Go West: The One with the Stats...

Miles Driven: 8214

Days Away From Home: 26 (plus 5 more for Julia)

Average Daily Miles Driven: 316

States Entered: 20

Gasoline Stops: 28

National Parks Explored: 9 (Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Gateway Arch)

Number of National Parks Where "Piano Man" Was Played on Harmonica: 7 (and a very disappointed kid who forgot her harmonica in the car for the other 2)

Non-National Parks Still Run by the National Park Service Explored: 3 (Mount Rushmore, Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods) 

Tourist Traps Suckered Into: 5 (Corn Palace, Wall Drug, Pier 39, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Four Corners)

Species Observed in Their Natural Habitat:

• dead bird (windshield)
• prairie dogs (Badlands)
• bison (Badlands/Yellowstone/Grand Canyon)
• elk (Yellowstone)
• wolf (Yellowstone)
• moose (Grand Teton)
• marmots (Grand Teton)
• sea lions (San Francisco)
• Steller's jay (Muir Woods/Grand Canyon)
• harbor seals (Monterey)
• black-tailed deer (Pacheco Pass)
• black bear (Sequoia)
• Sierra fence lizard (Sequoia)
• mule deer (Sequoia)
• gray squirrel (everywhere)
• red squirrel (Mt. Rushmore)
• elephant seals (San Simeon)
• wild burros a.k.a. mountain donkeys (California)
• coyote (Outpost X)
• wild turkey (Zion/Grand Canyon)
• wood warbler (Bryce)
• red wing blackbird (Tri-State Marker and Gateway Arch)

Harry Potter Books Read: all 7 (several times over, by multiple kids)

"Cautionary Tales" Podcast Episodes Heard: 38

Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches Eaten: 897 (rough estimate)

Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches We Hope to Eat in the Next Six Months: 0

Number of one-night-only hotel stays, perfecting our "living out of a suitcase" technique: 13

Number of Hotels with No Elevators, Causing Us to Lug our Luggage up a Flight of Stairs to our (usually) Second-Floor Room (often) Late at Night: shockingly high number

Number of Dogs in Hotel Rooms near Stairwells That We Set off Barking While We Did So: equally shockingly high number

Number of People Who Got Sick During our Multiple Weeks of Travel: 0!

Number of Times We Did Laundry on this Trip: 3 (once in a sus hotel laundry room where we found a cigarette lighter in the gasket of one machine and Kate had to fold a stranger's underwear to free up a dryer...once in a delightful and cheerful Las Vegas laundromat between midnight and 1:30am, where Kate wants to hang out again and hear everybody's life story who was there -- and once in Kate's sister's beautifully clean and modern laundry room, with absolutely no extra excitement than that)

Number of Smashed Pennies Acquired on This Trip by Each Kid: 20

Number of times toenails were painted in the car while driving, potentially closer to the driver than he preferred: 1

Highest Temperature Observed: 112 degrees

Days We Were Rained On in the Entire Trip: 3

Number of Time Zone Changes We Had to Contend With: 8 (due to the MST-state AZ not observing DST, and Navajo reservation land within AZ observing it!)

Penn State Fans with Whom Chad Initiated the "We Are" Cheer: 14

Number of People We Saw Get Run Over by a Car: 1

Number of Witness Statements Filled Out For the National Park Service: 1

Number of Times We Almost Died While Capturing State Sign Photos: too many

Number of Post-Midnight Bedtimes for the Entire Family: more times than the Parenting Police should be informed of

Number of Toiletries Pillaged by Eliza from Hotels: 37

Paneras Visited for Free Sip Club Drinks: as many as existed on our route

Zoos, Prisons, Amusement Parks, Dams, Fountains, and Oceans Visited: 1 each

Number of Nicely-Designed, Color-Printed Itinerary Spreadsheets Lost During our Trip: how many kids do we have?

Franchise Restaurants Visited Which Have Locations in Centre County, PA: 0 (besides free Panera)

Number of Single Clothing Items, Outside of Luggage, That Were Found When We Cleaned Out the Minivan Upon Returning Home: 11

Number of Family Members Who Still Like Each Other After This Trip: (by the grace of God) 5