Twenty - That's All Folks!

Miles traveled in the RV: 3,338 

  (I didn't keep track of miles on the Escape, sorry)

Gas cost for the RV: $1,775

RV camping costs: $470 

  (for 10 nights in RV parks; other 6 nights we dry camped in parking lots or were provided housing)

Amount saved by not having to stay in hotels: $2,000 
  (room at a lodge in Yellowstone area approx. $200/night; other hotels along the way assumed $100/night)

States visited or passed through: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Missouri

Photos taken: 1,804

Number of Workampers & Employers interviewed:  20

Amount of video interviews Luke has to edit: 74 GB (that's a lot)

Types of animals seen:  pronghorns (look like antelopes), buffalo, bald eagle, elk, white american pelican, sandhill cranes, mule deer, horses (duh), coyote, MOOSE!

Jody's Favorite Part: Probably kayaking on Yellowstone Lake. And driving the RV through Yellowstone and Grand Teton - it's way better than sitting low in a car.

Luke's Favorite Part: Flying the airplane in Idaho. And the buffalo walking past the RV on the first day in Yellowstone.

What we'd do differently: Spend more time there! Try to camp within the park. Eat at one of the restaurants within Yellowstone (we did good about packing a picnic everyday to save money).

Take away: Everyone MUST visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. It will be unforgettable...even if you manage to not injure yourself. :)

Update on Luke: The orthopedic surgeon in Heber confirmed he has a type 5 AC separation. The best path to a fully functioning, painless shoulder is surgery followed by physical therapy, so that's what we're going to do! Luke's been 'shopping around' as to where to have the surgery done. The Heber hospital wanted $18,000 plus surgeon fees, etc. The Conway hospital wanted $10,000. We would have received about a 40% discount if we paid in full since he's uninsured, but still, a lotta moo-lah. Finally, we found that the OrthoArkansas Little Rock office has a surgery center, and they can do the whole shebang for $3,000-some. And they have a 'shoulder specialist'. We have a winner! Luke will likely have surgery within the next week or two. Hopefully, the physical therapy can be done in Heber.

Thanks to everyone who has read our blog and enjoyed our adventures! We so appreciate the opportunity that Workamper News gave us to experience such a beautiful part of our country.

Nineteen - 9/3

We are home again, home again!

The drive from Peculiar, Missouri to Heber Springs was a familiar one, as it's part of the route we take when we go to Des Moines to visit the fam.  We finally got on the road at almost 11 am, and pulled in to Heber about 7 pm.  We made one stop in Bentonville for a late lunch at Panera Bread.

I really dislike driving through Missouri. For one, it's boring. And second, they put their rumble strips RIGHT ON THE LINE instead of a bit further over on the shoulder like other states who don't hate their road drivers.  In the RV...and in our car too, I suppose...I hug the right side of the lane. I'd just rather take out a curb than another vehicle.  In every other state, no big deal. In Missouri, BRUMBRUMBRUM...every other minute as the tires rolled over the rumble strips.  So I did my best to hug the left side of the right lane (sorry to any cars who had to pass me! - which was pretty much everyone on the road since we drove about 62-64 mph all the time).

An uneventful drive for the most part. We listened to some tunes, and then Luke read aloud from the Death in Yellowstone book.  He used voices this time - quite entertaining!

When we arrived in Heber, we went and dumped out the tanks at the Corps campground and then parked at the office. Mom & Dad came and helped us unload all of our crap out of the motorhome, and then load all of it into our house.  Luke and I then spent a few hours putting stuff away and cleaning up the "gifts" that Sam had left us (aka, he pees on stuff - curtains, clothes dryer, wood floor - pretty awesome).  About 10 pm we relaxed and watched some TV before heading to bed.

Also, somewhere along the way I managed to catch a bug...my throat has been pretty scratchy this evening.  Luke is doing as good as possible, and our local friend, Debbie, has already given us the lowdown on what docs to see/who to avoid, so we'll get him setup with a visit to the orthopedic doc soon.

This week I'll do one more sort of 'wrap up' post.  Thanks to everyone who has been reading and sharing our adventure with us!  We absolutely recommend that everyone visits the Yellowstone area.

Eighteen - 9/2

Happy Birthday, Chrystal!

Chrystal & Luke (and Rosie)

We got a great night's sleep and bid good-bye to our fabulous hosts in the morning. The drive over to York, Nebraska, where Luke's sister Chrystal's family lives took about an hour. We parked the RV at the Walmart and drove the Escape to the restaurant. Wow! It is so weird to go from driving the RV to driving a car.  It feels so funny at first, and I felt like I couldn't control the 'little' car at first.

Us visiting was a surprise to Chrystal. I planned this ahead of time with her hubby, Mark, and we appreciated his sneakiness.  It almost got ruined because a Facebook post of Luke's mentioned we were in Grand Island (I think), so she was nearly on to us!  We still got her though.  Her birthday was yesterday, but we'd be glad to see her and her fam anytime.

This couple has three girls, and they are fun and adorable. (The oldest, Lily, is smarter than most adults I know.  Fiona tells great 'knock, knock' jokes. And the baby, Eleanor, makes the best faces.)  A lunch was enjoyed at Chances "R" in downtown(?) York, and then we popped over to their house for a bit so we could take home some of their home grown goodies - tomatoes and peppers.

Fiona unamused by Uncle Luke

With a six hour drive ahead of us, we didn't stay long and got back on the road around 2 pm. I got us through Kansas City with no troubles, and we pulled in to Peculiar Park Place RV park about 8 pm.  This looks like a really nice park!  I wish we could stay longer to enjoy it. The lady in the office, Valerie, is super nice and we appreciated her stellar customer service over the phone today and when we arrived here later than most. Finally had good cell service/internet connection tonight, and some time.

We'll finish up the drive tomorrow! Hooray! Looking forward to cuddling with our kitties.  I hope they still remember us.  We've been happy being in the RV, but it will be nice to back in the house again with our bigger shower and DVR. :)

Seventeen - 9/1

We're sleeping in the street.

The Placzeks' street!  We drove and drove some more, and arrived to Grand Island, Nebraska sometime after 6 p.m.

Last night I didn't get much sleep; not sure why. Could have been the truck noises, or the generator, or the pile of emails I haven't addressed, or the renters who may or may not stay in our rental home, or Luke's poor shoulder and potential surgery, or two more days of driving...it's a toss up, really.

It was a bit of sleepy drive today, but Luke kept me awake. We've been reading 'Death in Yellowstone - Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park' (well, Luke's been reading it aloud).  It's pretty interesting. People have died from animal attacks, falling into geysers, and freezing in the snow. Yikes.

Us with Kevin (Dee was working at the fair)

Anyway, we were warmly welcomed by Kevin & Dee.  After stopping at a ginormous Bosselman's for gas and to dump our tanks, Kevin guided us to their home in a neighborhood that reminded us of "home" (Des Moines). Luckily, the street was very wide so being parked in front of their home didn't bother anybody. It was good timing as the Placzeks are about a week away from going full-time! It's very exciting, and they have their fifth wheel parked and nearly ready to roll in their driveway.

They took us to dinner at a restaurant/sports bar so I could catch up on all the games I missed today (Hawks win, woo hoo!). A yummy meal and some great conversation later, we went back to the RV and pretty much crashed. We were tuckered out.

Luke is doing alright. The pain medication helps, but it still hurts when he has to move around. Tomorrow will be a fun day. We are surprising Luke's sister Chrystal at lunch. 

Two days till kitties!