Bruce & Kathy Long Haul #1

Maiden Voyage of the Greens’ Bean

Well, it’s been a little over a year since we christened our 550 Ultra with a bottle of Yuengling and headed for points West to celebrate my first summer of retirement after 35 years teaching high school Mathematics. To commemorate the occasion this year (since the husband, RB, says we must ‘work’ this summer) I thought I’d share some of our adventures with Camp Inn aficionados. Many thanks to the guys at headquarters for building our silver magic carpet, to Evan for his suggestions on how to get started on this project and help along the way, and to Betsey (to whom Evan pointed me) for allowing me to borrow her “Long Haul” format (this probably comes as a complete surprise to her!) I hope you have as much fun vicariously as we did in actuality. I also apologize for the lengthy narrative and the teachable moments within...anyone who knows me recognizes that I can talk with anybody on just about anything and telling this tale brought back so many memories and anecdotes that Bruce and I relived the whole experience again in the process. Can’t wait till the home projects are finished so we can hit the road again.

Campers: Bruce & Kathy Green
Camper Castle: 2010 550 Ultra # 378
Tow Vehicle: 2008 GMC Sierra SLE (yeah, it’s a little big... but we had the truck first!)
Supplemental Structure: LLBean Woodlands Screen Tent & Rain Fly
Total Distance Traveled: 10,600 miles (first 700 or so to get to Neceda, WI)
Days on the Road/Nights spent in the Bean: 53/51
Travel Dates: July 21, 2010 through September 11, 2010
Temperature Range: 22 degrees to 104 degrees
Average Cost per gallon of gas: $2.96 (wishing for those days again!)
Average gas mileage: 17.55 mpg

Major Stops/Significant Locations for us:
Camp Inn Central in Neceda, WI (and ‘The Dude Abides’ t-shirt on in-the-know CampInn employee)
Canyon City and Rapid City, SD
Yellowstone National Park
Beartooth Scenic Highway
Glacier National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada
Roslyn, WA (aka Cicely, Alaska for Northern Exposure fans)
Seattle, WA: Underground Tour, Pike Place Market, Pike Place Brewery
Tacoma, WA: Bridge of Glass, Tacoma Museum of Glass
Sequim, WA: lavender farms
Olympic National Park
Ruby Beach, WA
Portland, OR: Powell’s Bookstore
Columbia Gorge
Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Hood Scenic Loop & Timberline Lodge
Depoe Bay & Waldport, OR
Oregon Dunes State Park
Crater Lake National Park
Redwood National Park/Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (where’s the whiskey? where’s the town?)
Yosemite National Park
Mono Lake, CA
US Rt. 50 through Nevada: Loneliest highway in America
Great Basin National Park
Moab, UT: Moab Brewery
Arches National Park
Silverton, CO to visit the relatives

Beginning Odometer Reading: 25600

July 21, Day 0: After months of anticipation (ordered the Ultra in early February, 2010) we are finally off to pick up the camper. We have spent two weeks organizing the supplies we think we will need and we awake on the day of departure much relieved. Our trip was in doubt since we’d spent the two previous days arguing with the tax folks at our county courthouse who refused to process the title necessary to get camper license plates, insisting that we pay full Ohio sales tax when we had already paid Wisconsin sales tax. Multiple phone calls from Camp Inn and several calls to the state capitol in Columbus finally resolved the issue but not before we promised to turn over our first-born child (they will live to regret that requirement!) The drive around Chicago is beastly but a trip to Famous Dave’s in Janesville, WI smooths out the rough edges and we spend the night in Madison. Starts raining that evening and doesn’t stop in Wisconsin for several days. (624 miles)

July 22, Day 1: Drive NW to Necedah. (90 miles) Spend many hours going over details of the camper, swapping motorcycle stories, admiring ‘The Dude Abides‘ tee-shirt on knowledgable employee, sampling Wisconsin Brews, sharing Yuenglings with the crew, and trying to figure out which electrical connection on the Sierra needed to be attached to get the camper battery to charge from the truck. Gave up around 5:30 pm and figured some GM dealer could figure that out down the road a ways. Left Neceda (in the rain), one small u-turn to go back and pick up camper hoses accidentally left at Camp Inn headquarters (thank for the call, Cary) and drove to Jackson, MN. (298 miles)

July 23, Day 2: Drive from Jackson, MN to KOA in Custer, SD to meet my college roommate Ann who will travel with us until August 11. We drove through the Badlands but didn’t stop (not even at Wall Drug) since we had made multiple trips to this area of the country. (494 miles)

July 24, Day 3: Spend time in Canyon City, SD for a ride on the 1880‘s Steam Train and in Rapid City, SD eating dinner and sampling craft beer at the Firehouse Brew Pub.

