Oh, The Places You'll Go...And What It'll Cost

I'm still enjoying the sunsets here in Phoenix and finding my way around my new hometown. I started mapping out my 140 day odyssey, and tweaked my back from sitting on the floor in an awkward position for too long. I was finally able to finish it so I thought I'd post a picture of it.

Also, I have spent some time accumulating all of my credit card bills and banking expenses. I compiled a detailed spreadsheet, and have finally determined (with an accuracy of around +/- 5%) that the trip was terribly expensive. From what I can tell, the whole trip cost me: $25,481.11. Before starting the trip I had guessed that it would cost somewhere between 20K and 30K, which turned out to be a pretty good guesstimate.

I summarised the expenses into some broad categories, and here's where the money went:

Cash - $9,251.82
Flights - $1,183.80
Food - $2,406.12
Gas and Auto - $1,787.19
Hotel - $3,880.19
Insurance - $1,728.52
Other - $3,172.44
Sightseeing - $1,242.92
Technology - $828.11
Total - $25,481.11

So that about wraps it all up. Sure, I still need to find a job or career, and also will probably buy a house eventually, but for the most part, I am now done with the Road Trip...well, at least this Road Trip.

I really did have the time of my life, and I'm sure I'll take the things I learned and get out and see much more of the world.

Cheers,

Scott

Grand Finale - Bryce and Zion

The final Road Trip is finished. I'm now done with the Road Trip after taking an awesome 5 day, 4 night adventure with TP, Mr.T and Beana as well as the Treason dogs Scully and Bronson. We all piled into an RV (Clyde), relegated Pre to a tow dolly, and headed North to Utah to experience both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. What a grand finale to Road Trip 07!


We borrowed the RV from TP's boss and picked it up on Tuesday. It was a 36 foot long Land Yacht behemoth, and TP quickly took to loading it with a quantity of food that could easily have fed a small country (perhaps 90 percent was brought back with us). And on Wednesday morning, we attached Pre to the rear, and embarked on a scenic 9 hour trek from Phoenix through the desert, past the Grand Canyon, across the Lake Powell dam and on to Utah and a KOA just outside of Bryce Canyon NP.


Along the Road Trip, I had frequently passed by KOA's, without ever taking advantage of them. These are (k)campgrounds that are somewhat standardized - the Walmart of camping. My mistake, because the ease of use, stocked camp store, washer and dryer, and clean bathrooms and showers were quite impressive and would have made for some easy camping.


Of course having an RV to live out of also makes for easy camping. With stocked refrigerator, freezer and cupboards, combined with the KOA facilities, it was like being at home. I can now see how the RV "full timers" can live for years on the road. Just pull in, hook up to the water, electric and sewage, expand the slideouts, perhaps set up your satellite dish, and spend a few weeks at a stunning location with all the comforts. Outside of gas (and of course the RV purchase), it's a pretty cheap and interesting lifestyle. (Here's a link to one of many sites about Full Timers.)

We arrived after dark at the KOA and performed the basics of setting up our campground. Mr.T steadied the RV, I started a fire, and TP and Beana tended to the dogs, unpacked, set up chairs, etc. We then sat around the campfire snacking for dinner, cooking smores for dessert, and drinking the rest of the night away. It was a relief after such a long drive to be settled in and ready for the next few days. (BTW, thanks to Mr.T for doing 100% of the driving.)

The next morning, with TP tending to the pups and Mr.T actually working!, Beana and I headed into Bryce for our first look and a stunning and strenuous 5 mile hike. The first look is literally breathtaking. At Sunset Point we looked out over the Amphitheater, which contains some of the most striking Hoodoos (strange spires and pilings of limestone shaped by wind and water). Sunset Point was also the start of the combined Navajo and Peekaboo trails we had chosen for the day.


The hike started out with a series of steep downhill switchbacks that led straight down to Wall Street, a half mile long slot canyon with steep walls on each side towering straight up. This beginning was just a first glimpse of the many stunning sights along our hike.


The combined Navajo Loop and Peekaboo Loop trails formed a meandering figure-eight through the Cathedral. It was a series of treks up and down ridges of hoodoos. Because of the vast depth and diversity, coupled with the dramatic elevation changes, every few dozen paces provided new and exciting vistas and I couldn't keep my camera in my pocket. I took 130 pictures during the nearly 4 hour hike, more than at any other complete day. (Check more of them out in the photos section, some are pretty awesome.)


Many thanks to Beana, without whom I would not have pushed through the long, strenuous and wondrous hike of Bryce Canyon. It was unforgettable and "bad ass". If you visit Bryce, it is magical to look at, but to fully be appreciated, you need to hike down into the hoodoos.


Returning to the KOA, we found it inundated by about a hundred cyclists who were on a week long trip through southern Utah and its parks. TP had already befriended all of them and we spent hours listening to their travels and stories before firing up the grill for burgers and dogs. As has been standard when camping, nearly everyone else at the campsite was asleep shortly after sundown. I'm not sure why there isn't as much appreciation for the night sky. This remote part of Utah provides some of the clearest skies with the Milky Way easily visible and passing satellites can be spied if you are looking in the right direction.

The next day, with TP still tending to Scully and Bronson, and Mr.T finishing up his work week, Beana and I took the advice of a fellow RVer and headed to the slot canyon that is part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (a part of Bryce makes up the top step of the Staircase). After 6 miles on a dirt road, we stopped at a secluded creek and proceeded to follow it out and back more than 2 miles as it wound through a long series of slot canyons that it created.



We walked right along the creek bottom, stepping over or into it as we wound through the canyons. At first, the canyons were no more than 8 feet or so, but as we went downhill with the stream the narrow canyon towered up probably more than 100 feet. The walls were washed smooth, and prodded out with bulbous noses and chins. With very few others in the canyon, it was a beautiful and peaceful trek. Scully and Bronson would have loved it, and had we known what awaited us, we would have dragged them and TP along.


Returning to camp, it was time to pack up and make the move into Bryce Canyon's campsite. Beana and TP took Pre in to scout out a site, and Mr.T and I went to drop the tow dolly off at the local U-haul. We reunited and set up at the Sunset campground, just outside of Sunset Point. So we went there to see the sunset. The prior night Mr.T and I had gone to see the shadows as dusk approaches, and this time, Beana and TP joined me for the beautiful display. It's an impressive display as the sun falls and the moon rises and the depth and beauty of the canyon is displayed as the shadows grow across the Amphitheater.

