Day 36 + 1 – July 8, 2012 Final Trip Report
(write your own caption)
I spent today unpacking and sorting out the many items that I either took along or accumulated on the trip. I also ran my friend of 7 ½ years, Kia, through a “deluxe super-duper” car wash, as she deserves nothing but the best. After the faithful service of 6,650 miles on Interstates, two-lanes, one-lanes, gravel, and mud, while serving as my bedroom for eleven nights, Kia never missed a beat. She is now looking pretty good for her age and over 111,000 miles. I will do a full detailing when it cools off a bit.
Misc. trip notes:
1. I am “pass-ed out”. I went over 11 mountain passes, many more than once, for a total of 20 crossings. I also drove to the top of one mountain: Mount Walker in Washington’s Olympia National Forest.
2. I slept in one Wal-Mart parking lot, one Oregon State Park, one city park, one American Indian Reservation camp, seven NFS or NP camps, and one camp owned by Warren Buffet. I enjoyed every one.
3. I also slept in 17 different motels for a total of 24 nights. I enjoyed some of them, too. I was burned by the rate increases over this year’s long week of the 4th of July…some of these so-called “budget” places raised their rates by $20, $30, $40, or more. Supply and demand, I guess.
4. I burned 360 gallons of gas ($1,300+) and got 18.5 miles per gallon in 6,650 miles. That’s less than last year’s 21.3 mpg, I suspect due to high altitudes and heavy winds. The state of Washington was over $4 per gallon for most of my visit. I paid anywhere from $3.24 to $4.19 on the trip.
5. I ate anything I wanted; fast food, fat food, and a bunch of motel donuts, but I did not gain a single pound! I guess that old saying that calories do not count on vacation is true!
6. I exceeded my self-imposed budget by about $1 a day.
Now it’s recovery time, with laundry, grocery shopping, and lots of neglected Yellowstone Trail Association duties.
Thanks for “riding along”…I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know at mmowbray@yellowstonetrail.org
Mark
