Well this was the last day of my trip.  I am writing in past tense because it was a month ago now.  Some people said they would like me to finish the blog of the trip.  I decided to do it this evening (October 18) because I will be posting photos of the trip tonight.  Anyway nothing much happened on this day.  I didn’t stop to photograph anywhere.  I almost got run off the road in Nebraska by a minivan who switched into my lane.  I got a little lost in St. Louis due to construction.  Since we are done with the trip and all the bills are in here is a break down of the trip and what it cost.

Gas:  $845.45 (Ranged from $2.52 to $3.33 per Gallon)

Lodging: $316.39 ($20 Campsites to $87 for a hotel)

Food: $295.22 ($2 McDonalds to $30 Steakhouse)

Car Care: ~$150 (Oil Change, Computer Reader, Misc)

Things I learned on the road.  I didn’t really need to carry a spare gas can.  There were enough gas stations around.  There was one place were I almost had to use it in the desert.  I would definitely not take a bicycle again.  It robbed my gas mileage significantly.  Any trip I take in the future will allow more time at each location with less driving between locations.  I really did a large loop fitting in Monument Valley and Glacier.  If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t do it differently as far as the route.  I got to see the highlights I wanted to see.  I think I would have liked three weeks off to get that much in but now that its over when I go for two weeks again I won’t do such a large loop.  For me this trip was a glimpse of a large portion of the large parks.  I think my next trip will be of the Desert portion of the US like the Grand Canyon, Havasu Falls, the Slot Canyons, Bryce, and Zion National Parks.  If I can afford it I might even decide to fly.  Of Course I will have to pay for this one first.  Maybe I can sell some prints or something to generate cash for another trip. I guess we’ll just have to see. 

What was my Favorite part?  Well I was most impressed with Glacier National Park but it wasn’t leaps and bounds above everything else.  I liked Monument Valley and the Tetons too. I enjoyed it all but those were the highlights for me and were also the places I wanted to see most.  Perhaps expectation played a role but I had fun.  If there was anything I was most disappointed with it was Yellowstone.  I saw few animals which I had hoped on seeing a lot of.  What I saw didn’t have the grand vistas which is what I like to photograph.  I missed the grand canyon of yellowstone because there was nowhere you could sleep in the park as the campgrounds were closed and you can’t sleep in your car (remember Sand Dunes…).  I will need to spend more time at yellowstone at some later date.  I don’t know how I will because I prefer to go in the spring or fall when it’s not so busy with tourists but the campgrounds won’t be open so I guess I will have to figure something out.

I want to say thanks to everyone who left comments and wrote emails and texted.  It was nice seeing people following your adventure and being  just as excited as you were about it.  Perhaps if I can acquire the resources I can do it again next year.