When the dotted yellow lines are closing in

Knoxville, Cleveland, Knoxville, Washington (12/21-12/30):

Google puts the drive from New York to DC at 227 miles and three and a half hours, so our 33,852 mile/122 day drive was considerably out of the way. In total we hit 48 states and 44 national parks, a few dozen motel 6s, several state parks and national forests, a half dozen breweries, and a raccoon. We somehow avoided the po-po for the entire trip, and while going through 2 cobalts, 2 sonatas, 2 focii, a corolla and a budget truck, had no car trouble outside of a door that wouldn't close in new orleans. So, a few bests and worsts of the country:

Top five national parks:
1. Wind Cave, SD - we nearly skipped this to go to the Badlands instead, and we never did go to the cave. But it, along with neighboring Custer State Park, was one of the best parks we visited for wildlife, with lots of buffalo and pronghorns hanging out by the road. And Custer had the burros and beeping prairie dogs too.
2. Olympic, WA - Rainforest, and as good a beach on the Pacific Ocean as you could want.
3. Bryce Canyon, UT - Maybe the most geologically interesting, the hoodoos are unlike anywhere else we saw.
4. Great Sand Dunes, CO - There was just so much sand.
5. Saguaro, AZ - Cacti.

Yellowstone/Grand Teton would probably be the best park to spend a week at, with Yosemite close behind, but the five above are the ones that seem to stick out.

Top five states:
1. New York - for the city if nothing else, but the finger lakes and Niagara put it over the top
2. Colorado - all four parks are worth seeing.
3. Minnesota - the north country is delightful.
4. Missouri - St. Louis and KC were better than expected.
5. Washington - nice parks, nice cities, and Seattle seems a bit less silly than Portland.

Top five cities/towns:
1. NYC, NY
2. Duluth, MN
3. Missoula, MO
4. Mitchell, SD if just for sheer ingenuity. (I would LOVE to meet the guy who one day said, "Hey guys--wait, I've got an idea. What if we build a giant palace out of CORN?)
5. St. Louis, MO

Worst state:
1. Florida

Worst park:
1. Hot Springs, AR


And with that, we're settling down (for a little bit).