Epilogue

We made it home in time for Joshua to attend his first day of school :)

Here is a photo of the toilet paper that made it across the country.  I had purchased it for our home before we left, but David thought that I had purchased it for the trip, so he packed it in the car.  Every time we wanted something out of the car, we had to move this gargantuan toilet paper package.

Don't be surprised if you receive a roll of it for Christmas!

The following are some "catch phrases" and remembrances from the trip...

Listening to "Last Friday Night" by Katie Perry - again!

Jackalopes ARE real

"Turn around when possible"

The forecast says there's a chance of hail.

Is that an (insert animal)?  No Dad, it's a bush

Did you see that lightening?

We can get gas here because Mobil is owned by Exxon

Mom doesn't have a fear of heights, she has a fear of falling

I think the path is this way....

Does it have a swimming pool?

Who's shaking?

This isn't a top 40 station.

Sure you can, it's America!

Did you know that California was known as the bear flag republic?

What 2 states were republics before joining the union? hint above

Do we have Montana?

Did you know that the Romans....

We better hurry up before we have to drink our own piss.

It's my FLASK!

"Look kids, at the (insert feature) on the right".  - Dad, that's the left

Mom, look right.

Remember the awkward seam?

We're cammed

A solid block, I mean solid!

Is that the Rockies?

Get your kicks on Route 66

Standing on the corner of Winslow, Arizona

You're careening

Is that Route 66?

What is that?  My (grandfather, Uncle, brother...) had one just like it.  It's a 1961 Shasta Compact

Best time THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI!

Day 31, Tuesday, August 30, Jonestown, PA to Sandwich, MA

We got up early and stopped for breakfast at a Diner/truck stop where Dave remembers eating when he was a kid.  They have the best corn beef hash I've ever tasted.  We filled up on a delicious breakfast, got some massive chocolate chip cookies to go, and set our sites on home.

packed up and ready to go

Trainer's Midway Diner - great food cheap

However, home turned out to be many more hours away than we had thought.  Hurricane Irene, turned Tropical storm Irene, had flooded out many parts of the highway.  We were diverted, re-routed, and detoured from PA through NY.  Thank goodness for the chocolate chip cookies!

Cars were dropping like flies - overheated or out of gas at the side of the road

Almost there....

Home Sweet home!

Hazel missed us!  And we missed her!!!!

We made it back home, just in time for a quick shower and Joshua and I had to go to a "convocation" at his school.  Nothing like cutting it close!

We had an awesome time, but it's good to be home.  I'm starting to plan next year's trip.........   :)

Day 30, Monday, August 29, New Lisbon, IN to Jonestown, PA

I awoke to the thought that today is Monday and Joshua starts school on Wednesday!  We need to get home.  Today, we visited Pittsburgh, PA to check out Carnegie Mellon.  They have a music technology major that Christian is very interested in.

We didn't get to see much of Pittsburgh itself, though what we did see, we liked.  It looks like a good size city with a lot to offer.  The campus of Carnegie Mellon is beautiful.  There are some really interesting buildings.  We stopped by the admissions office to pick up some information.  They were very helpful and friendly - a good start to the day.  We walked around the campus and saw the usual frenetic activity of the beginning of the semester.  Christian will go to an info session near Boston and he'll schedule an interview at Carnegie Mellon.

on the campus of Carnegie Mellon

ceiling paintings in arts building

not sure what's going on here

We tried to make it to Allentown so we could see Gramma and Papa again in the morning, but we could only make it as far as Jonestown, PA.  This is where we got our first taste of the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.  

Though the storm had passed, there were many limbs down and substantial flooding.  Our stop for the night, the KOA in Jonestown was without power.  We set up camp, cooked dinner and hung out at the fire.  Tomorrow, we drive home.  It is bittersweet - we are looking forward to seeing our friends (and hopefully - our house), but this has been a fun vacation and I'm a bit sad to see it end.  

Day 29, Sun Aug 28th, Rock Island, IL to New Lisbon, IN Visit Springfield, IL

We got up early this morning, downed some coffee and donuts and set our course to go towards Pittsburgh.  Our route took us on Highway 55 in Illinois which runs along the old route 66.  So you know we had to get off the highway and explore a bit....

