Cross Country Travel USA

bobinfaith

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Staff member
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Dear brothers and sisters;

As my wife is nearing retirement we have talked about renting a small RV and traveling cross country around the United States.

We want to see the countryside and historical sites in middle and upper America.

We originally planned to travel overseas but the pandemic situation, requirements, restrictions and cost is not in our favor at this time and feel traveling within our home country is a good idea.

I know many of you reside in nice states. What are the highlights in your hometown that you would recommend and do they have RV parks?

God bless you all and thank you.
 
I have lived in several states (currently in MI)…. Wife and I did a 1 year tour shortly after our first was born…it was not a planned trip, just decided to do it …. Taking a 8 mo old around the country was frowned on by both grandparents …but it went great, nary a peep from my daughter. (the benefits of duct tape) ………………………….Just kidding CPS.

The popular places in states are worth seeing…Grand Canyon, Yellowstone (entire area) etc….....but I also enjoyed the stupid things like the Spam Museum in MN, and Big Texan 72 oz steak in Texas.

Having lived in West Texas, and if you get the chance, hit the Big Bend area and the scenic route between Terlingua and Presidio (I think it’s 170) it runs along the Rio Grande Big Bend has RV parks…. I stayed at the “Lost Alaskan RV” in Alpine, about 90 mi east ….. The Guadalupe Mountains outside of El Paso are nice also.

I was home grown in Chicago, but unless you have a Kevlar Vest I wouldn’t suggest it. However, if you are in that area, there is a quaint town about 50 mi west of Chi-Town called Woodstock …it’s where they filmed the Movie Groundhog Day…cool place. And I would be remis if I didn’t include my adopted home town of Tucson….Saguaro National monument, Desert Museum, Air Museum & Airplane Boneyard @ D-M AFB…..
God Bless
Enjoy your travels
 
Just a brief weather related memo - July 2, 2021.

If anyone at CFS or friends or relatives are planning on being in Florida from July 4 to July 7, PLEASE check weather conditions at your destination location ahead of time. Named Storm Elsa will be impacting almost all of Florida early this coming week. Gusty Tropical Storm force winds, heavy rain, street flooding, lightning, some power outages because of tree falls on power lines, high surf with beach erosion, strong rip currents and some tornadoes can be expected.

Take care and be safe !!


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There are many things to see and do in the Pacific Northwest. For sightseeing there are very interesting places to discover in nature such as the Olympic National Park, beautiful ocean beaches, hot springs, a great many hiking trails with and without trees, lots of water scenes. Canon Beach is wonderful in Oregon.

For those interested in history. Underground Seattle is fascinating after the the Seattle fire a new Seattle was built over the top of old Seattle. One can still visit some of the wooden boardwalks and see some of the beginnings of Seattle. There are also historic forts that have been long closed but open now to the public. Beautiful Victorian styles homes in places like Port Townsend and many others. In Oregon and Washington there is a rich history of the Japanese and Chinese and there struggles at times in the past places such as Bend, Oregon. Native American history abounds. The history of coal production is a fascinating study seeing what remains of what was a very extensive range of coal mines.

For some factory tours are very interesting. We have enjoyed tours of wineries, the Tillamook Cheese factory, candy factories, etc.

I suspect though there are a great many wonderful places and things to do in every state. My wife and I have visited most states at some point in time.
 
Hm. Obviously, there is Disney World, but that's neither natural nor that interesting.

There is always Miami, if you are looking to get shot and/or robbed.

I say the best place in this part of the map would be Key West. First, the drive is very pleasant and, on the stretch between the mainland (Florida City) and the fist key (Key Largo), you can see both the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico at the same time.

Now, Key West proper is the tourist point of the keys and also the county's seat of government. There is an RV area, on one of the military basses, but it is opened to everyone.

Aside from spending the night drunk (which I assume it not you), there is great earing and some really fascinating sites.
Here is a list of some:


Ray
 
Wow! Thank you all for your recommendations. I'm going to hang on to this thread and at some point print it out (your suggestions.)

