The end of the line- Chicago, IL to Dorset, VT in one long day

hard to see but we are blowing past Jenna's birthplace of Rome, NY (though often confused with other Rome I'm sure) at about 11PM last night.
The highlights from Pennsylvania...
Highlights from Ohio...
Birthplace of Michael Jackson
Beautiful Gary, IN


A poor photo of the Chicago skyline. At this point in the drive (about 20 minutes in) Jenna was insisting that she was blind and the surgery was a dismal failure despite the fact the next day she tested 20/20. Of course after a nap in the car she saw fine again, despite the bloodshot eyes.
These two in a rare moment of peace and good behaviour. Probably because I'm holding a treat.

In a Herculean effort, Jenna and I pushed all the way from Chicago yesterday morning to my place in Dorset, VT late last night. 891 miles in total yesterday and almost none of them warrant a single sentence in writing. We did traverse six states yesterday and pay an exorbitant amount of tolls. Though we didn't keep a precise tally we think the tolls were in excess of $60. And to make matters worse, I hated the fact that the speed limits continued to lower as we ventured Eas of Chicago. First 70, then 65, then 60, and finally 55mph. I miss the days of the West already with their posted 80mph (and I think we even saw an 85mph for a stretch in Western Texas).

Best of all, and I'm sure most surprising to followers of this site is the fact that we weren't pulled over once. In fact, I think I only had one close call the entire trip. Next time I'll drive faster.

Parts of this drive we didn't see law enforcement for hundreds of miles (namely South Dakota- as evidence by my 86+ mph average for nearly 300 miles, including gas stops). I found myself wondering how I would attempt a cannonball run in an appropriately equipped vehicle. That being said I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the truck, apart from its ugly gas consumption. Not only was it very comfortable and able to carry massive amounts of gear, it was nice to be able to literally drive off-road (which we did a few times) when we wanted and then jump back on the interstate and cruise at 80-90mph with no concerns about the vehicle's capabilities.

Yesterday: 891 miles, 12.9mpg, 69.5mph
Total: 4868 miles, 13.2 mpg, 68.4 mph

We used a total of 366 gallons of gas which cost us just a touch over $1000.

In our license plate quest, we failed to see 8 states: Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Also no DC plates. We did see, however, a number of Canadian provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia (surprisingly only saw that finally yesterday in Pennsylvania), Ontario, and Quebec. Only a few missing but I'm not sure snowmobiles can make it this far south.

It was a great trip and though we spent 71 hours together in the car Jenna and I did not kill each other, or the dog. I would love to drive parts of this trip again and spend more time in specific parks (namely Zion, Yellowstone/Teton and possibly add Mesa Verde) but as a whole I think we managed to see quite a bit of the country in a short period of time and I think I speak for both of us in saying we feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity. Most people can't or won't do a trip like this for myriad reasons and while I find that unfortunate, I would say the best part of the whole experience was the lack of crowds. And had we the time we would have ventured off the driven path and seen so much more. Next time....

Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed the trip a fraction as much as we have.