WESTERN TRAVEL

During the summer of 1962 we spent 30 days traveling from Savannah, Georgia, (our home) up through the middle of the country and to Washington State. We averaged over 300 miles a day, driving 10,000 miles in those 30 days. We were in a 1962 Volkswagen beetle and had an umbrella tent, a Coleman stove, and an ice cooler. We camped along the way and did much of our own cooking.

Denver, a beautiful city in the mountains of Colorado, was one of our first stops. We drove up Pike's Peak for a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. We attended the World's Fair in Seattle, Washington, and really enjoyed it, particularly the Space Needle. We camped in the shadow of Mount Rainier at Mount Rainier National Park. (The National Parks of our country were one of the things we enjoyed most about our trip.)

Some of the National Parks we visited included Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Redwood National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, , and Yellowstone National Park, where we saw Old Faithful erupt as scheduled.

We went to Disneyland and to Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles.

After a night trip across the desert (because of the heat), we arrived at the Grand Canyon in the early morning and watched the sunrise. The colors of the canyon change all during the day as the light changes, and we were impressed by the force and the years it took to carve the canyon.

We toured Carlsbad Caverns and watched the bats emerge at dusk for their nightly forage for insects. The Petrified Forest was beautiful and interesting.

Our trip back across the southern part of the country was hurried because we were tired and ready to come home! But what an exciting 30 days it was!!

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Page last modified: October 14, 2002; 6:25 p.m.