I will travel the USA for the next 2 / 3 years and will use this blog to share my campervan conversion and also my planning and adventures.
![IMG_0750[1]](https://vantravelusablog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/img_07501.jpg?w=525)
Nashville and More
Just a reminder that I have moved future blog posts including Nashville to a new blog post called “vantravelusa2”. There is a link included in this blog site or you can just type vantravelusa2 into google. Once there, you will want to hit the follow tab. You will then get an e-mail notice when a new post is added.
Happy reading.
2019 Plans and Blog Site Change
A new year and new travel plans. Before discussing my 2019 travel plans, I wanted to note that I am moving future posts to a new blog site.
The reason for the move is that I have used up my free photo space on the current site. There are two options for getting to the new site. There is a link on this (current) site which will take you to the new site or you can type vantravelusa2 into google and the new site will pop up. Once at the new site, you can click on follow and you will then receive notification of new posts as they come available.
My 2019 plans are finalized and reservations in place as needed. The plans include:
- Ohio for a family weddings
- Nashville for music and wandering around
- Florida Beaches
- Austin for South by Southwest
- Miami / Tampa for Colorado Rockies opening game and more
- Southwestern US / Colorado “nomading”
- New Brunswick
- Prince Edward Island
- Nova Scotia (including music concert)
- Newfoundland
- Labrador and trans-Labrador Highway
- Quebec City for Mountain Bike World Championships
- Montreal
- Road back to Colorado
I am looking forward to hitting the road, again! Stay tuned!
Road Home (Waco Mammoth National Monument, Dallas, Palo Duro Canyon, and Cadillac Ranch)
After a week in Austin, the holidays called me back to Colorado. The journey home included:
- A stop in Waco at the Mammoth National Monument,
- Visiting a friend in Dallas,
- Checking out Bob Wills hometown
- Spending some time at Palo Duro Canyon State Park and
- Enjoying a stop at Cadillac Ranch.
Yea, I am a little late with this post. To much holiday activity!
Waco Mammoth National Monument:
The monument is worth a stop if you are in the Waco area. Guided tours are provided through the grounds. The tour ends at a building which encloses a excavation quarry showing the remains of Mammoths and other animals. Very informative tour and visit!
Dallas
I visited my friend Angela in Dallas for two days. It was good to catch up, do some hiking and see a couple music shows. Angela lives near a lake in north east Dallas which has a number of hiking trails. We spent a pleasant day hiking near the lake. In the evenings, we went out for music. Very enjoyable!
Bob Wills – Hometown:
Bob Wills was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. He was widely known as the King of Western Swing Music and influenced many other country and / or Texas musicians. Check out some of his music!
Palo Duro Canyon State Park:
I highly recommend a visit to this Texas State Park. It is located in Northwest Texas near Amarillo. The park sits in a canyon area with very colorful rock formations. The park has a number of campgrounds, a general store, visitor center, hiking trails, mtn. biking trails and equestrian trails. When I visited in November (with cold and rainy weather), the campgrounds were nearly full. I am guessing that advance camping reservations are needed during the Spring and Fall. Given the number of signs (regarding heat exhaustion / heat stroke) and thermometers at trail heads, the summers must get pretty hot.
I camped for 3 nights and hiked a number of the trails. The star viewing is spectacular from the canyon.
Some pics:
Cadillac Ranch:
Just outside of Amarillo, is a modern art sculpture called Cadillac Ranch. Worth a stop. The pics speak for themselves.
Austin (Music and Friends)
I love the Austin live music scene. My friend Gordy and I ended our road trip together with four nights in Austin before he flew back to Ohio. I then spent 2 more solo nights. We booked tickets for 3 shows prior to arriving in Austin. These were 1) Jimmy Vaughn, at Austin City Limits Live (Moody Theater), 2) Ray Wylie Hubbard’s birthday bash at the Paramount, and 3) Red, White, and Blues (four acts) at Stubbs. While in town, we also stopped at the Saxon Pub and caught two acts.
