This morning, for the second time in my life, I woke up in a field somewhere in West Virginia.  This was the last time I would be waking up…

I got up early and got the laundry going while Dawn and Tyler got packed up and ready to leave.  The place was empty except for us, so we h…

We left Mammoth Cave, disappointed we didn't get to go on the tour. I had been there before, but I was sorry that Tyler and Dawn missed it.…

It was pretty warm when we got up, I let Dawn sleep in a little because she wasn't feeling well from last nights dinner nightmare.   Went t…

We traveled into the night until we got to a KOA campground in Benton, Illinois.  The KOA travel guide is a handy thing to have, it has maps of …

We spent the rest of the day/evening driving across the rest of Kansas and into Missouri, getting to the state line around four o'clock.  We mad…

Denver was the place where our trip branched off from it's original itinerary.   We had found out a few days ago from Tylers mom that he ha…

We had barely gotten up and moving around when the Ranger came over and asked us almost accusingly if we had paid last night.  We told him no, t…

Once we were south of Denver, we hopped on I-70 East into Kansas.   At some point we stopped for dinner at a truck stop that featured a Pon…

We stayed here at the WaKeeney / Hays KOA on the way across Kansas, en route home from our cross country trip this summer. We drove well into the nig…

Estes Park is a small, touristy town just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.  A logical place to stop for food, souvenirs, etc. when visit…

I don't remember the name of the campground we stayed at, but it was right on the main drag in the middle of Moab. We had no problem finding a campsi…

We had pretty much killed the whole day exploring Arches NP, and the sun was setting by the time we hit the road East. It was also darkening a bit be…

It was early afternoon when we arrived at Canyonlands National Park.  Our first stop (after the obligatory entrance sign photograph) was th…

There was still plenty of light left when we got to Arches National Park, our last stop in Utah.  We knew it would not last, however, so we deci…

Once again, I woke up before Tyler and Dawn, and decided to let them sleep in while I walked around and explored the park.  Now that I could see…

Despite the late night laundry session, I still got up before Dawn and Tyler.  We were all a little sore from the long hike through the Narrows …

It was very dark by the time we got to Goblin Valley, A state park I had learned about while doing research for this trip.  It was so dark and d…

We toured all the overlooks and took loads of pictures at Bryce Canyon, but we didn't do as much hiking as we had done in Zion. Bryce just isn't that…

It was dark by the time we got to our campground, Ruby's Inn RV park on Rt 63, just 1/2 mile from the entrance to Bryce Canyon. They had over 200 cam…

Saturday-   We got up right around sunrise and got ready to enjoy the rest of our exploration of Zion. We had a relaxing morning, not rushi…

Friday-  Woke up early and wandered around to survey the area, since it had been dark upon our arrival.  Our campground was right near the …

Large campground with all the facilities, located right on scenic Lake Powell, within walking distance of the Utah border. Large, sandy sites, easy t…

It was early afternoon when we got to Zion National Park, after a leisurely, scenic drive through Grand Staircase Escalante.   After a few …

When we left Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, our next destination was Zion National Park, which would take us right through Grand Staircase Escalan…

Thursday-  Tyler and I decided to get up just after 5 am in hopes of catching the sunrise over the Canyon.  Dawn, never a morning person, d…

We saw some nice sunsets and scenery on our way to Page.  We were getting hungry, so we stopped at a Denny's for dinner. Kind of a strange place…

Not far out of Vegas, we came across Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  This lake was created when Hoover Dam was finished in the 30's, and th…

I wanted to go on the Hoover Dam tour, but Tyler and Dawn were anxious to get to the Grand Canyon, so I was outvoted.  Not a big deal, but I was…

'CAMPING on the VEGAS STRIP??' Now WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT you could pitch your tent in the middle of Las Vegas and camp on the strip! Not me, but …

Dawn was not at all enthused about being in Las Vegas to begin with, as she hates gambling...but she was just plain embarrassed to be tent camping ju…

Tyler summed it up when he first laid eyes on the Grand Canyon and all he could say was.......     (wow.)   We got ther…

We got up, packed up, and headed off into the desert!  It was over 100 degrees when we reached the Death Valley general store and gas station.&n…

Monday- We had to drive up a really long and very winding road to get here, The North West entrance to Kings Canyon National Park.  Stopped…

Just South of Kings Canyon is Sequoia National Park, they are pretty much side by side of each other.  Since I was last here eight years ago, th…

We stayed at this KOA in Weldon, CA when we were traveling from Sequoia National Park to Death Valley, it is one of the only campgrounds in the area.…

When we left Sequoia, our goal was to get as close as we could to our next days destination, Death Valley.  We got as far as Lake Isabella.&nbsp…

We left Yosemite and made it as far as Visalia by the time it got dark.  We found a KOA campground there, but finding dinner was another story!&…

Sunday- Packed up camp to head for Yosemite!  Tyler was freaked out by several large spiders in the men's room, one was right in the shower with…

It was getting dark by the time we left San Francisco, so we hit the road and headed off to our next destination, Yosemite National Park.  We we…

As we were checking out of the KOA, Dawn complained to the manager about the loud family next to our site. She said that we weren't the only ones to …

This is a really cool, old fashioned Penny arcade, with antique coin operated machines that can be 100 years old or more. They have be made to accept…

Tyler picked a bunch of blackberries for breakfast, they were growing wild behind our campsite.  We headed on down into California, and not to f…

Dawn was hoping we could get as far as Petaluma today, but we only got as far as Cloverdale. We drove up a LONG winding road, up to a KOA on the hill…

