WE ARE HOME! After some traffic delays in Atlanta, we arrived in Woodstock, Georgia, in the late afternoon. The rest of the day was spent unloading the RV, since what went in must come out.  We definitely had overpacked. Basically, we had packed for a 12-month trip through Canada, the U.S., and Central and South America. Next time we will travel lighter.
We are thankful that we made it home safely and will cherish our memories. Here are some final thoughts and take-aways:

1. We drove 6164 miles and filled our gas tank 22 times (we usually filled the tank when 3/4 empty)
2. We camped in 7 states, bringing our total to 15 states we have camped in since we started RVing
3. It is no longer the boys that request frequent bathroom breaks on road trips – now it is Cliff and I who need them
4. If you are that passenger that keeps hollering “stop” over and over, chances are you will be ignored by the driver
5. If google maps says the trip takes 4 hours, add 3 hours to it
6. Photography is definitely a sport – it takes a tremendous amount of walking, climbing, balancing, and battling other tourists for the perfect spot to get a good shot
7. If you are an RVer with cats at home, be prepared to miss them terribly – and keep in mind that they might not miss you at all
8. If you are an infection preventionist, DO NOT watch other RVers handle their RV’s sewer line

We hope you enjoyed following our journey!!

Almost home. After another long day of driving we arrived at the campground in Decatur, Alabama. We drove through four states today: Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. Driving through Memphis was difficult as the roads were rough and we had to change freeways multiple times. A wrong turn landed us off the freeway and in a run-down area but we were able to find the way back to our route quickly. Turning around with a 40 foot RV in tow is not always an easy endeavor. Thankfully, we have not gotten stuck anywhere during the trip, but Cliff almost took out a street sign in Albuquerque and a gate pole at the Meteor Crater parking lot, causing some damage to our foldable stair railing. Could have been worse. Since the Atlanta Falcons are playing tonight, we are spending our last night of the trip watching the game in the RV. It is nice to be able to sit back and relax after four straight days on the road.

We made it to Little Rock, Arkansas. Another 429 miles further east and we are definitely back in the South. It is humid and the mosquitoes are out in full force. The boys have been mosquito hunting in the RV. This morning, Cliff had to get onto the roof of our 13 foot RV to reattach a piece of moulding that had come loose during our drive yesterday. Since we did not have the appropriate screws with us to reattach the moulding, Cliff duct taped the piece to the roof and it looks like it will hold until we get home. Overall, damage to the RV has been minimal even though we have been on some very rough roads and have hit quite a few potholes. In addition to the moulding on the roof coming off, we had two pieces of decorative moulding come off inside the RV. Yesterday, the propane tank compartment door kept opening during driving, so Cliff fixed that this morning as well. We have heard many stories of other RVers about major RV parts breaking and are glad that we have not had to deal with any major issues during this trip so far. 
While the RV has been surviving well, we were notified of some issues back at the house. According to our house-and-cat-sitting son, our dryer at home broke and our mischievous cat Zeus has pushed more glasses off the table. He likes to watch them fall and shatter. We have one glass left. Thank God we both work so we can support our free-spirited cat's habits.

From the golden brown California desert, through the red rock landscape of Arizona, the green high desert of New Mexico, and the flat Texas plains, we are back in Oklahoma. Today we drove 434 miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Elk City, Oklahoma, and filled our gas tank for the 18th time this trip. We typically get gas when the tank is 3/4 empty, so not every tank had to be filled completely. Still, an astonishing number. Overall, we have driven over 5000 miles. Tomorrow we will continue our journey towards home.

This morning we left Flagstaff, wishing we could have stayed a bit longer to enjoy the small-town eclectic atmosphere. The pleasant  temperatures in Flagstaff reminded me of summers in Germany. However, since we must work for a living and have co-workers who are eagerly awaiting our return, we thought it was best to pack up and continue  our way  home. We took a little detour to see Arizona's meteor crater, the best preserved impact crater in the world. After pictures with aliens and astronauts we stood at the rim of the crater - it was quite impressive and humbling. I bought a tiny piece meteorite oxide and am now the proud owner of a piece from outer space. 
On our drive to Albuquerque we encountered multiple severe thunderstorms that were beautiful to look at but difficult to drive through. With high winds and heavy rain that made it nearly  impossible to see the road, Cliff hung on to the steering wheel while I hollered out what I considered life-saving directions on how to drive through a severe storm. We somehow survived and entered Albuquerque through a massive rainbow.

