I enjoy traveling so much and seeing the beautiful country around us.  I can only hope I will continue to have the opportunity to see more.

There is a book called "The Most Scenic Drives in America...120 Spectacular Road Trips", from Reader's Digest.  This book shows routes in all 50 states that cover areas that are sometimes off the beaten path.  I decide what routes I want to follow, then map out all pertinent information through one of the on-line travel sites, where you can map roads, gas stations, hotels, eating establishments, just about anything you would like.  As I map my directions, I print each sheet and take them with me.  I know exactly where I am at all times.  It is a great way to plan a road trip.  

Go to WebShot to select links to view additional pictures from all of the below trips.   

Orlando, Florida - May 29 to June 6, 1999 - this was definitely a trip that does not come along every day, as I was able to take all of my family plus a family friend.  Twelve of us, off for 8 days and nights.  We visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, MGM, Universal and Sea World.  The grandkids still talk about it.

It was a great family time.  I started the trip off right, by hiring a limo to take us to the airport and pick us back up from the airport.  Of course, I did not tell them what I had done...it was worth every penny to see the expressions on their faces when this big white limo pulled up in front of the house and stopped.  We spent five days at Disney World, one day at Sea World and one day at Universal.  It is a trip no one will ever forget.  

The best sites, in my opinion, are:  
                 Sea World, something for everyone
                 The laser show at Epcot each night makes it well worth staying late
                 The carved tree in Animal Kingdom

Barbados - April 29 to May 6, 2001- this was a vacation that I could only have imagined before.  It was the first time I had ever been outside of the US and it was a beautiful location to spend a week.   

For the entire week, there was no rain at all.  There was very little schedule to adhere to-- just rented a car and went.  The only timetable we had was reservations one night at the Plantation Festival and one day we had reservations to fly in a little 10-passenger 'puddle-jumper' to the Grenadine Islands for a day of sailing.  The rest of the time was spent doing whatever we wanted.  We covered the island from top to bottom and ended up in areas I still cannot believe we found.  But I wouldn't have traded a minute of it for anything.  

(I'll always remember the happy times...Thanks for the memories, Mike!)  

View from our hotel room...what a paradise!

Powell Gardens - for anyone in the KC area, Powell Gardens is a great place to spend a day, even though this was not an actual vacation. 

This is a great way to pass some time, walking in nature, viewing the beautiful flowers and scenery.  No matter what time of the year you go, there is always something to see.  One of the big draws in the year 2001, was an exhibit called 'Giant Bugs'.  I think, as you look at the pictures on WebShots, you will be able to see why the exhibit was called this.  It was interesting enough that my oldest grandson, Keith, enjoyed the day and did not feel it was sissy to look at flowers.  

NM/AZ road trip - October 27 to November 4, 2001 - this was a road trip I took, covering just under 4,000 miles in 10 days.  I had no idea there were so many things to see in these 2 states and I did not even get close to seeing everything.  But it was a good time to just get away and have some solitary time to myself. 

On my trip, I started at the top of NM, at Clayton, and took off west across the state.  I then crossed into AZ, going to the Grand Canyon area, before heading south.  I went as far as Prescott before starting back to the southeast, crossing back into NM, where I saw such sites as White Sands, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site and Valley of Fires, then headed down for a day at Carlsbad NM.  On this road trip, I was able to see everything from Indian ruins, lava sites, mountains, forests, deserts, dinosaur tracks and everything in between.   I even came within 2 feet of a rattlesnake.  There was a constantly changing landscape.  With every curve of the road, the scenery was different.  It was just beautiful.   

New Mexico sites included:
Shiprock, Angel Peak, Navajo Lake State Park, Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, Cumbres Pass, Brazos Cliffs, Rio Grande Gorge, the Town of Taos, Enchanted Circle, Cimarron Canyon, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Aztec Ruins, Organ Mountains, White Sands National Monument, Alamogordo, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, Valley of Fires, Smokey Bear Historical State Park, Sierra Blanca, Ruidoso, Carlsbad Caverns and the Living Zoo.  Numerous side trips, way too many to mention.

