Because it was near Aunt Ann's 92nd birthday, and many of the cousins were going to be in the area we put together a small "Cousins Reunion". One and a half days of sharing pictures, stories, and talking family. It was great. We basically visited with Aunt Ann, ate, drank, and talked. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up on each others lives. It's always nice to know that I'm not the only one starting to show my age.
On 8/16 we packed up and headed home. We had stops in Winchester, Virginia and a final stop in Ashland , Virginia. The campground in Ashland is directly across the highway from a large Bass Pro Shop. This Bass Pro has a restaurant in the store so we ate and shopped. We also took and hour or so to look at new RV's in a large dealership nearby. Maybe the dream is still alive.
On Thursday 8/18 we drove the remaining miles to Emerald Isle. I always feel sad when these trips end because I love seeing this country so much, but I will also admit it's nice to see the homestead.
I will try to summarize our trip below but I have to say that parts of this ride offered some of the best scenery we have seen during our six trips west. Surprisingly California, Nevada, are very unique and Idaho is off the wall gorgeous on the west side. The people we met in Idaho, even a New Jersey transplant, were exceptionally nice. A great place to visit.
Trip Summary:
Drove through 23 states
Visited three National Parks and two National Monuments
Drove 8,484 miles in the bus and 1,674 in the car a total of 10,158 miles
We stayed in 36 campgrounds
Some Highlights:
Hot Springs National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Canyon De Chilly in Arizona
Durango and Silverton Railroad Ride
Antelope Canyon on Navajo Reservation near Page Arizona
Purchases in Sedona
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Camping in the Redwoods/Henry Cowell State Park (The Redwoods)
Visiting Sadie and Fran
Visiting our California Family
Lake Tahoe
Snake River Stampede (Rodeo)
Canyon Pines RV Pollock, Idaho
The entire ride up the west side of Idaho
Jet Boat ride to Hell and Back (Snake River Idaho/Oregon into Hell's Canyon)
Comstock Country RV, Big Timber Montana
Everything about Cody Wyoming except the forest fires
Devils Tower and the ride through the Bighorn Mountains
Saint Josephs Indian School and the Akta Lakota Museum
The Cousins Reunion
Other things were nice but these were my highlights!!
I hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did. I do hope that we can continue to travel the country as long as our health allows. This is a great way to see our beautiful country. Until next time. Remember Life is Good take the time to enjoy every day.
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| My first home Michigan City, Indiana |
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| My TV viewing spot for 69 days. |
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| The Reunion Group minus Bob |
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| There's Bob. |
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| The Cousins. |
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| Fine looking family! |
