Sunday, 6/4 - After months of planning and anticipation we left on our trip. The first night we made it to the Elk’s Lodge in Jackson Tenn, where we camped in their parking lot.
Monday, 6/5 - We traveled most of day, camped in Fort Smith, Arkansas by the river. We explored downtown, and ate dinner at Braum’s followed by their wonderful ice-cream.
Fort Smith 
Tuesday, 6/6 - We spent the day in Fort Smith, went to welcome center in Miss Laura’s Bordello dating back to late 1800’s. From there, we rode the trolley car through old town listening to a tape telling about the town. Went to a museum were they had an old-time soda fountain and had an ice-cream soda. We visited the Fort Smith and went through their museum. Fort Smith was first built because of fighting between the different Indian tribes, later becoming the jail after the Civil War. Fort Smith is also home of the famous hanging Judge Parker. Judge Parker did not put up with lawlessness in the West, showed no mercy for murderers, rapist, and horse thieves. They often hung white, black, and Indian side by side. Fort Smith is also home of Col. William Darby father of the Darby Rangers in WWII. Fort Smith is also one of only two places that has a National Cemetery were the North and South buried together (the only other being in Arlington).
Wednesday, 6/7 - Drove to Oklahoma City, OK, parked the trailer. We went to the national stockyards there, but were disappointed because they were not in operation that day. Mom and Dad had been there, so they could explain how things worked. We went to the memorial, brick-town, capital, The International Pentecostal Headquarters (my church), and Southwestern College (one of our denominations two universities). After dinner, we rode back to the memorial to see it after dark. It was much more moving and impressive to see after dark.
The Oklahoma City Memorial
Thursday, 6/8 - Drove to Amarillo, TX. After parking the trailer, we rode to the Palo Duro Canyon (the second largest canyon next to Grand Canyon). We had dinner at the Big Texan Steakhouse, and ice-cream at Braum’s.
Friday, 6/9 - Drove to Albuquerque, NM. On the way into town, we went by Sandia Peak and rode the tram to the top of the mountain (world’s longest passenger tramway). This tramway was built between 1964-1966 costing 2 million dollars. Five thousand helicopter trips were made during the construction of Tower 2 and the cable installation. The elevation of lower terminal is 6,559, upper terminal is 10,378. The tram length is 2.7 miles with a span of 1 mile between tower 2 and top (one of the longest spans in the world).
Albuquerque from top of Sandia Peak
We went on to the campground and parked, got things ready for Jake to arrive. Drove downtown to Old Town Albuquerque and walked around the square. Mother bought some jewelry from one of the Indians who had their goods out on the square. We saw an Indian dancer with a beautiful costume (he was awesome and very nice). Jake flew in after 11, so we had a long day.
Indian Dancer in Old Town Albuquerque
Saturday, 6/10 - We got up early to go into Santa Fe. We had a lot on our agenda for the day and needed an early start. I was a little disappointed with Old Town. I enjoyed Albuquerque more. I thought Santa Fe was too commercialized; the best thing about town was the old missions and churches.
San Miguel Church The oldest church structure in the United States, built by Tlaxcalan Indians in 1610.
We rode on to Espanola where we had lunch and the Espanola Pueblo and old mission. Santa Clara Pueblo almost looked like a ghost town, we saw very little people there. The mission and gravesites were interesting. We went to White Rock Overlook, looking down on the Rio Grande. Then onto Bandelier National Monument, which was a cliff dwelling of Ancestral Pueblo dating back 10,000 years in Frijoles Canyon. Jake and I walked the trail through the dwellings, climbing into the cliff rooms, while Mom and Dad waited at the truck with the girls (our dogs, Bridget and Maddie). We saw the kiva, which was the center of the community for religious and education, decision-making. We drove from Bandelier through the Valle Grande seeing Battleship Rock going to Jamez Falls. The Jamez River Canyon was beautiful with all the red rock
Sunday, 6/11 - Leaving Albuquerque, we first stopped at El Morro National Monument. El Morro was the stopping place for a lot of weary travelers, first for the Indians, then Spanish, then American explorers. There is a pool at the base of the rock for water on their travels. Around the base of the sandstone cliffs are inscriptions dating back to the 1500’s. Two ancestral Pueblo ruins sit on top of the stone-cliff mesa. Next stop was the Hubbell Trading Post. The trading post is the oldest continuously operated trading post in the Navajo Nation. In 1878 John Hubbell bought the trading post and established himself as a leading trader. We toured the Hubbell house, which was very interesting because it had been preserved just as the Hubbell’s had left it. When the family gave the property to the National Park Service in 1967 they left with only the cloths on their backs. The most interesting thing was all the artwork. Mr. Hubbell had many guest all the time. He would never receive money for their stay, but would accept artwork. He had over a hundred drawings that had been done of prominent Indians from tribes all around. Each picture was dated with the name of each Indian, their tribe, position in the tribe, and date. We camped for the night in Holbrook, AR just outside of the Petrified Forest.