The night ended with clouds creeping in and a BBQ of salmon, shrimp and veggies. I wrapped the salmon in aluminum foil, but in a stick of butter, and placed it on the grill. Beana prepared the skewers of shrimp and veggies. Surprisingly, all turned out superb, though so much was cooked we could only finish half of it.

The next morning, we jumped into Pre for the 18 mile driving tour which presented stunning panoramic vistas along the rim of the canyon. We returned back to camp just before the rain started; the rain followed us all the way to Zion National Park.

While I liked Bryce Canyon the best, TP, Mr.T and Beana seemed to like Zion better. Zion was BIG. Huge rocky mountains, boulders of enormous size, provided an overwhelming and dramatic contrast to the intricacies of Bryce. The continuing rain kept hidden and misted some of the larger panoramas that were probably there, but this was made up for by the waterfalls and powerful rivers the downfall produced. At the entrance, the ranger was almost giddy at the dramatic changes water causes at the park and urged us to continue on.

Unfortunately, the rain coupled with my exhaustion, dissuaded me from venturing in for a hike. I regret that I did not see more. Mr.T and Beana caught the shuttle (the only way into a part of the park) and were able to do a little hike. They said it was great. On their way back, a part of the canyon collapsed and stopped traffic. Apparently, Mr.T and a half dozen other tourists hopped off the shuttle, cleared the road way, and Mr.T absconded a rock the canyon had spit out.

One night at Zion's camp (spent mostly in the RV due to rain), a long beautiful ride home and it was over. The best trip yet, I'd say.

Sunrise Sunset - Home in Phoenix

One week ago today I moved into my new home. My new home! It feels so fantastic and I'm ecstatic about it.

I am situated in North Central Phoenix close to the intersection of the Carefree Highway and I 17. Unfortunately, I can just barely hear the traffic on 17. But it is somewhat drowned out by the light sounds coming from the Ben Avery Shooting Range, which sounds like dull firecrackers off in the distance or the sound of popcorn popping. Neither the traffic nor the guns distracts from the beautiful sunsets from my balcony.

The view is why I chose this place, and it was a great choice. Every single night since being here, I amble out on the balcony for the last dozen minutes as the sun slips behind the distant mountains and then for the next 10 minutes as it colors the sky and any clouds that may be present with yellows, oranges and reds. I'm paying $28.09 per day ($871 per month) and the sunset alone is worth every penny. (Here's a link to the final 3 minutes of one of my Sunsets.)

Besides the sunsets, I am also loving this apartment complex living. Everything is so easy. I have my own washer and dryer, a garbage disposal and an ice maker - I never had these before, and I don't think I ever want to live without them again. The complex also has a beautiful pool that is rejuvenating when the temperatures soar over 100, which had been every day other than today when it peaked at 98. If anything goes wrong, even if a light bulb goes out, I just stop by the concierge and they send someone to repair it. My sink had a slow drip, so they had a guy come over and totally replace the faucet fixtures. It's the simple life, and it's great.

Craigslist - what a great website. On Tuesday, I was the first to reply to the offer of a free, little used, pillowtop queen size bed, box spring and frame. I then found a cool, pine corner table and benches ($126) that are pretty unique and fit well into the dining nook. I have moved my single bed into the living room until I can find a loveseat or sofa.

But more than anything, it is great to have my stuff back. I spent the first half of the week moving all my boxes and furniture up to the apartment, and then sifting and sorting, and finding the right place for each item that I deemed important enough not to discard. I like my stuff, and I like having it back again. It's been a long road between then and now, and it's good to be making a home again.

I'm keeping my cell phone number and email address, but my new home and mailing address is:

removed because swza said it was wrong to put my address on the web for fear of identity theft

Feel free to drop by anytime.

Like a Bat Out of Hell

I could add 2,400 more driving miles to the Road Trip, but they aren't the kind of miles worthy of the now defunct adventure. The trip was more expedition than adventure.

At 6:50 PM Friday night, Mr.T and I left Haddonfield, NJ and made a beeline for Phoenix. Exactly, and I mean exactly, 36 hours later, at 3:50 AM PST on Sunday morning, we arrived. We travelled the whole way on just four highways (76 W to 70 W to 44 SW to 40 W), rarely exceeded the speed of traffic, and rarely stopped. Our longest break was 30 minutes for breakfast at Bob Evans on Saturday morning. Otherwise, we only stopped to get gas and relieve our highly caffeinated bladders.

Mr.T and I were driving machines. After the first 6 hours through Pennsylvania, we got into a routine of driving and napping; the twin bed we were transporting became an oasis so comfortable that we decided to motor straight through. First, Mr.T would drive 200 miles. Then I would drive 200 miles, fill up the tank and repeat the process. After each driving stint we'd climb into the back, nap for as long as possible and then slap ourselves awake to prepare

for the next stint.

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Conversation, as is the Tao of Mr.T, was kept to a minimum, primarily focused on speed, mileage, the status of LWV, and our repeated desire to just be "home". A normal exchange would go something like this:

ME: Wow, I can't believe what great time we're making. We're getting 17.8 MPG, averaging 71 MPH and Sake says we should arrive around 5AM if we drive straight through. It'll be great to be back and have all of Sunday to rest up.

Mr.T: Right on.

We had each brought bags of snacks and sweets to accompany the Red Bulls, Monsters, Dr. Peppers and water. We noshed on Doritos, bananas, Cheeze Its, melting chocolate snaps and a whole tray of mom's Rice Krispie Treats. Just the kind of fuel needed to push on and on as well as to cause sugar high headaches and wreak havoc with our digestive tracks.

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Because of the lack of air conditioning, we had been concerned about the blistering that daylight would bring. But on Saturday, the sun never rose. At dawn, and through most of the day, the skies were overcast with intermittent drizzles. The weather couldn't have been more accommodating. Just another in a long list of things that have worked out perfectly during my travels.

The LWV was also a driving machine. We bought it for $6,300 and hope to sell it here for as much as possible. If we lose less than $1,500 on the deal, it will have been more cost effective than either renting a U-Haul or paying for shipping. Perhaps we'll even make money on the deal. If the future buyer of LWV understood just how efficient and dependable it is, they'd know they were getting a great deal.

And then we were home. A real bed and a real sleep awaited us. TreasonPal did not await us. She had assumed we would be getting back during the day on Sunday and had skipped out to Scottsdale with the pups for an overnight with TreasonBikerBro. Thanks for the homecoming TP!

