RV Travelers’ Bucket List

When I sent out my call for The RV travelers Bucket List, I hadn’t yet thought about how to organize the results.  I see a simple alphabetical list of states wont do.  My route will not be alphabetic.  And some suggestions sprawled across several states. So, I decided think regions.

In my earliest geography classes the country was divided up into four regions.  The Northeast, the South, the Mid-West and the Far West.

But in later classes, the divisions were finer: New England, the Middle Atlantic States, the Appalachians, the Great Plains, the Rockies, and the West Coast.

And today the jigsaw puzzle pieces are still smaller, the Northwest, Southwest, Mississippi Valley.

Travel themes need not be defined as regions.  They could be  history, for example:  The Lewis & Clark Trail, Route 66, Civil War Battlefields — or not regionally at all.  My travel Map will be overlaid with the locations of maritime museums, restored US fighting ships, and chocolate manufacturers who offer plant tours.

I looked in 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  They had some good ideas.  My organization is a slight variation of theirs

I am still not sure about what to do with the state that is adjacent to the confluence of the mid west, the Miss valley, the south, and abuts the Atlantic coast states.

Over 60 people shared their suggestions.  The RV traveler’s bucket list.  The list does not belong to me.  It belongs to everyone who contributed and those whose comments include future suggestions. I am the editor.  Leave your comments and your interesting suggestions that they will add value for us all. It will take a little time to get everything posted and the additions and corrections will likely begin before the whole list is up.  You can post your comments and your own additions in the box at the end of the page.

NorthWest

Washington

Komlculchan/Skuksan and Danish town near Stevens Pass (Mt. Baker)

Mt Rainier

Lower Hadlock, Ajax Cafe

Ilwaco, Beard’s Hollow.

http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/MISCELLANEOUS-NEWS-ITEMS/NEW-BEARDS-HOLLOW-OCEAN-OVERLOOK-OPENS-NEW-ILWACO   (Marcella)

Route 20 to Winthrop (Jamie W)

Kalama, Washington

Gig Harbor is an interesting small harbor near Tacoma

Olympic Peninsula and into the Hoh Rain Forest.  Be aware though that it is typically rainy and cold.  Even in the summer I could find snow drifts eight foot and higher in the summer by the roadside.

Forks, Washington during the Loggers Rodeo.  July 4.  An inside look at the local logging culture. Forks, is, I recall, is the westernmost point in the contiguous United States.

Neah Bay. Neah Indian Reservation cultural center.

Bremerton, Washington, the Battleship Missouri

Port Townsend, an artist colony.

Sequim is a retirement community and one of the few sunshine patches on the Peninsula.

Port Angeles, where you can catch a ferry to Vancouver, Canada

Hike Gobbler’s Knob, nr Seattle

Seattle, the original REI.

Oregon

Columbia river (colleen)

Hells Canyon and the Columbia River gorge.  but it usually takes birders to want to get up into the Owyhee breaks and the high desert of the Snake River plain. (Alex)

Highway 97 from Redmond to the Columbia River gorge early in the morning in July to see the patchwork quilt of small farms covering the rolling hills of the valley. (Jim B)

Port Orford, and its arts colony . (Linda B)

Sisters (Colleen)

Crater Lake (Don M.)

Brookings, OR.

Gold Beach (the mouth of the Rogue River)

Florence and Klamath Falls

Bandon, the fishery and old military grounds

Florence and Cannon BeachTillamook cheese factory.

Portland, The Rose Garden

Mt. Hood (and the WPA-built lodge

Ashland, the Shakespeare Festival

OC&E Trail in Olene, OR

Idaho

Craters of the Moon NP (AL, Alex)

Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene; in southern Idaho, the

Sawtooth Mountains

Redfish Lake is pleasant (assuming you have room in your RV for a gallon of mosquito repellant – a shotgun might be about as effective);

Any fork of the Salmon river are good fishing

McCall, north of Boise.

John Day and the Jordan Valley over in the Columbia Plateau in southern idaho, (Alex)

Coeur D’Alene

CalNeva

CALIFORNIA

Eureka,CA, dont miss the Blue OX Millworks, maybe the finest collection of working Victotian woodworking machinery, also an old printing shop, forge, loom, etc. And now a charter school.
Foot of X St. the building was my first boat shop (1948 to 1952) Eric and Viviana Hollenback. (Dick Newick)

Mt Lassen .

Yosemite, half dome, the falls, the Ahwanee,

Death Valley

Eldorado National Forest website. access route I suggested is closed due to bridge construction until sometime in October.  Take Ice House Tie Road instead.  The Wrights Lake Campground (campsites reservation only) website has directions.