El Morro National Monument Inside Hubbell House
Monday, 6/12 - We left Holbrook for Camp Verde and drove through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. The Red Rock was beautiful. After eating lunch in Sedona we tried to go to the Red Rock State Park, but they would not allow the girls in the park. We went on to the campground in Camp Verde, left the trailer, and went to Montezuma Castle. Montezuma Castle National Monument contains ruins and cliff dwellings built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is among the best preserved cliff dwellings. The five-story castle, believed to be inhabited by the Sinagua Indians, contains 20 rooms, and is only accessible by ladders. Next we went to Montezuma Well, which is a limestone sinkhole 470 feet wide and 55 feet deep. The well is a natural spring which is fed by 1 ½ million gallons of water a day which the Indians used and dug drainage ditches to irrigate their farms. Fort Verde was built in 1866 by volunteers to defend Camp Verde from Apache raids. It was originally named Camp Lincoln and renamed Fort Verde.
Montezuma Castle
Tuesday, 6/13 - Arrived in Grand Canyon around 11 after sitting at the gate entrance for ½ hour. We ate a quick lunch, found the visitor center, and rode the buses up Hermit Road. The views were amazing. No picture can ever do it justice because of the enormity of the canyon. After getting a bite to eat and looking around in a couple stores, we rode back up to Hopi Point to watch the sunset.
Mom and Jake enjoying the Canyon Grand Canyon at Sunset
Wednesday, 6/14 - Mom, Dad, and I got up at 4:15 to go watch the sunrise. It was pretty, but the sunset the night before was prettier with more color in the rocks and less haze. Afterward, we hooked up the trailer and drove to Bryce Canyon. We all thought Bryce was prettier than Grand Canyon. The Hoodoo’s, which I would call spires, were made from erosion of soft sandstone. Jake and I were able to hike down the trail some into the Hoodoo’s. The designs and color of them was interesting.
Bryce Canyon
Thursday, 6/15 - We got up thinking we would have a short (63 mile) drive to Zion, but when we got to the gate entrance we could not go through the park tunnel with the trailer. We had to make a 100 mile detour around the park to get to the other side where our campground was located. It was a pretty detour but we did not have as much time in Zion to hike as I had thought we would have. Jake and I did walk up the trail to the beginning of the Narrows. This is a 16 mile trail that 14 miles of which is up through the river in the midst of the canyon with high cliffs on both sides of the river. Jake walked up river a little while and said it got prettier as you went. There were other trails too I wanted to hike, but time did not allow. Zion is Hebrew for place of rest and refuge. That’s the exact feeling I got in Zion. Several of the mountain peaks had biblical names like The Alter of Sacrifice, Angel Rock, and the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). One day I will have to come back and spend more time between Bryce and Zion.
Great White Throne The Patriarch
Friday, 6/16 - We drove to Las Vegas. After unhooking the trailer, we rode up and down the strip a little, went back to the trailer and did laundry, ate dinner at Jason’s Deli, and rode up the strip again to see it after dark.
Saturday, 6/17 - We went to Hoover Dam. It was hot in Vegas and the trailer air-conditioning was really struggling because of low voltage to the trailer, so we took the girls with us. Mom had planned on staying with the girls in the truck in the parking deckat the Hoover Dam, but we were not allowed to do that. Mom dropped us off and drove back out to a Casino and sat in their parking lot while we toured the Dam. I had never been down in a Dam before, so it was interesting to see the turbine room, and how the Dam was built. The Dam had 17 turbines, generating 2.16 gig watts of power a year. Marshall, Cowens Ford, and McGuire generate together 5.4 gig watts. I would have thought there was more power generated at Hoover Dam. Lake Meade was pretty. We rode through part of the national park along Lake Meade and ate lunch in Henderson on the way back to Las Vegas. When we got back to the trailer it was 112 in the trailer, so we had to take the girls and ride around some more with them. We went to the strip and Dad stayed in a parking garage with the girls while Jake, Mom, and I walked through Barbary Coast, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace. We got to the Bellagio just in time to see the fountain show. Jake was thinking that the Ferrari Dealership was in the Bellagio or Caesars Palace, but it wasn’t. Dad had to crank the truck in the parking garage to keep the girls and himself cool. After going back to the truck, dad dropped Jake and I off at the Wynn where we found the Ferrari Dealership. Jake bought himself a Ferrari hat, which was the only money any of us dropped in a Casino. We rode around till it cooled off enough to leave the girls in the truck for us to eat dinner. When we got back to the trailer at 9 it was still 87 inside. We played cards while it cooled off more so we could go to bed.