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After the respite, I straggled over to my apartment complex and found out I could move in a day early...but that's a story for another post.

.

It's great to be home.

So Much and So Little

I have so much to write about and so little time.

Trip home great. Arrived earlier than thought possible. Found out I could move into new apartment early. Did so. Been moving stuff in since then.

Details to follow.

Mission Improbable

Cue theme music: Dat da da da, dat da da da. Dat da da da, dat da da da. Dah-da-da. Dah-da-da. Dah-da-da. Dah-dumb!

The mission, should you care to follow it, was to fly from Phoenix to New Jersey, secure a suitable vehicle and transport all of RoadTrippers life possessions back to Phoenix. Tomorrow night at precisely nineteen-hundred hours (7PM, EST), Mr. T and I shall venture out on the most boring Road Trip mission yet. Expect no future verse or pictures on this languid journey.

Let me get you up to date: The intrepid Mr. T and I arrived separately in the leafy Garden State during the holiday weekend and have been preparing for the horrific mission. Mr. T's preparation pretty much consisted of swimming and sunning on the beaches of Ocean City, NJ to achieve a zen like state that will allow him to drive 42 straight hours. He should be well rested by now.

As the technician and navigator, my preparation has been more meticulous. Upon arrival I went through the obligatory 36 hours of decompression and the mandatory 36 hours of mapaandme time; I saved time by completing them concurrently.

The next task was to secure the vehicle. Last week, Mr. T landed a whale of a vehicle using his well honed EBay skills, and on Tuesday, I was sent to make the final acquisition. The EBay ad had indicated that the vehicle was a large white air conditioned van. I have code named the vehicle, "Large White Van". It would have been a longer code name, but the AC doesn't work.

My preparation sweatily continued with me single-handedly gorging Large White Van (LWV)with the complete contents of the storage facility I had established prior to the sale of my condo. LWV is now decked out with about a ton of my possessions and with my single twin bed well situated and easily accessible for trade-off sleep breaks. This should come in handy as we expect to travel the 2,500 miles in about 42 hours with at most one night in a hotel. A tedious mission, whose greatest difficulty will likely be not falling asleep at the wheel; alas, the whole journey will be on the major interstates...not a single national park or scenic byway is anticipated during the mission. Seriously, never attempt this yourself.

Should all go as planned, I will be moving into my new hometown of Phoenix first thing Monday morning. Should things not go as planned, first I'll be pissed, and second, it should make for a funny story some time in the future. I'm hoping for no funny stories.

This blog post self-destructed six paragraphs ago.

The Numbers

Some Stats and Figures. This list is by no means comprehensive and I may have others to add later. But this is what I thought up and was able to calculate or estimate for now.

MILES

First of all, the mileage. From the odometers, you’ve see that I put 24,207 miles on Pre. But that’s not the total miles I have accumulated as other modes of transportation were used. Limiting it to the major modes of transportation, here is the full list of my non-exact travel miles:

Pre – 24,207 Miles
Round Trip Flight between San Francisco and Philadelphia – 5,014 Miles
Round Trip Drive from Haddonfield to BS Wedding in Saybrook, CT – 399 Miles
Sceinc Drive with M&D to Delaware – 109 Miles
Round Trip Drive from Haddonfield to Hoboken – 174 Miles
Round Trip Drive from Phoenix to L. A. w/ Mr.T - 745 Miles
Flight from Seattle to Minneapolis – 1,382 Miles
Drive with BS in B-girl’s Car from Minneapolis to Seattle – 1,995 Miles

I think that’s it.

So, if you care to calculate the Road Trip based on miles travelled by car, the total would be: 27,629. That would be the equivalent of driving coast to coast 9 times.

Or if you want to include the flying miles, it would be: 34,025.

TIME

I was on the Road Trip from April 9th through August 25th. Call it 4½ months, or 140 days, or as I prefer, 20 weeks.

On an average day where I was truly on the road (meaning waking up on the road and going to sleep that same night on the road), I estimate that I averaged:
5.5 hours sleeping;
10.5 hours Road Tripping;
3.5 hours blogging and emailing;
1.5 hours plotting and planning
2.0 hours either fueling myself (food) or fueling the Pre (gas)
0.9 hours watching TV – if anything it would be less
0.1 hours talking to Mom;
0.0 hours of naps.

I gained 3 hours by moving to the Arizona time zone…I don’t know what I did with them.

EXPENSES

This is a big topic, and will require a lot more information, such as final credit card bills and bank statements. But let’s just say a lot!! I will break this down in the future, but I’m going to need a printer, spreadsheets, and a super computer that can perform high speed calculations, as well as a full week of time off – good thing I’m still unemployed.

SOME OTHER STUFF

Highest Elevation: Rocky Mountains National Park, CO off of Rte 34 near Lava Cliffs at 12,183 feet (above sea level).

Lowest Elevation: 9th Ward, New Orleans, LA at -8 feet (below sea level).

I took 2,634 pictures during the trip - WOW. (If I were to print them all out, it would cost me $237.06 using the .09 cents per print when ordering more than 1000 prints from Photoworks. If anyone knows of a cheaper service, please let me know.)

The most pictures on any one day was 98 at Yellowstone on Day 104. The fewest was 0 on multiple days.

Surprisingly, I gained 3 pounds. I started the Road Trip weighing 182 and finished weighing 185. I know I was eating a lot of decadent foods, but my activity level (compared to none) was way up. I’m actually a bit surprised I gained anything…it’s probably because of the change from fat to muscle.

I think I crossed the Continental Divide a hundred times. So many of the great drives criss-cross the divide and it is not a straight or singular line.

Bugs killed – judging from one square inch of Pre’s windshield, and calculating for wind shear, angle of impact, and time on the road, I come to 17,486,157 plus or minus 5. Gophers killed – 1.

I’d say that on a true day on the road (previously defined), I would meet about 25 people. Of those, I would have a conversation that lasted more than 5 minutes with about 6 of them. About 1 of them would walk away with my website address…but mostly, I tried to hear what they had to say.

I wrote a whopping 111 blog posts, and received 309 comments (including my own). I’m a bit surprised I got so few comments on the post indicating the end of the Road Trip...no congratulations? I would estimate that for every comment I got on the site, I received 2 emails from people directly (the shy people). All this was very time consuming, but also very motivating.

My number one fan was TreasonPal. This would have been followed by a tight knit group including Buz, YoungAunt, Battlestar and 6Pack. From what I can tell by the limited website diagnostics available, there were about 40 people checking out the site on a daily basis (at the end of the trip)…but I think this number is inflated because TP was checking in 38 times a day.

