The Skaggs Family 2011 Vacation, SUMMARY!

No breakdowns or major repairs. No accidents or tickets. No illnesses or serious injuries. Fantastic weather and minimal traffic difficulties. With all of the potential for problems with such a long trip, we have to call this one a resounding success!

A few final notes about the trip…

For the first time in several weeks, it is raining again, to welcome us home I’m sure. Only 0.33" in the past eight hours, but it’s that steady drizzly stuff we usually get around here that keeps the lawn from getting mowed. (I only got about ¼ done before it started coming down.)

 

Teresa retrieved a huge boxload of mail at the post-office today. Among the junk mail and bills was a box from our congressman’s office containing the flags I asked to be flown over the US Capitol on the day we arrived in Washington DC. A couple of 3x5 for the kids as souveniers, and a big 4x6 for the flagpole I want to put up at the front of our property.

  

Speaking of souveniers, here’s a peek at some of the trinkets we collected. Rachael has collected spoons ever since I would bring them home from my travels for her. She needs a new display just for the ones she picked out during this trip.

Rodger decided on hat/lapel pins, and I covered the range-hood of the RV with magnets.  

Teresa picked up a few cookbooks, figuring it would help her in her new career. (Check what she told the newspaper for our anniversary announcement.)

Here are the final statistics for the trip. I hope it answers most of the questions that we have been asked, and provides a little more information than I can usually recall off the top of my head. It should be entertaining at least.

States visited during the Skaggs Family 2011 vacation

Distance and travel days...

• Distance travelled: 8259 miiles
• Average travel day (23): 359 miles
• Longest travel day: 601 miles from Las Vegas NV to Mt. Home ID.
• Shortest travel day: 59 miles from Fishing Bridge WY to Gardiner MT.

Fuel consumption...

• Total fuel purchased: 1109.2 gallons
• Trip average mileage: 7.446 miles/gallon
• Average fuel price: $3.486 (compare to AAA research)
• Highest fuel price: $3.999 at East Warwick Rhode Island on Aug. 2.
• Lowest fuel price: $3.299 at Winslow Arizona on Aug. 15.

Worst traffic...

1. I-90 between Cle Elum and Snoqualmie Pass Washington (accident)
2. I-80 through Joliet Illinois (construction, lane closure)
3. I-95 through southern Maryland and northern Virginia (several disabled trucks)

  Worst road surfaces…

1. New Jersey Turnpike I-95 (toll road). Kidney and back buster. Shook open every cabinet and launched items from sink.
2. Indiana Toll-Road I-90 (toll road). Unfinished repairs in non-construction zones more hazardous than active zones.
3. Massachusetts Turnpike I-90 (toll road). Potholes and asphalt patches.
4. I-95 through Connecticut. 100% construction zone, but no workers present on a tuesday (just lots of troopers writing work-zone double-fines).
5. I-40 in northeastern Arizona. Frost heaves and potholes.

Best road surfaces…
(The thing is that if they are good roads, you shouldn’t notice.)

States, provinces and territories visited (and re-visited)…
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, (Montana, Wyoming), South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, (New York), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, (Maryland), Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, (Tennessee), Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, (Idaho, Oregon, Washington)

National parks, monuments and historic sites visited…

Craters of the Moon Volcanic Monument (ID), Yellowstone National Park (MT, ID, WY), Crazy Horse Monument (SD), Mount Rushmore (SD), Niagara Falls (ONT), Boston Freedom Trail (MA), 9/11 Memorial (NY), Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (PA), Valley Forge National Park (PA), Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial (PA), National Archives (DC), US Supreme Court (DC), The White House (DC), US Capitol Bldg (DC), Meteor Crater Natural Landmark (AZ), Petrified Forest National Park (AZ), Grand Canyon National Park (AZ).

Weather on the road... *

• Average daily high temperature:  89F
• Highest daily temperature:  111F at Las Vegas on August 18.
• Lowest: daily high temperature:  62F at Yellowstone (Old Faithful) on July 20.
• Rainy days on the road (while driving only): 1 (plus 1 shower)
• Rainy days while site-seeing:  1
• Total days (including overnight) with measurable rain (>0.01”):  6
• Total measured rainfall (including overnight):  2.50”

Weather at home... *

• Average daily high temperature:  74.1F
• Highest daily high temperature:   87.2F on August 21 (the day we returned home)
• Lowest daily high temperature:   62.6F on July 25
• Total days with measurable rain (>0.01”) at home:  7
• Total measured rainfall:   0.58” 

That’s right. It rained more while we were on the road than it did at home in the great pacific northwet. Most of it was while driving from Niagara Falls to Gloucester (0.96”) or while we were sleeping or indoors at New York City (0.76”) and that big overnight thunderstorm in Memphis (0.52”).