Day 1
We set up camp at Pecan Grove RV park, had yummy BBQ at Terry Blacks and headed to the Saxon Pub for a good night of music. We were entertained by the Wagoneers and Rob Baird.
Day 2:
From the RV park, it is an easy walk around Lady Bird Lake and to the downtown area. We toured both areas including Waterloo Records, the Steve Ray Vaughn / Willie Nelson Statues, and the Austin City Limits (Moody Theater) location (making sure we knew where to go later that night).
After returning to the RV park, we received a visit from Brian (a friend who lives in Austin). He pulled up on his bicycle and surprised us. After finishing off a significant number of brews and a couple shots of Patron, Brian headed home and we headed downtown for pizza at the Taverna before the show.
What a great night of music with Jimmy Vaughn and guests, including Booker T.
Scooters have taken over the city! Some love it and others hate it.
Jimmy Vaughn with Booker T. on the keyboards. Pretty cool.
We walked back pretty late after the show and the city was lite up.
Day 3:
Our goal for day 3 was Franklin BBQ, an iconic Austin eatery. It is located a fair distance from the RV park, so we Uber’ed. The driver was great and gave us the scoop on Franklin’s. He told us that people wait in line for 2 to 4 hours for service. We decided to check it out anyhow. When we arrived at 1:30, we saw no line and thought we hit a lucky day, only to find out that they were sold out for the day. We asked an employee what a good time to come to minimize lines while assuring food. He said 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. What????????
Oh well, we decided to walk to Stubbs for BBQ and then check out the capital area. I chose the 3 meat platter, more than enough.
This pic was taken after I ate about half of the platter. Yow.
Somewhat early night.
Day 4:
Long Day — We started the day with a pre-pre-show at Uncle Billys.
Next was pre-show at the Chili Parlor Bar for Mad Dog Margaritas in honor of Guy Clark. Guy mentioned the joint in one of his songs. You can check it out on Youtube.
After two, I felt like a mad dog, ready to howl at the moon or for whoever would listen. We then walked toward the Paramount for the Ray Willie Hubbard show. Our walk took us through the backside of the capital on the way. Did not know that a “tiny” statue of liberty was located there.
After the show, we stopped at Shiners Saloon and then back to the RV park. We had brews until Gordy left for the airport via Uber, around 3:00 a.m. No sleep that night for Gordy.
Day 5:
Sleep in type of day. The weather turned cold and rainy. Hung out at camp until the Red, White and Blues show at Stubbs (outdoor venue). What a fantastic evening. Four acts (Nightowls, Black Pumas, Shinyribs, and Samantha Fish). I liked each of the acts, good music. I am a big fan of Samantha Fish, great blues music. I have seen her play in the Colorado Springs area many times. She just gets better each time I see her.
Being outdoors in the cold and rain, the attendance was impacted.
Walked back to RV park and quick to sleep.
Day 6:
More cold and rain. Stayed close to campground doing camp “chores”.
Day 7:
Weather finally improved. I met up with Brian and Summer (Austin friends from previous visits). We rode our bicycles around South Austin and then had brews back at the van and caught up with each others lives. Always a good time with them.
Day 8:
Adios Austin, on to Dallas which I will cover in the next post.
Road Trip – Phoenix to Austin
Nothing like a road trip with a good, long time friend. Gordy and I became friends in the 6th grade, when he moved to Ohio from New York. In our younger years, we did a lot of camping, canoeing, and fishing trips together along with many other friends. When I moved to Colorado from Ohio, the distance and growing families made it harder to spend large chunks of time together.
So it was a big Yahoo when we recently planned and pulled off a 11 day road trip. We started in Phoenix and ended with 4 nights in Austin. We both have brothers in Phoenix. Gordy flew to Phoenix from Ohio and I drove from Colorado. We spent 4 days with our brothers and then headed out on the road.
My brother and his wife are always kind enough to share their house when I am in the Phoenix area. I spent quality time with them before starting the road trip. My brother and I went to Agua Fria National Monument (just north of Phoenix) one day.
