Saturday, August 15, 2020

2020 Big Truck across the Upper Peninsula - HOME!

Day 15 started with a... nevermind, this is the final day so you won't get a detailed rundown of our nonsense. What you will get is a wrapup post with a bunch of nerdy stats. This is that.

But first, in order to pull off a trip like this and put our lives on hold for 2 weeks, it takes a lot of help. Big thanks to Ed, Lynn, and the team at Cento Anni for covering while I was gone. 

Takas family - thank you for taking care of our goodest boy Reggie, we know he can be a bit to handle but you guys know him the best.

Hayley - thanks for taking care of Jordan's pet bird Rio (yes, the family keeps growing), she misses him so much and the updates along the way were fantastic!

Thanks to everyone that gave us recommendations, suggestions, firsthand reviews, etc along the way. This trip had a lot of those and it helps tremendously to have intel like this.

Thank you to our families for covering for us while we were gone and putting up with our texts, millions of pics, instagram posts, and other communication. 

On to the nerdery:


Total miles

  • 1310 on the Big Truck, one of our shorter trips but that's because we focused on fewer home bases and more day trips.
  • 600+ on the Jeep, I forgot to set the odometer but had a rough idea where we started. These were the fun miles, backroads, gravel drifting, 2 tracks, scenic byways, and late night rockhunting excursions

State parks visited - 3

Beaches - 5 (this is a tough one for me and my people, but we fared well with the SPFs)

Dips in a frigid Lake Superior - 4

Dips in a more frigid Lake Michigan - 2 (including this morning, a farewell swim at Wilderness, me knowing what was in store for me in about 3 more steps)



Mechanical issues - 2, 1 broken battery terminal bolt (vise grips are STILL HOLDING) and one ornery pilot light on the oven that interrupted a delicious Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese entree

*Sorry - one more that doesn't quite qualify as a mechanical issue - Kimberly's bike being officially retired. I am convinced that she will never ride that thing again, mostly because she emphatically told both of us that she will never ride that thing again.

Whitefish dinners ordered - at least 5, with the top choice being the Jamaican Whitefish at the Brownstone Inn

Photos taken - all of them

Books read - 2 by me, probably 10 by Kimberly 



Days (out of 14) with cell service - 5

Debilitating crashes or mechanical failures due to lack of biking ability - 0.0, a new record!

Memories created - infinite.

This trip was a bit different for us, undertaken during a worldwide pandemic, expanding the "Phone, keys, wallet" preflight checklist to "Phone, keys, wallet, mask", fewer destinations, more time spent in each, and having an almost teenager to lend an opinion to the trip planning was a new experience.

Given this new reality, and the slow realization that having a teenager in the house is going to change the dynamic of future trips, this image probably best sums up the feeling after this one. 


Sunlight fading on the days of having a kid join us on adventures, the new dawn holding an exciting new chapter with a young adult (a super annoying, moody, hilarious, and impossibly sarcastic one) at our side.



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