Today we visited Sedona. What a beautiful town, but quite a bit warmer and sunnier than Flagstaff. My attire once again included long sleeves and a sun hat. The views on the drive down to Sedona were stunning and for anyone uncomfortable with heights, quite an adventure. The boys were delighted to see the only McDonalds in the world with a blue logo. Building codes ensure that structures in Sedona blend in with the surrounding scenery and it had been determined that the red and yellow palette would stick out too much. We also saw the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is built into the red rocks, and explored some of the scenic drives. Thunderstorms rolled into the area in the early afternoon and we headed back up to Flagstaff. I did get some beautiful pictures of the red rocks with the storm clouds above them. Back at the RV we celebrated Cliff's birthday with a cake, although he was not too excited about the addition of another year.

Surrounded by flash flood warnings, we stayed at our campsite today. Multiple areas in the vicinity had experienced recent flash flooding and we had seen houses that were protected with sandbags and roads that were damaged. Our campground sits at the base of a mountain, which provides the perfect terrain for producing rapid runoff. Luckily, although rain fell all around us, our campground stayed dry. Some neighborhoods near us had to evacuate. 
We invited my former coworker and friend Diana over for a campsite dinner and we all enjoyed a campfire at the end of the day.

We are heading back east. Today we drove to Flagstaff, Arizona, where we will stay for two days. It is absolutely beautiful here; pine trees everywhere and cooler temperatures. In the evening we visited Diana, my former coworker and friend. She cooked a delicious meal for us and we enjoyed the evening at her house.

Today we drove to Ridgecrest to visit Cliff's family. The desert town is set against the backdrop of the tail end of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is home to China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. Cliff was able to see how much Ridgecrest has changed since he last saw it. We drove by the high school he attended and the house he lived in, which was fun for the boys to see. We all enjoyed visiting with his family and everyone had a great time.
We also heard on the news that Death Valley flooded again today. Per CBS News: "Flash flooding at Death Valley National Park triggered by heavy rainfall on Friday buried cars, forced officials to close all roads in and out the park and stranded about 1,000 people". That could have been us had we visited the park today instead of yesterday. I had an eerie feeling yesterday driving to the park and did not trust the weather. The road we drove yesterday flooded today. Our original plan had been to visit Cliff's family on Thursday and go to Death Valley today, Friday. However, we ended up changing our plans and switched the days. I had been disappointed that the weather at Death Valley was hazy and windy, not the best conditions for photography, but today I am just glad we were able to visit the park without ending up in a flash flood.
Tonight is our last night here in Barstow. It is a beautiful warm night without the high humidity that we typically endure in the South. I find the desert truly beautiful and wish we had a few more days here. Tomorrow we are heading back to Flagstaff, Arizona.

What a day! We made it to Death Valley after a somewhat nerve-racking drive. The national park and surrounding area had experienced significant and dangerous flash flooding a few days ago with some flash flood warnings still in place. We checked the park website in the morning and saw that the park and the roads we planned on taking were open. Ready to see another national park, we left the campground and headed north. After an hour we were driving on a two lane desert road with no other cars in sight. Just us and the desert. A lot of desert. We even drove through a dust storm, which was a new experience for me and the boys. Above us, though, storm clouds were brewing and it started raining. We passed areas of road damage caused by the recent flash flood event. I pulled up the weather app and saw a new flash flood warning for the county we were driving through. It had just been issued, stating that rain had started to fall and advising people to immediately get out of the area. We tried to get more detail on the exact location of the warning, but suddenly had no longer cell phone service. I nervously started eating snacks, thinking I would need energy reserves for swimming in flash flood waters that surely were already barreling towards us. The sky got darker and I continued to eat. Cliff entertained us by telling flash flood stories. I ate some more. Coming from congested Atlanta I never thought I would wish for other cars to be on the road. But here I did. Just in case. Miraculously, we momentarily had cell phone service again, just long enough to see that the area of most concern was further west. So we kept driving, determined to make it to Death Valley. 
We entered the national park around noon with extremely strong winds blowing throughout the area. The thermometer at the visitor center read 107 degrees. While Cliff and the boys wore shorts and T-shirts like most other visitors in the park, I wore long pants, a T-shirt, and a jacket due to my skin's allergic reaction to the sun. As if that was not enough clothing in 107 degree weather, I had to put on two face masks to protect my face from the hot, strong winds. Unfortunately, before I thought of wearing face masks, I had already spent about 15 minutes in the wind unprotected, which led to a painful windburn in my face. I had applied sunscreen to my face, but had not anticipated such strong winds. I am starting to believe that I was supposed to live on another planet, one without heat, sun, or wind.
Death Valley was beautiful. We went to the lowest point in the United States and stood at 282 feet below sea level, ran through sand dunes, and stopped for breathtaking views of the valley.  Surely, a day to remember.