All Good Things Must Come To An End

Home. It's nice to be back. My drive back on Thursday was not as long as I had expected. I drove a little more than 600 miles and it was pretty smooth sailing. This was my longest single day drive of the trip, but I really wanted to get home.

The picture at left is part of my 65 mph series. This was what much of the drive across North and South Dakota and Minnesota looks like. I am still in awe of the agricultural acreage out there. We must eat a lot.





Here is the final picture of the trip as I pulled into the driveway. After 18 days on the road, it is good to see our house again. The two things I notice are the poor light pattern of the Jeep's headlights and one of our garage lights is out. I guess I can add a couple of tasks to the things I need to correct.

For those of you that have read my other posts, I obviously enjoyed my time on the road. I was able to cross a number of things off of my life list of things to see. The mountains were fantastic, and I hope to get back there again.

I spent the morning emptying out the Jeep. There were things packed into every nook and cranny. I have many hours of cleaning and organizing ahead of me. With any luck I can get through most or all of it this weekend so I can move on with my regular life. I need to get ready to leave next Saturday to spend a week on the lake up north with the family. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. I do actually have some work I need to start on next week. It will cut into this life of leisure, but I need to pay for all of this and put groceries on the table.

Final Lessons/Thoughts:

• In Aberdeen, SD, station KABD has a promotion going on. If they spot their station sticker in your car window, you get to spin the "Wheel of Meat". You could be a lucky winner of hamburgers or pork chops. The big winner will receive a freezer full of beef.
• Minnesota's 55 mph highway speed limit seems painfully slow after driving 65+ in other states.
• My neighbors at the camp site the past 2 nights live about 2 miles away from me and are related to someone I know. Small world.
• Little things can make you smile if you look at them the right way.
• As the trip went on, the Jeep seemed to be less full every time I packed it.

Some final numbers:

• Miles driven - 4,530
• Tent set up and taken down - 9 times
• Hay bales driven past - Tens of thousands
• Bears seen - 4
• Snicker's bars consumed - 4
• Moments of panic where I was certain I lost something of value - 7
• Strangers I had discussions with - dozens
• Pictures taken - approximately 2,500
• Moments in awe of my surroundings - countless
  
  I will end this with the final Song of The Day, heard on the drive home. It was an appropriate end to a wonderful trip:

Louie Armstrong - What a Wonderful World

Thanks for listening.

Tom