AZ sites included:
Coal Canyon, First-Second-Third Mesa, Keams Canyon, Hubbell Trading Post, San Francisco Peaks, Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater, Wupatki Ruins, Red Rock, Sedona, Meteor Crater, Dinosaur Tracks, Apache Junction, Lost Dutchman State Park, Tonto National Monument (where the famous 'snake' encounter happened), Needle Vista, Canyon Lake, Tortilla Flat, Queen Creek Canyon, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Escudilla Mountain and Blue Vista Point.  Again, many side trips.

CO/AZ/UT road trip - May 24 to June 1, 2002 - once again, I set off on a road trip, this time with my two oldest grandkids, Keith and Brittany.  We covered 3,931 miles in 9 days.  We got to see a few places I missed last fall in AZ and saw a lot of new things.  It was wonderful, but I think there were two kids very glad to get back home and out of a car. What has made this a bittersweet memory, is that one week after we returned, the massive Colorado-Utah-Arizona wildfires started and some of the same places we were at only the week before, were now closed.   It is just so hard to imagine...

We took off on a Friday morning and was on the road for 9 days.  On this trip, we headed across Kansas (unfortunately, there is no choice in heading west other than to go through Kansas.  Sorry Kansans, but this has to be one of the most boring states around and believe me, we tried to find something to look at.  Went to a place called Maxwell Wildlife Refuge.  We think, by using binoculars, we might have seen some bison about 5 miles away, but we weren't sure.  Sorry but it was a complete waste of our time.)  Anyway, we finally got to Colorado, where we went to the top of Pikes Peak, Fossil Beds, the Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, heading into Arizona (stopping at 4 Corners Monument) to pick up some places I missed last year such as Canyon de Chelly, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest and then headed to the Grand Canyon.  Even though I visited there last year, I did feel it was worth revisiting so the grandkids could see it.  Then into Utah, where I had never visited before.  And it was worth every minute.  There are such great sites like Zion, Bryce, Natural Bridges and Arches. 

CO sites included:
 Pikes Peak, Florissant Fossil Beds, Blanca Peak, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde National Park.  I cannot remember the last time I hiked as much as I did at some of these places...

AZ sites included:
 Canyon de Chelly, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon (both south and north rims), Sunset Crater, Wupatki Ruins, Meteor Crater, and Walnut Canyon.  And I still feel we missed a lot to see.  

Utah sites included:
Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon, Boulder, Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, and Arches.  If you have not visited this area, you cannot imagine what you are missing.

Chicago Business Trip - August, 2002 - Even on business trips, I do my best to get away and see some of the sites, although the time is usually very limited.  I was in Chicago for one of these trips and did manage to get down to the wharf one afternoon.  It would have been nice to have had a little more time for exploring, but unfortunately, it wasn't to be on this trip.

Missouri Ozarks - Labor Day weekend, 2002 - I took off on the Friday after work and headed down towards an 'out of the way' part of the Missouri Ozarks.  Because it was not actually part of the lake area, the crowds were very minimal.  To think that this was so close to where I live and yet I had never been there before.  I spent the nights in Cuba MO and used that as my main beginning point each morning.  I drove Hwy 19 all the way down to the Arkansas border and back.  Some of what I saw along the way was:  Onondaga Cave, Maramec Spring Park, Mark Twain National Forest, Indian Trail Conservation Area, Montauk State Park, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Alley Spring, Blue Spring, Big Spring (gosh, there were a lot of springs in this area and each so pretty in it's own way), Eleven Point National Scenic River and the Grand Gulf State Park.  There were all kinds of walking trails along the way and it was such a nice weekend.  Side trips included Meramec Caverns and the Elephant Rock state park, which made the entire trip worthwhile.  When in Pikes Peak this spring, the guide on the train we took to the top was talking about some of the sites along the way up and mentioned some of the rocks along the side of the train.  He said there were only 2 places these 'elephant' rocks were found:  one was there at Pikes Peak and the other place was in the MO Ozarks.  I was so glad I made note of that and searched out the Elephant Rock state park, as it was truly amazing.  

Big Springs

   Elephant Rock State Park

SD/WY/ID/UT/CO road trip - October 4 to 12, 2002 - I hit the road once again to see some of the many sites I have missed out on.  Nine days on the road, just under 4,000 miles.  Seems to be a routine, doesn't it?  There is just so much to see out there and not enough time to ever be able to see it all. 