July 25, Day 4: Drive from Custer, SD to KOA in Cody, WY. All I remember about this day was blistering heat and mirages ahead on the pavement. (362 miles)

July 26, Day 5: RB finds the GM dealership in Cody. Technician tells him how to fix the battery to camper connections... we had the wrong wire connected. Five minutes under the hood and all was well! Off to Yellowstone National Park. We drove through the northeast section seeing bison, traffic, the grand canyon of the Yellowstone, traffic, grizzly momma and cubs (no, it wasn’t Sarah Palin with Bristol, et al) and, did I mention traffic. Ann hadn’t been to Yellowstone before and we thought she might enjoy a brief intro... next time it will be after school starts! The trip from Yellowstone up and over the Beartooth Scenic Highway to Red Lodge, MT made up for all the traffic in the National Park. The drive was beautiful, mostly deserted and cold, quite a change from the 90-degree heat the day before. (226 miles)

July 27, Day 6: Drive from Red Lodge, MT to the St. Mary, MT by way of Great Falls, MT. St. Mary is the eastern gateway to Glacier National Park which was celebrating its one hundredth year last summer. If you have not traveled to this far corner of Montana we highly recommend the trip. We drove there for the first time the during summer 2009 and tent-camped. The hiking and scenery are both incredible and the shuttle system makes getting to various trail heads on the 51 mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road between East and West Glacier infinitely easier than trying to drive and park along this very scenic, but often treacherous, drive. (440 miles)

July 28 - July 31, Days 7-10: The camper stays put at the East Glacier KOA drawing the attention of many while providing a wonderful base camp after long days hiking in the Logan Pass, Two Medicine and St. Mary Valley regions of Glacier as well as two hikes (and lunch) in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. We also drove to the Many Glacier area for a 100th anniversary reunion and hootenanny but could not hike in the region this year. Most of the trails were closed in Many Glacier that week because of incidents with bears. We knew our tiny camper could comply with the length restrictions on Going-to-the-Sun, but our tow vehicle (the Sierra truck) made the combo just a bit too long. So, on August 1st we traveled the Southeast, South and Southwest borders of the park on US Rt 2 to get to West Glacier instead of the going up and over the continental divide at Logan Pass. (410 miles)

Aug 1 & Aug 2, Days 11 & 12: More hiking and driving up to Logan Pass in Glacier, this time on the west slope of the Rockies. We met a couple from Tennessee at West Glacier KOA who saw us pull in and walked over to our site to tell us they too had a Camp Inn teardrop like ours that they had purchased a year or two before. We compared features, talked about the side tent option and generally had a nice chat. Rain moved in on the mountains August 3 for what the weather channel predicted would be an extended stay, so we headed for points west. (74 miles)

Aug 3, Day 13: Drove from West Glacier, MT to Ellensburg, WA with a stop in Spokane for dinner and a trip to the AAA because I had managed to forget my Washington/Oregon map. I think I had 60 maps in the truck (well, it sure felt like 60!) but ended up with two for Montana and none for WA/OR. But the AAA trip was fun, everyone came to the windows to see the camper and we received loads of advice on places to eat in Spokane. (456 miles)

