17-June-2024 Adventure Summary

It’s over! ☹️

As of 6/17/2024 I have driven a total of 21,431 miles (and used 952 gallons of gas!) and made it all the way across the USA to the Pacific Ocean and back. I have walked a mile in 36 states plus the District of Columbia:

Maine

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Connecticut

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Virginia

West Virginia

Tennessee (10)

Georgia

South Carolina

North Carolina

Florida

Alabama

Mississippi

Louisiana

Texas

New Mexico

Wyoming (20)

Arizona

California

Nevada

Utah

Colorado

Vermont

South Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois (30)

Missouri

Indiana

Kentucky

Ohio

Maryland

Rhode Island (36)

(And the District of Columbia of Columbia)

States I did not go to that I will have to walk at least a mile in at some point as part of my “daily mile quest”: Delaware, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Michigan (and Alaska and Hawaii).

I skied 27 days at 12 destinations:

Copper Mtn. CO 4/30

Arapahoe Basin, CO 4/24 and 5/1

Park City, UT 4/5

Snow Basin 4/4

Alta 4/3

Brighton 4/2

Solitude 4/1

Deer Valley UT 3/22, 3/31

Palisades/Alpine Meadows (CA) 3/16, 3/17, 3/18

Stratton VT 3/2-3/8 (7 days)

Taos NM 2/16

Jackson Hole WY 2/4-2/8 (5 days)

A thousand thanks (again!!!) to friends who housed me along the way. Accommodations are the most expensive part of a journey like this and I appreciate every overnight, meal and outreach from family and friends throughout my journey. I couldn’t have done it without all those beds, couches and meals. I hope I can someday return the favor and extend the same level of hospitality when any of my Adventure Hosts come visit me in Maine.

I also did a lot of pet sitting! 48 overnights total:

Chicago - 1 cat , 4 nites

Boulder, CO - 1 cat, 6 nites

Salt Lake City UT2 - cats for 8 nites

Salt Lake City UT1 - 2 dogs for 3 nites

Albuquerque NM - 2 cats for 4 nights

Dallas TX - 1 dog for 5 nights

Sarasota FL - 1 dog and 2 cats for 4 nights

Chatleston SC - 3 dogs for 7 nights

Nashville - 1 cat for 7 nights

And I have now visited a grand total of 25 National Parks, 6 National Monuments and 1 State Park:

Shenandoah ( Virginia)

New River Gorge (West Virginia)

Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)

Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee)

Congaree (South Carolina)

Everglades (FL)

Biscayne (FL)

Dry Tortugas (FL)

Big Bend (TX)

Guadeloupe (NM) - 10 th

Carlsbad Caverns (NM)

White Sands (NM)

Petrified Forest (AZ)

Joshua Tree (CA)

Pinnacles National Park (CA)

Great Basin National Park (NV)

Capital Reef National Park (Ut)

Arches National park (UT)

Canyonlands National Park (UT)

Rocky Mountain national Park (CO) 20th

Wind Cave national Park (SD)

Badlands (SD)

Gateway arch (MS)

Indiana dunes (IN)

Cuyahoga (OH)

National Monuments/Memorials:

Petroglyph National Monument

Bandelier National Monument

Sunset Crater Volcano NM, Wupatki NM and

Walnut Canyon NM (all near Albuquerque NM)

Mount Rushmore (SD)

Fort McHenry (Baltimore)

State Park:

Dead Horse State Park (UT)

Whew that's a lot!

I’m often asked if I had a favorite destination - but honestly they were all so unique it’s really hard to pick a favorite. Would I rather have champagne or a Manhattan? Depends on the day and the mood. Same with my destinations. I must say that the national parks all ranked very highly …. but it was just as amazing to reconnect with old friends along the way. And I do love the Southwest - the scenery there is just so different from home and I love the warm dry climate.

My newest quest is a job - a full time position (Portland ME, Portsmouth NH or Boston MA areas if hybrid) or fully remote is great too. Open to anything! Please reach out if you know of any positions, opportunities or connections.

And lastly THANK YOU for all the love and support along the way. I frequently had friends reach out with phone calls, remote happy hours, texts and even in-person visits - I definitely never felt lonely or alone. I’m going to miss waking up and discovering new places every day but it sure will be nice to be back closer to my family and friends.

I have one more Adventure related post but I won’t be able to do it for another couple of weeks - you’ll understand the need for the delay when you read it. And I’m heading to Colorado in August and will be hitting a few national parks so I just might throw those on the blog for any of you interested in seeing some more sites with me remotely.

Thanks to all of you who have followed along with me through my blog – it was always great to hear your suggestions on places to go, comments on places I’ve been to and know that others were enjoying traveling along with me virtually. I highly recommend hitting the road if anyone is so inclined - it was awesome! 💗