I had definite places that I wanted to visit plus who knew what else along the way.  Here is my week long trip in a nutshell.  On this trip, I was able to see the following sites and probably some I have forgotten:

SD - Prairie Homestead (they have an amazing group of white prairie dogs), the Badlands National Park, Wall Drug, The Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern, Bear Country (a great wildlife preserve), Reptile Gardens (don't go there if you don't like to see snakes...lots & lots of snakes), Spearfish Canyon and on to Deadwood, where the gravesites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are located.  

WY - The Devils Tower National Monument, Shell Falls, Big Horn Canyon, Buffalo Bill State Park and spent the night at Pahaska Tepee lodge, originally built by Buffalo Bill.  Then on to Yellowstone Park, including Old Faithful, various hot springs, Green River, followed Route 530, and Grand Teton National Park.   

ID - One of the most amazing stops here was at the Craters of the Moon, a huge volcanic landscape area (well worth the stop), then to Shoshone Falls.  

UT - I circled the Great Salt Lake, Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop, Red Canyon, Flaming Gorge Dam, Ashley National Forest and Vernal.  UT was the second truly amazing site, the Dinosaur National Monument.  In the early 1900's, a massive amount of fossils were uncovered.  Instead of digging them all out, they built the tourist center over the excavation site and into the side of the mountain and left the fossils as they were found, to be viewed.  Very interesting.  

CO - I traveled through Granby and by some of the ski areas and then headed east to return home.  

Once again, I saw so much more of this beautiful country we live in.  So much to see and so little time to do it.  Here is a sampling of what I saw.  

AZ Yellowstone

UT Flaming Gorge

Key West FL weekend trip - March 6 to 9, 2003 - I had never been to the Key West area, and when Mike talked about going, I jumped at the chance.  It had been a long, cold winter in the Midwest and to get away for a while was exactly what I needed.  We set out for a long weekend, away from the winter weather of Missouri.  While we were in hopes of warmer temperatures, FL was having a record heat wave...the day we left to come home, it was 95 degrees there.  Guess you get what you ask for...

We flew out of KC at 5:30AM, (whose idea was it to leave at that time of the morning?) to allow us lots of time, landing in Ft Lauderdale.  From there, we drove to Key Largo, where we spent the first night, and saw the first FL sunset.  From there, we drove down to Key West, probably stopping at every souvenir shop along the way (yes, HE was the shopper, can't blame me for that one).  We did squeeze a lot into a 4 day weekend.  We crossed the 7-mile bridge, the only way to drive between the Keys, rode the Conch train, visited Mallory Square, did the Haunted Night Tour (YOU'RE DOOMED), visited Margaritaville (the band playing--Nace Brothers--was from the KC area....had to go all the way down there to see a local band), got to parasail, stood at Southern Point, which is the southern most point in the continental US (hard to believe it is only 90 miles from Cuba), saw the Hwy 1 mile marker 0, visited the Shipwreck museum, the aquarium, got up close and personal with alligators and snakes at the Alligator farm and bought ice cream at Robert's Fruit Stand.  To only have 4 days, we kept very busy.  

NE/SD/ND/MN/WI/Canada - May 16 to 24, 2003 - I took off for my spring road trip, heading North.  I went into Canada for the first time and spent one night there.  Driving around Lake Superior was a gorgeous site: lots of waterfalls to be seen.  Once again I hit close to 4400 miles....that was a lot of driving..... 

Some of the sites along the way included:
NE - Broken Bow, Sand Hills, thru the NED National Forest, Fort Niobrara Natl Wildlife Refuge, Chadron State Park, Toadstool Park (great for hiking), Lake McConaughy, Ash Hollow State Park, Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Scotts Bluff National Monument and Lake Minatare.
SD - I had pretty much covered SD last fall, so I just drove through the state, looking at the scenery along side the road.  However, I did make a side trip to Sturgis, just for the fun of it.
ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park (both North and South Units), New Town, Garrison Dam, Knife River Indian Village, and Missouri River Valley.
MN - I spent the night in the town of Black Duck (what kind of a name is that?).  Then the next morning, I set out and saw Avenue of Pines Scenic Byway, Lake Winnibigoshish, Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center, Laurentian Divide, Island Lake, Edge of the Wilderness State Scenic Byway, and Suomi Hills.  From International Falls MN, I drove into Canada, driving one of the scenic highways and ending up at Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, where I spent the night. The next morning, I entered the US at Grand Portage and drove down Lake Superior, seeing Devils Kettle Waterfall, Cascade River State Park, Palisade Head, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Gooseberry Falls State Park and Two Harbors, ending at Duluth.
WI - Amnicon Falls State Park, Brule River State Forest, took the ferry out to Madeline Island, which is part of the Apostle Islands, Hurley, Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation,  Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, Pepin (which is near the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author) and Trempealeau.
These areas were pretty spread out, so there was a lot of time spent driving where I was able to just observe the pretty countryside and the sites along the road.  The waterfalls were amazing to see, so much power in each.   

