Welcome to the New Year!

Since our official New Year was full of traveling and moving, we decided to ring in the Chinese New Year by dusting off the blog. We've crossed the country again, and we've got plenty of stories, tips and photos to share. For now, we'll start the new year by recapping where we've been... through "Welcome" signs!

After traveling west to east by bicycle, we headed northeast by car...

And then we turned south... and west...

So here ends our "tumbleweed" year. We're back on the bikes and exploring the southwest. We'll post here from time to time on our lessons learned and great discoveries. Hope you'll share some of your own and enjoy reading!

Wagons Westward

After trying out our new wheels and methods on our 3,000-mile New England road trip, we decided to explore a new section of this great country - the Southwest!  Our latest North American transect took us through Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. We watched the landscape morph from the Atlantic coast to the Appalachians, to the expansive Midwest and high plains, to the buttes, mesas and mountains of the desert.

Here's a glimpse at the evolution of the great American landscape from east to west:

 Climbing Monk's Mound at the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, the ruins of the largest and most complex pre-Columbian city north of Mexico.

Crossing under the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Arch in St. Louis, Missouri - our official entrance into the West!

Crossing the flat (and windy!) plains of Oklahoma

 As we entered New Mexico, the landscape changed rapidly to reveal rough rock bulging through the dry ground...

...evolving into beautiful mountain chains like the Sandias.

Stay tuned for more dispatches from the American Southwest!

Adding It Up

10 States

2 Provinces

15 days

3,000 miles

$1,084.24

During our recent road trip, we often explained our route to folks as, "traveling to Ohio... by way of Maine." This usually led to a few raised eyebrows, which was a perfect opportunity to outline our tour of New England. The next question was usually something like, "How are you able to afford a trip like this?"  The answer is plenty of prior planning and thoughtful saving.

This venture was the perfect opportunity for us to practice traveling frugally, simply and efficiently (by car this time). It gave us a chance to make our own rules, and test how they work. A review of our expenses reveals that it is quite possible to travel comfortably on a limited budget, so we wanted to share the good news with others! Here is a breakdown of costs for a 2-week 3,000-mile car trip through New England:

Gas = $375.29
Tolls = $41.15
Food = $373.50
Lodging = $218.61
Miscellaneous = $106.58

Costs Explained

Transportation - For this trip, we drove a 2003 Subaru Outback. It doesn't get the best gas mileage, but it averaged 28 mpg on highways. More importantly, it had the roominess and driving capabilities that we needed. We were hit hard with tolls around New York, and later opted to select "Avoid Tolls" on our GPS.

Food - We spent $100 on a grocery store stop at the beginning of the trip to stock up on staples like peanut butter, bread, snacks and produce that lasted us beyond the two weeks of traveling. This included several easy-to-cook items that could be mixed and matched for camp-stove dinners like rice and vegetables. When we realized we had stayed under budget, we treated ourselves to a few inexpensive meals "out." Note: Our "food" category also includes tasty local brews from places like the Bar Harbor Brewing Company, Atlantic Brewing Company and some exotic Canadian micros.

Lodging - The majority of our accommodations were tent sites. We were generously received by family and friends in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio (totaling 5 nights). Near the end of the trip, we noticed that the motel next to our KOA had a lower rate than our camping reservation. We cancelled our reservation (losing a $10 deposit), and treated ourselves to a small room with a mattress, cable TV (!), A/C and a clean bathroom all to ourselves. It's hard to believe it was less expensive than a patch of grass and public restroom! Word to the wise - Be on the lookout for better deals, even when you already have a reservation.

Miscellaneous - Most of these purchases were planned outings and fees, including park entry fees/passes and a kayak rental. Note: When traveling abroad (even if it's just across the border to Canada), be prepared for an "international tax" to be added to credit and debit card transactions. If you're only visiting for a short time (like us), and opt not to exchange for foreign currency, the few cents tacked onto your bill can be worth the convenience.

A Successful Experiment

When we finally added up our expenses and compared the numbers to our regular monthly spending, we quickly saw that these 15 days on the road were not tremendously more expensive than staying in our cozy little apartment and living a "normal" life in the suburbs. We are convinced that being able to travel in style does NOT require having lots of money, a travel agent, or a tour bus. So, if you're itching to go out and explore... do it! Just make sure you plan ahead!

Travel for Two

Traveling with a partner can double your fun and sometimes double your challenges. Traveling with your spouse is a sure-fire way to learn about yourselves as a couple. We were recently featured in a wedding/marriage blog about our cross country bicycle ride together. You can read the post here.

Let's Go to Maine

Our longest stop on our current route was Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We had heard great things about the park - from the fall colors to wildlife and things to do. It's essentially a playground for outdoor enthusiasts. It could easily take weeks to explore everything on the island, so we narrowed our list (and adapted to the very wet weather) to a few excursions:

Bar Island (which gives Bar Harbor its name) is only revealed at low tide, revealing tidal ecosystems for a few hours. It seemed to be just as exciting for the gulls as we watched them pick up a shellfish snack and drop it from the sky to crack open a meal. We had to keep our eyes on the tide though, since it is possible to become stranded across the water from Bar Harbor if you're not careful!

Thunder Hole is a popular tourist spot, giving crowds of visitors a chance to catch the sight and sound of thunderous waves crashing as the tide comes in. Despite our timing, the extremely calm ocean decided not to put on a show for us, though we're told that you can expect to get soaked during rough seas.

Sand Beach is the only beach of sand in Acadia, resulting from the cove's effect on the waves and what they carry inland.  On a warmer day, we might have considered swimming. Instead, we walked across the beach to a trail head for a great hike.

The trail took us over rocks, through evergreen woods and past beautiful overlooks of the beach and cove. We moved up into the clouds of mist and rain before heading back down to the beach.

We tried to make the most of our only full day of sunshine.

We started our morning on a tandem kayak exploring Long Pond, which flows between two mountains that were beginning to spark with brightly colored leaves. Our 4-mile paddle included an eagle sighting, as well as loon calls and a bird we've yet to identify!

For the second half of our sunny day, we hopped on our bikes (which had been spending far too much time under a tarp, safe from the rain) and headed for the famous Carriage Trails.

Thanks to John D. Rockefeller, these roads of finely crushed stone are wide enough for a carriage, but are only open to pedestrian and cyclist traffic. They span and loop large sections of the island, and even climb a few mountains. We climbed Day Mountain to give our legs a bit of a stretch. As great as the trails are, however, a good bit of rain can make for slow going on road tires.

Of course, we couldn't leave Acadia without summitting Cadillac Mountain - the highest elevation on the Atlantic, with arguably the best views of the park. So, we did it twice! Unsure how long we'd have sunlight, we drove up to the summit of Cadillac to get some photos from the different vantage points, and were able to get a glimpse of Bar Harbor from the top, including the submerged Bar Island.

The next day, we hiked the North Ridge Trail through the rain, which turned the trail into a stream...

and the climb to the summit into a magical walk through the clouds. 

On our way down from Cadillac, we hiked the Gorge Trail, which had become a roaring creek instead of a rocky path.

It was challenging, and should not be attempted by novice hikers (especially during or after heavy rainfall), but it is a rewarding hike through beautiful forests.

We highly recommend Acadia National Park to anyone seeking unique scenery and outdoor fun... as long as you don't mind getting a little wet!