In the wind down phase of the trip now. A few more tips for the road:

- Keep an eye not only on your gas but gas prices as well. Often you will pay premium prices for gas near attractions. While driving south from the Grand Canyon, we saw gas prices drop from 2.13 in the park, to 2.01 10 miles south, and then as low as 1.97 30 miles further.

- Essentials snacks for the car: water, gatorade, pretzels, something sweet.

- State roads are great ways to travel between 2 places if you like scenery. The state roads biggest drawback is when you cross into a town, your speed limit drops from 65 or 75 mph to 35. All of this speed changing can make your trip a bit longer. Gauge the scenery and when you want to take a break and you should be able to have a nice mix of interstate and state roads.

- Lumbar support is very important, especially if you are going to be sitting in one place for 2-4 hours at a stretch. We used rolled up towels to support our lower backs and were all the more comfortable because of it.

- Cruise Control is only as good as the drivers around you. Often, we would try cruise control only to find the other cars around us were varying their speed. Cruise control worked best on the isolated roads (like through the desert) where no other cars would interfere with our desired speed.

On our trip, we also notices there are several categories of parks:

1. National Parks
2. National Monuments
3. National Recreation Areas
4. State Park
5. State Historical Area
6. Bureau of Land Management Recreational Area
7. National Wildlife Reserve

There are probably more we did not encounter, but they are all managed by different organizations and designated by different bodies (ie the president, congress, cabinet department). We did see a sign between Kingston, AZ and the Hoover Dam for Bureau of Lies and Deception which seemed to be protesting the BLM. Not sure, but it was really the only sign we saw. The web address if you are interested is http://www.blmabuse.com.

Other reflections from the road...Zion National Park is my favorite place on earth. The rock structures are amazing, the canyon itself offers such variety of activities from swimming, hiking, biking, climbing, etc etc. (Sorry, no golf though). The Grand Canyon is just way too much, it is worth seeing, but because it's so big, you cannot really grasp its beauty. Everywhere in the park, there are signs with frequently asked questions. One of them is "What's the best place to see the canyon?" To which the park answers "Where ever you feel is best. Sit, relax, reflect. The Canyon and all its glory are special for you."

Items I didn't bring but wish I did:

1. Good fitting pair of jeans
   
2. Instant Mac and Cheese
   
3. Frank Sinatra
   

Items we acquired and I'm glad we did:

1. Sweatpants
   
2. Dust broom and pan
   
3. Metal Pot
   
4. Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet" CD
   
5. Leather cowboy hat (see pictures)
   
6. Rain shell
   
7. Propane camp stove
   

The adage for hikers is "Take only pictures and leave only footprints." We jettisoned several items along the way that we we deemed not worthy to be in our tribe. Here are some of the items that were voted off our trip and where we left them:

1. Assorted grocery bag (Toronto, ON Canada)
   
2. Head and Shoulders Shampoo (Yellowstone, WY)
   
3. Tupperware (Jackson, WY)
   
4. Blessed socks (Bryce Canyon, UT)
   
5. Pete's Wicked Summer Ale 1998 t-shirt (Grand Canyon, AZ)
   
6. Rold Gold Butter Flavored Pretzels (Grand Canyon, AZ)
   
7. Week old raw hamburger patties (Grand Canyon, AZ)
   
8. Propane cylinder (Grand Canyon, AZ)
   
9. Other blessed socks (Grand Canyon, AZ)
   
10. 25 US Dollars (Hoover Dam, NV)
    

Posted pictures for:
Bryce Canyon
Zion Canyon
Grand Canyon

Bon jour!