Lake Meade from top of Hoover Dam
Sunday, 6/18 - We drove nearly 400 miles to Sequoia. We only had a few hours there, but we were able to see the General Grant tree and Grants grove. The Grant Tree is the third largest living tree in volume in the world with a base diameter of 40.3 feet and height of 27 story building. It is the Nations Christmas declared that by FDR. The Sequoia and the Coast Redwood are cousins to each other. The Sequoia are bigger at the base but don’t get as tall. The Sequoia live longer, weigh more, and at higher elevations. There are more groves of the redwood all along the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Monday, 6/19 - We drove to Yosemite National Park, and arrived at the campground around 1 PM. We ate lunch in trailer and went to the Village Visitor Center. We saw the movie, and Jake and I went in a couple stores. We then went to Yosemite Falls, Jake and I hiked the short walk into the base of the falls. Yosemite Falls is the tallest falls in North America at 2,425 feet high and 5th tallest in the world. We ate dinner at Yosemite Lodge, and then we rode over to The Ahwahnee Lodge. The Ahwahnee was the neatest old lodge we had seen yet on this trip. The lodge opened in 1927, a similar style to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC; but much prettier.
Yosemite Falls with Murced River
Tuesday, 6/20 - We went to Angel Falls, a 2,000 feet falls. Jake and I walked into the base of the falls, and played around on the rocks to find a better vantage point. We then went to Camp Curry and the Nature Center to find trail head for Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Jake and I hiked to 3 mile round trip to base of Vernal Falls. Along the trail, we could see the Lllilouette Falls. We ate lunch at Camp Curry, and rode to top of Glacier Point. From Glacier Point we had a spectacular view of the valley, Vernal, Nevada, and Angel Falls, a 2,000 feet falls. We ate dinner again at Camp Curry along with the squirrels and went back to the trailer.
Angel Falls Jake enjoying Vernal Falls
Wednesday, 6/21 - We drove to San Francisco, did laundry, and went to Wal-Mart.
Thursday, 6/22 - We drove into the city, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, drove across to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and drove back to Fisherman’s Warf. We are lunch at the end of Pier 39 over looking the harbor and San Francisco Bay, walked around the warf area and went to the streetcar loading area. The line was long, so we decided to go the Streetcar Museum first. We visited the museum, rode down Lombard Street, through China Town, and went back to the Warf. The line was still too long to ride the streetcar because we had to be back in the campground by 10 PM. I hated that we did not get to ride one of the streetcars, maybe another time.
Golden Gate Bridge Point Bonita Lighthouse from Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Friday, 6/23 - Left San Francisco for Eureka, CA, and camped at the Elk’s Lodge there. We rode around town a little and ate supper at the Samoa Cookhouse. The cookhouse was the center of community life and activity in any logging or mill area, especially if I was located in the woods. The Samoa Cookhouse was opened around 1900 and is the only one still operating today like it did then. Then men paid 60c a day for three mills, came in, sat at their usual places, and dished up their food and ate all they wanted. The night we were there they were serving fried chicken, ham, salad, soup, homemade bread, corn, potatoes, and apple pie.
Saturday, 6/24 - Drove from Eureka to Gold Beach, OR, drove around town, and ate dinner at the Riverside Restaurant. They gave us free dessert for Mom and Dads anniversary.
Sunday, 6/25 - Drove on up the coast of OR to Newport, OR. Stopped first at Cape Blanco Lighthouse, which is the oldest standing lighthouse on the OR coast (commissioned in 1870) and is still in operation. Next we stopped at Coquille River Lighthouse, commissioned in 1896 and decommissioned in 1939. Next we stopped at the Umpqua River Lighthouse. The current structure was built in 1894, and has a distinctive red and white lens that is the only one like it in OR. Next we stopped at Heceta Head Lighthouse. Jake and I walked up to the Lighthouse and Keepers House while Mom and Dad stayed in the truck. We toured the lighthouse, which was illuminated in 1894 and is rated the strongest light on the Oregon coast, being seen for 21 miles. We then drove to Newport, parked the trailer, went to see Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, got dinner at Mo’s in the Newport Harbor, and went to Wal-Mart. (see lighthouse flash slide show on home page)
Beautiful Oregon Coast
Monday, 6/26 - We left Newport driving up the coast a little further before we turn East to head for Salem. We have about 90 miles to drive before we park at Salem. It will be nice to be parked for 8 days and not have to move the trailer. I am looking forward to actually staying for my first International Rally.
