Summer is here, and a new crew is about to take the reins of the Wienermobile. Class 23 had buns of fun trekking cross-country through 47 states (maybe next year, we’ll visit North Dakota), but after 12 months on the road, it’s time to hand off the keys. Relive the ride with the links below– each highlighted word links to a past Hotdogger Blog post.

Class 23 got to meat each other for a short time in Madison, Wisconsin before hitting the road. Since then we’ve visited each other’s families and alma maters while travelling everywhere from the East Coast to the West Coast to the often-overlooked No Coast. We went from Portland to Portland and Salem to Salem. We travelled from Baconnecticut to Arkansausage and everywhere in between.

We worked in summer scorchers and winter blizzards. We met famous folks and other well-known wheels. We saw big cities and small towns, tall towers and rural farms.

We went on a Good Mood Mission, fighting hunger in Colorado and promoting education in Memphis. We celebrated Christmas in Alabama and the 4th of July in Iowa. We donated blood in Texas and Illinois, visited seniors in South Dakota, and went to prom in Dallas. It’s been truly bunreal.

But now, after driving on the beach, through the Redwoods, and across the desert–stopping at Niagara Falls (twice)– the road trip has come to an end.

Franks a lot to everyone who followed our traveldogue this year. Stay tuned– Class 24 hits the blog tomorrow.

Bun voyage,

Class XXIII

IWSHIWR made a new friend in Issaquah, Washington. We stopped for lunch en route from Spokane to Seattle at XXX Root Beer, the most all-American restaurant in the country, and found the tour bus for the legendary Buddy Holly and the Crickets. As a big fan of Buddy Holly, I was a little envious that the two vehicles got to ketchup in the parking lot.

When I’m not hanging out at the grocery store or waving to strangers at red lights, I like to get out and explore the local parks of each city I visit. I ventured out in Portland, Oregon on a recent sunny day with my trusty soccer ball in tow and I ended up in the smallest city park in the world… a mere 2 feet across.

Yes, this beautiful patch of dirt has been an official city park since 1976. Next time you’re in Portland, just remember that Mill Ends Park is terrible for soccer, but ideal if you’re looking for an incredibly easy hike.

As a Hotdogger, I truly appreciate the opportunity to visit towns I never would have seen without the Wienermobile, and Salmon, Idaho is definitely one of those towns. We drove deep into the deserts of eastern Idaho to visit this remote, scenic spot (with a population of only 3,000 and a location nearly 3 hours from any major city), where the local folks won a visit from the Wienermobile in Oscar Mayer’s recent Facebook contest.  Click here to see if your town is also among the other 74 winners in Oscar Mayer’s ”Visit My Town” contest on Facebook.

While in Salmon, we got to meat the Cub Scouts of Pack 283, who stopped by to act like hot dogs in everyone’s favorite frankfurter fitness routine–Wienaerobics!

Guten Dog from Missoula– the home of the University of Montana. It’s a Missoula tradition to visit campus and hike the trail of switchbacks to the giant concrete “M” overlooking the city. Rumor has it Missoula’s city council planned on adding an extra “A-Y-E-R,” as a Hollywood-esque tribute to our favorite hot dog company, but they ran out of concrete.

“The M” sits on a huge hill just behind University Hall and, even though it’s a huge underfranking, the trail is full of hikers all day long. Once you arrive at the top, you get a chance to catch your breath, ad-Mayer the beautiful city of Missoula, and see the true size of the monstrous, massive “M”. 

Let it be known that on May 1, 2011 at 11:03 AM, IWSHIWR hit the 200,000 mile mark in Tacoma, Washington.

Smiley Kylie and I have been counting down the miles since January, and we celebrated our trusty 2004 Wienermobile vehicle’s big moment the only way we know how… with confetti poppers. Congratulations, IWSHIWR.

The Wienermobile witnessed some meaty street dancing in Boise, when this 8-member crew from Idaho Rhythm showed up to stomp the yard at the grocery store parking lot. The team was out pop, lock, and droppin’ to raise money for a trip to the regional dance tournament in Salt Lake City, but they took a break to break it down at the Wienermobile.

Click on the image below to watch Idaho Rhythm jammin’ to the Oscar Mayer jingle.

The Wienermobile travels in all types of weather, but the windstorm we witnessed on our first day in the Big Sky State was bunprecedented. We pulled into our event at the grocery store in Stevensville,  Montana and witnessed dozens of tumbleweeds ripping towards us across the parking lot.  It was like driving through a Wild West Wienermobile movie like “A Fistful of Doggers,” ”3:10 to Yummy,” or “Bunsmoke.”

Click the image below to watch tumbleweeds tear it up at our event in Stevensville.

 The Northwest Team made it to Wyoming–the last state in population, but the first in our hearts. 

Smiley Kylie and I spent a day in Jackson, near the gates of Grand Teton National Park, and discovered that you’re never too far from wildlife in Wyoming. Hotdoggers are used to sharing the road, but this was the first time we’d seen bighorn sheep blocking traffic.

FUN FACT: Wyoming is 93 times larger than Rhode Island in land area, but has only half the population.

Boise is busy–it’s Idaho’s largest city, the state capitol, and home to the state’s largest university–but it’s just a short drive to arrive in the wide-open spaces of the West. Smiley Kylie and I drove the Wienermobile to Table Rock and, in just a few minutes, we were standing on a slab of rock overlooking the city. IWSHIWR couldn’t come to the top with us, but she got a pretty bunbelievable view of the neighboring foothills while she waited on the road.