One question I asked people a lot was: “So, do you love your job?” The only people who really answered yes were 5 park rangers, 3 glider pilots, and one small town cop way down in Texas.

Gimme Shelter - From the Sun

The best selling novel of all time says that it took God six days to create the world, and on the seventh day he rested. Well, perhaps if he had spent a little more time and done a better job, it wouldn't be so very, very hot here in Phoenix. And if he spent 140 days working on doing it right, he probably would have needed about four days rest, because that's what I needed after such a long trip.

I spent those first four days here at the Treason's, sleeping, drinking, basking and baking, and drinking. Did I mention the drinking - water to hydrate, beer to dehydrate, water to hydrate...it's a vicious cycle.

But by Monday, I had decided it was time to start life again. Nice and slow. I spent the day leafing through books and magazines as well as surfing the net for any available apartments. I found a house just a few miles from the Treason's and went up to check it out. It was nice and remote, with great views, but it looked like it would take a lot of work, and was much more house than I need. It was also pretty far off the beaten path, which is a good thing.

The place was a bit more than I wanted to pay ($1,095 per month). So, in order to test the renters market here, I put in a low ball offer of ($900). I am actually a bit surprised that they haven't gotten back to me. The place has been vacant for a couple of months, and it doesn't seem like there would be much of a market for a rental place this remote.

After thinking about it some more and with some sage advice from the Treason's, I decided it would be easiest to find a schmaltzy rental community to use as my base. These places have all the amenities - cable, high speed Internet, well maintained pool, central AC, business center, gym, the works. Plus they are reasonably priced. I want to save as much as I can for a future purchase, once the market crashes some more and I get a better feel for where I really want to set up house.

So yesterday I set out an all day home seeking trek that took me to one realtor and five of these communities. The first stop was at IronHorse. It is located right on the North Central edge of Phoenix's city limits. I was greeted by a young, beautiful, elegant sales agent. I say this because the quality and style of each and every place I went was pretty much represented by the agent that assisted me. Thus, IronHorse was also young, beautiful and elegant.

The next place I went was CrossRoads; the agent was nice enough, but busy as well as showing wear and tear from the passing of time - perhaps 10 years past her prime. This was a cheap place, and it showed. No view and a crowded section of the city. I sped East on The 101 to Mydale where there is a conglomerate of housing complexes. I tested two of them. Each one was represented by young, sassy, classy, attractive in their own special way agents. Great places, a bit on the pricey side, but well worth the money. Yet they were still in highly populated busy sections, near interstates and 8 lane highways and fast food restaurants and gas stations.

The crowds of cars and people really irked me. It felt like being back in NJ, driving along Route 80 (out here they would call it "The 80") through the northern portion of Jersey. In other words, exactly like my old daily commute, except with sand instead of grass. And I didn't drive 24,207 miles just to end up in the same old, same old for these dog days of summer.

I quickly retreated north and went to my final destination for the day. I was greeted by the agent who said, "Hi, I'm Scott." To which I replied, "Yep, me too." It was a nearly identical place to the IronHorse, so I decided to go with the young, beautiful, elegant sales agent. Actually the real selling point became the view - I will be on the third floor with my balcony facing west across the desert to the mountains at the horizon, and any day it doesn't rain I should be treated to a pretty awesome sunset - based on the forecast that should be every day.

I move into IronHorse on Sept. 10th. (See my western view right.) That should be one day after returning from my trip to NJ. Mr. T and I have purchased a large cargo van that I will be picking up in NJ. I'll be driving up to Hoboken for the fantasy football draft and to load up all my storage stuff. Then Mr. T and I will be driving across the country, as fast as the law will allow.

Since I had signed my 6 month lease this morning, I had the afternoon free, so I took a cruise around my new neighborhood. I headed over to Mydale again, taking only the back roads and really enjoyed the scenery. The more remote areas of Scottsdale are fantastic, and I will surely be exploring it more when I get around to buying a home. I got sidetracked by the Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, and a trip to Taliesin West. Unfortunately it was closed for an event, so I will have to go back for a tour another day. But I did meet a couple of broads that were on their own Road Trip from Florida. One of them is looking to move to Sedona with her husband and were on their way up there to scout for a house. With my vast experience, I told them to check out Jerome first as it might be more to their liking.

Did I say it's hot here. I could only loiter outsided Taliesin for a few minutes before needing to retreat to the comfort of Pre and her AC. The thermometer on the Treason's porch reads 118 - two more degrees and it will be pegged. Yet, I don't mind. The whole "dry heat" thing you always hear about really matters, and it just isn't that bad. You sweat, but it evaporates before leaving any wet spots on your shirt. And even a slight breeze, makes it quite bearable - I just wish we had a slight breeze.

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By the way, do any of you remember Battlestar and B-girl? Well, they have moved into Seattle and are doing great. I know this because he has started a blog of his own, and says just that. Because I will not be posting any where near as frequent as before, and since some of you seem to need your daily "stories", check out his blog: Battlestar's Blog. I have also added him to the links section on the right.

Road Trip 2007 Ends

End of Road Trip ( 7:05 AM, Arizona Time - 08/23/07 )

I started thinking about it on my drive in. It just sort of hit me. Whether I like it or not, the Summer of Scott, Road Trip 2007 is over. This drive into Phoenix would be the last time I am entering the city from the road, and henceforth, any trips I take will be away from here, for this is my new hometown.

The Road Trip sub-title was “Quitting work, selling my place, and going on the road for an extended journey with a final destination yet to be determined”. With the final destination now determined, it’s time to acquire a place and find work. I am now going to start thinking about the rest of my new life. It’s time to stop living in the moment and start planning for the future…things that until now I had eschewed. The issues of the real world are upon me again…Aaaaargh!

That's not to say I am done with my travels or adventures (or the blog). I have a few more things planned, including a sort of “grand finale” trip to Bryce Canyon. A few weeks from now, TP, Mr. T and Beana will be tripping with me, and we will all be piling into a borrowed RV for the adventure. We’ll probably drag Pre along for some twisty day trips that the RV can’t handle. It’ll be about a 5 day trip, camping out and is scheduled around the weekend of Sept. 22.

