Below is a recap of Trip #3, our first trip all the way across the United States from east to west, and back home again. Our reason for this trip was to visit family & friends in California, and to stop & visit other friends & family along the way in the middle of the Country.
This was our longest trip to date. We left home on Monday, September 11, 2017 and returned home on Monday, April 30, 2018. We were gone 33 weeks (almost 8 months).
When we left New York in late summer 2017, it was clear & sunny and in the mid 70’s during the day & mid 50’s at night. It was the beginning of an early fall in NY, and Hurricane Irma was striking Florida, not long after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas. When we got home in early spring 2018, it had snowed during the day and temperatures were in the 40’s during the day and 20’s at night – a late end to winter. Forsythia were in full bloom; the leaves on the trees were starting to bud.
We travelled 11,857 miles in the RV and we drove through parts of 21 States. We camped at 79 different campgrounds, although several were repeat visits & twice we stayed at campsites in the parking lots of RV repair facilities.
We had few instances of hot weather & some very cold nights, and camped in or drove thru heavy wind, torrential downpours, snow, sleet, & hail. We encountered many areas of the west that were dealing with forest fires, past & present. Many places were closed due to the damage from those fires. We just missed mudslides there that closed major highways. In New Mexico the winds were so high that the blowing dust was causing road closures. We were turned back from closed roads due to flooding, particularly around the Mississippi River in the middle of the Country. Campgrounds were still closed due to heavy snow in the northeast. And there was weather everywhere that we felt was absolutely perfect.
We had great visits with friends and family, saw the most incredible scenery, camped in wonderful places, and ate at some amazing restaurants. The scenery and/or experience that was most remarkable? Every single State had something unique to offer! But highlights were, in NO particular order:
- Southern Utah (Monument Valley, Zion, Lake Powell, Goosenecks State Park)
- The Southern Oregon Coast (we didn’t go above Coos Bay on this trip)
- Vedauwoo Campground, Buford, Wyoming
- Birdwatching & National Wildlife Refuges (EVERYWHERE)
- Upstate New York
- California Redwoods & the Snake River in northern CA
- Buffalo, Prairie Dogs, and Long-Horned Cattle, Wichita Mountain NWR, Oklahoma
- Crater Lake, Oregon
- The Grand Canyon
- Sandhill Cranes during migration
- Kentucky & Tennessee with the rolling hills
- Whale watching, Long Beach, CA
- Camping at Cibola (OxBow) & Burro Creek, both Arizona
- Camping at Valley of the Fires & also going to Bosque del Apache NWR, both NM
- The wineries & beauty of the Anderson Valley & Hendy Woods State Park, CA
A few observations from things people have asked us since we’ve been home: People – were we afraid to camp or go places? What were people like? When we left home, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about what we’d find due to the “state of the union” with the recent political upheaval, school shootings & violence, fear of crime, and the general negativity from the news media. We found people to be incredibly nice & kind, everywhere we went. Rich or poor, liberal or conservative, it didn’t matter. On the other hand, the amount of homeless people we saw in the bigger western cities (probably due to the fact that it was winter and the weather is more tolerable there), was a bit of a surprise to us. And there is definitely a visually-noticable disparagement between poverty & wealth in this Country, with some areas being extremely poor. Climate – we were both surprised at how obvious it is that something is going on with the weather which is causing more climate-related catastrophic events. Call it climate change or global warming or the new ice age or whatever – when you travel, it was impossible to ignore the dryness & the drought of the west, fires everywhere from Crater Lake in Oregon to San Diego in California, heavy winds & dryness causing the extreme dust storms in the desert west, and the warmer temperatures during winter throughout the western third of the Country. Torrential downpours of rain in the south & middle of the Country, flooded farm fields & entire towns under water. Heavy snow (with the resulting melting which causes flooding) in the northern parts of the Country & extremely cold temperatures. Tornadoes earlier than ever before, hurricanes larger than before, huge thunderstorms. It really was shocking at times. Food – We sure grow lots of corn in this country! Traffic – It is much worse than it used to be in places we revisited. And air quality is NOT good around the bigger cities. Infrastructure – Roads are so bad in some States (and not in others). Where does the tax money go for road repair and why is it so bad in some places? Recreation – The money going to Parks, Museums, Wildlife Refuges, etc., is being well-spent. There are so many wonderful places to visit. Let’s not take that money away. And so many States have excellent biking, hiking, & canoeing trails. It really is great. Finally, this is such a beautiful Country. We were blown away over and over again. It may not feel like it sometimes, but we are all lucky to live here.