Top 10 Roadtrip Tidbits

1. The worst gas mileage was 4.8 MPG, going up an 8% grade in passing gear with our "light" load.
2. Most interesting thing in our "light" load: a set of bear claws being salted down and dried out. (From Robin's bear he got in December ... the paws had been in the freezer until the week before our move when Robin took out the claws.)
3. Another interesting thing packed was fresh bluefin tuna from Robin's latest 226 lb. + catch. (And some bear sausage and halibut, of course).
   
4. Bowling Green, KY gas stations are all owned by one person. This monopoly results in an extreme gas hike on Thursdays (you can set your watch by it). Within one hour, all the gas station prices in town went up 33 cents.
5. Do not, repeat, do not engage the border guards in Canada or in the U.S. in any sort of conversation other than the task at hand: getting across the border without inspections. It's illegal to take any sort of animal hide, rack (and maybe bear claws?) into Canada. In addition, this is not the time, repeat NOT the time, to ask about transporting firearms.
   
6. Red beer is a delicious drink. I tried it and liked it, plus the recipe is really easy: One glass of cold beer and some cold tomato juice to taste. It sounds nasty but it's really good.
7. Don't buy an atlas that is on sale. Robin found what seemed like a really good deal from Big Lots: $5 for a 2011 atlas. While looking up our route for Utah and Washington, we discovered that it was missing all the states that came after the letter "T."
   
8. Temperatures ranged from 84 degrees in North Carolina to -2 degrees in Frisco, Colorado.
   
9. We had snow in every state, including a record 5" in St. Louis, MO and white out conditions that forced us to pull over on the interstate in Oregon.
10. It is still colder in Iowa than in Alaska. This week it has been unusually sunny with blue skies and 50 degree temperatures in Kodiak, while Iowa has it 20 degrees and 4 inches of new snow!