Between now and then, I will be flying back to NJ to sort through my storage space, acquire some form of spacious transportation, and possibly with Mr. T’s help, do a sprint home to Arizona. (Hey, I’m now a Zoner!) Then, in early November, the Murphy men (me, bro and buz) are going to the Murphy birthplace - Ireland. My crew’s annual golf outing is scheduled for the middle of October in Myrtle Beach. I began checking out some flights, but with so much already scheduled and a whole new life to start, I am feeling overwhelmed. I’m gonna need to make a decision soon as to whether this trip is the right thing for me now, but after a few more days of relaxation, I suspect I’ll come to my senses and book the flights. I’ll add blog entries of these trips.

I started the blog with entries about quitting work, selling my condo, and all the thoughts and tasks that went into making the actual Road Trip a reality. I’ll end the blog similarly, with sporadic entries over the next few months on topics like renting an apartment, becoming useful to society again, and perhaps the purchase of a new house in the future (sis has put in an order for a vacation friendly place with 3 bedrooms and a pool – if the housing market continues to crumble, I may be able to accommodate).

I will also be adding some Road Trip blog addendii. There are a lot of numbers, stats and lists that I need to accumulate and calculate such as total miles hiked, weight gained, just how much money this lark cost me and where it was spent, and any other curiosities I come up with. I am going to spend some time getting the actual trip map pulled together, perhaps in a couple of forms. I have recorded it on MS Maps and Trips in 4 parts...hopefully I can find a way to unify it and post it. I also need to get one big freaking map of the US, plot it out, and perhaps frame it for some future garage wall. Unfortunately, I should also do some puff pieces on things like lessons learned, how I’ve changed and what this has meant to me; for these I think it best to take advantage of the perspective only time can provide.

So while the Road Trip itself may have come to an end, I still need to wrap up the loose ends. One of the loose ends was my trip from Santa Fe into Phoenix. Here’s the Blogwithinablog:

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The Trip Home – Days 137 - 140

I started thinking about it on my drive in. It just sort of hit me. “I’m on my final drive of “Road Trip - 2007”. I left Santa Fe, NM early on Wednesday with a long 500+ miles through the desert to my day end destination: the Treasons. 12 days straight on the road with not a familiar face the whole way. It was time to be done with this leg and a straight shot on the interstates was planned. But, when the “final drive” realization set in half way, I had to pull over.

It just wouldn’t be right to have spent all trip long avoiding interstates as much as possible, only to spend the final leg wrong. I pulled out the maps and got off highway to take a more scenic route in. Fortunately, I was close to a drive I’d done before, and was pleased to do again (you can only enter Phoenix so many ways without repeating). And the familiar drive would give me time to relish the last leg.

Quickly, I was back in the groove, and I spent the next four hours experiencing the changing scenery through hard to pronounce places like Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Sierra Ancha, Mazatzal Mountains and Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian Reservation. I first put “The Who” on the IPod, and later selected the playlist of “Most Played Songs”. I was totally reminiscing. I even called mom, a near daily ritual during the trip, for one last call (alas, I only got the answering machine). It was a great drive and fitting end to the trip!

And then I arrived at the Treason’s. Wow! Such a disorienting mix of feelings of relief, arrival, friendship, completion, anticipation, exhaustion and much more. It’s a lot to comprehend, and I have spent the past few days catching up with the Treason’s as well as myself. It’s good, nay great, to be home.
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So there you have it.

I am done counting the days! It was 4 and a half months; 140 days; a nice round 20 weeks. As you can tell from the odometers, I put on 24,207 miles on Pre since I started this trip. That's not the total mileage, as there were other vehicles and modes of transportation involved, but that's another stat that will be in an upcoming page.

I’m finally going to get a chance to read this blog thing I created. I figure it’ll be pretty good bathroom reading over the next few weeks. I hope I like it; but, like many of you, I'll probably be mad at myself for writing such long boring posts. The pictures will be good. I need to go through all the pictures and see what I want to print off and perhaps some to blow up and/or frame (again for the future garage).

A few questions and answers: So is this the end? In a sense yes it is. And here's the (sorry!) cliché: it’s also the beginning. Did I achieve what I set out to achieve? YES. Heck, I would have been fine if I just quit my job. But what an adventure. I know I will look back on this trip not just as a major transition period of my life, but also as one of the happiest times of my life.

Thanks to all of you who have aided and abetted in the journey, or simply lived vicariously through me, which helped keep me motivated. I hope you’ve enjoyed the Road Trip. I know I did! - RT

Playing In The Big Sand Box - Day 136

I dragged into Santa Fe, NM tonight. I have a throbbing heat headache caused by far too much sun. When you're in the Great Sand Dunes National Park (another NP name for exactly what it is) there isn't much shade.

This NP consists of 30 square miles of sand, and little else. As you approach the dunes from a distance, they are dwarfed by the surrounding mountains and don’t look like much. But when you are at the base and looking up, it’s pretty daunting. And once you spend a half hour slipping up the dunes, distances become a trick of the eye.

You may wonder why all the sand doesn’t just blow away, and that’s just it. It did all blow away and it blew to here. From river banks and mountain tops, sand is blown east and is caught by the baseball mitt shaped mountains that trap it. Some of it does blow down to the shoestring rivers that also encircle it and these wash the sand back out to the west, deposit it on the banks to dry out and then slowly roll it back into the pile again by the winds.

This park is just a playground and the game is to see how far you can go. Since it was a walk in the sands, I took the beach bag Mom gave me to carry water, keys and camera. The first hill teaches you just how hard it is to go up. Every step forward is reduced by slippage and the going is slow. After the first little hill about half the hikers decide that’s enough. I continued on and the next stretch was a tiring slight uphill route. You have to learn quickly how to choose a route so as to minimize the steepness. You can take any route you want, and everybody does it a bit different. But we all arrived at the steep incline...it was the only sane way up to the next plateau.

It is here that almost everybody else turns back. Probably only 5% still feel like they can make it at this point. It is only about a tenth of a mile of incline, but it is a killer. When I started, there was a woman in pink (we’ll call her Pinky) and a man in red (Red) already about half way up the hill, seated and resting. These two became my points of reference for the rest of the hike. Red took off and within about 20 minutes was at not just the top of the incline, but also streaked on to the peak. Red was my end of trek reference and Pinky was my competition.

About thirty paces up, I had to stop and sit down. Just starting below me were a couple of fit Finns that had maintained a pretty good pace, and plunged right into the slope. They made it about 10 paces past me and had to stop also. We then spent the next half hour jockeying up the hill in bursts.