It is a neat area but you really should have a high clearance vehicle for the roads. We were in my brothers BMW and went as far in as we could go (probably to far).
Somewhere in the monument, a rock pierced his left rear tire. Luckily he has run flats and we limped back home.
I really like mtn. biking the parks near my brothers house when I visit and was able to get in a couple days of good riding.
ROAD TRIP
Day 1:
Gordy and I packed in quite an adventure on our way to Austin. Our first stop was Tucson for a visit to Seguaro National Park and then tacos at Mercado San Augustin.
We then headed east on I-10 and spent the night at Chiricahua National Monument which is known for its hiking trails and rock formations. There is a visitor center and campgrounds in the park. A road climbs to the ridge line and provides great views and trail access along the way. The park has a shuttle to the top of the ridge line and you can then hike down a canyon back to the visitor center / campground area. We did not have time to do the trails but did drive the road to the ridge line. You could easily spend 3 nights here. 
Day 2:
Day 2 took us to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and Silver City in New Mexico. The Cliff Dwellings are worth the visit via a winding dirt road (about 1 1/2 hours from Silver City). Campgrounds are available in the National Forest on the way to the Monument and then also within the monument. There is also a visitor center.
We visited on a weekday and somewhat off-season, so there was very little traffic at the time of our visit. This allowed the park staff to spend time with us at the start of the trail to the dwellings and also at the dwellings. This park is one of the few where you can go into the dwellings and then walk around on your own. Pretty cool. The walk up the canyon to the dwellings has a great feel.
We spent the night in Silver City and had a few beers and dinner at the Toad Creek Brewery. Most of the town was shut down by the time we checked in at the RV park and then headed downtown so we did not get a chance to really check out the town. However, the beers were good!
Day 3:
After a hearty breakfast at Adobe Springs Cafe, we spent a long day on the road to Davis Mountains State Park located in west Texas. We checked into the park and then headed to McDonald Observatory for a Star Party Event.
From the State Park, it is a long winding road to the observatory. It was a neat drive as the sun was setting and providing great views. We arrived early enough at the observatory to check out the exhibits before the event started. The event included an outdoor tour of the constellations (guide used a high powered flashlight as a pointer) and then views through 7 telescopes all pointing at different night sky targets. My favorite was the view of Saturn and its rings. Pretty awesome. The events at the observatory do sell out, so reservations are highly recommended.
Day 4:
We covered a lot of west Texas territory on day 4. We had breakfast at the park lodge (pretty fancy place) which was recently renovated and then checked out the ridge drive within the park. Texas does a great job with their State Parks. Many of the parks had work done by the CCC and the work was made to last.
A couple pics of the lodge:
Some pics from ridge road and of some CCC structures:
The above picture is looking down into the campground and back toward the lodge area.
After leaving the park, we made stops various stops along the way before arriving at Terilingua, TX for the annual chili cook-off.
Outside of Marfa, TX is the Prada Marfa. I am not sure how to classify this other than to say it is “art”.
In Marfa, we stopped at the Lost Horse Saloon for beers and a couple games of pool. The pool tables are free but come with a number of hazards.
Alpine was our next stop. The van seemed to know where to go.
Then to Terlingua for the 52nd International Chili and BBQ Cookoff:
There is quite a history behind the cookoff. At some point, the founders went in different directions and split the cookoff into two different events with both still held in Terlingua at the same time. One is described as a more “tame” event (has about 4,000 attendees) and the other is the “crazy” event (over 10,000 attendees). We choose the “tame” event given the musicians who were playing.
The “tame” event is held in a big / wide open field next to BJ’s RV park. The other event is held in a field on the other side of Terlingua. We arrived close to sunset. We parked on the outer edge of the “camper village”, set up camp, wandered the area, and then established a foothold near the stage. It was a good night of music, beer, tequila shots, and conversations. We saw Gary P. Nunn and Thomas Michael Riley play. What a great time. It was around 2 a.m. when we hit the sack. Long but fantastic day!!
