By the numbers: 21 days, 13 states, 10 National Parks, and 6,363.2 miles

My epic 3-week road trip is now finished. The Subaru Outback has been emptied and is parked silently in front of the house. The maps, brochures, and guidebooks have been stowed away, returned to their rightful owners, or trashed. The dirty laundry has been washed and put away. And I am home recovering from the long drives and resting, and, of course, planning the next road trip somewhere in America. 

It was a wonderful, enlightening, and fabulous trip across the varied landscapes of America, allowing me to see and feel America, from small town life in Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, to gorgeous scenery in some of our greatest National Parks in Colorado and Utah.

I am happy that I was able to plan and achieve this trip before I turn 60 years old in September. I can profess with certainty, and extreme gratitude, that our National Parks are truly an American treasure, the crown jewels of the American landscape.

In the end, here are some "by the numbers" stats on the road trip:

• 21 days of road tripping - from Saturday, June 12, through Friday, July 2
• 6,363.2 total miles traveled - an average of 303 miles per day
• 1 day with 0 miles traveled - inside Zion National Park
• 10 National Parks visited - Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, and Gateway Arch
• 4 National Monuments visited - Scotts Bluff, Colorado, Natural Bridges, and Capulin Volcano
• 1 National Historic Park visited - Homestead in Nebraska
• 1 National Historic Site visited - Chimney Rock in Nebraska
• 1 UNESCO World Heritage Site visited - Mesa Verde National Park
• 1 National Memorial visited - Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania
• 13 states traveled through - Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma
• Highest elevation visited - 12,005 feet at Alpine Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain National Park
• Hottest temperature felt - above 100 degrees in Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park
• 4 crossings of the Continental Divide - all in Colorado
• 2 dams visited - Glen Canyon and Morrow Point
• 1 railroad trip taken - on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
• 2 state parks visited - Dead Horse Point and Goosenecks (both in Utah)
• 1 famous author's boyhood home visited - Mark Twain's in Hannibal, Missouri
• 2 Carnegie libraries spotted - in Monte Vista, Colorado, and Perry, Oklahoma
• 8 interstate highways traveled - I-76, I-70, I-74, I-72, I-80, I-35, I-44, and I-55
• 5 varieties of pie sampled - lemon meringue (2), chocolate cream, coconut cream, double chocolate mousse, and key lime

At the Glen Canyon Dam, with a less than half-full Lake Powell in the background