50 States Tour - Highwaying the US

Mission completed! I have seen them all - 50 states of the USA. The very first ones have been Texas and Oklahoma in 1982. The very last ones North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin this year 2012. I had great times when highwaying and hiking through fantastic and bizarre landscapes, especially in the west, and exploring cities and climbing skyscrapers in mostly Eastern cities such as Chicago and New York. I battled the heat of Death Valley at 51 degrees Celsius in a theoretical shade and visited Mount Washington, that recorded a world record wind speed of 321 km/h. I saw numerous wild animals, including several rattlesnakes, lots of buffalo and prairie dogs, bears in Alaska and Wyoming, and much more with my whole family. I saw beautiful national parks. Yes, the best parks of the world are in the U.S. And the best driving, too.

Exactly 12698,4 km this year, 22677 km in 1987 and in between much more miles on top of this made the time I spend in the U. S. being part of the best time of my life. Up to now, I remember most days in very detail. My first high school visit on April 2, 1982, my honeymoon days in 1993. Private trips have been enriched by business trips. And whereever I came through I always met friendly people. Yes, I made it. I lived my dream. I made the unbelievable come true. All started as an "Ambassador of Goodwill" in the 1982 "Friendship Force" program, and contributed to the 50 states completion in 2012. But the story will go on, there is still much to discover personally...

Impressions of the latest tour, the completing 50 states tour that started in Toronto, Canada:

View through a circular window of CN tower, Toronto, Canada.

Official visitor photo of CN tower showing the Schmidt family.

The Schmidt family enjoying Niagara Falls, Canadian View.

Peter at Niagara Falls enjoying the U.S. side's view.

Father and son walking across Brooklyn Bridge, New York City.

Peter enjoying the dynamic water fountains in Battery Park, NYC.

Ground Zero squary water fall into black hole 9/11- memorial, NYC.

Pairy discussions and talks on the Memorial Grounds, NYC.

View of NYC under thunder clouds from Empire State Building.

Peter likes Central Park with its nice bridges and silence, NYC.

Small - tall - thin. Peter's view on the Flatiron building, NYC.

Martina and Peter in front of the Capitol, Washington DC.

Gateway Arch, the begin of the west on Mississippi, St. Louis, MO.

Slaloming the bush and forest fires on the way to the west, OK.

Peter and Raphael with the Schmidt's "mobile home", Watonga, OK.

April 2nd, 1982 Peter went to school here, Moore High in 2012.

Raphael and Ramona exploring the Oregon Trail Prairie with Dad.

The three at Scottsbluff Viewpoint, Oregon Trail, Nebraska.

Rattlesnakes loving each other - Verschlungene Schlangenliebe.

Reaching the Great Divide Basin, Wyoming.

Buffalo claims the right of way, Black Hills Area, South Dakota.

And Harley Davidson Motorcycles replaced the horses parking...

Peter at Mount Rushmore, Black Hills.

The funny Iron Mountain Road with its pigtail curves and bridges...
comes as a "Carrera Bahn under the Christmas tree for kids" style,
yes, America has a real driver's "Belustigungsstraße". See below...

Harleys noising the narrow funny tunnels of Needles Highway.

All funny tunnels of Iron Mountain Road focus on Mount Rushmore.

The Schmidt's have seen mega cities of Prairie Dogs and...

hundreds of buffalo in Dances with Wolves prairie country of SD.

Geographic Center Monument of the U.S. in northwestern SD.

Bright blue skies for a family memory from Mount Rushmore.

Peter in front of the Cloud Gate, Millennium Park, Chicago.

Bizarre views of the world mirrored by the Cloud Gate.

The distortion depends on your position and perception.

Cloud Gate models different ways you perceive the world.

Martina and Peter enjoy the bottomglassy nerve test, Chicago.
View beyond their feet from 103rd floor, 412m high level Sky Deck.

Nerve test in Sears Tower recently renamed Willis tower, Chicago.

Peter sitting on glass 412m above the nighty roads of Chicago.

Martina and Ramona after a three hour thunderstorm and sunset.



Year of latest Site-Maintenance: 2012
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