TRAVELING THE USA

TRAVELING THE USA IN A VW CAMPER

GOING WEST IN '94

RAIN FORESTS ALONG THE PACIFIC

BEAUTIFUL NIAGARA FALLS

GREAT LAKES COUNTRY

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

Shades of the 1960's, but traveling the USA in a '91 Volkswagen Westfalia turned out to be exciting fun. VW van owners since the 60's, this purchase delighted us as we discovered the "luxuries" of the pop top camper were a far cry from our VW camping trips of 30 years ago.

Departures for this modern journey of ours began from our hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. Our first trip was taken early one fall (1993), going up the east coast along the outer banks, through Washington, DC and on to New Jersey's Liberty Park where we rode a ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty. We then went south stopping in Ocean City MD and camping on Assateague Island. The wild horses on the island were delightful hosts.

Going West in '94 The next year (1994), we drove west during the summer, traveling from Florida up through Alabama to Arkansas, and along the top of Oklahoma to the "4 corners," then down through New Mexico to Arizona and westward over into California to see Sequoia National Forest's giant trees near Fresno. We were "tree huggers" as soon as we saw the first big tree. Our return route ran north along the shores of Lake Tahoe, through Virginia City and eastward to Salt Lake City. After sightseeing in Utah, we headed southeast diagonally through Texas, stopping in Palestine, an interesting, beautiful, old town, not far from the Texas-Louisiana state line. We drove along the Gulf coast back into north Florida.

Rain Forests Along the Pacific In 1995, springtime seemed like the ideal time to start out on our third trip, this time to the northwest coast of the United States. We drove into Georgia and headed north through Tennessee and Kentucky, with stops in Ohio and sightseeing in Illinois. We turned westward in Chicago, heading for springtime snowflakes in the Rockies. The lovely Cascades mountain range we drove through before getting into Seattle remains one of our best memories. The highlight of this journey was visiting the rain forests along the Pacific coast area of Olympic National Park, and enjoying the beauty of Mt. Olympus. We started back along the Colombia River on the Oregon side, angling down toward Utah, and on to Denver and Kansas with sightseeing stops in Tennessee and Mississippi, before returning to Florida.

Beautiful Niagara Falls Niagara Falls beckoned us in the summer of 1996, and we headed straight up the country toward Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, where we crossed over into Canada to view the falls from that side. It was worth the trip! Our route then took us along the Erie Canal until we headed a little more northeasterly through Vermont and New Hampshire and on over to Plymouth Rock and Cape Cod on the Atlantic coastline of Massachusetts. After stops in Connecticut, New York, and Washington, we enjoyed the solitude of the mountain parkways running along the top of Virginia and North Carolina. We traveled through Georgia on back roads dropping south from Augusta, heading southwest toward Florida's capital. The roads of Georgia were deserted, everyone was watching the Atlanta Olympics.

GREAT LAKES COUNTRY When 1997 began, so did our plans for an early fall trip. September saw us on our way to Michigan, with stops in Kentucky at Abe Lincoln museums. Our first Michigan stop was in Holland, where an authentic windmill from the Netherlands is the main attraction in a beautiful city park.

We drove up the western coast of the state along the shore of Lake Michigan, the huge sand dunes looked about 200-300 feet tall. As we drove across the Mackinaw Bridge, looking eastward at Lake Huron, we saw huge mute swans along the shore. Further north, we visited the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, where lake traffic leaves Lake Huron travel channels and enters Lake Superior by conquering hundreds of feet difference between the Great Lakes. We watched the largest ship in these waters (1000 ft. length), make the switch up into Lake Superior. Nearby, a 500 foot ship, now a museum, compliments the interesting exhibits at the Locks.

From Sea to Shining Sea

These trips covering over 25,000 miles on the roads of our nation continually emphasized the beauty and wonder of this country.Folks were so surprised to learn we were from the Sunshine State, usually wanting to know:

"Why would you leave Florida?"

Thanks for a "VW Memory" by e-mail

naclark2005@earthlink.net