Posts Tagged With: Across the USA

Maine or Bust 2022: Around The Country Roundup

The state of Nevada stretches out ahead of us on our marathon drive home.

It’s been nearly a week since we arrived home, enough time to feel as though we never left. Funny how that works. Although we’ve made two other trailer trips across the country, this was by far our most ambitious, spreading from as far south as Sedona, Arizona and north into the state of Maine.

For years Reg and I discussed the wisdom of a truck and trailer purchase. It’s nearly impossible to justify the cost, so when we finally decided to take the plunge, we promised each other we would use it…a lot.
In the 6 years we’ve been trailer owners, we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that promise. Thinking back through all our trips we figure we’ve spent the equivalent of 14 months worth of nights snuggling in a bed that is really just a little too small to be truly comfortable.

So, how did we fare on our 2022 road trip? Not bad considering all the doom and gloom reports of high gas prices (they were) and limited campground availability (they weren’t).

March 9 – First day on the road.


● Number of days on the road – 107

● Number of nights spent in campgrounds – 84

● Average cost per night – $58.00

● Miles traveled – 13,000

● Number of gas fill-ups – 45

● Total gallons purchased – 925+/-


Our cheapest gas was in Amarillo, Texas where we filled up for $3.40 per gallon on April 5.
Our most expensive gas was at Stove Pipe Wells in Death Valley where we paid a whopping $6.09 per gallon. Needless to say, we added just 6 gallons, enough to get us back to civilization and a somewhat more palatable gallon price of $4.69.

Our most affordable campsite was in Ozark, Arkansas, an Army Corp of Engineers site that set us back $9.00 a night. We spent two nights.
The biggest campsite splurge was in Williamsburg, Virginia where we were promised a lovely, large, quiet campsite for $108.00 (!) per night. When it turned out to be an equally short distance from a busy highway and a train track that ran commuter trains at all hours, Reg complained and got us a bit of a refund. This is all part of the fun…

53 days of hikes or walks for a total of 222 miles.

5 days of bike riding for a total of 79 miles…We had hoped to do more.

In the 6 years we’ve been trailer camping, we’ve visited 44 of our 50 states. It’s not likely we will add Hawaii to our list. Will we ever add North Dakota, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island and Alaska? It’s hard to say. For now, Minnie is taking a well-earned rest, parked in Ashland, Virginia where she awaits our return to take her on another tour of the eastern seaboard.

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Maine or Bust 2022: I’m Tired and Ugly

After several marathon days along the road home I decided to hold a little pity party. “I’m tired and ugly,” I complained as we crossed yet another state line. ”My hair needs cutting, my bum is sore from all this sitting and I’m bored!”

The road home is a long one.

Not that I’m complaining about our trip. It’s been a great trip. We’ve seen so much of this big, beautiful country of ours and we’ve visited with family and friends, so I know how fortunate Reg and I are.

It won’t be long now…but if only we could just blink and be home.

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Travels With Minnie: Kansas Fixer Upper

Our one and only photo from Kansas.

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Travels With Minnie: Katy Trail State Park

It seems we weren’t the only ones who planned a day on the Katy Trail.

We’ve had our eyes on the Katy Trail for years. First, as a potential distance walk. More recently, we wondered if we (more specifically, I) could go the distance on bikes.

Katy Trail State Park is the longest developed rail-trail in the country. It spans most of the state of Missouri, between Clinton and Machens, following 240 miles of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad corridor. Much of it parallels the Missouri River.

We had no plans (for now) to ride the entire distance, but our campground was a short drive from the cute little village of Rocheport. We read that this is known as one of the most scenic stretches and we were not disappointed. We pedaled east almost 10 miles, sandwiched between sheer cliffs and the Missouri River.

Returning to our starting point, we rode west of Rocheport, across Moniteau Creek and through a short tunnel. Although pretty and green, the terrain was fairly swampy in places and a sign warned a bridge was out 3 miles up ahead. After what seemed like a long, hot 3 miles with no damaged bridge in site, we called it a day and headed back to the car.

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Travels With Minnie: The Gateway to the West

We passed through St. Louis today on our westward journey. The Gateway Arch, the world’s tallest arch and the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, stood out against a clear blue sky.

Completed in 1967 and officially dedicated to the American people, it stands as a monument to our country’s westward expansion – a symbol of the American spirit.

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Travels With Minnie: It Never Rains on the Golf Course

The rain came down in buckets this morning.

