Lessons Learned

Thanks to everyone for reading, encouraging us on the road, and meeting up with us! We had an amazing trip with too much driving, not enough hiking, and just enough family time. We have jumped back into life at a breakneck pace and are enjoying our new little spot in the woods.

We learned a ton this year but this is about all we can remember!

Don't wait until July to camp in a tent in Louisiana.
In Texas they have gas station with shooting ranges.
Daddy Long Legs sleep in nests that at first glance look like a clump of hair.
A cow killer ant doesn't actually kill cows.
Texas dumpsters make you think twice about throwing things away.

New mom bats and pups eat 100% of their body weight every night and others eat 60%.
Bats can hear the footsteps of desert centipedes on the ground.
When mom bats give birth their offspring is 40% of their body weight.
Wolf and bat young are both called pups.
Each square foot of the Carlsbad Cavern cave contains 200 adult bats or 400 pups.
The Brazilian free-tailed bats that live in the Carlsbad Cavern have bodies no bigger than the size of two adult thumbs put together but their wing span is much bigger.
95% of the formations in Carlsbad Caverns are dry or inactive.
While most people are frightened of bats, only 6 people per year are actually bitten and that is because they are usually trying to help a sick bat.
Flies in southern California don't like the smell of Vicks vaporub.
I can always watch a sunrise.
Of the 42,000 Native Americans that served in Vietnam, 90% volunteered for the service.
Approximately 1 in 4 eligible Native Americans served in Vietnam compared to 1 in 12 of the general population.
Kangaroo rats have pouches but not for carrying babies. They are on the outside of their cheeks and are used for carrying seeds back to their burrows.
This is what the bark of a pine tree looks like that has been visited by the Acorn Woodpecker. He works hard hiding those acorns!










The Golden Gate Bridge opened for traffic on May 28, 1937 after more than 4 years of construction. Work on the bridge is never finished. To prevent corrosion steel has been painted continuously since opening day.
Owls sitting on a picnic table in the dark look like big cats.
Cougars were once found in all 48 contiguous states and now only in 14.
Cougars are obligate carnivores since they must eat meat to survive.
Because of their height Redwoods fog provides the moisture the top half of the tree needs.
Oregon cormorants use bird poop to keep their nests together.
Skunks only spray as a last resort because it takes a week to build back up.
Ryan's eyebrows still go up and down right before she wakes up.
California male sea lions can grow up to 850 pounds and 7 feet in length!
Mt Rainier has 25 glaciers!
The ways we tricked and swindled all kinds of Native American tribes of their land is embarrassing and sad.
The total men enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps were 3, 463,766.  40,000+ enrollees were taught to read.  125,000 miles of road was built by the CCC. That's one successful program!
We drove from tsunami evacuation zones to volcano evacuation zones.
Humans are the greatest threat to both bats and wolves due to habitat destruction and killing them because of human fear and misunderstanding.
Bats pollinate many types of foods including peaches, cashews, and avocados.
Bat guano is one of the world's best fertilizers.
In the days leading up to the Mt St Helens eruption in 1980 the interest rate was 20%!
The 2 month period leading up to the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens had 10,000 earthquakes.
Having a sick kid on the road is no fun for mom or kid!
I will never camp in or near a place with the word "Death" in it.
An overnight at a hotel can refuel our family like almost nothing else.
Walmart grocery bags in California are SUPER strong and thick, washable, and reusable up to 125 times. New Mexico only uses paper bags. Both charge 10 cents per bag.
Sequoia tree bark is up to 31 inches thick!
In the Grand Canyon when we were visiting the Phantom Ranch (campground inside the canyon) temperature of the sand 150 degrees! I guess I need to stop complaining!

12,367.7 miles, 51 days, and 1.2 million laughs later we arrived home. Thank you for coming along on our journey with us. I'm not sure what future summers hold for the Clarke family, but I will certainly post our next adventure here!  Keep exploring!