Two tips when attending this event, 1) During conversations, it is not God bless America but God bless Texas and 2) it is best to stay out of conversations with “real” cowboys after they have drank multiple bottles of Jack Daniels / beers. Whew, close call on the last one!
Day 5:
After breakfast in Terlingua, we drove to Big Bend National Park for 2 nights at Chisos Basin Campground. We had a relaxing time driving the park, hiking, and having drinks on the patio at the Chisos Basin Lodge.
We saw some crazy looking “insects”:
Day 6:
After leaving Big Bend, we stopped briefly in Fort Stockton and then on to Fredericksburg, TX. It was a long day driving and we spent the night at Fredericksburg RV park. Great RV park, very clean and showers there felt great. After cleaning up, we drove downtown for dinner at the local brewery and then walked around town. I will come back and spend more time here. They have a good live music scene and will work my time around that.
Day 7:
After breakfast at Nurys Restaurant, we headed to visit Luckenbach and then into Austin. We had a good time in Luckenbach checking out the memorabilia in the bar (place is like a museum) and talking with Linda (bartender) and some of her friends.
This would have been a fun place for July 4th in 1999.
Wrap up: Such a good time! I will do the Austin visit in the next post.
Kuaua and Jemez Historical Sites, New Mexico
Kuaua Pueblo is located near Bernalillo, NM and is best known for mural art found on the walls of a Keva (structure used for religious ceremonies). At the time, it was thought best to “cut out” sections of the walls to preserve the art. During this process, they found the walls had layers of paintings. 14 original examples are located in the visitor center.
The Keva was reconstructed, including recreation of one layer of paintings. The Keva was not available the day of my visit due to weather. I need to return to see this. The visitor center was open and I was able to view the original examples of wall art.
The Pueblo is not far from interstate 25 and the site has a campground. It is worth a visit.
Pics of the art and artist renderings:
A picture of the reconstructed Keva and associated information:
JEMEZ HISTORIC SITE:
The Jemez Historic Site includes the ruins of a 500 year old Indian village (Giusewa) and the San José de los Jemez church. The church dates back to 1621. The village was named after Giusewa natural spring which is located in the area. The historic site has a heritage center and interpretative trails. A Keva is accessible via a wooden ladder.
The people of Giusewa are the ancestors of the current Jemez Pueblo which is located south on on State Route 4. The Jemez Pueblo has a visitor center that is worth a stop. The visitor center has local arts and crafts and will also provide advice on places to stop in the Pueblo to purchase direct from the artist.
The town of Jemez Springs is also south of the Historic Site and is home to a number of hot springs, which derive from the super volcano, the Valles Caldera National Preserve just 17 miles north. There are both commercial and primitive hot springs in the area. State Route 4 runs through a canyon and offers a very scenic drive. I did not make it to the Valles Caldera National Preserve but it also looks like a good spot (on paper) to spend a day.
A number of state / federal campgrounds are located near the stream which run through the canyon. They provide a great spot to spend a night while in the area.
Some pictures of the church, keva and village remains:
As a side note, the church was being built about the time the pilgrims were landing at Plymouth Rock.
Canyon views and a pic of modern church located across from the historic center :
Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico
Chaco Culture Historic Park is located in Chaco Canyon (Northwestern New Mexico) and highlights the monumental achievements of the Chacoan People. The park has a campground, visitor center and a number of hiking trails. The highlights are the “great houses” built in the Canyon. The great houses were planned structures using stone , wood, and mortar; with multiple stories and hundreds of rooms.
This a rendering of what a great house looked like. There are over a dozen great houses in the canyon, with only a few excavated.
Many questions regarding the Chacoan Culture and their achievements remain unanswered. Their heyday was between 880 and 1,100 A.D. A lot was accomplished in 300 years. Walking the park trails gives you a sense of wonderment.
The park is accessed by two dirt roads, one from the north and one from the south. The north road provides the easiest access, although it does have many miles of bad, washboard road. Rain will impact both roads. It is best to call ahead to get road conditions from the visitor center before heading out. If you can spend 3 to 4 days in the park, it will allow you time to fully enjoy the area.