Toadstool Park-NE

Split Rock MN

Arkansas - Labor Day weekend, 2003 - This trip started on the Friday after we got off work and drove down towards the Missouri Ozarks...because it was a late start, the first night was spent in Springfield MO and then hit AR the next morning.  Again, since the drive was not in the 'lake' area, the crowds were small.  I have never thought of Arkansas as being a scenic area....I was very wrong.  Starting at Harrison, AR, Hwy 7 was followed, spending Saturday night in Russellville and ending up Sunday night at Hot Springs, AR.  Some of what was seen along the way was:  Mystic Caverns, Arkansas Grand Canyon, ate at the Cliff House, Alum Cove Natural Bridge Recreation Area, Pedestal Rocks, Rotary Ann Overlook, Ozark National Forest, Mt Nebo State Park, Mt Magazine, Petit Jean State Park (which has several wonderful areas, including Pioneer Cabin, Cedar Falls, Rock House Cave, and Turtle Rocks, among other things), Nimrod Dam, Ouachita National Forest and ending in Hot Springs.  It would have been easy to spend a couple of days in Hot Springs, as there were all kinds of activities to do there, but since work was looming on Tuesday, there was only time to ride the Duck Ride, which drove around the town of Hot Springs and then drove into the lake where the tour continued.  There was a lot of hiking over the couple of days, but a word to the wise:  if you want to hike to one of the most beautiful spots in Petit Jean State Park, do the Cedar Falls hike.  But only if you are up to a very strenuous walk.  It was rough terrain hiking down.  Coming back up was VERY difficult.    

Sunset Point on Mt Nebo

Texas (and a corner of OK-AR) - October 17 to 25, 2003 - Off I go again, this time heading to the Great state of Texas.  The plan was to drive the parameter of TX and that is just what I did.  On the way down, I passed through some areas of OK and AR.  In OK, I saw Winding Stair Mountains, Ouachita National Forest, Potato Hill Vista, Holson Valley Vista, Dead Mans Vista, Sunset Point Vista; passing into AR, I visited Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Rich Mountain Fire Tower.  Then into TX - here, among other sites, I saw Caddo Lake, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Big Bend National Park, Marfa, Big Thicket National Preserve, Anahuac National Wildlife Preserve, Pedernales Falls, Enchanted Rock, Lost Maples, Fort Davis, McDonald Observatory, Rio Grande Village, El Camino del Rio and the Guadalupe Mountains.  But I have to say that the highlight of the trip was North and South Padre Islands and the Gulf of Mexico.  Because of the time of the year, the beaches were almost totally deserted and I was able to get a hotel room for next to nothing, where I could watch the sun set on the water.  It was so peaceful and calm.  

View of the Gulf of Mexico at S Padre Island

SD/WY/ID/UT/CO/NE - Memorial Day weekend & week - May 28 - June 5, 2004 - This was a fun trip.  All of my kids that were able to go and all 7 of the grandkids, headed out early on Friday to SD for the Memorial Day weekend.  During the long weekend, we saw Devils Tower, Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore, the Badlands, Bear Country, Reptile Garden and Wall Drug.  On Monday, most had to head back home to be back at work, but I kept going West with my 2 oldest grandkids and one of their friends.  During the rest of the week, we visited Shell Falls, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Ice Caves, Shoshone Falls, Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur National Park, Agate Fossil Beds, Scotts Bluff, Chimney Rock, Courthouse and Jail Rock and Windless Hill.  But the favorite of all of the grandkids was Toadstool National Park.  As soon as we got there, off they went to explore and climb the hills.  This was my second time to this out-of-the-way spot and I still cannot believe how beautiful it is.  And so hidden that most people would probably never find it.  