Aug 4, Day 14: After breakfast at the Palace Cafe in Ellensburg and a quick trip into the Dakota Bakery & Cafe to get treats we continued west along I-90. The interstate took us within 6 miles of Roslyn, WA , the filming location for fictional Cicely, Alaska of Northern Exposure, a quirky, unique television show in the 80‘s that is still a favorite of ours. We had to stop to see the home of KBHR (the radio station where Chris-in-the-morning waxed philosophical), the Brick ( Shelly & Holling Vincoeur’s Bar & Grill), Roslyn’s Cafe(the backdrop for the strolling moose in the credits) and Dr. Joel Fleischman’s storefront (within which he ran a medical practice to repay the state of Alaska for funding his medical school tuition.) All in all a nice break from the drive and an opportunity to decide whether we would drop down to Mt. Rainier National Park or head for Seattle straightaway. The vote was 1 to 1 with 1 abstention (Bruce doesn’t like to get into the middle of things). Seattle, my friend Ann’s choice, won out. She had only 7 days left to travel with us before flying out of Portland to return to work in Buffalo, NY so I deferred to her. We arrived in Seattle around 3 pm, set up camp and headed for downtown on the light rail to Pike Place Market and the underground tour. (140 miles)

Aug 5, Day 15: The stay in Seattle turned out to be very short. Ann’s overnight experience convinced us we were in the campground from hell. Although we were relatively serene in the teardrop, Ann barely slept in the tent. The four-lane road on which the campground was located was filled with heavy truck traffic all night. She was bleary-eyed and ready for bear the next morning. I’m sure the campground was built well before suburban Seattle grew to its doorstep, but putting campers (especially those in tents) that close to a major thoroughfare was unconscionable, especially considering what the nightly charge was. Seattle was in the rearview mirror within an hour as we made our way to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass and Dale Chihuly’s Bridge of Glass, a span that crosses Interstate 5 and connects the Museum of Glass with Union Station and the Washington State History Museum. Then on to Port Angeles, WA and Olympic National Park. (133 miles)

Aug 6 - Aug 8, Days 16-18: Another wonderful National Park experience... we are so fortunate to have these marvelous places protected in this country. Unlike several other Camp Inn folks who mentioned encountering fog on Hurricane Ridge, we had an absolutely glorious day to hike in this area. Enjoyed hikes around Lake Crescent and Port Angeles. We were also fortunate to spend time in Sequim (pronounced ‘Skwim’), WA visiting several lavender farms and Native American craft exhibits. Olympic was unique in that there is no single road that traverses its interior. As a result, visiting the different regions requires driving around the perimeter to various entrances and this can be quite time-consuming if working from one base camp. We used Day 16 to put our toes into the Pacific Ocean for the very first time at Rialto Beach, WA, hike in the Hoh Rain Forest in the western portion of Olympic NP, find banana slugs near Ruby Beach, WA and continue making our way closer to Portland, OR traveling along US Rt 101. We spent the night in Hoquiam, WA. (440 miles)

Aug 9 - Aug 11, Days 19-21: Continued along US Rt 101 to Astoria, OR stopping along the way at Long Beach, WA to walk along the Washington coastline for a mile or so and enjoy the ocean. Crossing the Columbia River at Astoria gave me goosebumps (and a silent panic attack). The bridge is nearly 4 miles long beginning near water level on the Washington side and rising high over the water and buildings of Astoria on the Oregon end. We stopped briefly to take in the mighty Columbia and then make lunch in the galley while in the parking lot at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. The weather was threatening so we moved on to Portland. Note to self: get back to Astoria, looks like an intriguing place to explore. We spent the afternoon of the 9th and all day on the 10th exploring Portland. Powell’s Bookstore (largest independent bookstore in the US), Clyde Common, Sur La Table and Deschute’s Brewery were highlights of the Pearl District near downtown. The Portland Streetcar and bus system makes exploring easy and allowed us to squeeze a lot into our brief stay. We stayed in the camper in Ann’s niece’s driveway while Ann ended her tenting adventure and stayed inside with the rellies. We packed up the morning of the 11th, dropped our friend off at Portland Airport and continued up the Columbia River Gorge to Ainsworth State Park right on the Old Lincoln Highway (which also happens to run right through our hometown of Lisbon, OH). (198 miles)

