Forum Discussion

MP_soldier's avatar
MP_soldier
Explorer
May 24, 2017

40+ days, 7,000 miles. What should we see?

Our family addiction is travel adventure. We’ve hiked on the Appalachian Trail, summitted various peaks, surfed the Outer Banks, flew in a helicopter in Charleston, para-sailed in Montauk, sipped champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower, ate gator in New Orleans, trail rode horses in Texas, visited Graceland…twice. We are no strangers to exploration and adventure!

We're on a mission. A mission to visit all 50 states as a family. We are up to 34 states as of today. And 5 foreign countries (Ireland, England, France, Scotland, Canada). And one territory (Puerto Rico). If all goes as planned, we'll have 46 states visited by the end of summer.

The only continental states we'll be missing are Washington and Oregon. We'll hit those on our way to Hawaii next year.

My wife and I are both teachers, so we have the entire summer to wander!

I'm going to run a blog while we travel this time, so please follow along with us. I've got a general route planned, but we are always up for an adventure. If you know of a cool site that I didn't' mention, please let us know. Hey, if you've got a big yard for us to park in overnight, that's cool too. I promise to not dump my tanks in your lawn...Link to our travel blog

If you have a suggestion on what to see along our route, post it http://hkench.wixsite.com/epictrip/forum/what-should-we-seehere. By posting to my blog page, I'll get the suggestion in real time, and I won't have to log onto this forum.



Places we plan on visiting:

Geneva on the Lake Ohio. Our second time there, but I came down with pneumonia last time so i didn't really get to enjoy it. Hopefully no hospital visits this time! (knock on cyber wood)

Upper peninsula of Michigan

Duluth Minnesota

Fargo, ND

Al's Oasis - Big Buffalo
Oacoma, SD

Badlands National Park
Interior, South Dakota

Deadwood

Sturgis

Devils Tower KOA
Devils Tower, WY

Yellowstone

Salt Lake City

Moab

The 4 corners

Albuquerque

Roswell

Carlsbad

Lubbock TX

Amarillo TX

Dodge City KS

Omaha

Goshen Indiana (going to see where my camper was made!)

Chautauqua NY

Watkins Glen NY

Then home...:(




Blue= We've been there as a family
Red= Plan on visiting during this trip
Grey- Plan on visiting next year.


RV Lifestyle
  • MP_soldier's avatar
    MP_soldier
    Explorer
    Jun 01, 2017
    Matt_Colie wrote:
    I have two not mentioned so far.
    When in upper Michigan, stop in Sault Saint Marie to watch them flush a ship between the lakes.
    In north-east Nebraska is Ashfall State Part. About a two hour museum near nothing. There is a nice little city RV park in Randolph about 30 miles east. WE and dump for a donation.
    We still have more to go, but Dinosaur National Monument is on our list. It is in eastern Utah.

    Matt


    Locks are very cool.
    We've seen them in action on the St. Lawrence river seaway.
  • MP_soldier's avatar
    MP_soldier
    Explorer
    Jun 01, 2017
    Corky12 wrote:
    Skip Ocoma, Sturgis, Deadwood - see Minuteman Missile NHS near the Badlands, stay in Custer SP (you will see herds of real bison) to see Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wind Cave NP, the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs. Skip Las Vegas - hot, crowded, overpriced and not family friendly. I agree with Ivylog - save the southern part for another time and spend time in Colorado. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy


    Al's Oasis was booked so we are skipping Ocoma. Just boondocking that night on push west.
  • Matt_Colie's avatar
    Matt_Colie
    Explorer II
    Jun 01, 2017
    I have two not mentioned so far.
    When in upper Michigan, stop in Sault Saint Marie to watch them flush a ship between the lakes.
    In north-east Nebraska is Ashfall State Part. About a two hour museum near nothing. There is a nice little city RV park in Randolph about 30 miles east. WE and dump for a donation.
    We still have more to go, but Dinosaur National Monument is on our list. It is in eastern Utah.

    Matt
  • Corky12's avatar
    Corky12
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    Skip Ocoma, Sturgis, Deadwood - see Minuteman Missile NHS near the Badlands, stay in Custer SP (you will see herds of real bison) to see Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wind Cave NP, the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs. Skip Las Vegas - hot, crowded, overpriced and not family friendly. I agree with Ivylog - save the southern part for another time and spend time in Colorado. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy
  • MP_soldier's avatar
    MP_soldier
    Explorer
    May 25, 2017
    ncrowley wrote:
    You are missing the beautiful parks in Utah. Moab has a number of them. Then there is Bryce National Park and Zion National Park.


    Hitting Arches and Canyon of the Ancients.
  • MP_soldier's avatar
    MP_soldier
    Explorer
    May 25, 2017
    WNYBob wrote:
    You are coming through WNY and don't have Niagara Falls on the list. There are many type of things to see/do here from viewing the falls to visiting our historical forts.

    If you choose to spray on your proposed route, Ellicottville has a zip line, and Letchworth SP is more spectacular valley than Watkins Glen. IMO

    We spent a week in NF with the family even though we live here.


    We already did Niagara Falls on our 2014 "rv wine tour". Finger Lakes, Niagara on the Lakes, Thousand Islands, Hudson Valley, and back to good ole Long Island.
  • MP_soldier's avatar
    MP_soldier
    Explorer
    May 25, 2017
    MP soldier wrote:
    kerrlakeroo wrote:
    OK you listed Yellowstone, so I'll assume Tetons, but what about Glacier N.P.? Snake canyon and zip lines on the river in Idaho, Grand Canyon with a burro trip to the bottom and Hoover Dam. Sedona. Hot air balloons in New Mexico.
    Your gonna have to break this into two trips.
    Happy Motoring

    Thanks for the input.

    Hover may have to wait depending on time.
    We're barley scratching Idaho while we stay in West Yellowstone.

    Hoping for some balloon action in Albuquerque.


    But now DW tells me we can fly from SLC to Vegas for $115 each.... Might have to leave rv in SLC for a few days!
  • TenOC's avatar
    TenOC
    Nomad
    May 25, 2017
    Big Katuna wrote:
    Amish Country in Holmes County Ohio.

    The Warther Museum in nearby Dover.


    2X plus the Warther Museum in Sugar Creek nearby -- Completely different.

    A few hours at Meteor crater AZ. You can also stand on the corner in Winslow AZ and look for a girl in a red truck -- there is a good free dry camp ground at the lake nearby.
  • georgelesley's avatar
    georgelesley
    Explorer
    May 25, 2017
    ncrowley wrote:
    You are missing the beautiful parks in Utah. Moab has a number of them. Then there is Bryce National Park and Zion National Park.


    All the national parks in central/southern Utah are unique and are worth seeing. Some we stayed in some we just drove thru, each worth a look and all different.
  • ncrowley's avatar
    ncrowley
    Explorer II
    May 24, 2017
    You are missing the beautiful parks in Utah. Moab has a number of them. Then there is Bryce National Park and Zion National Park.

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