Let's take a closer look at Trucker Jesus before we move on..

And here we are. My introduction to Shenandoah National Park. Clouds were rolling in as I drove up the mountain. Giving me jaw-dropping view after jaw-dropping view at each overlook.

Made it to the room at Skyland. Really cool place. Kinda rustic cabin type room. Wobbly ceiling fan and super fuzzy TV were a nice touch. View out back was not fuzzy. Super peaceful to sit and rock and sip..

(Notice Auggie called dibs on his bed)

Took the pup for a decent hike (turns out no dogs allowed on the Stony Man trail) and went by the front entrance before deciding to place an order for pizza for dinner and would go pick it up.. So begins the Pizza Hut expedition..

Cue the rain! As I made my way to town the skies opened up (light rain starting soon my ass). Took this from the Pizza Hut parking lot where I waited things out for 5-10 minutes while it passed.

Yeah, no. I was incorrect. After leaving the parking lot I also pulled off to a church parking lot briefly then again in a restaurant parking lot before deciding to head for the hills.

Watching lightning strikes around me (not my favorite) I could see partially sunny skies in my rear view but seemed to remain under the darkest possible cloud as I went up the mountain. It briefly hailed, and then, over. The rain just stopped. Leaving me with a second trip up the mountain with great views, albeit this time almost 20 degrees cooler than it was when I left.

My mission completed, and long day behind me. It was time for some cheap pizza, cheaper whiskey, and fuzzy TV. Auggie rested up for Day 2..

Hey here comes the sun, sort of..

Came across this too, which I thought was kind of cool. My guess is it's some geo cache nugget.

Time to say goodbye to Shenandoah for now.. So Auggie grabbed a souvenir and off we went, with a few parting shots.

Off to Gettysburg..

(Yes Mom I'm driving in the middle of that road)

It was a hot day on the battlefield, so I didn't stay long. I really want to had back when it's cooler and I can spend the day. I got a very heavy vibe from the whole place and was honestly a little overwhelmed by its size. I felt like I didn't know where to start. I'll be back, prepared..

And there's this out back.. Uh, moving on..

Annnd the state signs begin.. apparently we didn't care to take New Jersey..

Look at him, nooo idea he's got 14 days of that pose ahead of him..

Switch shifts at Wendys in Scranton, did not get a chance to see any Dunder Mifflin sights, but did drive past the Scranton Railriders stadium as a game was ending..

Took my first driving shift of the trip and brought us to Altoona for the night.

That's about the best thing I'm gonna say about our time in Altoona. I was tempted to put my bag in the fridge to save it from the smoking room smell..

Moving on!

Til we arrived at Great Serpent Mound...

Very cool to get to see it in person. It's incredible how old it is and how little is really known about it's origin or purpose.

Very good place to start the trip..

Now I'm registered in NJ

And nooow I'm a NYer again.

Not shady at allll swapping out plates in the parking lot of a Motel 6.

Movinf right along..

Yeah.. this..

Poor Destro was in dire need of a wash by this point..

It was a long day of driving..

Woohoo South Dakota! (Which I have been calling San Diego since, no clue). Despite what that sign says speed limits were 80 through the state. We both enjoyed that. Felt like we had reached out destination once we passed this sign. Lots of very cool places on the horizon, literally.

Definitely one of those driving stretches that will stick in my mind. Cruising along 70 at 80+ with a Sirius 80s Saturday night club playing.

Yeah another thing that will stick with me. This rest stop/Dennys/casino/sports book/truck stop with showers and laundry

Oh and we were totally convinced we saw a UFO for a good 5 minutes..

This was the part of the trip where Auggie started to become accustomed to his own bed. I legit thought I'd have to buy him one by the time I got home.

Day started with a nice little walk around the property and noticing this place with a pretty full parking lot at 7am..

Big day ahead.

We were awed from the start. Vacation had arrived, we'd reached the West..

That little black speck.. that's John making his way down from the overlook to the car that I drove around..

So long Badlands..

Another one of those "Wow cool I'm really here" moments from the trip.

On the way out got this little surprise. Never thought about the profile view before.

Adding a bonus pic of the Crazy Horse monument we also went by. Very cool, very grand. Hopefully they get the funding to follow through on this some day. With what they charge per car, they should be well on their way :)

We originally thought we'd be arriving well after dark so getting a good camping night was amazing.

The grounds were great, the cabins were perfect and. the tower just dominates the sky.

We settled in and I enjoyed the best bourbon I've possibly ever had..

As the sun goes down Close Encounters is played on a big screen every night. Auggie and I went to check it out.

Then returned to the campfire where we stared at the sky and even got to see the space station in one of my favorite moments of the trip.

"The sky resembles a backlit canopy
With holes punched in it
I'm counting UFOs
I signal them with my lighter
And in this moment I am happy.. I'm happy"

Auggie had as hard a time leaving as we did.