Thursday-  We got up early to try to make up some of the time we lost yesterday, we were packed up and on our way by 8 am.  …

It was starting to get dark as we left Crater Lake, and we set out for our next destination, Redwood National Park in California.  We had hoped …

On the way from Salem to Crater Lake, we thought it would be nice to get off the highway and take a lesser known, more scenic route.  Boy, what …

Wednesday-  Got a little lost headed towards Mt Rainier, but eventually we found our bearings and got to the park.  As we drove up the moun…

We left Mt Rainier and drove on down to Mt St Helen's, but it was after 5pm and the visitor center was closed by the time we got there. We drove up t…

It was a little overcast when I woke up, I walked around the beach for awhile before Dawn and Tyler got up.  Someone had made an interesting dre…

It was drizzley and overcast as we made our way from Olympic National Park.  We stopped at a restaurant along the way for dinner, then headed to…

When we called the listed number for this campground, out of the KOA directory, we reached the main call center in South Dakota, rather than the camp…

Broke camp early and went to Jack-in-the-box for breakfast.  Met a strange, scruffy man who admired Dawn's Glacier Park T-shirt so much, he was …

The Space Needle is a must if you are visiting Seattle for the first time. Just make sure you buy enough time at the parking lot! They don't have "me…

Sunday- We drove into Seattle, and of course went to check out the Space Needle.  The parking lot required you to estimate how long you would be…

Today was mostly a driving day.  They call Montana "Big Sky" country, it could just as easily be called "Long Road!"   We traveled thr…

By the time we reached North Cascades National Park, It was still light out, but the visitor's center was closed. No passport stamp today! The park's…

I got up early and wandered around the campground, taking pictures of the sunrise over Flathead Lake.  This is a part of the country I had never…

Friday-  We got up early, and saw that the fire had moved much closer to us during the night.  There was a constant drone of helicoptors du…

I woke up around 7 am to some kind of braying noise, which I thought to be a moose, elk or even a donkey...nope!  It turned out to be …

After doing the loop around Grand Tetons, we went back north into Yellowstone, to see Mammoth Hot Springs in the north end of the park. On the way th…

After exploring the wonders of Yellowstone, we headed off to nearby Grand Tetons National Park.  Just seven miles south of Yellowstone, these ma…

We drove into the night and got a campsite at the West Yellowstone KOA, in Montana just outside the park.  We got up early and went in the West …

Very nice campground, plenty of room...as tenters, there were numerous site to choose from. If traveling by RV, reservations are recommended. Very cl…

Little Bighorn Battlefield, the site of Custer's last stand, was our next stop.   They have several memorials on the site.   Gene…

We packed up our camp and headed to the Tower.  Devils Tower is volcanic in nature, the theory is that hundreds of thousands of years ago, magma…

After the whole Wind Cave adventure, we hit the road again, towards Devils Tower in Wyoming!  First, we drove by the Crazy Horse Memorial, the w…

After filling up the tank in Hot Springs, we headed off to Wind Cave National Park, so named because of the wind blasts that blow out of the natural …

We got up at 7 to hit the camp store for ice, had breakfast in the restaurant next door to the office, then packed up and hit the road! We stopped at…

This was a very nice KOA located about 6 miles from the visitor center of Badlands National Park, and a good place to start our exploration of the ar…

Yes, it is a cheesy tourist trap, but the kids will love it! Much bigger than it seems from outside, something for everyone. ENORMOUS gift shop, all …

Saturday, July 29-  Dawn and I woke up before Tyler, and took a walk in a dry riverbed that ran out behind the campground.  Dawn found and …

We headed on down the highway the Hill City KOA, just 5 miles from Mount Rushmore National Monument.  I stayed at this camp eight years ago, the…

If you have ever driven across South Dakota, you know you cannot miss the multitude of signs advertising Wall Drug.  They started by advertising…

On the way to the Badlands, and just before Prairie Homestead, we stopped at a little roadside store that had a prairie dog colony on the grounds.&nb…

Prairie Homestead has one of the last surviving sod houses from the original settlers in this area in the 1800's.  They also have…

It was cool and foggy when we got up, with a light mist rising from the pond.  There was algae and pond scum in the cold water, so I though…

Friday, July 28-  Spent the morning driving West on Interstate 90 into South Dakota. One of our side trips was to an oddity called the Corn Pala…

We entered into Badlands National Park, and purchased a National Parks Pass card for $50.  This would give us entrance into any National Park fo…

Our next destination is the Badlands of South Dakota, which will be our first National Park. Too far to get to tonight, so we will go as far as we ca…

Thursday, July 27-  It took about 45 minutes to get to Chicago, but we crossed a time zone, so we actually arrived 15 minutes earlier than when …

Today our goal was to go across Canada, into Michigan, and camp as close to Chicago as we could, so we could have a full day there tomorrow.&nbs…

On the second night of our cross-country trip, we stayed at the KOA Niagara Falls Ontario. This was larger, nicer, and had better tent sites than th…

We parked in a $10 parking lot at the Falls gift shop, where we had breakfast and signed up for a group tour package of the Falls and surrounding are…

When our tour ended on the US side, we drove over the Peace Bridge into Canada.  Tyler and I had our passports, Dawn had her birth certific…

This was the first campground we stayed at on our cross country trip and the second-worst. I wouldn't recommend them for tent camping, as the spaces …

I had been to Niagara Falls before, but my son and girlfriend had not, so I figured this would be an ideal first destination for our trip.  It t…

Monday, July 24th, 2006   My Birthday.  I have been thinking about this trip for the past 8 years, since I last drove cross …