Tuesday, 6/27 - Tuesday, 7/4 - International was a lot of fun. From the Western Unit we had the Rosendale’s, Jentzen’s, McIntire’s, Grable’s, and Plaxco’s. From the Carolina’s unit we had the Plaxco’s, Carriker’s, Kern’s, Bob Clark, Kane’s, and Side’s. From the Piedmont Unit, they had Skinner’s, Shelton’s, Schradie’s, Porter’s, and Bennett’s. The Western Unit had several socials: happy hour with Piedmont Unit, dinner at Elk’s Lodge with Piedmont Unit, breakfast with the Piedmont Unit, and Fourth of July picnic at Plaxco’s trailer. Dale, Dad, and I really enjoyed several Computer/Digital Photography classes. They had professors from a local community college come out and teach them, and they did a very good job giving good information. Jake really had fun with the teenagers and teen queens. They had 7 teen queens and 8 escorts this year. He was really handsome and they all had a really good time. Mom, Dad, and I took one day and drove up to the Columbia River Gorge seeing the beautiful waterfalls along the way the Gorge (see waterfall flash slide show on home page).
Wednesday, 7/5 - We left Salem for Seattle. After arriving and dropping the trailer, we drove into Seattle, went to the Pike Street Market, and saw them throwing fish. We had lunch by the Sound, bought doughnuts and fruit, and went to the Chittenden Locks. The locks were dedicated July 4th, 1917, built at the same time as the Panama Canal. The canal and locks were built to connect the ocean (Puget Sound) to Lake Washington. The number one thing transported through the locks was gravel and rocks. While we were there we saw 21 good size boats go through the locks at one time, and had plenty room for more. There was also a Salmon ladder, were we saw the Salmon being tagged to track them up river. We could also go below to see the Salmon through the viewing windows.
Pike Street Market
Thursday, 7/6 - We drove up the Olympic Penninsula. The views along Hood Canal were beautiful, and reminded me a lot of Maine’s back water around the fishing communities. We traveled on up to Port Townsend located at the entrance to Puget Sound with lovingly preserved 19th century buildings. Then we went to Olympic National Park top drive the Hurricane Ridge Road. We did not get into the park long before we were in heavy fog. We started to turn around, but decided to drive on. Thankfully we did. We soon climbed out of the clouds to beautiful scenery. We headed back to Seattle and got stopped in terrible traffic trying to cross the bridge back into the city.
Hood Canal Olympic National Park
Friday, 7/7 - We took Jake to the airport early. For the first time this morning we were able to see Mt Rainier. I went in with him to help him get his tickets and show him the gate. By seven we were back to the trailer and on the road again headed for Flathead Lake, Montana.
Saturday, 7/8 - We got up early to go into Glacier National Park. We drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road all the way through the park to the Rising Sun Lodge to eat lunch. We went on to St. Mary’s visitor center and watched the park video. We saw Mountain Goat and Longhorn Sheep around Logan’s pass.
Lake McDonald, Glacier River under snow cap
St Mary's Lake, Glacier Mountain Goats at Logan's Pass
Sunday, 7/9 - We leave Flathead Lake headed to Idaho Falls. We come through bad road construction with only ruff dirt road for 14 miles. We stopped to see St Ignatius Mission built in 1854 by Jesuit missionaries. There are 50 murals and frescoes inside, but it being Sunday morning, I did not feel like disturbing church to see them. We stayed in the parking lot of the Elk’s Lodge in Idaho Falls.
Monday, 7/10 - We drove across Teton Pass into Jackson. After dropping the trailer we drove to Teton Village. The village is newer than Jackson and more touristy. We entered Teton National Park from there on a road we had not been on before. We looked for Moose, but saw none. Dad dropped Mom and I off to shop around Jackson while he washed the truck. He picked us backup in town when it was time to go to the Bar J. The Bar J Wranglers did not let us down at all. It was as good as the first time we saw them.
Tuesday, 7/11 - We left Jackson driving through Teton’s and Yellowstone headed for Cody. We looked for Moose all along the way, but saw none. We did see a herd of Elk (7 elk with 4 calves).
