Facts and Figures

Number of states visited: 16
Miles driven: roughly 6,200
Tanks of gas: 21


FOOD/LODGING

Best breakfast: Columbian Cafe, Astoria, OR
Best lunch: Cancun Tacqueria, San Francisco, CA
Best dinner: Ad Hoc, Yountville, CA
Best burger: Dick's, Seattle, WA
Best sandwich: (split vote) Baguette Box and Salumi, both Seattle, WA
Best donut: Voodoo Donut, Portland, OR
Best pizza: Apizza Scholls, Portland, OR
Best taco: Santa Monica, CA
Best "scone": Mom's, Salina, UT
Best farmer's market: (split vote) Santa Monica, CA, and Portland, OR
Best dessert: Blueberry pie at the Lincoln, NE farmer's market
Best hotel: The Jupiter Hotel, Portland, OR
Best chain hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Denver, CO

SHOPPING/ENTERTAINMENT

Best vintage store: Montana Vintage Clothing, Billings, MT
Best record store: Jackpot, Portland, OR
Best book store: (split vote) The Tattered Cover, Denver, CO, and Elliott Bay Books, Seattle, WA
Best yoga: 8 Limbs Capital Hill, Seattle, WA
Best cultural activity: (split vote) Against Me! at the Capitol Hill Block Party, Seattle, WA, and fancy fancy party, Los Feliz, CA
Best reason to put on your bathing suit: (tie) Glenwood Hot Springs, CO, and Lake Mcconaughy, NE
Best reason to take off your bathing suit: Golden Haven Spa, Calistoga, CA

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Best city park: Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC
Best national park: Badlands, SD
Best neighborhood: (split vote) Los Feliz, Los Angeles, and Fremont, Seattle
Best state: Oregon
Best city: (split vote) Seattle, WA, and Los Angeles, CA
Best beach: Cannon Beach, OR
Best college town: Madison, WI
Best tourist trap: Carhenge, NE


PEOPLE

Best brother: Ben Straub
Best kid: Hazel Beaman
Best person with four legs: Irving Merritt
Best stranger: Chef at Columbian Cafe
Best waiter: Ross at Ad Hoc
Best mom: Mom's
Best celebrity: MK Olsen
Best crowd: Capitol Hill Block Party
Best salesperson: Montana Vintage Clothing
Best blog commentators: Peter and Susan Straub
Best special guest star: All of them-- that means you, Mike, Jenny, Heather, Ben, Gina, Edan, Patrick, Omar, Stephin, Ethan, Irving, Charles, Sarita, Andrew, Alex, Lydia, Kristina, John, Hazel, Tyler, and Against Me!
Best source: (tie) Anthony Bourdain and the Sterns


MISC

Best gadget: Sirius Radio, in a surprise victory over the iPhone
Best programming on Sirius Radio: Bon Jovi's performance at Live Earth
Best foreign city: Vancouver, BC
Best place name: What Cheer, IA
Best car: Chunky Monkey
Best reason to come home: (tie) Killer and Gravy

WY, SD, MN: We'll keep pushin' till it's understood

Well, we did it. 25 days. Over 6000 miles. We're home with our kitties, tired and happy as clams. This'll be our last picture post, but sometime this weekend we'll post stats and best ofs. Until then, thanks for reading.

Now, Emma with the captions one last time.

Big, yes. I'm not sure we saw enough to validate the second claim. Our atlas told us that Wyoming is the least populated state in the union. How about that.

Here's what we did in Wyoming: drive.
We had a good feeling about South Dakota. Above, Mike looks as presidential as possible.

Just because we had high hopes does not mean that we weren't also a little bit terrified.

Yes, we really went to Mount Rushmore. Further proof below.
Proof that we were there at the same time.
Proof that I looked at it.
Proof that Mike looked at it, too.
The best part of the visit, at least for Mike, was the cool water-spritzing tent. There were hundreds of people with camcorders attached to their faces, however, and they might disagree.

After Mount Rushmore, we drove straight to Wall Drug. If you've ever been to South of the Border, it's very similar, but Wall Drug kicks SotB's ass.
What, are you surprised?

You must be faking. I mean, you should understand us by now.
So big they need a map.
Afterwards, we classed ourselves up by hitting Badlands National Park. Now, loyal readers will perhaps remember me saying that I was not a National Park sort of girl, but I take it back. Badlands was astonishing. And I'm not just saying that because I like Bruce Springsteen, Martin Sheen, and Sissy Spacek, although of course they don't hurt the cause.
This felt very Fleetwood Mac.
Mike leapt out of the car and scrambled up this hill. Only later did we read about the abundance of rattlesnakes.

Dinosaur gas, we'll miss you.
The Corn Palace, in Mitchell, SD. The building itself is made of standard materials. Only the pictures and the marquee are made of corn. Don't be less impressed.


Okay, now you can be less impressed. Inside, the Corn Palace was a high school gym.

We hit Minnesota pretty late. No, I was not drinking. Cars make me sleepy. Should I have told Mike that before we left?

The Mississippi River, entering Wisconsin.

And there you have it, folks. We are back in gorgeous, lovely Madison, curled up with our gorgeous, lovely kitties. Or at least we would be if it wasn't 95 degrees. Still, we are home and happy. Thanks so much for coming with us.

In a day or two, we're going to post some stats (miles driven, states visited) and highlights (best burger, worst city). Check back soon.

much love, and thanks again---
E + M

Maybe It should have been Against Me!, Donuts, Desert

Not only are we almost home, but the last day on the road we show up on mtv.com. It's quite a nice little victory lap.

Thanks, James.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1565969/20070731/index.jhtml