Today was the last day of the trip. It was a relatively short day; we covered most of the width of Washington State. There are two ways to do it; I-90 or US-2. We took the scenic route (US-2) because it allowed us to avoid doubling back on I-90 and so we could visit Leavenworth. Leavenworth? For reasons we don’t understand, there is a fake Bavarian town in the middle of a forest. Here’s a photo of the fake ‘musikhaus’. They are presenting “Thoroughly Modern Millie” which must surely be a traditional Bavarian play.
Let’s not even discuss the PT Cruiser in front!
From Leavenworth we drove over Stevens Pass, something we had not done before and dropped down into the Snoqualmie River valley and headed home.
It was a fun trip that flew by; we both said today that it did not feel like three full weeks. It’s great to have that much quality time together.
Filthy car at the end of the trip
Some statistics from the trip:
Total miles: 5,206 – 2,809 to Indy, 2,397 back
Total days: 21 – 14 driving, 7 staying put (2 Boise, 2 Chicago, 3 Indianapolis)
Longest day: Day 1, 536 miles from home to Boise
Shortest day: Day 12, 197 miles from Chicago to Indianapolis
Total fill-ups: 15
Gallons of gasoline: 256.46
Cost of gas: $993.25
Average cost per gallon: $3.878 (Highest: $4.099 in Easton, WA and Jamestown, ND; Lowest: $3.649 in Great Falls, MT)
Miles per gallon: 21.5 (includes 300 miles that were already on the first tank we bought on the trip)
Highest elevation: 9,200 feet (Bighorn National Forest)
Lowest elevation: 500 feet (Home)
Highest temperature: 103 in Des Moines on July 22
Lowest temperature: 62 in Havre, MT on August 3rd
Most impressive man-made thing: Mt. Rushmore
Most impressive natural thing: The Grand Tetons in Wyoming
Best thing: Being together