30 hours! It seemed inaccurate, so I hit the refresh button and waited. Yep. Home was definitely a lot further away then I initially thought. After all, I had taken the trip out West in short little bursts, stopping at parks and having a jolly good time along the way. But now it’s pretty much a straight shot back to the east coast, with one tiny layover in Tennessee to visit my brother and his family.

I typically don’t do well with long, extended time in the car. My back gets sore, my bladder seems oh-so-small, and I feel pretty loopy after staring at so many car bumpers. Yet Arizona was the perfect stopping point in my journey. I was halfway finished with my quest to visit all 47 parks in the contiguous U.S., and the cooler weather was a sign that it was time to head home. With the holiday season around the corner, I’m quite content to take a break for a while and regroup. Come spring, Clarence the MyPod and I will once again hit the road and continue our epic adventure.

I made a list for my multi-day, multi-hour, multi-mile upcoming drive.

See ya soon, Northern Virginia!