The Beginnings
The Beginnings
Ken left Houston, Texas on June 2, 1999 in his new Coachmen Class C Motor home. The motor home was purchased in Houston, Texas and he planned to live in it forever. He pulled his VW Van behind it. He planned the first trip to travel north from Houston to Calgary, Canada to Washington state, down the Oregon coast across Nevada to Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico finally returning to Texas. Places of interest were planned along the way to include national parks and monuments; Custer's Last Stand Reenactment in Hardin, Montana; the Stampede Rodeo in Calgary, Canada; and numerous Native-American places of interest. He planned to return to Texas in the fall and spend the winter in a south Texas RV park. Each year a new long trip would be planned. (This never happened. On the way his trip was interruped in Gallup, New Mexico ending in Santa Fe. He never made it back to Texas!)
In four months he traveled over 8,000 miles covering 13 states in the U.S. and two providences in Canada.
Left Houston on the 2nd. Spent the first night in Childress in the Texas Panhandle (482 miles).
Arrived in Raton on the 3rd. (328 miles) Went to see Mount Capulin National Volcanic Monument.
Spent the 4th & 5th in Colorado Springs. Visited Mantiou Springs, Pikes Peak via the Cog Railroad, the Garden of the Gods and the Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) Cliff Dwellings. Drove on to Denver on the 6th and picked up his high school friend Carter Frank at the Holiday Inn SW. We drove out of the state to Cheyenne,Wyoming that evening. (102 miles)
On the 7th drove to Fort Laramie (110 miles) to see the Fort Laramie National Historic Site.
On the 8th drove to Scott's Bluff (50 miles) which was a major landmark on the Oregon Trail. From there we stopped byAgate Fossil Beds National Monument to see where many mammal fossils had been discovered.
By the evening of the 8th we had driven to Hot Springs. (139 miles) From there we drove through the Black Hills. On the 9th we went to the carved mountains- the Crazy Horse Memorial and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. (51 miles) On the 10th we drove to Deadwood (50 miles) and walked around the downtown area. The morning of the 10th we drove through Badland National Park. (100 miles)
On the 11th we saw Devil's Tower National Monument (165 miles) then drove on to Hardin, Montana. (219 miles)
Walked around theLittle Bighorn Battlefield National Monument on the 12th and saw where General Custer and the men of the 7th Calvary were attacked and massacred by the plains Indians. Took Carter to Billings on the 13th to catch a plane back to Houston then stayed at the first KOA camp in the U.S. until the 15th. Then drove to West Yellowstone outside of Yellowstone National Park. (149 miles)
On the 16th drove through Yellowstone National Park to Cody (52 miles) staying until the 22nd. Enjoyed seeing the Indian Pow-wow, the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, the night rodeo, the old west town and Cassie's Restaurant & Dance Hall. The drive on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway was really an awesome sight!
On the 23rd left Cody. Saw the Heart Mountain WWII Japanese Relocation Camp and stopped by the Bighorn Canyon National Recreational Area. Drove on through to Hardin, Montana. Stayed in Hardin from the 24th to the 27th to be involved in Custer's Last Stand Reenactment. Also attended the Little Big Horn Days ball where everyone was dressed in period costumes. Went toward Billings on the 28th. Stayed behind the Arrow Creek Trading Post on the Crow Indian Reservation until the morning of the 30th thanks to Marla Little Light.
On the 1st drove to Butte. (228 miles) Went to St. Ignatius (159 miles) on the 2nd to see Big Hole National Battlefield and the National Bison Range along the way. Went to Kalispell (77 miles) on the 3rd and stayed there until the 4th enjoying the Blue Moon Saloon and the Forth of July Celebration Festival in Whitefish.