Both the Finns (I have no idea their nationality, so I’m guessing) were wearing sandals and Finn1 busted his sandal during the walk so that it was unusable. The sand reaches about 140 degrees and it would be unbearable to do it in bare feet. Yet he was determined, and spent his energy doing Dudley Moore in “10” types of sprints across the sand until it got too hot and he’d slam down on his butt to get the feet off the ground. If it didn’t look so painful it would have been comical. Pinky, me and the Finns all gruelingly reached the top of the steep incline.

The whole trek up, the only reference you have as to how far away things are is the size that people look in the distance. Check out the photos of the dunes…in almost everyone there are people, it’s just that sometimes they are really teeny. Sort of a where’s waldo.

The National Parks book I consult instructed me to use hiking boots or sneakers, so I was in my New Balances. Pinky eventually congratulated me for my Good Samaritan deed that I did, giving my sweaty, stinky, sandy socks to Finn1. He thanked me considerably in some language I couldn’t understand. I just couldn’t bare to watch the pain, and he was determined to continue. Oddly, he and Finn2 eventually went all the way to the very highest point in the park. So a part of me (my socks) made it to the very top.

After the incline it was still a trek to get to Red who was waiting for Pinky and the peak, the place where the three of us decided was far enough. Pinky, Red, I and the Finns all took pictures of each other swapping cameras. I was pretty proud of myself; this was definitely the hardest 1.5 miles I will ever hike in my life.

Going up was just a slow, mesmerizing venture into as much desert as you can handle. Going down was the reward!

Red tried a head first slide down the hill and then a long roll. I opted for the 15 foot long stride leaps. At a running pace, going down the steepest parts that could not be walked up, you can cover distances in 10 seconds that would take an hour to go the other way. Having taken a different route down, I could hear Pinky and Red laughing with glee over the ridge at their fast trip down. I was giggling myself, it was like being a kid let loose on the beach for the first time. Heady stuff.

I should mention that back at the bottom I ran into a couple from Hamilton Township, NJ who were out on their own road trip. They were 3 weeks in and on this was their last big hurrah before heading home. It was fun hearing someone besides me exclaim “Wow, I haven’t seen a New Jersey license plate in 3 weeks!”

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Addendum: I uploaded two videos to the end of the Picassa web album for Day 136. The last one of Pinky and Red running down the dunes is worth a look.

A Pleasing Road Through Nowhere - Day 135

I had to go deep in my list for todays route.

Besides Road Tripping and blogging, the thing that takes the next most amount of my time is planning. The whole process is one of going from the big picture to the small picture. At the end of the Jersey Shore family visit, the next big picture was Cape May to Phoenix.

For a trip as immense as that, I started by referring only to two resources and only had a three step process.

How to choose an immense route:

1. First I analyse the map of the entire US. I know where I have never been, so I focus on those areas and look for big adventures. In the case of this trip, I haven't done the south east of the country, so I figured I should get down there and see what's interesting.
2. I check the National Geographic National Park's book to see if there are any biggies along the way.
3. I also see if there are any friends or family along the way.

That's how I ended up in the Smokies and Hot Springs. There aren't many NP's accessible in the SE U.S without going far out of the path to Phoenix. It also helped determine that I should head down the coast first. And lately it helped guide me from Hot Springs to here. The Great Sand Dunes NP is not far from here in south central CO, and it was a big picture kind of area. AuntieR was in Arlington, and the Ingles were in NC, so I kept the options open. But bad timing (too close) and driving the coast overrode Arlington. And food and new states overrode Asheville.

After the big picture, I do a cursory scan of the medium picture (the next 2 or 3 days of travel). I do a bit of this every night of the trip. It usually includes any must sees that can be fit in (Mount Rushmore or Corn Palace), plus any cities (like Oklahoma City) or side lights (like Chapel Hill). Otherwise, I play it day to day...which leaves us with:

How to choose a single days route:

1. The first thing I do is check the National Parks that are within striking distance. If I can get to an NP with enough time to find a camp site, set up camp, and acquire ice, beer, and bear repellent then take any route that will allow for that. I've come to the definitive conclusion that National Parks are AWESOME. If I get a chance to spend any time in a National Park, I must do so. You might have another fetish to substitute for this, but from what I've seen, National Parks are the way to go.

2. After NP's, I take a look at the Road Food book and see if there are any restaurants appropriately spaced for lunch or dinner. If there is something interesting, I then pull out both the Scenic Highways and Byways as well as the National Parks books to confirm if the place is worth shooting for. This would be combining multiple textures to the day and it usually can't be found. But when it plots out well, a great day is virtually guaranteed.

3. I next zero in on the scenic drives that are between me and my final destination (which in this case is Phoenix). I go as deep as reading the summary for each drive that can possibly be en route. I determine whether it must be included and fold the corner of the page if I must make sure to include it (I unfold once I drive it or skip it). Because I have driven in and out of Phoenix 8 times, 8 different ways during this trip so far, I've exhausted most everything the book has to offer. There's some interesting stuff in Utah, so I'm keeping that in mind for later options, but there was nothing remotely worth doing for this leg.

4. I then might go back to the Food Book and see if there is at least a meal anywhere nearby worth going for even if it means taking some interstates for a while. I still found nothing. I had steak for dinner last night at Cattlemans Steak House from the book. Every place in my current path was another steak house and couldn't repeat so soon...this is moo cow country. (Sorry url, I didn't go to "Eat At Joe's" Joe's Restaurant while in OKC...the Cattleman's entry sounded too good, but it didn't live up to the billing. I should have taken your advice.)

5. I reluctantly check out the pamphlets that I pick up in the hotel lobby with all the touristy things to do in the expanded region. I could find caves to spelunk , horseback riding, glider rides, and if something fits with my day well enough I set a route to it. Unfortunately, no luck for today.

6. At last I am down to: Find a place that is within striking distance of Route Option 1 above and isn't too boring. This is when I start looking for any green dots on the map. And this is the option that I had to choose for today's travels.

I spent the entire day on small two lane highways winding through OK, KA and here south central CO, a town called Walsenburg. The drive was quite pleasant, and offered a pretty good variety of scenery, history, negligible traffic and high speeds. And with the Rocky Mountains encroaching on the horizon, there was a beautiful sunset here at the Best Western.

This leaves me within striking distance of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, which I may be able to get a good taste of and still get back on the road to Phoenix before tomorrow runs out. TP - it's looking like a late Wednesday or early Thursday arrival...have my bed turned down either way.

Option 6 only barely beat out the final item on the list:

7. Take an interstate as fast as possible through the area because there is absolutely nothing redeeming.

Week 19 Ends

End of Week 19. ( 6:30 AM, CST - 08/19/07)

Otherwise, today's game has been called on account of rain.

