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Published: October 17th 2008
New energy source at work
We saw a lot of windmills but as in this Minnesota picture, they are stillSpecial Note
We did not want to write our final day's travel until we had caught up on the days we missed because a few of those days were some of the most special and would contain many of our best pictures. Those who subscribed, you will have received emails for the individual days. For those that are visiting periodically, the days we added that we had previously skipped are:
- Days 4, 5, 6 (9/19 - 9/21 Glacier National Park)
- Days 7, 8, 9 (/22 - 9/24 Canadian Rockies)
- Days 17, 18, 19 (10/2 - 4 Grand Tetons and Yellowstone)
These are all posted now and thus, we give both our last day's journey and a trip summary.
Last Leg Home
It was the longest drive we had because there were no planned sights or stops to make other than getting home. It seemed to take a long time. We both expressed very mixed feelings about being at this point. On one hand, it would be good to get home, see to mail, bills, and checking in with family, friends, and doctors, but on the other hand, it
was such a fantastic venture, neither of us really wanted it to end.
We were amazed that the closer we got, the more leave-filled trees we saw. Though we had had the privilege to see the northwest in full autumn color, by the time we were heading east again, many of the trees out there had lost their leaves altogether. As we got to the Mississippi River, we thought we had reversed the tape and were watching our first week's travel. The colors were brilliant, every shade of green, orange, red, and yellow. The fall colors that started in Minnesota saw us all the way home and at least helped in making the last day's long, boring drive home more tolerable.
Everything had gone fine at home with the exception of our mail hold. Turns out our kind neighbors ended up picking up our mail every day and holding it for us. Thanks Jan and Carl!! That was above and beyond.
Our house was at 57 degrees when we entered. The heat still worked so we turned it on to get the dampness out while we unpacked the car. The more we relaxed the next couple of
days, the more we realized just how tired we were. There was lots to get done before the next trip, including Jerry having the lung biopsy that couldn't be done before we left. Perhaps that is one reason we would have preferred to stay on the road. Alas, reality strikes and we start seeing to some of the more day-to-day things.
Trip Summary
We have included the final paths we took on this magnificent trip in the map area of this post. We've shared some of the memories through our postings. We thought it might be fun in closing this trip, to provide some of the more interesting summary details -
Number of miles traveled: 6,131
States/Provinces: Nine states and two Canadian Provinces
Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, South Dakota
Days on the road: 25
It was also interesting to look at a summary view of where we were each day:
Day 1 Alexandria, Minnesota
Day 2 Medora, North Dakota
Day 3 Havre, Montana
Day 4 Glacier National Park, Montana
Day 5 Glacier National Park, Montana
Day 6 Calgary, Alberta,
Autumn colors - again
Places further west were already losing almost all colors with the falling leaves Canada
Day 7 Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Day 8 Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Day 9 Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Day 10 Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
Day 11 Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Day 12 Coer d'Alene, Idaho
Day 13 Coer d'Alene, Idaho
Day 14 Enterprise, Oregon
Day 15 Boise, Idaho
Day 16 Idaho Falls, Idaho
Day 17 West Yellowstone
Day 18 Cody, Wyoming
Day 19 Sheridan, Wyoming
Day 20 Sheridan, Wyoming
Day 21 Rapid City, South Dakota
Day 22 Rapid City, South Dakota
Day 23 Rapid City, South Dakota
Day 24 Auston, Minnesota
Day 25 Home
Conclusion
We are not quite sure if there are still people reading the posts anymore but felt it important to formally close this Northwestern Adventure for anyone who is. We thank everyone for their positive thoughts, prayers, and especially Sherryl/Greg/Ethan/Jonah for taking care of our dog Cleo, and our neighbors for watching our house. We thank the good Lord for keeping Jerry's health in check and providing such unseasonably good weather. It has been an unforgettable venture, beyond both of our expectations. We enjoyed many
sights and met a lot of people. We made many, many memories that will be forever etched in our minds and hearts. It was absolutely spectacular!
We will stay in contact in more standard means as Jerry gets through his procedure and we figure out what the next steps are for his healthcare. Then, in hopefully not too long, we believe the Old Route 66 trip will be next. We'll come back to this site to keep all abreast of our next travels. We can't wait!!
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