Reg got the worst of it as he braved the storm doing the grunt work and hitching us up. A pretty miserable start to our day. Fortunately, the weather improved as we passed through Kentucky and Indiana on our way to the Grayville, Illinois KOA.
We’ve stayed at a number of KOA campgrounds over the years. The great thing about them is that they’re convenient and pretty darn dependable. Grayville, however, knocks the socks off any other we’ve ever stayed at.

The western motif is carried throughout the park.
I was tempted to take a turn down the slides.

But it was the Putt Putt golf course the really caught our attention. Reg couldn’t resist, so we each channeled our inner child, chose our clubs and balls and signed on for 18 holes.

Reg and I are pretty competitive so we did keep score. He threw out lots of golf terminology…birdie and bogey and double bogey and eagle. It was on lucky hole number 13, a par 4 hole at that, when I was able to shout out my one and only golf phrase.
Hole-in-one!

I was pretty excited, so I took this picture of my hole-in-one ball. To be fair, Reg got one soon after I did. It was a pretty close game so Reg didn’t bother to add up our final scores… I think I must have won!

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Travels With Minnie: Carter Caves State Resort Park

The Welcome Center & Gift Shop

Our westward bound journey began with a two-night stop at Carter Caves State Resort Park in Kentucky. What a great family park…2,000 acres of forest and fun!
We reserved a campsite over a week ago and were not disappointed with our choice.

The park has over 30 miles of hiking trails, half of which are multi-use trails for hikers, bikers or horseback riders. In addition, fishing, boating, canoeing, swimming, golfing and rock climbing offer something for just about everyone. If camping isn’t your thing, there are several overnight accommodations available.

We didn’t have the best of weather, but we zipped up our rain jackets and took the short walk along Natural Bridge Trail.
This is the only natural bridge in Kentucky that supports a paved highway.

There are plenty of caves to explore in this park. Some are self-guided (with a permit) while others require a guide. We opted to stay above ground this trip…maybe next time!

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Travels With Minnie: America’s Newest National Park

Recently added, New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia is our country’s sixty-third national park.

Although the day was gray and misty, holiday crowds were out in force at America’s newest national park. Chris picked us up and we made the hour drive southeast to the Canyon Rim Visitors Center near Fayetteville where we managed to squeeze through the crowds for a look at the New River Gorge Bridge.

The steel span arch bridge opened in 1977 and stretches 3,030 feet across. The 1,700 foot long arch earned the bridge the distinction of being the world’s longest single-span arch bridge, a spot it held for 26 years.
The New River is one of only a few rivers that flows south to north. Above is the view south from the bridge.

We had time for a short hike along the Endless Wall Trail. The Wall rises above the New River and is a popular spot for climbers. Since we were walking along the top of it and not inclined to get too close to the edge, we couldn’t fully appreciate the sheer drop off that gives the trail its name.

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Travels With Minnie: Braving the Heat and Humidity

The Little Miami Scenic Trail was a big hit with us.

This is our last day at the Lebanon, Ohio KOA (Kampgrounds of America), a spot we chose because of its proximity to the Little Miami Scenic Trail listed in our Rail-Trail Hall of Fame book…and because we needed the laundry.
The weather has turned pretty hot and humid, not ideal riding conditions for us. Yesterday we had pretty much crossed biking off our list…that is until a wrong turn had us driving alongside the path we had chosen to ignore.
The southern end of the trail begins in the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio and follows the Little Miami River much of the 78 miles north to Springfield, Ohio. While that might be a day’s ride for more experienced (or competitive) bikers, Reg and I were happy with a much shorter ride.

Paved, shaded and mostly flat, the section we chose was a joy to ride. I think we both would have loved to keep going, but after 13 miles we decided to turn back. The 13 miles back to our truck made it 26-mile ride…an average day’s ride for Reg, but a marathon for me!

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Traveling With Minnie: A Superior Day

We arrived in Ishpeming, Michigan yesterday for a two-night stay on the U.P. That’s short for Upper Peninsula and the folks who live here proudly refer to themselves as Yoopers. Those unlucky enough to live in the lower part of the state below the Mackinac Bridge are, in good fun, referred to as trolls. Why? Well, because we all know that trolls live “under the bridge.”

Another beautiful campsite.

With a full day to fill Sunday, we drove east to the town of Marquette, located on the banks of Lake Superior, the largest of the five Great Lakes.

Gray clouds disappeared as we began our walk along the shoreline of Lake Superior.
Our goal was to walk out to and around Presque Isle Park, an oval-shaped peninsula seen in the distance above.

Tomorrow we will continue east and set up camp at Straits State Park on the north side of the Mackinac Bridge. I guess we’ll see for ourselves if there are any trolls under that bridge!

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