Aug 12 - Aug 15, Days 22-25: We used Ainsworth as a base camp for four nights while we explored the Columbia Gorge, Multnomah Falls and Mt. Hood regions of Oregon as well as wandering back across the river into Washington to visit Mt. St. Helens Volcanic monument and Mt. Rainier. Our short visit to Seattle the previous week and 4 days in Seattle in 1993 had not convinced me that Mt. Rainier actually existed since the mountain had declined to show herself at any time during the current or previous visits. We managed to see her in all her glory just as the sun was beginning to set. RB snapped exactly one picture and the camera’s memory card was filled to capacity. The long day trip was worth every mile, the Mt. St. Helens‘ area had a powerful impact on us and Mt. Rainier NP is on our list of places to revisit. Another location worth the drive is Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. The construction was done by theCivilian Conservation Corp during the depression and shows incredible craftsmanship. (676 miles)

After our fourth night at the state park we packed up on the 15th and headed west around Portland to the Oregon coast and back on to US Rt 101. The first couple miles around Lincoln City were about as much fun as bamboo shoots under the fingernails, too much traffic and way too many tourists but once we got south of there the coastline opened up and we traveled south to the KOA in Waldport, OR. That evening we discovered Mo’s Restaurant and the best clam chowder and marion berry cobbler on the west coast. We visited four Mo’s in five days. No Mo if you know what’s good for your waistline! (222 miles)

Aug 16 & Aug 17, Days 26 & 27: Explored the Alsea Bay Bridge visitor center (lots of info on the many bridges built along the Oregon coastline), Depoe Bay, NewportCamp Foulweather (well-named) and saw whales! The weather changed from one moment to the next and was fascinating to experience. The afternoon of the 29th saw us driving further down the coast to Jess Honeyman State Park in Florence, OR, a location recommended to us by campers we’d met way back in Cody, WY. Just a note to folks thinking of visiting Oregon: the state has an absolutely wonderful system of state parks that are very reasonably priced with many superb facilities. (124 miles)

Aug 18 - Aug 20, Days 28-30: With Jess Honeyman as our temporary home took day trips to hike to Heceta Head Lighthouse, in Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and at Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. The coast is an absolutely magical place! Another magical place we discovered was Fred Meyer, the west coast answer to Walmart (on steroids). My best souvenir: a kiwi green kiwi spoon (free, take one!) was discovered at Fred Meyer. I wish I’d grabbed a dozen because all my kiwi-loving friends eye the artifact with kiwi-green envy We travel in the early afternoon of the 20th south on 101 to Reedsport, turn east on OR 38 to I-5 south, then east again on OR 138 to Diamond Lake campground in the Umpqua National Forest and just 4 miles north of Crater Lake National Park’s north entrance. (311 miles)

Aug 21 & Aug 22, Days 31 & 32: Spent these two days exploring the visitor centers, visiting the lodge, and hiking along the rim and in the wilderness areas around Crater Lake. The geologic/volcanic story of the lake and deep blue of the water are both mesmerizing... well worth the foray into the interior of Oregon before heading back west to see the coastal redwoods of California. (149 miles)

Aug 23 - 25, Days 33-35: Left Diamond Lake campground early on the 23rd and headed south and west on OR 138, 230, 62, and 234, 10 miles on I-5 to US Rt 199 South and followed 199 to a US Forest Service campground into Gasquet (pronounced ‘Gaskey’) in the Six Rivers National Forest. The site was large, shaded, level, quiet and cheap ($15/night). Great showers, few campers. (185 miles)

After setting up the camper and screen tent we headed into the park and Howland Hill Road to see the redwoods of Stout Grove and drive through this section of the park. Even our teardrop would not have passed through some sections of this one lane road. We spent the next two days hiking and driving through various section of the park. Highlights included the the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and theTall Trees Trail. I don’t think Bruce or I would have tired of seeing these amazing trees had we stayed forever. To see a tree standing 320, 330 or even 360 feet tall, knowing they sprout from microscopic seeds in a pine cone that is half the size of a large egg is just phenomenal! Another note to self: return to the redwood forest while you still can. (220 miles)

Aug 26, Day 36: Decision time! Do we head for San Francisco or Yosemite National Park? Too many things to see, too little time... Yosemite wins and our experiences there justify the choice. But we still have to travel more than halfway down the length of the state and almost all the way across east to west, and we are hesitant to leave the California coastal region. So we drive west from Gasquet on US 199 then south on 101 stopping at Crescent City beach, Patrick’s Point State Park for a short hike (and more whales!) then on to Trinidad (our furthest point west) for dinner and a last look at the Pacific before turning east on CA 299. The drive was very scenic but we ran out of light way too soon and I’m reasonably sure we may not have wanted to see some of the turns and hills we traveled on our way to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. We pulled in very late and almost managed to get ourselves caught in a camping area not designed for any sort of RV traffic (to say the signage was ‘unhelpful’ is a huge understatement!) We finally found our way out and into a large parking lot for RVs... not desirable, but adequate for two people who were only interested in sleep. (231 miles)

