To make a long story short - My Jeep had to have some work done, so it was a much longer vacation than had planned for - but hey, who's complaining, right? Man, it was quite an experience.
I drove about 4,200 miles, and saw a helluva lot in between those miles. I'll be opening a new thread soon with some tidbits of what went on! Just got back at 1:00 this morning.