Couple more pics from around the campsite and then headed up closer..

Before hitting the road.. Well.. mostly road...

This gas station deserves its own entry for the sign that has been around since 91.. we're all proud of you Lynn.

Aww look Colorado is welcoming us..

Oh look and there's antelope.. This is great.. Feels so out west.. this is...

Wait wtf.. where's the road!?

Seriously.. this is an interstate highway we're driving on! It's gravel!

Gravel!

The pavement returned, but after dark on highway 13.. yes 13.. we (well John) drove through a blizzard of moths, while avoiding elk, antelope and deer. As John put it it was like a video game. The challenge kept increasing.. and the "bad guys" kept getting bigger. One bad ass elk just sauntered in front of the car and watched us, before taking his time walking on.

We arrived in Parachute, very happy to see civilization.

Hey I've never seen the sun come up in the West..

Woke up to some great views..

Destro got a washing..

Auggie enjoyed his window view

John walked across the street to the dispensary..

On to Utah..

It was also incredibly hot. So we did a drive through of the park and headed to town to stay cool.

And then returned at sunset for a more thorough trip through..

We had tents at Moab Ubder Canvas for the night, which really was a gorgeous spot. Sat out front watching a ring of thunderstorms around us til about midnight. But the temps didn't drop and we had a long day ahead of us. So we retreated to the AC to get a good night's sleep in town.

Have seen these pictured and shown on TV many times over the years. To see them in person was a thrill. They're just out there. You wonder and marvel at who this civilization was and what they were telling us.

Lunch in Provo..

About to jump on 80 and stay on it all the way to Vacaville..

Great Salt Lake

This is known as the Tree of Life. It's actually not falling apart, the broken ball on the ground is intentional.

And the salt flats.. was really cool to see tire tracks out in the salt around rest stops. We saw people put on it as we passed.

No thanks, I'd burn up instantly, but very cool.

Honestly can't remember the name of this mountain but it was all by itself on the horizon

This was Nevada..

We made it!! Vacaville! From Peekskill!

Sleep tight buddy

Auggie was happy to be out of the car..

And see his old buddy Zeke..

Good times "at home" with the family.

And friends

With some nostalgia mixed in (cue this used to be my playground)

Dover went solar!

There was even a gender reveal involved.. Its a girl! An actual Boysko girl! First time in 70+ years it's not a boy..

Headed out of Vacaville for Yosemite..

We managed to see some snow, even though earlier that day in Vacaville it was 100+..

We arrived at sundown, so not a lot of pics to share, but I was in complete awe of the whole area. Just the smells and the views. Loved how left alone the whole area was. Can't wait to go back sometime.

Odometer flipped to 5,000 somewhere back in those hills.

Shortly after, John got to drive a similar stretch where he jammed to Where the Streets Have No Name.. The West really is music nerd heaven.

I wasn't kidding about the cows..

Auggie was not a fan of cows..

Shortly after this, not pictured, we got buzzed by 2 F-22s, couldn't have been more than a few hundred feet over our heads, flying right over the highway through this canyon.

Never forget how the one seemed to slid out as it made it's turn, really cool to see.

Yes, total tourist trap.. but c'mon, we had to stop.

The last time I was in Las Vegas I was spinning on a ride dangling off the side of that.. We chose to simply drive past this time..

But we TOTALLY saw one of the planes that brings employees from.Vegas to Area 51. They're unmarked planes with a red stripe down the side.. Boom!

So many options for song of the day here but I'm gonna go off the board and pick the greatest love of all by Whitney Houston, which was playing over the gas station PA speakers while I was walking Auggie next door watching thunderstorms off in the distance. Random..

Hey look, another Niro..

Saw so many amazing places, but now it was time to think about getting home..

We pushed that first night to get as far through New Mexico as we could. Put us in a good spot for the next 2 days. We made it to what was basically an abandoned Route 66 town named Santa Rosa.

Turned 6,000 miles just outside of Albuquerque on some very rural roads after we had pulled off the highway for an Auggie break. I have no idea how GPS considered those paths roads..

So.. many..

Windmills..

Had actually pinned this spot on Roadtrippers, but ended up pulling off the highway at it totally by accident, so was cool to see.

We love us some Loves.. They got us all the way through the Soithwewt and then some.

I think that windmill is broken..

Nice of Uncle Jesse to come out and meet us.

Goodnight.

What? It was a long trip, but I still think this looks cool.

How you doing back there buddy?

One last fill-up

Familiar territory..

We have returned!

He could not have been happier to be home.

I had mixed feelings. I'm already thinking about the next one while trying to digest all we saw on this one. Such an incredible journey. So glad I got to share the whole thing with my big brother, and we got to see the rest of the family in the middle of it.

Great adventure, time to get some rest.