone we drove 5673 miles.  The truck averaged 9.2 MPG.  Average price per gallon of gas was $3.84.  The most expensive was at East Glacier at $4.18 and the lowest was at Sioux Falls, SD at $3.59.   The first day we drove 600 miles and the last day we drove 660 miles.  Both days were 12 hour days.  Maybe we won't do these kind of days after this year but we were on a deadline for when we had to be home because of our reservations at Turkey Run State Park. 

Now a few notes and thoughts I have had that I want to be a part of my permanent blog.

We took Sandy with us this trip.  She is a great traveler.  Two of the 22 days she spent in the truck along with us for 12 hours over 600 miles.   The only time she was out was when we would stop at a rest area for her to stretch her legs.  Some of the days, we would take her with us as we did things and other days she had to stay in the camper.  One day she was in the camper for 8 hours.  Again, she did great.  I am posting two pictures of Sandy.  One of them is a picture of her looking out the truck window.  When we began to pack things up, she wanted in the truck.  She would wait patiently for us.  I think she felt safe that she was not going to get left.  The second is a picture of her looking out the camper door.  When I would leave the camper, she would wait for me at the door.  She really is my dog and wants to be wherever I am. 

Traveling with dogs can take a little more planning but I think it is worth it.  I think a lot of other people think it is worth it as well because of the number of others we met with one, two and even three dogs.  There were also cats in the campground.  One lady had a Saint Bernard and a Newfoundland.  Both are huge dogs!    If you have a dog, people will strike up a conversation with you.  I guess it is the common bond of being an animal lover.  The conversation always begins with the dog but usually ends with other general conversation.  I have met a lot of really nice people because of Sandy.  At one state park, Carol went into the visitor's center (no pets allowed) for information, the lady at the desk saw Sandy and I sitting outside.  She told Carol to bring Sandy in.  We did and she petted her and let us look around the center and view a movie there.  Of course, I'm sure she wouldn't have done that had the center been busy but she didn't have to allow us in.  She did because she is a dog lover.

This trip was the first one that we used so much technology.  We have had cell phones for a while but this time, we had the phone with us most of the time.  Other trips, we would have a cell phone but tell friends and family that we would have it on in the evening between a couple of hours.  I guess we have finally gotten used to the idea of being connected by the phone.  We still didn't use our television very much.  I think we had it on three evenings out of the 21 nights we were gone.  The rest of the time, we read, talked, took walks, wrote the blog,  etc.  We didn't miss the television.

This year we had an I-pad.  In the past I have journaled in a book that I keep for our trips but this year, I journaled a blog.  I really did enjoy it.  I was able to write more and use pictures.  It was a great way for me to review the day, get my thoughts on paper, and have pictures as a visual reminder of the day.  We also used the I-pad to get directions, info on where the post office was, look up other things, etc.  I never thought I would take to technology like I did this I-pad.  Maybe I have finally accepted the technology age.

One of the reasons I love to travel is the interesting people I meet or observe.  This year at Yellowstone, we were out for a walk with Sandy outside the campground.  We saw an old man standing on the corner with a map in his hands.  He look confused.  I asked him if he needed help and he said yes.  He showed me the map.  It was one that someone had already marked a path to where he was suppose to go.  He didn't understand the directions on the map.  We explained it to him and
walked with him for a block or two.  As we walked, he said he was from Switzerland and that 21
years ago he had bought a pair of houseslippers from the store he was headed to and wanted to get
another pair this trip.   Wow!  Those must have been a special pair of houseslippers. 

On our trip home, we stopped for gas and I went in for some drinks.  On the sidewalk sat a young man dressed completely in black.  He had a large black backpack beside him and a black cat with a black sweater on wearing a harness.  He had a sign asking for a ride.  I walked past him in and out of the store.  As I sat in the truck, I saw a young couple walking with him across the parking lot.  He had the backpack on and his cat was riding on top of the pack.  The couple had an old, small school bus painted blue and they had asked the young man to ride with them.  I wondered what their stories were.

This was a special trip for Carol and I.  It was the first trip we have taken since we went to Alaska six years ago.  It was a trip that we had planned to take from the time we began to take vacations.  We always took vacations but we went for years with a tent and then finally a pop-up but we had never gone with a trailer.  Now we have one and we actually pulled the trailer on a 22-day trip of over 5600 miles.   It was also special because we are both now retired and traveling is what we wanted to do when we retired.   This was my grand retirement celebration trip and it was wonderful.  I hope it won't be the last trip but who knows; but at least we have the memories of this one.

My blog entries can get quite wordy.  This is one of the reasons why I don't text or tweet.  I have too many words inside of me.  I can't condense them into a short text or tweet!