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Addendum: I was watching the local news here in OK, and apparently 6 people were killed by the rains today. Flooding was everywhere, and I drove through some of the worst of it. Roads got destroyed and whole towns are flooded. The storm was the remains of the Tropical Storm Erin that soaked Texas. It was dying out late yesterday. To quote the meterologist tonight, "I've never seen anything like this. The storm while crossing land regained strength. It actually formed an eye over parts of Bumpkin County." Weird weather...I plan to continue to avoid Dean.

Arkansas: Well Blow Me Down, It's Awesome! - Day 133

No pictures inserted in this post because of upload slowness to Google. I did upload them all to my web album (as Day 133), and linked to them in the photos section...if you only look at the pictures (which is most of you) just go there...I added more subtitles than usual and you can avoid reading the following blog entry:

The first time I passed through Arkansas, I went to Little Rock and visited the Clinton Library and followed that with a layover in his birthplace of Hope, AR. A million years ago (on Day 15) I quote myself having written about the drive through AR as, “Nothing of particular interest”. And yesterday I spent the better part of the day driving along the back highways of AR, only to write, "I drove all day through (sic) Arkansas with nothing really worthwhile to write about." By last night, I had all but given up on AR, and was looking forward to putting some miles on the odometer and perhaps getting to Oklahoma City before the end of the day.

I'd decided it wasn’t a great idea to mess with Mother Nature and Hurricane Dean (it became a Category 4), and there was a Scenic Byway in the book heading North from Hot Springs, AR. So upon awakening, my plan for the day was:

1. Start with a morning spa treatment
2. Then cover the little 160 mile scenic drive
3. And make for Oklahoma, perhaps getting as far as Oklahoma City if I take some of the interstates.

I got off to a great start. I woke up at day break, packed up my camping gear, and headed around the bend to Hot Springs NP's bath houses, arriving at 7AM on the steps of the Buckstaff Bath House as they opened their doors. I walked out an hour and a half later floating a few inches off the ground. The old fashion treatment ritual, the ancient equipment and fantastic architecture, and, most of all, the water, truly seem to have restorative powers. Maybe the powers are not scientifical (as GWB would say) or statistical, but you can’t go through the process and not come out the other end feeling better. The more you sip the water, the more you buy into this odd place being a National Park.

By 8:45, after buying the obligatory NP tee-shirt, I was off on the short scenic drive…at only 160 miles, I could fit it all in by lunch. Driving out of town, I hit a couple of the minor landmarks, skipped the digging for diamonds side trip, and was actually not hating this short scenic.

But then I saw a slightly faded sign that said “Auto Route Scenic Drive”. I stopped, reversed 20 yards, and made the suggested turn. It started out mundane, and I expected I would be back on the main road in a mile or two.

5 miles I drove on a paved route, before the sign that read "One lane road ahead" – good. 5 more miles I drove on before the road, without prompting, turned to gravel – better.

In my now vast experience with scenic routes, when the gravel appears, it means you are very close to the end and usually it will have been worth the drive. 10 more miles I drove on the mostly upward and increasingly twisty gravel road. My expectations were rising…how could they make a road like this up such a twisting winding hillside and it not be spectacular finale. Finally a sign up a head. Just a little one that read “Auto Route” and had a little caricature of a 1970’s style sedan. At least I knew I hadn’t made a wrong turn. I began hoping this was some sort of loop road because I didn't want to return the miles of gravel I had traversed.

Three hours later I finally left the gravel road. I was a changed person who now knows that Arkansas is a beautiful state and this drive was one of the best I have taken.

I could describe at length this amazing journey. It was a solitary trek which took me into the heart of a practically uninhabited forest and showed me many treasures along the way. I have uploaded the pictures from this trek and subtitled more than usual. They are great, but as always don’t live up to the experience of being there. This ranks as one of the best days I have had. (Perhaps it isn't in the top 5, but certainly in the top 10. When I am done with the trip, I will have to give this topic more thought. But the Number 1 of the list of "Best Full Day on Road Trip" is probably the first Yellowstone day with BS.)

I am lodged tonight at the Cliff House Inn perched atop what they call “The Grand Canyon of Arkansas”. Pretty cool place to spend the night...I tried to upload a video, but I have bad connection problems in this aerie and couldn't get it to upload in one shot. So just check out the pictures in the Photo section on the right for Day 133. Enjoy...I did!

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Addendum, here is a link to the video I was trying to upload: "Hotel Room Video". I had spoken during it, but couldn't hear it on my laptop...if anyone hears it let me know. - RT

Hot Springs National Park - Day 132

I should have another title for this post. But I drove all day through Tennessee and Arkansas with nothing really worthwhile to write about. I avoided the interstates nicely and spent all day looking for a sign (not from God), but there was nothing that caught my interest. So I kept on keeping on and eventually ended up here at the Hot Springs National Park.

I'm camping out again. I am have a river for my front yard again. However, there are not many campers here at the only park campsite. I have a feeling that people don't camp much here because the primary attraction at this NP is four city blocks that are historic bath houses. For those coming here, being pampered is the objective, and the many hotels offer greater comfort, though not as much beauty. But just to be safe (in case I cramp up during the night, or develop some unthinkable stress) my bath, warm towel wrap and massage are scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning.

This is easily the oddest NP. I accidentally drove most of the park while looking for the Visitor Center. The hike listed as the top priority is to walk the 4 blocks of bath houses; Estimated Time: 2 Hours...or 5 minutes if you don't stop in for a spa treatment.

The park is only 55K acres, smallest of any NP. And those acres form a doughnut around the city of Hot Springs. The "park" has a rich history of patrons that came to drink the "healing" waters including American Indians, De Soto, La Salle, Jesse James, Al Capone and FDR, as well as being the proud childhood and high school home of the country's third greatest president (Lincoln, Washington, Clinton).

I've nothing else to add, except that this is surely the only NP campground that is within (literally) short walking distance of a gentleman's club. Good night all, I'm going for a stroll.

