12 new NPS units, now at 305
8 NPS parks re-visited
15 State Parks, all of them new - the standout was Rickett’s Glen in Pennsylvania
We have now completed all the national parks in 25 states - visits and photographs - 25 states, 4 territories and DC still having remaining units to visit
We were gone 71 days across 16 states traveling 10,752 miles. Our Oliver has now been towed a total of 87,500 miles in 5.5 years (total trip mileage is greater). It is holding up very well. Our new batteries allowed us to stay many more nights more comfortably while not connected to power. Coffee with one button pressed in the morning was delightful. We had one repair this trip - a design flaw in the furnace caught up to us. It was repaired and redone by an expert at South Hero, Vermont.
We stayed in 5 NP/COE sites, 11 state or municipal parks, 16 Harvest Host/ Boondocker sites, 9 commercial sites and 3 misc sites. Our largest expense, gasoline, was nearly double for this trip over the fall trip in 2020.
We enjoyed seeing friends from Williamsburg and Florida while in Maine. We met another Johnson graduate and his wife (he worked with Cindy in the JU kitchen) in Michigan and stayed in their church yard. I reconnected with two high school friends, one living in NY and one in Springdale, PA. We visited with Cindy’s niece, Judy, in WV and our grandson at Appalachian State U. We met interesting people from China, Saudi, Ireland, Japan and many places across the US.
What is next? We make plans as if we will keep moving forward on the parks list but that is always dependent on health, finances, and what God unfolds for our lives. Our next plan is a winter trip to Texas (13 parks), NM (12 parks), and AZ (9 parks) with a route home to complete MO (2), OK (2) AR (1) and KY (1). I would like to get to DC when some “hard to see” parks are open and pick up the four in MD we need.
And figure out what havoc the Moose will caue. That’s the most unpredictable part!
One of about a dozen covered bridges we visited.