This was always planned to be purely a travel day: Boulder to KC in one shot. Painful but necessary. We did make a slight modification and stopped in Denver for a cup of coffee with a dear friend from college (hi Erin!). Then the long haul began: 9 hours and 640 miles. Two stops for gas and snacks and that was it.
We learned a lot this trip about ourselves and the vastness of this country. Some lessons learned:
- The ability to change elevations is necessary for my personal well-being. My friend Mary is convinced that whenever there is a chance to go “up” that I take it. She is right and I now realize how important that is. I miss mountains.
- The elevation changes need to have greenery. Hiking in the desert was great but it isn’t the same as scrambling through forests with running water. The smell of pine cures many ills.
- Utah does a better job marketing to Europeans than Colorado does. We heard French literally everywhere in Utah – including at our B&B – and heard nothing but English in Colorado.
- Some of the cultural differences are comical. I didn’t think I would see hikers in Arches and Canyonlands carrying umbrellas but there were *many* Chinese visitors who did just that.
- National Parks (and forests, etc.) are awesome and need to be protected. The $80 annual pass is an amazing deal – although it doesn’t cover parking at Mt Rushmote.
- This is a really big country. It’s something that everybody kind of “knows” but you don’t appreciate it until you get out there and look around.
Final numbers from the trip:
- Miles driven: 3, 964 (so close to 4K!)
- Miles run (just San): 19.22
- Steps taken (not including runs): 164, 358 – which means roughly 82 miles
- National parks visited: 6
- National monuments: 3
- National forests: 3
- Other (state parks, etc.): 3
- States visited: 6 (I am counting Nevada because we lost money there but not Iowa because we didn’t stop.)
- Wineries visited: 1 (hmmmm….)
- Distilleries visited: 1
- Calories consumed: did you really think I was keeping track of that?
- French lessons completed: 6 (I know, I know)
- Quarts of hydraulic fluid for the roof: 3
Thanks for following along – see you next year! (Or on the Cannon Chronicles if you are so inclined.)
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