There is so much to see in the USA so if there are more recommendations please share.

God bless you all.
This too is on my bucket list. I lived in Europe for almost 15 years, DC for 10, but I have never seen the Grand Canyons, Mt. Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, Yellowstone, and so on.
 
I'll just be reading this vicariously lol.

As I live on Auckland isthmus, in NZ, its kinda hard to travel anywhere thanks to traffic congestion...! (And travel bubble to Australia is closed. You can, if you've got the $$, fly to the Cook Islands though, or, the South Island. But everyone goes there...)

Sounds great fun..from what I know of the area, Big Sur and heading up the Pacific Northwest coastal highway seems like the best thing to do in an RV, and camping out in the redwood forest. Watch out for bears though! There's plenty of goldrush towns of historical interest along that coast and near the Rockies. Countryside...vineyards of Napa Valley? I guess that's not really aCROSS the country though, more like up.
 
for me, personally, as a horsey person, apart from crocs, bears and cougar spotting, I would love to watch the wild mustangs roaming free, so I would head to:

  • Sand Wash Basin, Colorado. ...
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. ...
  • Virginia Range, Nevada. ...
  • Pryor Mountains, Wyoming. ...
  • Assateague Island, Virginia.
these are some of the places they still roam free. and because I grew up watching umpteen American west cowboy movies, I think it would bring back nice family memories.
 
I'll just be reading this vicariously lol.

As I live on Auckland isthmus, in NZ, its kinda hard to travel anywhere thanks to traffic congestion...! (And travel bubble to Australia is closed. You can, if you've got the $$, fly to the Cook Islands though, or, the South Island. But everyone goes there...)

Sounds great fun..from what I know of the area, Big Sur and heading up the Pacific Northwest coastal highway seems like the best thing to do in an RV, and camping out in the redwood forest. Watch out for bears though! There's plenty of goldrush towns of historical interest along that coast and near the Rockies. Countryside...vineyards of Napa Valley? I guess that's not really aCROSS the country though, more like up.

Hi Lanolin;
When you say traffic congestion, are you referring to Auckland? Auckland is still on our hearts "wish list" to visit and enjoy one day when travel conditions improve. One of the highlights is Waiheke Island. I love islands.

for me, personally, as a horsey person, apart from crocs, bears and cougar spotting, I would love to watch the wild mustangs roaming free, so I would head to:

  • Sand Wash Basin, Colorado. ...
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. ...
  • Virginia Range, Nevada. ...
  • Pryor Mountains, Wyoming. ...
  • Assateague Island, Virginia.
these are some of the places they still roam free. and because I grew up watching umpteen American west cowboy movies, I think it would bring back nice family memories.

Hey Via, These are good suggestions, are different and sounds like fun! We're looking forward to a slower pace when we travel. When Via mentioned American cowboy movies, I remember as a boy a song I loved to sing, Home on the Range, goes like this;

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day


Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
 
I could give you a state by state synopsis, but that would mean writing a literal book about my travels.
From the plethora of waterfalls in OR, the Valley of Fire in NV, or Dead Horse in UT, there is so much to see on the western side of the U.S.
CA. alone has amazing views to explore, before you even get out of the state you live in.

My suggestion is do your home work, find what you both wish to see/do, and plan a basic schedule. Its taken me a life time of road tripping to experience what I have, as my father was addicted to travel. Its hot this time of year, so the northern part of the U.S. is a good place to travel across. Save the southern routes for the fall, or even winter when it cools off. I dont know how "rough" you are willing to camp out, as there are many primitive campsites without hook ups on the cheap/down low in amazing places. Ive stumbled upon quite a few in my exploring of this wonderful country of ours.
 
I could give you a state by state synopsis, but that would mean writing a literal book about my travels.
From the plethora of waterfalls in OR, the Valley of Fire in NV, or Dead Horse in UT, there is so much to see on the western side of the U.S.
CA. alone has amazing views to explore, before you even get out of the state you live in.