We didn't have to go far before we came across this giant hot dog man.  These were made by International Fiberglass of Venice California in the 1960's.  The first one was designed for Paul Bunyan Cafe in Flagstaff, AZ.  Copies were made and sold to many different types of businesses.  The ax was eliminated, and a hot dog, muffler, or car part was put in its place.  this one stands proudly on route 66 in Atlanta, IL

A gas station museum on route 66 in Springfield, IL. Once a working gas station - now home to a host of Route 66 memorabilia relating to automobiles and petrol.

We took a little detour to the state capital, Springfield.  This was once home to Abraham Lincoln and the site of his final resting place.  We took a tour of his home and visited his tomb.

His and Mary's house started out as a single story.  As he became more successful as a lawyer and politician, they added a second story.  The nearby town of Lincoln was named for him during his lifetime.  He went to the dedication and remarked that he didn't know whey they were naming their town Lincoln - nothing with the name Lincoln ever amounted to much.

Before we got back on the road to the campsite, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Steak and Shake, a fast food restaurant that feels like a Route 66 Diner.  The food was great - wish they would come to Massachusetts!

Day 28, Sat Aug 27, Valentine, NE to Rock Island, IL

On the road for 12 hours today (including lunch and gas breaks).  Nebraska and Iowa look like an episode of Little House on the Prairie.  I could just see Laura Ingalls running home from school with her books swinging behind her.

The grasslands are punctuated by farms planted with corn and sunflowers.  It was beautiful, but truth be told, it was looooong.

No time to stop and have fun.  Tomorrow we will hit another section of Route 66.  Hopefully we can take a peek around.  :)

Day 27, Fri Aug 26, Gillette, WY to Valentine, NE visit Mt. Rushmore

We had a full day today.  We started out fairly early and set our sights on Crazy Horse Monument and Mount Rushmore.

We stopped first at Crazy Horse which is a sculpture that is being carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota as a tribute to Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota war chief.  The memorial was designed and partially carved out of the stone by Korczak Ziolkowski.  Since his death, his work is being continued by his wife and children.  The memorial, though partially complete is of an enormous scale.

The face has been completed

This is a scaled model of what the finished memorial will look like.  It is so large that all of the Mount Rushmore carvings would fit in the area of his head!

Our next stop was Mount Rushmore to see the familiar memorial of four of our presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  We had lunch there and continued on towards the Wind Cave National Park.

Our own version of Mount Rushmore

Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln

The Wind Cave system is the 5th largest in the world.  Only 5% has been explored.  We were fortunate to arrive just as they were starting a tour.

Wind Cave National Park has acres of prairie and woods surrounding it.  Joshua informed us that the Prairie dog was the source of the bubonic plague in earlier times.  But aren't they cute!

We were tempted to camp in the Wind Cave National Park campground.  However, Joshua needs to be in school on Wednesday - so we need to hightail it home.

We decided to take Route 20 in Nebraska which winds through little towns (and I mean little - population 118 for example).  This turned out not to be the wisest choice.  Dave started looking for a gas station when we were at a half tank.  Unfortunately, the nearest gas station was 8 miles down the road (after we ran out of gas).

Curtis, a good samaritan, stopped to offer help just moments after we pulled over to the side.  Dave went with Curtis - forgetting to tell me that he was going :(  and came back with a couple of gallons from Curtis's lawn mower.  Yay Curtis!  We were back in business and on our way to the next town where we stopped at a bar/convenience store/gas station.  The pump looked like something we saw at the Route 66 museum.  Who needs digital displays!  After this fiasco, I cried Uncle and "we" decided to stay at a Motel for the night.  Free hot breakfast convinced David that this was a good idea.

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Day 26, Thur Aug 25, Yellowstone, WY to Gillette, WY, visit Cody

We are hearing about Hurricane Irene that is threatening the east coast.  We hope that you are all safe and you are in our prayers.

Our goal today was to get as close to Mount Rushmore as possible.  This involved a lot of driving, but we managed to break up the day with a stop in Cody (named after Buffalo Bill Cody).  Joshua and I had to take a pit stop, which took us to the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center.  This was a real jewel.  The dam was the highest in the world when it was built in 1910.

Very windy!

We visited the Old Trail Town museum in Cody.  It is a wonderful collection of old west buildings and artifacts.

homesteader's cabin

grocer

school

we visited the grave sites of some old west outlaws

Yikes!

we bellied up to the bar

We had lunch at the Irma Hotel, once owned by none other than Buffalo Bill himself.

After seeing the bison at Yellowstone, I almost felt guilty eating the buffalo meat in the buffet (almost).

We needed to get back on the road, so we headed up and over the Big Horn mountains.  These had the most amazing views!