Odometer check: 6304.9 miles. The first cries of "How much longer?" in 31 days on the road have been ringing through the rental minivan … The kids are ready to be home. Meanwhile, the game of Dad's fuel estimate versus the trip computer's DTE (distance to empty) is on. I need to drive this rental down to the "E" line to stretch every last dollar out of the fuel tank purchase. It's gonna be close.

Um, it's hot.

Talk of traveling to Italy to visit (very) distant cousins was how this trip began, so on day 30 we visited … The Venetian. K. found St. Mark's Square to be "beautiful." Though neither Cynthia nor I recall seeing any Blue Men in the actual square in Venice. Italy is missing out. Last night, we dined at the Flamingo with one of my college roommates, Lich Tran, who does marketing for Harrah's properties. Although we...

Make it six Wal-Mart stops in 29 days (including two in Broken Arrow), this one because the kids earned some mythical "surprise," though I can't recall for what. This is the nicest one, slightly edging the one in Cody, Wyo.; five of the six are nicer than ours in Long Beach.

Day 29. Take that National Park Service: Four national parks hit on our $80 annual pass … Advantage, us! Weather's mild today, low 90s, helped by some cloud cover. I'm torn between enjoying the view and running blackjack hand scenarios in my head. This is the view from the Zion Lodge, looking north, a nice grassy picnic ground in the middle. We're surrounded by canyons, each more impressive than the next. Cynthia is capturing...

Getting off the interstate for some grub...

Another place I didn't expect we'd see in 2009, the town is cradled within the high peaks and plateaus of the Colorado River valley. We've stopped here for a late lunch before visiting Arches National Park. We arrived via Utah SR-128, a 40-mile stretch of road that follows the river path through the scenic canyon. Along the way, we saw rafters, some on tours from Moab and others who entered the water at one of the many launches and...

We rode the gondola atop one of the ski runs here in Vail. The highest peak behind the kiddoes is Mount of the Holy Cross, one of 15 peaks in the Rockies that exceeds 14,000 feet. (I just read that.) Having been rained out of our last rodeo night in Cody, Wyo., we're hitting the Beaver Creek rodeo tonight with the two traveling Long Beach Worden families, with whom we're enjoying a couple of nights in Avon. (Thanks, everyone, for all...

Outside the Coors plant … P. (age 4): "It smells gross." Me (age 40): "It smells like Grape Nuts." P.: "I don't like that, I only like Star Wars."

Cynthia getting maximum use of her new hat, as we tour the Coors plant. We're sitting in the downstairs lounge, sampling two-day-old beer. Kids had fun listening to the audio...