On the 5th went to St. Mary stopping at The Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning along the way. The morning of the 6th drove on the "Going to the Sun Highway" through the Waterton-Glacier National Park. (34 miles)
On the morning of the 7th drove into Canada. Stopped at Ft. MacLeod (65 miles) to see "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump" before going on to Calgary. (107 miles) Stayed in Calgary until the 11th. Went on a trip to Drumheller on the 8th to see the National Museum of Paleontology. While in Calgary saw the Stampede Rodeo & Chuck wagon Races, the Indian Village, went to the Ranchman's Saloon to C&W dance, went to Chinatown and to the North American Show Jumping Tournament at Spruce Meadows.
On the morning of the 12th drove to Banff (80 miles) and went to see Banff National Park. Also drove over to see Lake Louise. Left the Canadian Rockies and spent the night in Hope, BC (433 miles) before going back into the U.S. via Abbotsford to Sumas, WA. (52miles)
The 14th through the 17th stayed in the Olympic Peninsula at Port Angeles. (171 miles) Got there via ferry from Canada to Port Townsend. Stayed in Port Angeles and visited Victoria Island, Canada which was reached by 1.5 hr. ferry. In Victoria went to the Royal British Columbia Museum and rode a double-decker bus around the town. While staying in Port Angeles drove to the Olympic National Park to see Hurricane Ridge, Sol Doc Hot Springs, and the Hoh Rainforest on the 18th. Drove to Kindle and saw the Mt. St. Helen's National Volcanic Monument. (130 miles)
Went to Hammond (Warrenton/Astoria) on the 19th and stayed until the 21st. (75 miles) While there saw Ft. Smith, Ft. Clatsop National Park (Louis & Clark's winter fort at the mouth of the Columbia River), the Flavel House and Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. (9 miles) On the 22nd and 23rd drove Oregon's Pacific Ocean Highway 101 stopping to see Ecola State Park, Tillamook Cheese Factory, the Sea Lion Caves, and the Cloverdale RV flea market. Spent the night at Lincoln City (44 miles) then on to Oakridge (163 miles) on the 23rd. Got to Ft. Klamath (116 miles) on the 25th and stayed until the 26th driving to see Crater Lake National Park (32 miles) from there.
On the 26th drove through California stopping to see Lava Beds National Monument before getting to Reno, Nevada. (296 miles)
Got to Reno and stayed there from the 26th to the 28th. In the Reno area went to see Carson City, Lake Tahoe and Virginia City. Left there on the 29th driving to Ely. (310 miles) Stayed in the Ely area taking a ride on the Nevada Northern Railroad's Evening Train ride and going to the Great Basin National Park.
Reached Page on the 4th and stayed until the 5th. While there took a boat ride on Lake Powell seeing the Rainbow Arch and crossed Glen Canyon Dam. On the 6th drove to Grand Canyon National Park and on to Flagstaff (204 miles) staying there until the 9th. On the 10th went through the Navajo and Hopi Reservations seeing theHomolovi Ruins along the way. Stayed at the Canyon De Chelly National Monument (171 miles) on the 10th leaving for Gallup on the 11th. (92 miles)
Reached Gallup on the 11th and stayed there until the 15th taking in the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial or '78 th Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. Drove to Chama (224 miles) on the 16th stopping at the Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec along( the way. In Chama rode the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.
Went to Pagosa Springs (49 miles) on the 18th and enjoyed the sights until the 22nd. Drove to the Cortez Area (104 miles) to see the many Ancient Pueblo ruins around there - Hovenweep and Mesa Verde. On the 25th went to Durango (35 miles) and stayed until the 31st. Enjoyed riding the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Went back to Pagosa Springs (60 miles) on the 1st and stayed until the 5th enjoying the Fourth Annual Four Corners Folk Festival and the roads in Wolf Creek Pass.
Drove to Taos (154 miles) on the 6th and on the 7th went to the Taos Pueblo and the Kit Carson House & Museum downtown. Drove to Santa Fe (70 miles) on the 8th and decided to stay in the Santa Fe area at the newly opened Santa Fe Skies RV Park. This is where he lived until moving to Eldoraodo with his new wife, Susan who he met at the '78 th Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, NM!
