Buchholzs in a Burro: Our Last Month and Entire Trip: By the Numbers

We all went a little crazy by the end.

On August 26th, we arrived back home after nearly six months of being on the road. Here is our final "by the numbers" post for the month of August and our entire trip...

August Numbers
(Note, we only spent about 3 weeks on the road in August)
2,291: Number of miles traveled in August
18: Nights spent in the Burro in August
7: Nights spent in friends' homes and yards in August (thank you, Bill and Suzi Brokaw, and the whole Beckley family)
6: Number of states visited in August (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
2: Number of National Park/Monument sites visited in August (Great Sand Dunes National Park, Effigy Mounds National Monument)
1: Number of National Forests visited in August (Pike National Forest)
7: Number of State Parks camped in during August (Lake Scott and Pottawatomie #2 in KS, Mark Twain and Wakonda in MO, Maquoketa Caves and Pikes Peak in IA, Whitewater in MN)
15: Number of nature centers, visitor centers, discovery centers, and museums visited in August
56: Number of chigger bites we endured in August (and, yes, they are STILL itching)
1: Number of shrines visited in August (Mark Twain Memorial Shrine... what would Twain say about that???)
1: Number of lighthouses visited in August (What?? Yep, a Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse in Hannibal, MO. Needless to say, it's just for show.)
8: Number of caves explored at Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa (we had to crawl on our bellies to see most of them)
41: Number of effigy mounds seen in Effigy Mounds National Monument (3 of them were bears)
24: Number of different types of apples tasted from trees at Seed Savers Exchange orchard (Iowa)
600: Number of steps climbed to get to the top of the Elba Fire Tower (Minnesota)
1: Number of garage sales we stopped at to stock up on books and toys for the long ride home

The only way to play in water.

Entire Trip Numbers
175: Total number of days on the road (March 4 to August 26, 2015)
18,511: Total number of miles traveled (should've driven a bit more to get to 20,000!)
17.3: Total average MPG (normally get about 30 mpg without pulling the trailer, and averaged 19 mpg driving west. Wasn't this supposed to go up as the wind pushed us back east??)
124: Total nights spent in the Burro during the entire trip (about 70%... not bad!)
52: Total nights spent in friends' homes and yards during the trip (thank you, thank you, thank you!)
3: Total number of nights spent in a hotel (hey, it was cold the first few days!)
3: Total number of nights spent in a tent (Perdido Key, FL and Madera Canyon, AZ)
2: Total number of nights spent in Walmart parking lots (convenient, but strange)
26: Total number of states visited during the trip (WI, IL, IN, KY, TN, NC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, UT, AZ, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, CO, KS, MO, IA, MN)
36: Total number of National Park/Monument/Recreation Area sites visited during the trip
13: Total number of National Forests visited during the trip
16: Total number of Junior Ranger badges that Walden earned
$270: Number of dollars saved by using our America the Beautiful Annual Pass to get into federal recreation sites (thank you, Mom and Dad Buchholz!)
22: Total number of state parks visited during the trip
61: Number of patches that Jim bought for his collection (going to need another wall board)
27: Number of pressed pennies that Walden made during the trip
3: Number of nature collection boxes that Walden filled during the trip
(including a Kleenex box that he affectionately called the "snot box")
50: Extra pounds of collected rocks hauled back to Wisconsin
2: Number of real dates that Jim and Sunshine had alone during the trip (thank you, Grammie and Grandpa Steffensen, and Grandma and Grandpa Buchholz!)
300: Number of miles (at least) that we hiked... with Walden on Jim's back (not surprisingly, Jim also lost weight during the trip)
32°: The coldest temperature that it got inside the Burro (Santa Fe, NM)
105°: The hottest temperature that it got inside the Burro (Hells Canyon, ID)
16%: Greatest slope that we hauled the Burro up (Hells Canyon)
$4.50: Most we paid for a gallon of gas (Yosemite National Park)
6: Total number of new tires purchased (2 for the Burro, 4 for the CR-V)
643: Number of huckleberries picked and eaten (mmmmmmmmmmm)
2: Number of places we used the awning on the Burro (both for rain/hail storms; not the sun like we expected)
5: Number of times Jim caulked the front window on the Burro to stop leaks (yep, it's still leaking)
1: Number of "clothing optional" trails we hiked (hooray for Idaho hot springs!)
11,128: Total number of photos taken on the trip (anybody up for a slide show???)
Countless: Number of times we've wondered when we'll do it again