The group at Devils Tower

NV/CA - October 7 - 16, 2004 - Fall again.  Still heading west, this time with my oldest son, Paul.  There is a highway (Hwy 50) that is referred to as "The Loneliest Road in America" that crosses NV.  You can pick up a survival kit and at various spots along the route, you stop and have the map stamped.  Then when the trip is done, you mail the survival map back to NV and get an "I survived" certificate.  Then the trip continued on into CA.  Along the way, some of the spots seen were:  Garnet Hill (you can actually mine for Garnets and yes, we did find some), Hickison Petroglyphs, Sand Springs and the pony express stop, Grimes Point, Pyramid Lake, Lake Tahoe, Devils Postpile, Mono Lake, Yosemite Natl Park, El Capitan, Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Boyden Cavern, into Death Valley (I cannot imagine going there during the summer months), Panamint Springs, Stovepipe Wells, Bad Water, Scotty's Castle, Sand Dunes, Harmony Borax Works, Devils Golf Course, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire and ending up back in the Arches National Park in UT.  Again, almost 4700 miles.  Whew......

A spectacular view overlooking Lake Tahoe

IL/WI/MI/NY - April 22 - 28, 2005 - My daughter, Dawn, and I headed out to explore new areas.  We head NE heading to the Great Lakes region.  Our goal was to see all 5 lakes and put our hands in the water at each.  We accomplished what we set out to do. 
We stopped at areas in IL on our way North.  In WI, we went up to the Sturgeon Point area and was able to see all of the coastal areas.  We then went to the Upper Peninsula of MI and hit those coast lines, visiting areas like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Tahquamenon Falls, Whitefish Point, crossed over the Mackinac Bridge into the main part of MI.  We circled the upper half of the coastline of the state, seeing places like Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pyramid Point, out to Old Mission Peninsula, Tunnel of Trees, Presque Isle and Tawas Point.  We crossed over into Canada and came out at Niagara Falls.  From there, we went up the coastline of Lake Ontario, where lots of lighthouses sit.  It was completely different from heading west, where I have concentrated most of my travels in the past.  But it was still breathtaking.  We did get hit with the April snowstorm that hit in April, but it only stopped us for one night and it gave us something to talk about when we got back. 

Lots of lighthouses around the Great Lakes.  This one was Christmas Tree Ship Point.

MO Ozarks - Memorial Day weekend 2005 - This was kind of a repeat trip, one that I had taken back in 2002 over Labor Day.  But this time, I took my two oldest grandkids and my daughter, Dawn, with me.  I pretty much duplicated the same path as I hit the first time, but we did spend one day horseback riding.  I think the last time I went riding was back when I was still a teenager....and that was a very long time ago.  It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time.

     
My grandkids at Elephant Rock State Park and the next day riding the horses.

CO/NM/AZ/CA/UT - October 21 - 29, 2005 - After going NE in the spring, I was anxious to hit the west again.  Since my daughter, Dawn, was once again accompanying me, I hit some of the sites I had been to previously, but felt were worth going to again, so she could see them.  I did hit new areas, however.  In CO, we saw Garden of the Gods.  I can't believe I missed it the first time.  It was beautiful.  From the Pikes Peak area, it was on to see the Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Monument.  If you haven't taken the time to visit this area, you should make the time.  Even the kids would enjoy it:  55 square miles of sand, including the tallest dune in N America.  Then we headed into NM hitting Bandelier, Echo Amphitheater and White Rock, before entering AZ.  Again, I saw some of the same sites as previously, but we also got to see new ones, including Homolovi, Tuzigoot, Little Painted Desert and Montezuma's Castle.  Of course, we had to stop at the Grand Canyon and then one day went into CA to visit the Joshua Tree National Park.  We also spent one day on the road looking for ghost towns in AZ.  We ended up on some roads that you would not believe.  The plan was to head back across UT, but the first night after entering UT, it began to snow, so we decided it would not be a good idea to head into mountains and instead backtracked and took off across NM.  Our big adventure there was walking down into the middle of the Capulin Volcano.  So for an unplanned trip, we saw a lot of places and traveled in excess of 5,000 miles.  I still want to take my daughter back to UT sometime, so she can see the sites we missed there.  I know she would have a true appreciation of them.

A spectacular view at Garden of the Gods, CO

Key West FL a second trip - March 2 to 6 2006 - Once again, it seemed like the best place to go to escape winter and when Mike suggested it, I jumped again.  This trip, the weather was perfect.  Lows at night were 72 and the high was 83.  What could have been better.

