Strange Coincidences

We are now back home in Augusta after our 13-day, 5,600-mile, 15-state trip. No, we didn’t get to do all the activities I had planned, but we did at least two that were not on the itinerary, the Wyler Aerial Tramway in El Paso, and the Civil War Battlefield in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

I do have a few reflections on the trip, things I learned and strange coincidences.

I found a town that I don’t think I could live in, Springdale, Utah. It is completely surrounded by towering cliffs. I don’t know the height of them, but I figure it is about 1,500 feet, and they are pretty much straight up. If you ever want to feel claustrophobic, just go to Springdale. It is also the western entrance to Zion Canyon, so it gives a pretty good preview of what you will see in the park

I learned at Vicksburg that the city was surrendered to General Grant on the 4th of July in 1863. That just happens to be the exact day Gettysburg was successfully defended by the Army of the Potomac under General Mead. That was a crushing blow to the Confederate Army, even though there was no communication in those days that would have conveyed the results between those diverse combat units. Being a Civil War history buff, I should have known those facts, but I confess that I didn’t know until I visited Vicksburg.

Some of the strange occurrences that we encountered:

1. Way up on Mount Evans in Colorado I followed a car with a Ray Laks license plate holder. I approached the driver in the parking lot at the summit and learned that he was from Western New York where I grew up.

2. In Kanab Utah at the Comfort Inn, the desk clerk said she was from New York. It turned out that she grew up in a neighboring town to the one where I grew up.

3. We had several library books downloaded on my MP3 player. The setting for one was the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan, where I had been on my last trip in June.

4. Another book on my MP3 was set in a fictional town in Columbia County, Georgia, where I currently live. We had no idea that these fictional books were set in those places, but it made listening a lot more interesting.

5. When we stopped for the night at a motel in Capitol Reef National Park, there was a panel truck with Kentucky plates parked next to us. The truck had signage on the side reading, “Cumberland Lake Boat Movers.” Cumberland Lake, Kentucky was another one of the places I visited on the trip to Michigan.

It always amazes me when I find points of convergence in faraway places, so these five chance events were kind of stunning.

A couple of other facts about the trip:

I tried to keep track of our expenditures for gasoline, but I lost track after a few days. I do know that we only paid over $3/gallon once in Torrey, Utah ($3.39 for regular), but most of the time, gas was around $2.75, and we did get it once for $2.39.

Our hotels cost just under $900, but we did use two reward nights. I do have to admit that some of our hotels were less than desirable, but we did stay at a couple that were first class, too.

My Golden Eagle pass was great, as it got us free admission to all national parks, of which we visited ten. If you take a trip like this one and are not old enough (62) to buy the Golden Eagle pass, at least purchase the annual pass for $80. It will pay for itself when you get to your 4th park or monument.

Our entire 13-day trip cost us under $2,000, and that’s pretty good, considering how much we saw and did.

For those of you to whom I sent the daily trip journals and pictures, I hope you enjoyed them, and felt like you were experiencing the same sights with us. For those who didn’t participate, let me know if you would like to see them, and I’ll send them along via email. There are nine days worth, and I think they came out very nicely.