Bucket List Trip

[Buster52]

I am planning a trip for next year or the year after that will take my from Central, CA to South central , KY. This is a bucket list trip for my wife and I. We have some spots we want to hit on the trip. Death Valley, Lost Wages, NV, Grand Hole in the Ground, to southern TX, New Orleans, then those places where the Northerners attacked the Southerners. Is there places along this route we should think about seeing? I am planning on driving only about 200 miles a day and stopping for a day or two along the way. Places like the Alamo, Indian dwellings, air shows, points of historical meanings. All suggestions would be appreciated.

[littlemo]

Fort Davis

Hot sauce museum

Crater of Diamonds State Park

Blanchard Springs caveerns

Pensacola Air Museum

[Buster52]

Naio, I live in the Yosemite area and have been over Tioga pass several time. The big problem with Yosemite is that I am not Japaneses or German. When you go there you as a American you will be a minority. Why is Meteor Crater a rip off. The $18.00 per person is a little steep for nothing other then a hole in the ground. I will visit the one in Death Valley.

[billkaufmann]

rk911 wrote:
- meteor crater in Arizona
- Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial in OK City

Meteor crater is a ripoff!!!

[Naio]

If you are going as far as Nevada, don't miss Yosemite, especially the Tioga Pass road, and Zion.

[Roy_Lynne]

How fun. We are also planning our BIG adventure for next year and we want to 1) bird, 2) visit the Ancients and First Nations, 3) check out National Parks before they privatize them. I have a little notebook listing stops along the way, but what I don't know is going to be how long we stay at each place, that is going to be up to the weather, sights in the area and my feelings about driving that day. Another thing is we HATE interstates so we are trying to avoid them as much as we can and take back roads.

[D_E_Bishop]

We did a trip last year to Paducah KY, included were OK, AR, Missouri and Kansas. A couple of highlights, Red Rocks just outside Denver, great post depression WPA project. White Sands,NM the Park and the entire valley. Great Sand Dunes, CO. The caves in KY. Chrystal mining in AR. Seizemore's Travel Land in Amarillo TX. National Quilt Show in KY. Stopping on the shoulder of a Interstate in Kansa and looking around in a 360 degree turn. We don't have horizons like that in So. Cal. Wolf Creek Pass in CO. Palo Duro Cyn s/o Amarillo. Oilfield Muesuem in Canyon City opposite side of I?S at Palo Duro.

North of Branson is the home where Laura wrote the Little House books, her daughter has kept the house as it was the day Laura died. No admission, DW loved it.

[ken56]

I ordered tourist guides from all the states we were going to go through when we did our big circle tour of the country. Go on line to the tourism site of any and all states you think you might go to and look through them for ideas. There is truly so much to see and do that you will have to be picky about where to stop and how much time to spend there. The one place I also highly recommend to go to is the Air Force museum in Dayton OH.

[TomB_]

If you are going to make it up to Virginia, I would recommend that you stop at Appomattox Court House to see where General Lee surrendered the Army of Virginia to General Grant. Cozy Acres CG in Powhatan, VA is a good base of operation for exploring all the Civil War sites in Richmond, Va.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

In South Texas Balmorhea State Park is nice. Fort Davis Historic Site is nearby.
The Alamo, San Antonio River Walk, Houston Space Center.
In Mobile Alabama, Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island (ferry). Also USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park has some exhibits.
In Pensacola FL (before you head north) is the National Naval Aviation Museum.
If you like casinos, stop in Gulfport MS at the Island View Casino. Our favorite.
If you go to Atlanta, there is the Atlanta Cyclorama (battle of Atlanta), World of Coca Cola, Stone Mountain (and Laser Light Show).
Southwest of Macon GA is Andersonville Prison.
Northwest of Atlanta is Picketts Mill and Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History 2829 Cherokee St Kennesaw, GA.
In Nashville there are 2 battlefields: Stones River and Kelley's Point.
Be sure to visit the Corvette Museum in Bowling Gree KY and take the Corvette and Cadillac plant tour. Mammoth Caves is another must.
Going back west you could take in all the locations in MS (Vicksburg) and Grand Gulf Military Park (off the beaten path but worth it) and Arkansas - Fort Smith Arkansas is a neat town.
Take the Natchez Trace from just south of Nashville to Natchez MS. We stay across the river at the Riverview RV Park in Vidalia Louisiana. You can watch barges go up and down the MS river and there is a paved walking path along the river. In Natchez first stop at the Visitor Center for info. There are beautiful Victorian homes and the cemetery is very interesting. They have cemetery tours at night with the guides in period dress. Grand Village of the Natchez Indians has a small musuem and mound. The Natchez National Historial Park is interesting.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

this link might help with location Civil War places.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/

[MrWizard]

Mammoth caves, the corvette museum, Lincolns log cabin
are all in Kentucky

visit Bardstown and the outdoor showing of the Steven Foster story

just inside Indiana you can visit, Squire Boone Caverns, and the old homestead of Daniel Boones brother "Squire Boone"

a do NOT miss in Indiana is "Springmill State Pk"
complete restored pioneer village, with working water powered Grist Mill
many original buildings, with period furnishings, and complete history of the settlement
upper two floors of grist mill contain a museum , nice large campground in park with electric hookup
we were there summer of 2012, camping was $22 night

[JohnES]

Although we live in the Northeast corner of metro Atlanta area, the traffic really sucks. You may want to rethink going to the sights listed by another poster, post #3 Bob Shaw.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Ideally, if you can take the time, try to have at least 2 or 3 days minimum, ideally longer downtown between 200+ mile driving days, so you don't find it all gets too much. For convenience we enjoyed camping at the Kentucky Horse Park, and at night watching the fire flies, it was an unreal experience for us, wondering at first what all these lights were flickering around, lovely display they did for us uneducated at the time peeps. Kentucky is one of our favourite states we will return to again one day but for longer and slower.

Also if you are going to be in Texas and of course depending how long a trip you have planned, what about Big Bend NP? Also the Caverns of Sonora (Roadslesstraveled did a beautiful report on that).

[pnichols]

We have traveled in our 24 foot Class C RV from California to the East Coast and Kentucky a couple of times. Once through the Southern U.S. and once through the Central U.S. ... about 9000 miles on the first trip and 7000 miles on the second trip.

For specific reasons we had no control over, both trips were during July/August/September .... and that was the only downside of the two trips .... the extreme heat-humidity mix that time if the year in those parts of the country. I suggest that your RV not only have excellent air conditioning for both hookup and drycamp situations, but also a good dehumidifer in it - to be on the safe side comfort-wise. We had to run the air conditioning with the built-in generator almost all night once in order to be able to sleep.

Good luck on your trip - you'll especially love Death Valley and other Southwest areas if you can keep cool enough that time of the year. We're planning on another trip this Augus/September/October to the East Coast - but through the Northern U.S. this time.