A good year...

18 State Highpoints (plus one Bonus HP) in 2008:
OR: I actually climbed Mount Hood twice this year, including the second time being a Father's Day summit photo for my dad, and I enjoyed the mountain so much I plan to climb it much more in the future.

ND, SD: The first two State HPs where my wife accompanied me, which made them very special to me. White Butte was a stormy, muddy mess. Harney Peak was an awesome hike and summit lookout.

WI, MN, MI, OH, IN, IL, IA: My largest weekend HP "loop" trip yet, which I now refer to as my Upper Midwest Loop Trip, having driven 2600 miles in 60 hours. Yikes!!! (More on this trip explained below.)

WV, MD, PA, CT, RI, NJ, DE, + Washington, D.C. (Bonus HP): Another weekend HP "loop" trip. Meeting Doreen was the highlight of the trip.

AZ: With money tight towards the end of the summer (limiting my available funds for flights) and a sister of mine (who lives in Arizona) having serious health issues, I decided to place family first and visited my sister in August rather than attending the Annual Konvention the following month. One of these years I will make it to one. Fortunately, I had one spare day during my visit to make an attempt of Humphreys Peak... and it was a successful summit.
------------

This year brought my State Highpoint total up to 32, plus one of the Bonus HPs. Not bad, considering I began my State Highpointing quest in only June 2007. This year also brought my most ambitious weekend HP "loop" trip thus far. My Upper Midwest Loop Trip was a total of 60 hours long, both starting and finishing at Minneapolis Airport, but if I take out approximately three hours for hiking & exploring HPs during that trip it is more accurate to say I actually drove 2600 miles in 57 hours... or approximately 45 minutes per hour (average) of driving. This also includes several "power naps" during the trip.

Fortunately for me, none of the remaining possible "loop" trips (Northeastern U.S. & Southeastern U.S.) are near as ambitious as this year's trips were. Living in the western United States it has really helped me save time & money by planning several such weekend HP "loop" trips in different regions of the country, as the highpoints on the western side of the country tend to be far away from each other and require more time to plan & prepare for attempts.