Dean, Spelunking, Pigging Out and Luck - Day 131

To Dean, or not to Dean--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take wheels against a sea of troubles
And by avoiding, end them. - BS and me

It's an interesting question, and one that I am not sure which path I should choose. As Dean strengthens and approaches the Caribbean, should I drive toward it, track it to the north, and aim for landfall. Or should I just be aware of it's area of arrival, and make sure I keep the sun above me by heading more toward the north and inland. Both are options right now, and I don't know whether to try to get a peak at some serious global warming, or just keep having the kind of wonderful adventures like today provided...once you check out the weather channel for a few minutes, any comments or updates would be welcome. But right now I am itching for a glimpse...I'll be keeping up with the weather reports as I can. If I had to guess, Corpus Christie, TX could be a soft spot for the storm to land, and since Al Gore is not yet president, it is almost likely. Gonna have to check out if there are any scenic drives still above water in that area.

Today, with no National Parks in sight, and no drives being suggested by the Scenic Byways book, I had to go to option 3 and use the Road Food book as my traffic director. Within striking distance and appropriately spaced, I selected Jackson's Family Restaurant in Madison, AL for lunch and the Pickwick Catfish Farm Restaurant in Counce, TN as my destinations for the day, and anything else that seemed interesting along the way.

Instructing Sake to: Take me to my lunch, but without using a highway, I was guided the way I hoped she would. I had seen some green dotted lines on the map (indicating scenic) and her path led me directly along it. Unbeknownst to me, her path would take me spelunking twice before lunch (she also took me from TN to GA to TN, to AL to MS to TN before the day was out - 6 states with one repeated 3 times).


While driving the route, I saw a brown sign (meaning something neat to see) that said "Russell Cave Nat'l Monument". So I turned. It still surprises me when I see something that says Russell Cave turns out to be an actual cave. The only other cave I've seen is the ice cave in Idaho, and this was completely different. The huge cave openings had been home to many generations of beings dating back to the prehistoric. Many artifacts have been excavated and it has greatly contributed to the sciences that look into these things. I could say more, but I am already boring myself. Let's just say, it was cool.

But my next accidental (or lucky) cave find was completely awesome. Again, driving along and having passed another dozen brown signs, the one that read "Cathedral Cavern's State Park" caught my eye. Cavern...perhaps a cave? So I turned. I never research state parks...just too low a level for the trip I am doing. But I have occasionally taken in a few of them and they are usually either fishing or hiking things, and sometimes single item things. This was a single item thing and it was another cave. Only this cave was a big deal. Cathedral Cavern holds 4 world records including highest cave opening and widest span for a cave opening.

As always, I arrived just 5 minutes before the next tour was beginning. So I had to do it. 5 minutes later and I would have had to wait an hour, and I wouldn't have done it. But it was going to push lunch back to 2 PM (little did I know that I'd already passed a time zone and had gained an hour.) The tour was a 1.3 mile trek into the cave and the same back out. It was incredible, and I can't put into words the bizarre structures and features that I saw, but it elicited many "Wow's" from me and the others on the tour. Stunning. I took a ton of pictures, but not many came out well. I don't know the proper camera settings for caves.

We were a group of 16 on the tour, and I hung out with a family of three and their niece. During the opening talk by the ranger, he asked us where we all were from. When it was my turn, I didn't answer my standard, "NJ". Instead I said, "I used to be from NJ, but now-a-days I am from nowhere, just driving around the country for a while." After we started the spelunking, the 23 year old daughter said over her shoulder to me, "So, you're just driving around...that's cool". I was immediately smitten. I spent the next hour tagging along with her and her family. Just lucky to meet nice people.

For lunch, I did eat at the Jackson Family restaurant and for 7 bucks, I had the "Meat and 3" meal. The meat was country fried steak with white gravy, and the 3 were corn, cole slaw and deviled eggs. For dinner, I went to the Catfish Farm, and found it was only open on Fri, Sat and Sun...what a disappointment. I used Sake to direct me to a hotel, and the nearest medium sized city was Savannah, TN where I am sleeping tonight.

As I completed my room transaction for the night, I (as always) asked for a dinner recommendation. Again, drool formed. Again, there was only one place to eat, and it was the Fish Hut. "Just a shack a couple miles away, but it is the only place to eat." I passed about 40 other dining establishments before arriving at the Fish Hut, but the slobbering concierge was right, it was the Only place to eat.

Everybody was there. I joined a grandmother and her son at a small vinyl table and chairs, and was lucky I was a single or I'd have had to wait. This place was only open Thurs thru Sun, so I got lucky (on this trip, isn't it always the case). The far too religious granny told me that she had visited all the places in the area that were said to have great catfish, and she swears this is the best of the lot. I have nothing to compare it against, but I agree I would be hard pressed to get a better catfish. Just lucky...or is it?

While I was driving and contemplating just how odd it was that everything works out so well, time and again, I started thinking of bro. Bro's best friends (bewick I know you're out there) would agree that everything Mark does works out great. "He's just lucky.", we all say.

I've had a bunch of talks with bro about this and he still says, "Yeah, I'm lucky I guess, but it's more than that. I work hard to put myself in a position to be lucky." Or something of that nature. But what I'm getting at is this: I think I get it now...it might be less about luck, and more about putting yourself in places where serendipity is allowed to take you along for the ride. You just need to be ready to take an off ramp and enjoy that ride. Then again, Mark is just plain lucky.

A Day In the Smokies - Day 130

I arose early, how can you not when camping out. The peaches form two days ago have ripened a bit, so it was nice to have a fresh breakfast. Cade's Cove was just a twenty mile drive, but the road was so twisty that the average speed was about 20 MPH.

In many places, the morning sun penetrates the forrest with dramatic views. Places are named after real things, and I assume the Smoky Mountains were so named either because of their haziness when seen in panorama off in the distance or because of the many times that the hazes and mist make it look like they are smokefilled. Perhaps both.

Cade's Cove, well, Cade was just some guy who used to live here. They seemed to have a lot of religious people, and the "highlights" of the 5 mile drive around the cove were 3 old bland churches. The residences and the grist mill were nothing special either, but these people certainly picked a beautiful place to set up shop. Apparently the rangers had to shoo some black bears away from the visitor center, but I didn't see them. Others were spotting deer in various places, but none for me. The best wildlife I saw was a butterfly that was either very patient for photographers, or dead.

The next stop was Laurel's waterfall and a 1.3 mile hike straight up to get there. Good hike through the steep forest. I've seen a lot better waterfalls, so a bit of a let down for that length of hike. I think it normally would have been more powerful but for the dryness of the summer. Still, good to get out and see the Smokies from the inside, and the 1.3 miles back down hill were a breeze.

From there it was a scenic drive out of the park, and a scenic drive through the foothills in Tennessee ending up here in Sweetwater, TN for some much needed rest.