* (Weather data for home comes from my personal weather station at the house. Temperature data from the road comes from either my weather station on the RV or wunderground.com. Rain data from the road comes from wunderground.com nearest station. Rain data while driving comes from an average of several locations along the route.)

Most used resources during this trip…

• Garmin Nuvi 245WT GPS with traffic reports
• “Exit Now” guidebook (shows RV friendly gas stations, travel centers, food, rest areas, RV dumps, Walmarts, etc.)
• Rand-McNally classic large road atlas
• maps.google.com (distances and surprisingly accurate travel-times, plus aerial views of parking lots and/or access if needed, such as the Las Vegas airport rental car plaza)
• wunderground.com (weather)
• nps.gov (National Park Service)
• rvparkreviews.com (easily locate and evaluate acceptable RV parks in the area before you commit)
• Wal-Mart Supercenters (open 24hrs, RV supplies, and they allow overnight parking in a pinch) 
• Don's brother Dan (a trucker's advice on roads all across the country, available instantly via cellphone)

Best moments of the trip...

• Rodger:  Mount Rushmore, Air and Space Smithsonian, Spy museum in Washington DC.
• Rachael:  "Wicked” on Broadway, Times Square, Grand Canyon.
• Teresa:  9/11 Memorial, Biltmore Estate, Grand Canyon, Visiting family and friends.
• Donavan:  "KA" by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Relaxing final evening in Washington DC, Bicycling in Hastings MN, Spending time with family.

Worst moments of the trip…

• Rodger:  Manhattan crowds and air, Graceland (the boy just ain't an Elvis fan).
• Rachael:  Every morning when we woke her up, Niagara Falls (wet and miserable).
• Teresa:  Bickering kids.  Heat index in Boston, Manhattan and Washington DC.
• Donavan:  Slipping on RV steps in Yellowstone, banging knuckle in Boston subway, the people of the Las Vegas Strip.

This post concludes the travel-blog of the Skaggs Family 2011 vacation. I try to be a very private person, and don’t generally care to share my personal experiences through things like Facebook, Twitter, etc., so this experience has left me feeling a bit exposed. I have seen in the blog-stats that there are many more unique visitors than I expected, and the number seems to grow each day. If you visited this blog more than just once out of curiosity, or if you followed it daily, I would appreciate it if you could leave me a brief confidential note on this feedback form, just so I know with whom I have been sharing our adventures.

Thanks for visiting. Take care and God Bless.

 ~ The Skaggs Family ~

August 21, Day 37: Home At Last!!!

• Miles today:   145
• Trip total:   8259
• Weather:  Scattered clouds.  High 91F near Easton WA.
• Traffic:   2+ hour delay over Snoqualmie Pass from an accident.
• Theme song:  "I'm Going Home" performed by Tim Curry
• Rachionary:  "Bahbublahbluh"  [baw-buh-blaw-bluh] (she's too tylerd from camp to explain it to me)
• Rodgerism:  "Now I'm starting my second vacation."
• Lesson:  Even though it's the end of the trip, trust your instincts and fill up the tank anyway.
• D'oh of the day:  Rodger's piano music (for summer study)
• AWTY?  9

The detour through Yakima meant that we could pick up some things we left there last month without another trip later this week, like Teresa's car and my audio gear from the anniversary party.

Jabberwock is coming home too.  Apparently she put the birdsitters on a new schedule and set of expectations.  If she doesn't get a slice of toast and a fresh piece of broccoli first thing in the morning, she will express her dissatisfaction with the service.

And Jabb has a new friend.  This is Chewy (short for Chewbacca) who is going to come live with us in about a week.  I think he is some sort of poodle mix.  Rachael says he is a wookie.  I don't know if that makes him a woodle or a pookie.

Rachael ditched us in Las Vegas for Marching Band Camp, and Rodger is ditching us in Yakima to hide out in Avo's pool, and wait for his cousin from California to come visit this week.

With no kids, and Teresa driving her own car...

 ...that left just me and Jabb to crank up the jams and fly low (well, in her cage).

Dropping into Ellensburg you get the first views of the Cascade Range and Mt. Stuart.

West of Ellensburg, you can see some of those brand-new wind turbines I mentioned in my political rant the lesson yesterday.  In fairness, I'll bet that 75 years ago someone thought that barn was an eyesore on the mountain skyline too.

Teresa found it ironic that we just travelled over 8000 miles all around the country and didn't hit a traffic jam until we were less than 100 miles from home.  An accident on Interstate-90 just west of Snoqualmie Pass caused a 2+ hour delay.  I'm glad I topped off the fuel in Yakima, even though I had enough to make it home under normal circumstances.  The trip from Yakima to home predictably takes 2.5 hours.  Today it took over 4.5 hours.  I snapped these from the roof of the RV, after being stopped for quite some time.