Aug 27, Day 37: Except for investigating the visitor center and lake at Whiskeytown this date is in the running for the most boring day of the trip... 8 miles to Redding on CA 299 then 170 miles straight south through California’s central valley to Sacramento. Hot, dry and not very pretty country, just miles and miles of orchards that seemed to grow just to spite the drought conditions evident all around. We left the interstate for US 50 west in Sacramento then turned southeast on CA 16 to pick up CA 49 south to reach Mariposa. From there we were only four miles from our base camp for the next 3 nights, Midpines KOA. (345 miles)

Aug 28 - Aug 30, Days 38-40: Did I mention how beautiful Yosemite National Park is? The next three days were hardly enough to scratch the surface of the areas to be explored at Yosemite. We managed a few hikes around the Yosemite Valley floor as well as treks to Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome and Taft Point off Glacier Point Road which essentially runs along the steep cliffs that form the valley’s south wall. Another gem of Yosemite NP is The Ahwahnee Lodge on the valley floor. The architecture and construction materials make the lodge seem to grow from the surrounding landscape and is worth a visit even if you won’t be staying there. On day three we drove into the park and around the valley floor one final time with camper in tow. We then followed the Tioga Road (CA 120) which cuts through Yosemite from West to East on its way to Lee Vining, CA by way of Tuolumne (pronounced ‘Two a la may) Meadow, a sub-alpine meadow at an elevation of just over 8600 feet. There are numerous hikes and points of interest along the road but we had to make judicious stops to avoid having to go over Tioga Pass and down the east slope of the Sierras in the dark. Our choices to hike to the Tuolumne Grove of giant sequoias, out to Olmstead Point, and stop at Tenaya Lake gave us a feel for this northern portion of the park but also made us wish we could stay longer. Question to self: how are we ever going to manage a return trip to all these places? Beyond Tenaya Lake the remainder of the Tioga road traverses astounding scenery and terrain as it travels over Tioga Pass, out the east gate of the park and down to Lee Vining and Mono Lake where we spent the night. (373 miles)

Aug 31, Day 41: Spent several hours in the morning wandering around Mono Lake. The landscape is eerie, resembling a strange moonscape, termite colony, and salt lake hybrid. But time was getting short and we hoped to make a quick trip through the Lake Tahoe region and get partway across Nevada on US Rt 50 before we stopped for the night. We made the trek to Tahoe then down through Reno and ended our day in Fallon, Nevada with a tasty dinner at La Fiesta. (179 miles)

Sept 1, Day 42: Okay... it seemed like a good idea to stay in the Walmart parking lot. We couldn’t find any campgrounds, we were tired, there were other campers there... what could go wrong? If this thought ever goes through your mind, be forewarned: this is delusional thinking, especially if the Walmart is in Fallon, NV. Maybe it was the drag racers on Rt 50 after midnight, could have been the street sweeping machine in the parking lot at 3 AM, possibly the strange (and somewhat scary) assortment of characters that inhabit Walmart overnight, or perhaps the pervert in the VERY LARGE airstream involved in something I am sure is illegal in 49 of 50 states. Suffice it to say that by 4:30 AM we were heading out of Fallon, NV heading due east on the loneliest highway in America, US Rt 50. Over the next 300 miles you could count the number of other vehicles on two hands even if you had had some unfortunate encounters with a table saw. Worse yet, there were absolutely no places (enclosed variety) to get rid of the tea and coffee we drank before we escaped from Fallon. When nature calls, you answer! Thank goodness for no traffic.

