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.
We took the camper and headed west to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument where we stayed for 3 nights. We enjoyed hiking and listening to the ranger talks at night. From there we drove to the RVF Rally in San Diego at the Chula Vista RV Resort. We had a great time with our fellow RVF friends.
We took the camper and headed west to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument where we stayed for 3 nights. We enjoyed hiking and listening to the ranger talks at night. From there we drove to the RVF Rally in San Diego at the Chula Vista RV Resort. We had a great time with our fellow RVF friends.
Charlie & Barb joined us on this trip. On the way we visited cousins in Cincinnati as well as kids and grand-kids in York, Lebanon, Reading and Harrisburg, PA, then more kids and grand-kids in Mableton, GA. We camped in various campgrounds along the way where Charlie had an opportunity to fish, and we had time to do some sightseeing. We had a fun trip and it was great to see family again.
We traveled with our camper to the ghost town of Goldpoint, NV to join our fellow RVF’ers for a fun 3-day rally, then onto Yosemite National Park for two nights, camping at Toulumne Meadows Campground. After that we headed west to Chowchilla, CA to join another group of RVF’ers for a 3-day rally in that area. We visited several ghost towns and abandoned mines when in Nevada and had the opportunity to see how almonds and pistachios are harvested and packaged during our visit to Chowchilla.
We traveled with our camper to Platte City, MO to join the Rotary RVF group for the annual rally. On the way we dropped Donna’s parents off at her sister’s house in Denison, TX. While camping at the rally, we enjoyed visiting several museums in Kansas City, MO, including the national World War I Museum, Hallmark Museum, Arabia Steamboat Museum, Union Station and Crown Plaza, and the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. It was an interesting and educational trip. Good time with fellow Rotarians at the rally.
We drove to St. George, Utah to attend the Pacific Zone RVF rally. On the way we camped in Page, AZ and visited Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and the entire Glen Canyon National Recreation area. Beautiful! Upon arriving in St. George we camped at Temple View RV park and toured Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, traveling from that location daily. We also visited some local sites in and around St. George, including the Trailmaster’s (Jack Randolf’s home). The weather was perfect the entire trip and we had a wonderful time visiting the spectacular sites in this area.
Donna & I took both our parents on this incredible Christmas boat tour. The dark river, usually illuminated by only the stars and moon, reflects what has become one of New Mexico’s grandest holiday light shows “Christmas on the Pecos.” Bundled up against the winter chill, we stared in fascination as our boat glided through a fairyland of twinkling lights created by more than 100 Pecos River homeowners and corporate sponsors who spend hours creatively decorating backyards and boat docks with millions of lights.
Donna & I went to this UTEP football game. It was Military Night at the game and my dad – Beamy Beamesderfer was one of the honored veterans. UTEP Miners won the game 24-20 over Rice.
This is a trip to the site where the first atomic bomb was tested on July 16, 1945. My Mom & Dad traveled with me. The site is located in the New Mexico desert within the White Sands missile range and is only open to the public on April 4th and October 3rd of each year. This 51,500 acre area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975. We saw the monument at ground zero as well as the Schmidt/McDonald ranch house where the plutonium core to the bomb was assembled.
This conference was held at Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston, IL. I went a day early and did some sightseeing around the area, which included seeing the very first MacDonald’s that was ever built; a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa; Gross Point Lighthouse National Historic Landmark; a replica of ancient Eqypt; and the largest religious woodcarving on Earth. It was an interesting 4 day trip.