Elk with calves
The road going out of Yellowstone toward Cody was terrible. We had about 14 miles of gravel road with about 5% grade down. Once out of Yellowstone we came by Pahaska Tepee (Buffalo Bill’s Original Hunting Lodge). We tried to eat there, but the service was terrible. After leaving Pahaska the drive was beautiful through the Shoshone National Forest. We got something to eat in Cody after dropping the trailer, and then went to Old Trail Town. Old Trail Town was built by Bob Edgar to preserve the buildings and lifestyle of Old West. We then went to The Irma Hotel, Buffalo Bill’s original hotel named after his daughter. The cherry $100,000 bar was a gift from Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill in appreciation of his Wild West Show. We saw there gunfight show on the street, but it was not as good as the one done in Jackson, WY.
Old Trail Town, Cody Cherry Bar, Irma Hotel
Wednesday, 7/12 - We left Cody for Medora, ND. We detoured to Columbus, Montana to go to the Montana Silversmith Outlet. When we arrived in Medora at the campground, we were met by the couple that camped behind us in Salem. We also talked with Airstreamers there from Winston Salem about joining the club. We did laundry and ate pizza in Medora.
Thursday, 7/13 - We started early driving to Fort Union Trading Post. The Fort was built in 1828 by John Jacob Astor’s Fur Trading Company. The fort was never used as a military post but for the company’s protection in trading with the Indians.
Fort Union
We then went to Fort Buford, which was where Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881. We drove on to Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit then to South Unit. Roosevelt came to North Dakota from New York in 1883 to hunt the big game. Before returning home to NY he became interested in the cattle business and joined two other men as partners in the Maltese Cross Ranch. He said, “I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota”. Because of his time in ND, conservation became an increasing concern. When he became President in 1901, Roosevelt established the US Forest Service and signed the 1906 Antiquities Act under which he proclaimed 18 national monuments. He also got Congressional approval for the establishment of 5 national parks and 51 wildlife refuges. Here in the North Dakota badlands, where Roosevelt first became concerned with conservation, he is remembered with a national park that honors him as a great conservationist.
Badlands of North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt Naitonal Park
That night we went to the Medora Musical which honored Roosevelt’s memory and time in North Dakota. Roosevelt said, “My experience when I lived and worked in North Dakota with my fellow ranchmen, on what was then the frontier, was the most important educational asset of my life.”
Friday, 7/14 - We drove to Fargo, ND to see the stave church and Viking ship. The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica was built in 1997 by Guy Paulson of Fargo. At the close of the Viking Age in Scandinavia, King Olaf decreed in 1015 that Norway would be converted to Christianity, acting as an impetus for the construction of approximately 1,000 stave churches by 1500. Stave churches get their names from the log columns that act as supports. The Hopperstad Church was built between 1130 and 1180 in Vik, Norway. The Hjemkomst (Pronounced Yem-komst) Viking Ship was built beginning in 1972 by Robert Asp who dreamed of building a replica Viking Ship and sailing it to Norway, the land of his ancestors. It was modeled after the Gokstad burial ship built around 800 AD with length of 76 feet, width of 17 feet, and weight of 16 tons. Asp completed the ship in 1980 and test sailed it on Lake Superior, but died with leukemia that same year. In 1982, his four children along with 8 others sailed the ship to Norway over 6,000 miles.
Hopperstad Stave Church Hjemkomst Viking Ship
Saturday, 7/15 - We left Fargo to drive along Mississippi River to Wisconsin Dells. Just South of St. Paul we started a drive along the river. We pulled off at Freedom Park, where the St. Croix River merges with the Mississippi River. We camped in the Wisconsin Dells area, which is much like Myrtle Beach and over commercialized.
Sunday, 7/16 - Drove most of day to Chillicothe, OH stopping at Cabela’s. I could have stayed at Cabela’s all day; it’s a really neat place.
Monday, 7/17 - Got up early to drive to Beckley, WV. We stopped along the way at Blenko Glass in Milton, WV. After parking the trailer at the armory in Beckley, we left to drive to New River Gorge. We went to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, then drove down to the base of gorge and crossed the old bridge. We continued around a scenic loop to Babcock State Park. There we saw the Glade Creek Grist Mill built in 1876 as a re-creation of one which ground grain here on Glade Creek known as Cooper Mill.
Glade Creek Mill 
Tuesday, 7/18 - Drove home. Praise the Lord; we were home around 11 AM.
Wednesday, 7/19 - I start back to work at 9:30 AM.
This was an amazing trip, I only wish we had had more time in the Nation Parks. One day I hope to go back to most of the parks and spend at least a week in each one.
To access more photographs of trip go to my web album.