The scenery was surprisingly beautiful. Turns out Nevada is the most mountainous state in the country according to the rangers at Great Basin National Park. Our visit to this park, within 5 miles of the Nevada/Utah border was one fortunate outcome of the Fallon Fiasco. The early departure put us at the park’s visitor center just after 1 PM. We were able to peruse the exhibits, tour Lehman Caves have home-made ice cream sandwiches, and (surprise) decide we needed to come back. We continued eastward on Rt 50 and, with a short hop on I-15 south, ended our day at the KOA in Fillmore, Utah. (480 miles)

Sept 2, Day 43: Bruce and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary (he says 40 with the wind chill factor) driving across Utah on Interstate 70. I have a lovely piece of horsehair pottery purchased from a Native American artisan to commemorate the day. And what spectacular scenery! We stopped at 5 or 6 roadside exhibits along the route that explained the geology and history of the region as well as the difficulties encountered in constructing the interstate across the San Rafael Swell. The landscape was truly awe-inspiring and I was sorry when the road eventually led down the east side of the swell. Our drive ended that day at the KOA south of Moab, our base camp for several days exploring Arches National Park and the surrounding area. On a previous trip to the area in 2005 we had discovered Moab Brewery, a place with great food and outstanding craft beer. There were two pints of Dead Horse Ale with our names etched on the glasses. They went down easily in the 102 degree heat! (233 miles)

Sept 3 - Sept 6, Days 44-46: The KOA in Moab had been planned by some pretty smart folks. The trees that were medium size when we had visited five years earlier had grown enough to provide much-needed shade for many of the sites. The owner had an intricate network of drip irrigation set-up and tampering with her trees was a high crime. We benefited from her foresight over the next four days. The camper was nestled in a small spot directly behind the main building and, even though the daytime high temps were over 100 degrees each day, we were quite comfy with the fantastic fan running (no ac in our unit). We hiked in the early morning and late afternoon, and found air-conditioned pastimes during the heat of mid-day. The hike highlights on this trip were those to Delicate Arch and Park Avenue within the park boundaries. We also hiked to Corona Arch and along Negro Bill Canyon Trail to Morning Glory Arch which are both outside the park. We did not pass a soul on the way to or from Corona (it was mahvelous!) and the trail up Negro Bill canyon was shady and cool for almost the entire route. Another adventure took us up into the La Sal Mountains south and east of Moab along a roughly circular route that eventually brought us down to the Colorado River (and Castle Creek Winery) northeast of the city. We needed to take something to the relatives in Silverton, CO, so in we went... very cool & very tasty. (242 miles)

Sept 6, Day 47: Canyonlands National Park was so close, but not in the cards this trip. RB reminded me that I had estimated we would be gone about six weeks and his supply of blood pressure meds was running low by the end of week 7. (Good thing he didn’t listen to me!) We packed up the Bean and headed south on US 191, stopped for a climb around Wilson Arch at mile 22, then east on US 491and into Colorado. Turning onto CO 184 we connected with CO 145, a scenic byway that took us basically northeast through the San Juan Mountains on the west slope of the Rockies to Placerville. We then turned east onto CO 62 to continue our drive to Ridgeway and US 550. US 550 between Ridgeway and Durango (south) is nick-named the million dollar highway because of the cost per mile to construct the roadway. The 82-miles tract contains some of the most beautiful scenery in the country as well as curves, hills and drop-offs that are not for the faint-hearted (I vividly remember my mother-in-law with her inhaler the first time we traveled this route.) We only needed to travel the first 33 miles to get to Bruce’s sister’s home in Silverton. We were there by dinner time. It was well over 100 degrees in Moab that day; the temperature overnight in Silverton was 22 degrees. Did I tell you we were glad we chose the heater option? (190 miles)

Sept 7, Day 48: Bummed around Silverton most of the day but drove down to Durango to pick up a supply of honey at Honeyville. Nice time with the rellies but home was calling too. Sorry no pics from the Colorado portion of the trip. We've been here so many times we didn't think to take any this time. (80 miles)

Sept 8, Day 49: Another very chilly night in Silverton. We were up early and on our way home, heading north on US 550 to Montrose, CO (quick trip into the Russell Stover’s Candy outlet) then east on US 50 (again?!) to Poncha Springs where we headed north on US 285. Bruce has always kidded me that, if there is a scenic route to travel, that’s the way we go. He’s right of course, but just about any drive through the Rockies is scenic and this was no different. Monarch Pass at 11,912 feet was thrilling and Buena Vista, CO, just east of the continental divide couldn’t have been more aptly. US 285 took us to CO 470/I-470, the Denver outerbelt. After a quick dinner at Chipotle’s we took the on-ramp to Interstate 70, the last road we would travel except for gas and camp stops until we were within an hour and a half of home. We drove until we got to Limon, CO and stopped for the night at the KOA. (371 miles)