My suggestion is do your home work, find what you both wish to see/do, and plan a basic schedule. Its taken me a life time of road tripping to experience what I have, as my father was addicted to travel. Its hot this time of year, so the northern part of the U.S. is a good place to travel across. Save the southern routes for the fall, or even winter when it cools off. I dont know how "rough" you are willing to camp out, as there are many primitive campsites without hook ups on the cheap/down low in amazing places. Ive stumbled upon quite a few in my exploring of this wonderful country of ours.

I agree, but what can be difficult is researching those places that locals have discovered that may go unnoticed by travel directories and guidebooks. Locals rarely go to the touristy places, but often find beauty, history and other interesting places that may go unmentioned or are less visited which are both pluses to locals.

I've been to the space needle several times, but only with out-of-town guests and relatives that have never been. There are many areas like that of little interest to locals. Not that I haven't recommended some of those places because for some they are very popular and often have souvenirs that may be of interest.
 
I'll just be reading this vicariously lol.

As I live on Auckland isthmus, in NZ, its kinda hard to travel anywhere thanks to traffic congestion...! (And travel bubble to Australia is closed. You can, if you've got the $$, fly to the Cook Islands though, or, the South Island. But everyone goes there...)

Sounds great fun..from what I know of the area, Big Sur and heading up the Pacific Northwest coastal highway seems like the best thing to do in an RV, and camping out in the redwood forest. Watch out for bears though! There's plenty of goldrush towns of historical interest along that coast and near the Rockies. Countryside...vineyards of Napa Valley? I guess that's not really aCROSS the country though, more like up.
Hi Lanolin,

Oh so you are in the Land of the Long White Cloud. And I am in the `little island` off the coast of NZ. I love NZ and have visited many times as my grandparents moved there from Scotland many, many years ago - Wellington. I went to Bible College in Paraparaum, (sp) just north of Wellington. I have been to Auckland and just think it is such a lovely spot with all the islands nearby.

Have you always lived in NZ?
 
Hi Lanolin,

Oh so you are in the Land of the Long White Cloud. And I am in the `little island` off the coast of NZ. I love NZ and have visited many times as my grandparents moved there from Scotland many, many years ago - Wellington. I went to Bible College in Paraparaum, (sp) just north of Wellington. I have been to Auckland and just think it is such a lovely spot with all the islands nearby.

Have you always lived in NZ?
Yea I'm a native.
I don't have plans to leave anytime soon. A lot of young nzers would do an OE (overseas experience) for a year or longer in England, but I only managed to do a student exchange in Singapore for a couple of months.

I liked Singapore but I missed my family in NZ and the more relaxed lifestyle. City life was exciting but I'm more tempementally suited to a slower pace. I never got to be the complete yuppie that some of my older peers aspired to be.
 
I'm watching the tv series Big Little Lies, its set in Monteray, California, and the opening credits always show the surf and long highway with the bridge that looks quite hair raising to drive along.
Has anyone been along that stretch of the coast?
 
I'm watching the tv series Big Little Lies, its set in Monteray, California, and the opening credits always show the surf and long highway with the bridge that looks quite hair raising to drive along.
Has anyone been along that stretch of the coast?

Yes, Lanolin;

We live 2 hours from Monterey, CA, we take highway 101 south which is a lot more smooth freeway driving. The scenery on the way is beautiful and we like to go there to get away and stay for a few days.

Instead of driving and thinking about work, finances or problems we praise God for His creation of the greenery and ocean.
 
Something about travelling along the coast that blows all the cobwebs away.

I read a book about a 19 year old boy who had ADHD and a drug problem who decided he was going to walk along the coast of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga in the North Island then cross and go all the way down to the South Island and around and then all the way back up. It was called Wildboy.

He decided he would get sponsored and raise money for charity, and people would offer him places to stay as he walked. By walking he got rid of his excess energy and he didn't need medication or drugs. He would shoot wild goats for food or catch fish. Sometimes he would camp. He took 600 days and was the first to have done it.
 
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