Pictures speak better than I can:
The night skies are amazing, given very little light pollution.
The canyon is full of pictographs. One in particular is called the “super nova pictograph”. It is located toward the end of the Penasco Blanco Trail. It is thought to represent a star map showing the famous supernova explosion in 1054. This is another Chaco Canyon item still in question but is worth the hike to see.
Reflections
Some random reflections —
A) Blessed (some might call it lucky):
Looking back at my last year and half of travel, I feel really blessed. I have met so many great people and have seen so much of North America. During my travels, people have asked me what is my biggest take away. My answer — a little smile, open ears and open mind can create some amazing experiences.
I saw a quote somewhere that stuck with me. I am not sure of the author’s name but here is the quote:
“Our precious life rests not on our ability to see what is different, one from another, but rather on our ability to recognize what makes us the same. What ultimately defines us Is the moral strength to believe in our common humanity and act on this belief.”
Travel helps in this regard. Mark Twain said it pretty well:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Not everyone has the time, resources and health to travel. I feel so blessed to do it full time.
B) Things I would keep the same and those I would add/change:
- I like the mix of “me time” and having family and friends join me.
- Having a good night sleep as my first priority for van design still wins
- I recently did an electrical upgrade, which allows hooking the van directly into campground electrical pedestals. My primary reason for doing this is to use electric heat versus propane. The “Buddy” propane heater is still a backup when electric is not available.
- Adding light blocking curtains for all windows helps when city camping as well as for the Alaska midnight sun.
- My plans became more flexible the more I traveled. Now I do not make reservations unless absolutely needed.
- The amount of clothing packed in the van continues to decrease, with the right balance still TBD. I also find it easier to pack clothing in a number of smaller bags versus one big bag.
- Porta-Potty – something no-one likes to talk about so let me just say, good to have when needed.
- Awning – I do not use the awning much. I found that it is not meant for windy and / or rainy weather. You can not leave the site while it is out. If doing over, I would go with a stronger design or would go without.
- Shower – One of the most under-appreciated gems of life. When I get a chance for a long hot shower, I fully utilize / appreciate it. I have gone more than two weeks on sponge baths (which works) but a nice hot shower ……… like heaven!
C) Alaskans, by Mark Fortman
Native are many Travelers often remain Dollars bring plenty Converging to a common vein
Nature and space the objective Bringing challenges for most Accepted individually, yet collective Freedom becomes the boast
D) Bonus – I mentioned in a previous blog I would add pictures taken by my friend Steve during his visit to Alaska and:
Steve’s campfire ingenuity, with the help of a few beers.
Mama Griz and two cubs.
Road Home – Portland Area
Two of my daughters flew into Portland to join me for 3 nights. After picking them up at the airport, we headed to a rental house which was about 10 minutes from downtown Portland. I was able to park the van in the driveway and we either walked or Uber’ed to Portland areas of interest. The rental was really comfortable:
The first night we did a haunted brewery tour which started at Kells Irish Pub. It was an interesting combination of Portland history, spooky stories, and beer tasting. I recommend the tour. A tunnel system was developed below the current streets of Portland and the tour gives the history and actually goes into a section of the tunnels, using lanterns. Pretty cool.
Nina’s name is carved into the brick of an old elevator shaft and is a subject of one of the “ghost” stories. Strange dreams that night!
We walked the downtown area the first night and the second day. Some pics:
A couple of notes:
(1) The story goes that the color of the voodoo doughnut sign was leveraged from Pepto Bismol. At some point, the owners found that most of their business was coming late night when the drinking establishments were closing down. After a little thought, they started making doughnuts that included Pepto Bismol and headache medicine, until discouraged by authorities.
(2) Portland really supports the brick and mortar music and book stores. The Powell Book store pretty much takes up a whole city block and is three stories high. They provide you with maps when you enter so you can easily find things and also do not get lost.
They have a rare book room. An associate showed us the most expensive book set and the oldest book. The most expensive was the 2 volume set of original published Lewis and Clark journals for over $20K. The oldest was from the 1,400’s. You can easily spend a half day in this store.
