The Wrap-up

We had a great 2.5 week trip! We didn't see as much of USA this time, but saw a lot of northern USA and Canada too. Here are some numbers and favorites:

  • We visited 15 states, 5 were new to us completely (Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin). We visited 5 Canadian provinces--British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. 
    • Jason and Brooke have now visited 45 of the 50 states. We haven't visited Hawaii, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama yet. 
    • Ella and Blake have now visited 44 of the 50 states (Rhode Island being the one different than us).
    • Evan has now visited 43 of the 50 states (New Jersey and Rhode Island being the two different than us).
    • All of us have visited 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces. We haven't visited Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, or the three territories.
  • We visited 6 National Parks and 2 National monuments (Craters of the Moon and Mount St. Helens) and 2 state parks in USA. We have now visited 39 of the 64 National Parks in the USA and
  • We visited 4 National Parks in Canada.  We have now visited 5 of the 48 National Parks in Canada.
  • We drove 8,450 miles. 
  • The highest priced gas we bought was in Washington at $4.89/gallon, while the cheapest gas we bought was in Indiana at $2.79/gallon. This was similar to our last trip with California being most expensive and Indiana being least expensive again. I did not calculate the gas money we spent, but I know it was much cheaper than our trip three years ago!
  • We saw soooo much wildlife this trip!
    • Over 40 (we stopped counting) bison, big horned sheep, prairie dogs, and pelicans
    • 24 elk
    • 21 deer
    • 17 wild horses
    • 9 rabbits
    • 7 black bears and 3 grizzly bears
    • 3 possum
    • 2 raccoons
    • 2 groundhogs
    • 2 turtles
    • 1 coyote
  • Brooke finished 9 books on the trip, 8 print and 1 audiobook. The last book read was finished in Plymouth within minutes from getting home!
  • We bought an Annual Parks Pass and saved $115 in park admissions because of that! I didn't calculate how much we saved in Canada but all parks are free this summer and the camping was 20% off too due to "Canada Strong."

  • Favorites:
    • Jason--Yellowstone NP and Glacier NP
    • Brooke--Yellowstone NP and seeing the Grizzly mama and her cubs, Glacier NP and the big horned sheep, and Banff NP is just beautiful! I couldn't pick just one!
    • Evan--Yellowstone NP, Banff NP, and the Mall of America
    • Ella--Banff NP and the Mall of America
    • Blake--Yellowstone NP, especially the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Banff NP
The kids are already planning our next trip...and it WON'T be a roadtrip! LOL They'd like to either visit Hawaii or France. Jason and I would like to too, but we'd also like to do a trip where we visit the 3 southern states that we haven't been to yet and the Florida national parks. We'll see!







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