Sept 9, Day 50: Traveled I-70 from Limon, CO to KOA just east of Kansas City, Missouri. (550 miles)

Sept 10 & Early AM Sept 11, Days 51 & 52: Traveled I-70 from East Kansas City to St. Louis, Mo and exited the interstate long enough to have a ‘concrete’ ( a milkshake so thick that it is handed, upside down, straw included, through the order window) at Ted Drewes on Rt 66. Then we were back on I-70 heading east. Since we started our trip with a dinner at Famous Dave’s in Wisconsin, we thought it appropriate to have our final dinner of the trip at Famous Dave’s as well. Thank goodness for the GPS unit! We found Dave just off the interstate south of Indianapolis. After some wonderful ribs and BBQ pork we decided we were going to try for home and just about made it. We stopped for gas in Reynoldsburg, OH (just east of Columbus), with about 3 hours drive time remaining. But it was 3 AM and both navigator and driver were exhausted. So we called it a day. (698 miles)

Sept 11, Day 52 continued: You’ll never guess where we stopped for a 4 hour nap... yup, a Walmart parking lot! No drag racers, street cleaners or perverts... I take back almost all the bad stuff I said about Walmart (there was still a strange assortment of characters in the aisles late at night). After shaking the cobwebs from our brains shortly before 7 AM, we hit the road one final time and arrived at our humble abode outside of Lisbon, OH at approximately 10:00 AM. For sleeping, there’s no place like home. (165 miles)

Ending Odometer Reading: 36200

We had such a good time we stayed home for about 3 weeks then headed for the east coast on Sept 30 to visit a daughter in Newburyport, MA (north of Boston) and to see the fall colors and hike in New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York. We went out to Plum Island and put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean so we could say we’d been to both oceans that summer. But that trip is a whole ‘nother story, 10 days and 2000 more miles.

Just a quick note on the LLBean screen tent. We wanted something to enclose the back end of the teardrop because we knew some of the weather would be less than ideal. Ann’s son works for LLBean so we got the tent and rain fly at a great price. One end zips almost completely open, the opposite end zips open halfway and tent material encompasses the four base corners creating a sturdy set-up. We set the tent up, slipped the lower tent strip of the full zip end under the fenders of the camper to the edge of the tires and could then open the galley hatch. With a little maneuvering of the unzipped screen material around the hatch we managed to have an almost fully enclosed screen tent that protected us from mosquitos and, with the fly on, gave us privacy and weather protection. We also noted with the rain fly on, once we had cooked a meal or lit a propane lantern, the interior of the screen tent stayed toasty at the chilliest times. This was much appreciated in Glacier, Olympic, Crater Lake, along the Oregon Coast and in Silverton, places we had rain and/or mist or where temperatures dropped to uncomfortable levels.

 

Kathy, what a great trip - all places I would love to visit! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. BTW, you're a great writer, and I love your sense of humor.

 

Thank you, Evan! And thanks again for all of your guidance. I'm going to give my computer a rest for the next couple of days while my right hand recovers from repetitive stress ailments resulting from posting the 97 pics one at a time! Just razzing you

Take care,

 

Oh, what a great trip! I suspect your Day 4/5 overnight was in the Kent, WA KOA. Everytime I drive by there I wonder WHY would anyone camp there - not at all in a "natural" setting. But, it is convenient to downtown, Boeing, etc. We can't wait to get started on our adventure with our #454, hopefully early September. Get those chores done so you can do it again!

Kathy

 

Beautiful pictures and an unbelievable story.Steve

 

Hi Kathy & Bob,

You are correct, the KOA was at Kent, WA. We had no idea what it would be like and took a chance. On the phone I had asked to be put in a tent space if possible. None without hook-ups was available so we ended up right along the road, all noise - no shade. The actual tent sites at the back of the campground were actually very nice and would have been somewhat protected from the noise. I suspect the campground was there well before the community and roads that now surround it.