Washington Park in Portland is a special place. We had time to visit the Japanese Garden, the International Rose Test Garden and the Holocaust Memorial. The area also includes the Hoyt Arboretum, Oregon Zoo, Children’s Museum, World Forestry Center, Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, Lewis and Clark Monument and more.
Some pics:
The Holocaust Memorial was well done:
On the second night, we went out for music and had a good time at the White Eagle.
Given the coast was only 2 hours from Portland, we spent a day at Cannon Beach. We had good weather and looked in the shops, strolled the beach and listened to music (at a local park).
A fun filled 4 days in Portland. After dropping the daughters at the airport, I started my trip back to Colorado, with a stop at Multnomah Falls in the Gorge area. Really beautiful. Other than that, it was one night in a rest area and then home.
Road Home – Olympic National Park and WA / OR Coasts: Special Places
Port Angeles was my reentry point into the USA via ferry from Vancouver Island. It is a small town town, which sit next to Olympic National Park. Earlier in my travels I met a couple (Biz and Yvonne) from Port Angeles. Biz and I had stayed in touch and he invited me to stay with them for a couple nights. We had a good time comparing stories from the road. Biz also spent a day showing me around part of Olympic National Park and also Port Angeles. What a great couple. I enjoyed my stay with them.
I am not sure where my picture of Biz and Yvonne got to but here is a picture of Biz at Marymere Falls in the National Park.
Olympic National Park is another park that requires packing into the back country to really see / experience the interior. No roads go through the park. On the North side a couple of roads dip into the park to sites of interest and on the west side a road travels into the Hoh Rain Forest area.
Biz and I drove the northern roads. It was overcast the days of visiting and I did not get some of the awesome views available on a clear day, especially at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. I am told that on a clear day you can see Mount Olympus, glaciers and views back into the wilderness.
Some pics from our drive:
Biz and Yvonne provided tips for my travels and I was off to explore the Washington and Oregon Coast Lines. My first stop was Cape Flattery which the furthermost west you can drive in the Continental U.S. At the end of the road, you hike the rest of the way to the coast. Much of the trail is on boardwalk but a section still exists that is muddy when wet. I got a little muddy that day.
On the way to the cape you pass through Neah Bay. The Makah Museum / Cultural Research Center is located in Neah Bay.
Some pics from the drive and Cape:
Kind of a one sided treaty.
The next destination was Hoh Rain Forest within Olympic National Park. I planned to do some of the hikes into the Rain Forest and also camp the night. However, the area was closed for maintenance. You could drive back to the entrance of the visitor center at which the area was then closed, so I did get a feel for the rain forest.
I will return to camp and hike!
Kalaloch Campground on the coast became my destination to spend the night. The road takes you to Ruby beach and follows the coast to the campground.
Some pics from the area:
Continuing to follow the coast line south, you pass over the Columbia River into Astoria, OR.
I was always enthralled by the Lewis and Clark expedition. They followed the Columbia River to the Pacific and then wintered in the Astoria area. I stopped at a number of their historical sites.
I camped at Fort Stevens Campground which is at the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon side. It is a nice campground which offers beach, cycling, and hiking activities. There are also historic military sites as the grounds were used to guard the mouth of the Columbia from the Civil War through WW II.
Some Pics:
Following the coast further south, I stopped at various overlooks but spent most of the day at Ecola State Park and then camped at Nehalem Bay for 3 nights.
Ecola State Park is worth spending a whole day. The park wraps around Tillamook Head between Seaside and Cannon Beach. Some of the hiking is closed given storm erosion but the park has an 8 mile segment of the Oregon Coast Trail. The park has two day use areas, Ecola Point and Indian Beach. Ecola Point has great scenic overlooks and Indian Beach provides the best beach access.
Pics from Ecola Point:
Pics from Indian Beach:
3 nights at Nehalem Bay Campground allowed me to rest up a bit before heading to Portland. Nice campground with easy access to the beach.
Some pics:
Yahoo!!!!!
Van Travel USA 