Some people decided to break out the refreshments and make a party of it.

By the time we reached the summit, traffic was still crawling, and nobody was skiing (oh yeah, it's August).

 

Just west of the summit (where traffic finally opened up again) you can finally see why someone thought Washington should be called "The Evergreen State."  A complete contrast from just 50 miles away in Ellensburg, and for the other 80% of the state east of the Cascades.

Home at last!  It doesn't look like the lawnmower fairy paid us a visit during our absence, but at least the neighbor took care of the tree that had fallen across our driveway (Thanks, Kelly and Tyler).

Rachael made it back safely from Band Camp.  Teresa just picked her up and she was too tired (or tylerd) to even keep her eyes open to tell us how much fun she had.


And that concludes our voyage.  I will compile the statistics and answer the FAQs in a post tomorrow that will close out this blog.  But for now, it's late and I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. 

Goodnight!

August 20, Day 36: Yakima Washington

• Miles today:   417
• Trip total:   8114
• Weather:  Clear skies.  High 91F in Kennewick WA
• Roads:   Same construction east of Boise as a month ago.
• Theme song:  "Rockin' Down The Highway" by The Doobie Brothers
• Lesson:  Follow the money!

Well on our way home now.  A stop for lunch with Don's mom and his brother Dan in Caldwell Idaho.

Back into Oregon.  Teresa took over driving duties so I could have a nap in back and try to think of today's lesson.  I told you I was reaching to give you something to read today, when we are pretty much just driving home.

 

That means no scenic photos either, although northeastern Oregon looks pretty much like southwestern Idaho. (Check the guy also collecting "welcome" signs.)

As you cross the Columbia River into Washington State, you get a peek-a-boo view of the spill-gates of the McNary Dam.  Washington State has always been blessed with cheap rates for electricity thanks to the Columbia River and the many hydroelectric dams along it's course.  It starts as a drop of rain, and ends as a spot of light on your computer monitor as you read today's lesson.

A couple of years ago, a "citizen's initiative" was filed and passed requiring all public utility companies in Washington State to purchase at least 10% of their electiricity from renewable sources.  Specifically included were things like solar and wind.  The only method specifically excluded as a renewable electrical source was hydro-electric.  That seems odd, since rain is the most renewable source of potential energy on the planet.  But if you consider that Washington State already produces over 80% of its electricity from hydro, then there wouldn't be a need for a new law requiring the new power generating equipment be purchased and installed (and the costs passed along to the consumer).  The voter's pamphlet showed the sponsors of the bill were eastern Washington farmers (we know some of them, and their sunny, windy property) and funded by two extremely large multinational conglomerates (fierce competitors too) which happen to manufacture wind turbine and industrial solar equipment (as well as hydro, fossil-fuel-burners and nuclear power generating equipment).

Welcome (home) to Washington,

 the Evergreen State!

Lovin'...

...that...

...green!

Yep, more desert.  The people who chose the state slogan live in western Washington, where it actually is green all the time (and grey too).

We stopped for dinner in Kennewick and had a chance to visit with Don's sister Deb for a little while.

As you get north of the Tri-cities and into the Yakima River Valley, you start to pick up a bit more greenery from the fruit orchards, vineyards and hop farms.  It's still desert, but it's our desert, and a little closer to home.

It's a lesson-and-a-half today (BONUS!) as we drive through Toppenish and you get a great example of how the rich and deep topsoil came to be deposited in the area by glaciation and major flooding (as mentioned in yesterday's lesson) by viewing the Touchet formations.  (The sun had just set, so not a good photo, check the link.)  Each visible belt of mud represents a seperate flooding event from the Bonneville and/or Missoula ice-dams spaced several-thousand years apart.  They have also found layers of volcanic ash in there that shows ancient eruptions of Mount St. Helens.

Sunset at Toppenish, and our first view of Mt. Rainier (elev. 14,410'), about 75 miles due northwest.  We live another 25 miles northwest of the mountain.  That seems close, but you can't get there from here.  There is a little mountain range in the way that you have to go around and through.  It's the same one that makes western Washington so green by squeezing out the rain on us and keeps eastern Washington a desert.

 Mt. Adams (elev. 12,281')
is about 50 miles due west of Toppenish and 60 miles due south of Auburn.  Rachael's Marching Band Camp is taking place near there..

We arrived in Yakima at Teresa's parents' house at about 8:30pm.  This will be the final night of the trip.

