Road Trippin'

L/R,T/B - Jenn Minocqua (WI), Niagara Falls (Canada), Old Faithful (WY), Groundhog Day (IL), Matt South Bend (IN), Yellowstone (WY), Views (WY)The month of May found us at home after nearly four months exploring the mysteries of the orient and the islands of Polynesia.  After a few weeks at home we hopped in our Jeep and set-off to experience some of the strange and exotic offerings on the open roads of North America.  Nearly 6,000 miles, 15 states, and two Canadian provinces later, we’re ready to share what we saw:

• National Parks – Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, National Grasslands, and others
• National Treasures – The Great Lakes (all five of them), Niagara Falls, Old Faithful, and the world’s largest cow and buffalo statues (both in North Dakota)
• A Salina, Kansas Car Dealership – Where we stopped for a bit of unplanned vehicle maintenance
• Family and Friends – Matt Gray in Chicago, Aaron Stratton and family while visiting Ohio
• Great Little Towns – Woodstock, Illinois where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where we stayed in the Grand Geneva Resort which was originally built as the first Playboy Club in the United States…Photos of ‘Hef’ and many celebrities from the glory days of the ‘60s and ‘70s were on display
• Great Museums – The Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana and the unforgettable Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, Missouri

As we reflect on our seven week break from the international scene, the words of Paul Theroux come to mind, “One of the greatest rewards of travel is the return home to the reassurance of family and old friends, familiar sights and homely comforts.”  We’ve made the most of our fleeting time in the U.S. and are happily recharged and ready to set off on our next adventure:  Hiking across Scotland, 135 miles along the John Muir Way leading from Helensburgh in the east to Dunbar in the west.