Since Salt Lake City we have been on the road for three days, 836 miles in almost a straight line up to Bellevue. We’ve traveled 4,023 miles in the past 11 weeks, done so much, seen so much. It’s been great. But once we get close to home at the end of one of our trips, we don’t want to stop, we just long to be home. Spike too.

Spike loves to travel because he gets lots of time on my lap while Patrick is driving and I’m navigating, reading aloud about the terrain we’re traveling through, and dozing. Unfortunately, he exudes fur as he sleeps so that by the end of a day on the road, we’re both covered with gold fur. I finally solved the problem while we were at Capitol Reef National Park: I bought a souvenir apron that I put on as soon as we start out each day – Spike climbs into my lap, and the apron gets all the fur. This is how we roll: