This page contains pictures and information about camping trips and other travel within the US. It also includes visits that family members and others made to our area and home. It is arranged chronologically starting with the most recent trip/visit. Scroll down to see all the entries. One of my lifetime goals has been to visit all the national parks in the US. When Donna & I travel, we also go out of our way to visit national monuments, seashores, memorials, battlefields, preserves, parkways, recreation areas, rivers, scenic trails, lakeshores and national historic sites. So, you may wonder ‐ why have I chosen this as a goal? The answer is simple – as a citizen of this great country, I, like you, am one of the many owners of these national treasures. As such, I consider it a priority to go visit what I own and enjoy the scenic wonders, the incredible memorials, and the cherished wilderness that so many have fought and died to give us this privilege. Having said that, I dedicate this section of my website to my parents, my kids and grandkids; and the rest of my family, especially my wife, who have honored my traveling addiction over the last several decades.
This trip was Plan B. We were originally scheduled to go to Sri Lanka, however a delay in our COVID test results forced us to cancel that trip. So we packed up the camper and the dogs and drove 1,700 miles to Florida to visit Donna’s friend Sharon in Spring Hill and Donna’s cousin Patti in Naples. We stayed in RV parks and State Parks every night for the 2 weeks we were traveling.
Donna held a birthday bash for Charlie (age 90) & Barb (age 85) on Dec. 11 at our home and invited her brothers and sister, as well as several cousins from Cincinnati & Washington DC. We also had a couple of Charlie & Barb’s friends from church at the party. The relatives stayed for a week, arriving several days before the event and staying a couple days after it.
We took the camper and the dogs and headed to Colorado. We stayed at two State Parks and visited 3 others. Had a great time at Rifle Falls State Park. Hiked several miles each day and built a campfire at night. Nice relaxing vacation away from the crowds.
I drove the camper from home to Brookings, SD to join a team of 10 volunteers to help build a house as part of the Habitat for Humanity RV Care-A-Vanner’s program. We worked during the week and on the weekend, I did a tour of the area, including Sioux Falls Park, Corn Palace and other interesting places. I also stopped at several spots along the way to do more sightseeing. Great trip overall.
We took the dogs for a short walk at the Chamizal National Memorial on the border of Texas and Mexico. Nice day for a Sunday morning stroll in the park.
I drove to Alamogordo to visit their train museum. They gave me a private tour of the building and I took a lot of pictures. I learned more about different types of model trains and enjoyed seeing their various layouts.
We took the camper and the dogs and drove to Big Sky, MT where we rented a large home for the week to house 26 members of Donna’s family. We hiked, did white water rafting, went on a ski lift and had a wonderful time socializing with each other. We parked the camper in the driveway and slept there while the others stayed in the home.
Donna’s brother Steve and his wife Cheryl came to visit Charlie & Barb (and us). Donna took Steve to Jarden Milagros to help volunteer at the farm for a couple hours. Later in the week we drove to the Pink Store in Palomas, Mexico (just south of Columbus, New Mexico) where we shopped and had lunch. The following week I drove to Columbus again and stopped to visit Pancho Villa State Park.
I drove to PA to help celebrate Steve (my son) 50th birthday party as well as granddaughter Julia’s 17th birthday. Stopped at Carol & Dave’s house along the way and made several stops (going and coming back) at National Park/Monument, etc sites. The trip lasted two weeks and I traveled over 5,500 miles. I also visited my Aunt Janice and Uncle Jim, Steve & Cheryl, Kevin & kids, Keith & family, and Audrey & Avery. Great trip.
Carey’s daughter Audrey stopped in for a visit and stayed for a week. We played 3 gams of Trekking National Parks, hiked the Franklin Mts, and drove to see the Aydan Crater in southern New Mexico. Good visit.