August 19, Day 35: Mountain Home Idaho

• Miles today:   601
• Trip total:   7697
• Weather:   Hazy, 96F in LV at 09:00.  Scattered clouds 90F in Ely NV at noon.  Clear and warm.
• Roads:  Straight and long.  Cruise control.
• Theme song:  "Leaving Las Vegas" by Sheryl Crow.
• Teresaism:  "You would have to turn it into a lesson."
• Today's lesson:   The Wisconsin Glacier

 

 

The original plan was to visit Death Valley National Park but the forecast for today was 115F and we learned in Las Vegas that our air conditioner can't keep up above 100F and that could get us into trouble.  So we altered our course and began the trek toward home via the most direct route.

 

This took us north across the high Nevada desert.  On the advice of Don's brother Dan, we used a straight, direct route on state highways that avoided the interstates but probably saved us several hours.  It's much more interesting to see what is out there anyway, like the highway to Area 51.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following the eastern line of barbed-wire and the random government vehicle, the road was nothing more than high desert, rocks and sagebrush with uninterrupted cruise-control for hundreds of miles.  Don't expect any more stories of high-adventure at this point, because we are just heading home. 

 

 

After so many days in the desert, Teresa says she is ready to get back to the Evergreen State (although it is where we live in western Washington that isn't also rocks and sagebrush). 

 

 

 

I tried to make the scenery more interesting by pointing out to her that the rock formations in the Mohave region are here, but they are tumbled and rolled by the glacier that covered the area during the last ice-age and greated the Great Basin.

 

You can mark the very point where the glacier halted its advance by the tumbled rocks and boulders that are all clustered over a short span, where they were no longer being pushed southward as the glacier receded.  North of this line, the glacier's sediments were deposited along with rich soil layers from repeated breaches of the Lake Bonneville Ice-Dam, creating the broad valleys and sweeping hills of northern Nevada and southern Idaho.

 

 

Driving north like this, you can trace the path of the receding glacier, from southern Nevada and the wind-weathered rocks of the Mohave, through the glacial terminus and up to the northern part of the Great Basin.  Archaeologists are still looking for the alien SUV's at Area 51 at the southern end of the basin that started the global-warming cycle that melted the Wisconsin Glacier 20,000 years ago.

Back to Idaho, we crossed the Snake River at Twin Falls just as the sun was setting, avoiding having the sun right in our eyes for the drive west.

August 18, Day 34: Las Vegas (part 2)

• Miles today:   0
• Trip total:   7096
• Weather: Clear and SCORCHING! High temp. 111F
• Theme song:  "Karn Evil 9, 1st Imp., Pt 2" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Lesson:  What happens in Vegas, they can just keep in Vegas.

 

Rachael missed her opportunity for the first true "sleep-in" morning of the trip.  Then we walked over to Sam's Town for breakfast and bowling.

 

 

 

Then back to the strip for a little more looking around.  Teresa's favorite is the Venetian, which has a lot of family-friendly stores.

 

 

 

 

 

As we made our way south to the MGM Grand for our evening show, we had to travel past many not-so-family-friendly activities.

 

If you have never been to Las Vegas (and I hadn't) hundreds of these hard-working folks line the strip, trying to press "advertising" (which I will not describe here) into your hands.  I can't say they are aggressive, but they are more annoying than mosquitos and more than one decided to hurl insults at us when I wouldn't acknowledge them.  At one point, there were at least 10 of them blocking the crosswalk, making it impossible to get by them without making physical contact.  It is beyond understanding when you are holding your wife's hand, and she is holding your nine-year-old son's hand, and they try to hand the boy one of their flyers.  They don't always wear the bold t-shirts and snap the cards in your face to get your attention.  I had one nice-looking and well-dressed gentleman (with a european accent) come up to me and ask if I was going to be in town for a few days, because he could set me up with [again, I won't go into detail] with no problems.  There was more, but none of it deserves any space here, so I will simplify...  Even though it is clean, bright, attractive and seems to offer some things they may like, keep your family off of the Las Vegas strip at all hours.  Disneyland is a few hours west, and the Grand Canyon is a few hours east for better family choices.

 

That aside, we completely enjoyed KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand. I first heard of the show on a television program that talked about the stage they built for the production.  About all I can say is imagine an epic fight scene, something between The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, only viewed from above.  That's what the incredible stage can do, among other things.  I scored fourth-row-center seats (early-bird again) which were the absolute sweet-spot for the show, since many parts take place over your head or at the sides of the house.  Beyond that, the experience is beyond description.


We headed straight for the taxi line as to avoid the gauntlet of sidewalk pimpernels, of which we had our fill.  Our driver actually suggested that we get out of his cab and get back in line because he did not want to drive all the way out to Sam's Town and come back empty.  I told him to just drive us there anyway, as I made a visible point to read his name and cab number.  Unbelievable!