June Lakes loop in the east Sierras off of Hwy 295 (David George)

Ishi country in northern California. Have you read the book with that name?  If not, it’s a good story about California’s last living Indian.

Shasta County and the land described by Joaquin Miller in Life Among the Modocs.

Redding.

Ft. Bragg

Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Recreation Area: Adjoins the park on the southeast corner.

• Imperial Sand Dunes: 70 miles east.
• Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge: 80 miles southeast.
• Salton Sea State Recreation Area: 65 miles northeast.
• Superstition Mountain Off-Highway Vehicle Area: 55 miles miles east.

Historic & Points of Interest

• Tumco/Hedges Ghost Town(BLM): 85 miles east.
• Galleta Meadows — sculptures

Glass Beach, Eureka, CA (site of old glass factory – beach = LITTERED with pebbles!)

Salinas, John Steinbeck Museum.

Lake Diaz, Lone Pine, on 395.

Jawbone Canyon, (BLM)  E of Bakersfield.

Anza Borrega State Park.  The largest state park in the country.  Nearly the size of Connecticut.  Late March/early April for wildflowers.

NEVADA

Strombsburg City Park.  Rte. 81 Free. (in ’03)

Great Basin NP

Cowboy Poetry Festival

The trip from Los Angeles though the Mojave to Las Vegas and then up through the Virgin River Canyon to the top of western Utah
and down to Bryce is good. (Dirk)

Southwest/Four Corners

ARIZONA

Sedona

Oak Creek Canyon (Colleen)

Havasu Falls on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Aravaipa Canyon Northeast of Tucson, Arizona is fantastic. Camp Verde has an interesting closed military fort, indian hieroglyphics, and the wondrous Julius Castle indian site.

Flagstaff

Prescott

Phoenix area, Buckeye Military Reservation to the West and Apache Junction to Florence Junction and the area near Superstition Wilderness to the East).

Oracle Junction north of Tucson and the area southwest that includes Benson, Green Valley, Bisbee and Fort Bowie National Historical Site

Tubac, an arts town, about 60 miles south of Tucson

Carlsbad Caverns

Havasupai Falls, http://www.havasupaitribe.com/waterfalls.html (ethan)

NEW MEXICO

Turquoise Trail

Santa Fe

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum,

Taos, good hiking and biking, offers an active bike club (http://www.taoscycleclub.com/BIZyCart.asp?ACTION=Home&CLIENT=CycleClub). The famous Ghost Ranch http://www.ghostranch.org/ near Abiquiu, The Ghost Ranch a offers retreat like writing, meditative and painting seminars.

The Valle Grande, Bandelier National Monument,

Atomic Museum near Los Alamos,

From Santa Fe take the old High Road to Taos – stop in Chimayo and see the restored church.  Drive to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge less than 5 miles outside of Taos – nice easy hike along the rim from the parking area.  Do NOT miss Earth Ship; take the tour – it’s an hour or so if you don’t have to wait You will Keep going and do the loop through (or take the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail) from Chama – very high county – to Antonito (you’ll loop up into Colorado) back down through Georgia O’Keefe’ Albuque.  Then loop back to Santa Fe.

UTAH

The trip from Bryce through southern Utah and to Four Corners and Durango on down the Chama River Valley to Taos and Santa Fe is also a good one. (Dirk)

TEXAS

San Antonio

Amarillo, The Big Texan Steak House for a slice of old Texas and great country music

Austin is my soul-mate city.  Getting crowed but worth it.

1) Texas Book Festival (Oct 16-17), http://www.texasbookfestival.org

2) South by Southwest Festival (March) http://www.sxsw.com 3) Austin City Limits (weekends if you can get tickets and October 8-10) http://www.aclfestival,com and

http://www.austincitylimits.org

4) Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mcw/

5) great southwest cuisine, tons of libraries and cultural and sports events on the UT campus, the bats under the bridge, float and/or raft trips on Town Lake (and on nearby rivers, some of which advertise white water), the Broken Spoke cowboy bar, music everywhere, Lake Travis, BBQ and more.

Consider staying in Georgetown to the North or New Braunsfels or Fredericksburg in the Hill country to the West.  The latter two communities were settled by Germans.  Myron Florin used to play his accordion in New Braunsfels.

KANSAS.  Meade city park.  Free (in ’03) Highway 54,168.  East end of town.

FLORIDA

Try Panama Hatties in St Augustine. Great shrimp in beer.
http://panamahattiesbar.com/ Ref Wayne Marcus