The Grand Finale

Wonderful & Wild Wyoming! Our first Demolition Derby was experienced at the Wyoming State Fair, after tubing on the North Platte River with new friend, Jamie, and her family.

Sigh...only one more week of the best-road-trip-of-all-time left after that. We needed to boot-scoot home to Minnesota, as it was only a few more days until dear friend Meridith's wedding in Indiana. Dan won the license plate competition by two plates. (The only three states we didn't spot were West Virginia, Delaware, and Hawaii.) Three days of quality family time in MN, including meeting baby Quintin, a new addition to Cousin-Friend Jessa's family.  Hastings Waterpark adventures with Jessa and 2-year-old Dean was super-fun! In the days after I left, Jessa said Dean kept asking, "Where did Ava go? To Maine?" Such a sweetie!

On to Bloomington, Indiana, and Meredith! So much fun meeting her family, friends, and her wonderful man, Collin, and helping to prepare for her backyard wedding. It was a lovely wedding and awesome reception...YAY! Congrats, Meredith and Collin!

Home wasn't far now...I could smell the sea breeze and Jeff's coffee
over the horizon! I booked it home, driving 14 hours the last day. Ohio, Pennyslvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire zoomed by. I was elated to cross the border and see the sign, "Welcome to Maine - The Way Life Should Be."  I'M HOME! So great to hug and kiss my sweetheart! I've been back for a week and a half now and absolutely loving it. One of the best aspects of traveling: appreciating how great home life is.

 The End!

Pictures: Wyoming

Pictures: Nebraska to Maine

Homebound, into the Lower 48

This should have been Dan's senior class photo.

Only 10 days until I’m home?!?!  Time and miles sure fly by when yer havin’ a gud time!

Mile 10,040, Casper, Wyoming:  Brother Dan and I have been road tripping together for 10 days now. With a little help from the friendly Canadian border patrol, we decided to re-route our path to south of the CAN-US border.  The gorgeous beaches of Oregon; the solitude and majesty of Hells Canyon and Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, and Grand Tetons, WY; free camping in an abandoned, ripe orchard with a fearless Mule Deer herd, a swimming moose, a fat black bear and a nightly diving swallow air show; savoring Tillamook cheese curds and Ore-Ida tater tots close to the source; and our obsession with beating the other in a newly-invented license plate identification game have filled our days with much oo-ing and aw-ing, lots of laughs, great conversation and debates, and, of course, a few new friends. (BTW, Dan’s winning the License Plate game, but not by much...there’s still time! But with him siting a U.S. Virgin Islands plate!?!  Hard to beat that! Where are you, Guam?!)

7th grade sense of humor still in there!

We have 3-4 more days to reach St. Paul, Minnesota.  Today’s agenda in Douglas, WY: tubing a river with some locals and checking out the Wyoming State Fair!  A wish come true: time to don the Stetson and check out those cute Wyoming animals.  Demolition Derby, anyone?




 Two new photo albums:

British Colombia Homebound

Oregon and Idaho with Bro Dan