Those are some unbelievable pictures. I like to take pictures everywhere I go and I have over 35,000 of my own kids though the years and they are 13 and 14. I only use my camera built into my phone though.

These photos could never be taken with just a phone. I imagine that you have a decent camera and a good eye for what makes a good picture. That Milky Way picture is awesome and is exactly the sort of thing that a camera phone would make look like a bunch of grainy specks with white mixed in it.

I would love to learn how to take pictures like these. It looks like you had quite an adventure too. 14K miles? I've done about 800 miles in a single day, but that was without stopping to take a look around. You looked around and got some great pictures in the process, in addition to any of the fun you had or the experience of the people you met.