Chapter 130: Index of the Great American Road Trip

All of the following applies to the Great American Road Trip, an adventure undertaken by myself and Mark.

1. Distance driven between July 8th and August 6th: 7,697 miles
2. Amount by which this increased the mileage of Mark’s Civic: 20%
3. Difference between this and the Earth’s diameter: 229 miles
4. Number of loops around the Capital Beltway the trip represents: 120
5. Length of time this would take a Segway if it never stopped: 27 days
6. Total amount of money spent on gasoline: $894
7. Highest price paid for gasoline, and location: $5.50, Yosemite National Park, California
8. Lowest price paid for gasoline, and location: $3.50, Iowa
9. States driven through, in order of first appearance: Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland
10. Total new states bagged for Mark (his rules, not mine): 9
11. Number of nights spent in hotels, campsites and homes, respectively: 10, 8 and 10
12. Number of prior acquaintances with whom we visited: 24
13. Portion of the nights we spent drinking: 59%
14. Number of consecutive winning Craps rolls thrown by Sam at Casino Royale, Las Vegas: ~12
15. Maximum speed achieved, and location: 106 MPH, Bonneville Salt Flats
16. Maximum temperature recorded, and location: 120 °F, Canyonlands National Park
17. Number of chain eateries we ate at more than once: 0
18. Number of songs on the iPod we listened to more than once: 0
19. Outstanding legal issues that will possibly lead to an arrest warrant being issued by the state of Texas: 1
20. Judgement of the trip as being surprising, boring, dirty, exciting, straining, memorable, lonely, frightening, repetitive, (philosophically) romantic, noteworthy, stressful and unbelievably fulfilling: totally