This trip we flew into Miami, rented a convertible (woohoo), and off we went.  To be such a small area, there is a lot to see and there was very little that was a repeat viewing.  This trip, some of the new sites were the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, took a sunset cruise on a Glass Bottom Boat and did a full day trip over to the Dry Tortugas (Fort Jefferson), aboard a Catamaran.  Definitely not a trip for those leaning towards seasickness.  But if you have a strong stomach, go for it.  Definitely worth the time.

View from Mallory Square of the Sunset

IN/KY/TN/MS - October 7 to 12 2006 - At a time that I just needed to get away in a new direction, I decided to head over into IN, KY, TN and MS and end up in the Gulfport MS area.  It was an interesting area, but what hit the most was that after over a year had gone by since Katrina hit, the area was still under so much devastation.  Since I had never been in this area before, I could only imagine the beautiful homes and landscape that were no longer there. 

My grandson Keith went with me and some of the areas we covered were:  Squire Boone Caverns, Dinosaur World (which anyone with kids would have a blast at), Lincoln's birthplace, Mammoth Cave, Jefferson Davis Monument, down the entire length of the Natchez Trace Parkway, which included Jackson Falls, Meriwether Lewis Site, David Crockett State Park, Sunken Trace, Tupelo (Elvis' Presley's birth home), Cypress Swamp, Emerald Mound, Natchez, then down to Gulfport MS, where Keith got his first view of the Gulf of Mexico and spent some time on the beach. 

UT/AZ/CA - June 11 to 23 2007 - This trip was different in a couple of ways.  First, most of my kids and grandkids were able to go, so we did a car caravan.  Secondly, it was for 2 weeks instead of my usual 1 week. 

We covered some areas that I had been to before but wanted to have my family see.  And we did see some amazing sites.  Some of the places we hit were:
UT - Capitol Reef, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, Arches, Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon (which has to be at the top of the most beautiful places in the US), Zion Canyon, Cedar Breaks and Navaho Lake.
AZ - Navajo National Park, Grand Canyon (of course), Meteor Crater, Casa Grande Ruins and Saguaro National Park.
CA - We started in San Diego, as everyone wanted to see the zoo.  And it was great.  At this point of the trip, we ended up splitting in different directions.  Some wanted to just relax on the beach while others wanted to continue to see the nature sites.  Obviously I was in the nature group.  After leaving San Diego, we headed up the length of the CA coastline.  Some of the areas we saw were:  Pacific Ocean, Jade Cove, we stopped along one area of the coastline where the Elephant sea lions were laying around by the hundreds.  Traveling on, we saw Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Golden Gate Bridge, Earthquake Trail, Point Reyes National Seashore, Bodega Bay, headed over to the Redwood Forest, Mount Shasta, Klamath National Forest, Lava Beds National Monument, and the Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Heading home, we crossed the Salt Lake Flats area and saw our last view of the Rockies.  Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we got to see a lot of area.

IA-IL-TN-MO - October 20 to 24 2007 - I wanted to get away for a while by myself but wasn't in the mood to go cross country, so I concentrated on areas that are within a few hundred miles of home. 

IA - I drove up through the Loess Hills.  I won't say I was blown away by the sites, but it was pretty in places.
IL - This was a little more scenic than the IA route.  Along this drive, I saw Garden of the Gods (this doesn't begin to compare with the Garden of the Gods in CO), Pounds Hollow, Cave-in-Rock State Park, Tower Rock, and Illinois Iron Furnace.
TN - It was kind of rainy towards the end of the day and they were calling for more rain the following day, so I tried to think of a good place to go where it wouldn't matter if it was raining or not, so I set my sights on Memphis TN, where the plan was to visit Graceland (Elvis' home).  It was definitely the right place to go.  For anyone who has never seen it, it is very much worth the trip.  You could easily spend all day at this one location. 
MO - At this point, I was ready to start heading towards home, but there is an area in MO that I had never visited, so I decided to get this one checked off my list.  I headed to Hannibal MO, land of Mark Twain.  It is a quaint little town and again, you could spend a lot of time there.  From Hannibal, I set off to see Samuel Clemens, birth home, headed down in the state and saw Daniel Boone's home, and just some pretty scenery along the way.

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