Did you see the reply I sent regarding your questions about the campgrounds at Acadia Nat'l Park. I saw the question in another Long Haul thread and hoped you would see the response.

September will come fast and I'm sure your trip will be magical. It has to be for a couple named Kathy & Bob. (My husband's first name is Robert also, but he has always been called Bruce.)

Happy trails,

 

Ken & Peggy,

Ridgway State Park is a favorite place of Bruce's sister & her husband. They bring their camper down often to spend time with nieces and nephews at the park. They've lived up in Silverton for 25 years or so and we've been fortunate to make multiple trips to the area in that time. There are great hikes up along the continental divide and the scenery is truly majestic. I'm so glad you had a good time!

Take care,

 

KOA= Kamping Ontop Another camper. They all suck and are loud. All night highway noise and big ass RVs coming and going. Not to mention taking flash pictures of your teardrop at 3am!

 

Great trip. Good to learn how conditions and traveling for that length of time was a non issue... fun... thanks..

 

Hi, Kathy & Bruce (Bob), thanks for responding to my questions re Acadia NP campsites. To be honest, I'm not sure if I saw your post but will look for it.

Kathy

 

PS - just realized I fit this in on the wrong thread; I'm sure you'll make sense of it!

 

We've run the gamut from really great to really crummy KOA experiences...sometimes in the same campground in different years on different sites... pretty much the same range of experiences we've had with state parks and other campgrounds over the years. Seems to me the ones that provide the best experiences are often run by folks who have been campers themselves for many years, and I don't mean big rig RVing. I'm not ready to condemn all of them, but being selective is wise.

 

For us KOA and other private small campgrounds have worked pretty well when we are just passing through. For women camping alone they provide a bit more safety than a Walmart, etc. We left one because it was just too closs to the freeway and fireworks everywhere (July 3) which our dog goes crazy with. But we also stayed at 2 others that were peaceful and had reasonable space. We stayed at one that was like being in a parking lot but the Blue Angels were doing a practice run overhead (for a afternoon free show) and to go to the show the next day would have been pretty pricy and sitting in bleachers not lounging with our CI.

 

If you are on I70 and stopping near KC, push past Columbia MO and there is a private campground called LAzy days, she is so sweet and only charges $10. Bathrooms were imaculate. Unfortually I have never had a good Koa expierance and boycott them now, but you are right...there probably are nice koa's but not one on I70 between Colorado and Baltimore!

 

Bruce and Kathy,
Just read you long haul story. Nice Pics. Great trip and great story and note taking. I always want to document my trips but it seems I get into the vacation mode and leave the documenting behind. I have no excuse I had an ipod and a laptop along - but the view distracted me . . . maybe next time.

 

Thanks for the tip, Matt. We are planning a trip to the southwest sometime next year and will be near KC either on the way there or back. We will definitely look up Lazy Days in Columbia, MO. Any info shared on different private campgrounds I really appreciate since this is something you can never truly trust from reading descriptions. I've had pretty good luck using AAA campground booklets. I'd be interested in any trusted sources Camp Inn folks might have when looking for campsites.

Thanks again!

 

Hi Pat,
I had such a good time writing the long haul story but it really didn't take too much note taking... i try not to let notes interrupt my sightseeing and hiking! But i do keep all receipts and keep tabs on what we spend (and where) by jotting this info down by date in a spiral notebook. RB writes down mileage & location each morning and each time we stop for gas in his own notebook. (Can you tell that we are both a little obsessive / compulsive?) Between the two of us we can remember just about everything that would be required for a decent travelog without cutting in to 'vacation mode'. Also, we always travel with an atlas and AAA tour books. We use a highlighter to note routes we travel and sites we visit or would like to visit. I learn lots of interesting facts on the long drives with the reading and fill Bruce in on the drive. We also use the notebook, maps and pics to help us remember things when we get home. But I have to be honest... if it wasn't for the Camp Inn Long Haul pin I probably would have missed the opportunity to revisit the trip. So we probably need to blame Cary or Evan or whoever came up with the idea.

Thanks for taking the time to read,

 

Blame Craig.

 

Yes, please do!