Hits and Misses
Steve reviews the scenic wonders and roadside attractions along his way. How many Jeeps will the world's largest ball of barbed wire get? (Scale of 1 to 5 Jeeps)
New Bern, NC
Pepsi from the soda fountain at the pharmacy where Pepsi originated, shells on Atlantic Beach and fine hospitality from Angelo's brother Jim and his wife Marie.
Charleston, SC
Profusely blooming gardens, historic homes and buildings.
Savannah, GA
Even more beautiful than Charleston, with the town squares, trees with Spanish moss riverfront homes and beautiful buildings, really cool, romantic getaway.
Auburn, AL
Incomplete
Unfortunately it turned out that the campus was dead due to spring break and most places were closed or had a handfull of people in them. I recommend the Mellow Mushroom for pizza though.
Montgomery, AL
Not much to see or do of any real interest, although the civil rights memorial was a must see if you are passing through.
Mobile, AL
After having been to Charleston and Savannah, Mobile just can't compare to them. Bellingrath Gardens however were beautiful as the azaleas were in peak bloom and I had the wonderful company of Angel and Sarah from Pensacola, FL.
Dauphin Island, AL
Partly because of the great weather, the beach was clean and not crowded the day I was there.
Biloxi, MS
Unless you are a gambler, there are much better places to go to the beach on the gulf coast. I did get to play golf at Dogwood Hills golf course, not quite as pretty as the name but a great deal, $20 for 18 holes.
New Orleans, LA
Swamp tour with the Lil Cajun, Bourbon Street, Hurricanes and Laura and Stephanie from New England. Enough said!
Avery Island, LA
Home of the McIlhenny tabasco sauce, took a tour of the plant and got to sample some of their many sauces. Not worth going out of your way there unless you truly are a hot sauce fan.
Houston, TX
Enron Field rates right up there with Camden Yards, even better since they have a train! Johnson Space Center was really worthwhile, the tour shows you the control center for the space shuttle as well as the space station. Only problem
was that my sister Laurie was unable to make it back to the states in time to see her on my swing through there.
San Antonio, TX
Riverwalk and the Alamo, but not much else. Sam's Burger Joint is a good lunch stop.
Austin, TX
Had the wonderful pleasure of staying with the Cowans (Thanks Mike, Laura, Emily and David!) for a few days. Even though the bats disappointed (are you sure there's usually more than a dozen of those guys?) and the bar-b-q was not quite Pepper's (but then what is?), the blues at Joe's Generic Bar and the company were fantastic.
El Paso, TX
Just keep going.
Tombstone, AZ
Even though the place is touristy, it still gives you an idea on how things were in the old West with some authenticity.
Chiricahua National Monument, AZ
The rock formations are striking and unbelieveable, the hiking trails are very rewarding.
Tucson, AZ
The Pima aircraft museum, Desert museum and the Saguaro National Park were all interesting and worthwhile. Save your money and pass on Old Tucson Studios. The Saguaro cactus is the coolest!
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ
Probably not worth the drive for most people, especially if you are going to be stopping by the Saguaro N.P. near Tucson.
San Diego, CA
Special thanks to my cousin Lyn and her husband Jim for their fabulous hospitality, including a Padres game and some hiking. Played golf on a beautiful day at Torrey Pines (yeah, we heard something about Steve calling Lamar at work from the first tee...), wish my golf game was as nice as the day was. Special thanks to Lynn's friends Paula, Mary (because it's all about Mary), Corilee for the plant seminar and the rest of the Team One members.
Los Angeles, CA
Again Muchos Thanks to my good friend Jack for putting me up for a week and allowing me to get a great volleyball fix at Manhattan Beach, 4 times in one week was great! Got to a Dodger game (Pirates lost Angelo) and saw a bad movie at the Mann Chinese Theater (Bridget Jones Diary, 0 Jeeps) (Great theater though).
Joshua Tree N.P
Didn't realize the rock formations and climbing that was here, what a difference from what's on the other side of the mountain.
Mojave Desert N.P.
The sand dunes are better in other places and the desert on the way there and in other places that you pass in route are better.
Las Vegas, NV
What can you say about the place, an adult playground! Hoover Dam was cool to see, had to mail the souveigner hardhat home though, no room in the jeep.
Sedona, AZ
Beautiful rock formations and weather, even got to do the natural flume ride (water was a bit cold though).
Grand Canyon N.P.
Hiked down to Plateau Point (3000+ vert. ft and 12 miles roundtrip) and saw 4 sunsets from 4 different overlooks. Incredible!
Monument Valley
A do not miss at sunset, you can see it all in half a day, so make it the afternoon.
Natural Bridges N.P.
The third of the bridges is the best, very fraile looking, you can do this park in a couple of hours.
Canyonlands & Arches N.P.
The Jeep got a workout doing some off-road driving and came thru with flying colors (I didn't push it too much as I still have a long way to go in it)! Awesome views!
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
South Park, CO
Yes, the place exists!
Denver, CO
Special thanks to my friend Jae for putting me up for a few nights. Had some good Korean food (thanks Pete, Jae's cousin who treated). Coors Field was nice, but Enron in Houston is still the nicest so far.
Cheyenne, WY
The birthplace of Taco John's!
Black Hills & Badlands N.P.
Mount Rushmore was incredible, park for free at the remote parking area if you go. Saw lots of wildlife (buffalo, prairie dogs, bighorned sheep, etc.) in Custard S.P. and the Badlands weren't so bad. I didn't realize they had so many casinos around this area, I made a small donation.
Devil's Tower
Really neat looking but that's all there is.
Yellowstone & Grand Tetons N.P.
Geysers, waterfalls, mudpots, wildlife (mooses, elk, and hey, that bird looks like an osprey!), mountains, great weather (until this past Sunday) and of course my sister Laurie and cousin Lynn. The Old Faithful Inn was awesome, a must see.
Eastern Idaho
I hope the rest of the state is nicer. Saw a vast wasteland of lava (the other vast wasteland of it is in NoVA) at the Craters of the Moon.
Glacier National Park, MT
Incredible
scenery, got snowed in one day (in June!) and Avalanche Lake is one of the most picturesque places I've ever been.
Waterton Lakes N.P., Canada
If you go to Glacier, be sure to drive up here for 2 days. Plenty of bears and the hike up to Crypt Lake is fantastic.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
A big city with not much going on, although I wasn't here for stampede days.
Barkersville, BC
The old gold mining is not that big, but the actors around town really make the experience fun and interesting.
Bowron Lake, BC
Way out away from civilization, I went kayaking here. Plenty of moose to see down in the swamps, you could paddle pretty close to them.
Dawson City, Yukon
The town still has a yesterday feel to it, dirt streets and boardwalk sidewalks.
Inuvik, Yukon
Well above the Artic Circle, it was surreal to watch the sun travel west to east along the northern sky and never set. I also flew up to a native village on the Artic Ocean, boy is that water cold!! Also showed my generosity by giving a ride to a couple of sweet girls, Laurence and Mary Ann, who needed a ride down to Whitehorse.
Whitehorse, Yukon
I didn't go to some of the touristy places but the flatbottom riverboat SS Klondike was worthwhile to see. Their Canada Day celebration was real small town, including a parade with a real scary looking beaver float.
Skagway, AK
Man can this place get crowded, especially when you have 3 cruise ships in port at one time! Aside from that, an OK place but not up to par with a place like Dawson City.
Haines, AK
Some nice hikes here that provide some great views of the canals and mountains. Worth a day stop, but not much more.
Valdez, AK
The mountains here were beautiful even thought the weather wasn't. Very much a blue collar town, not geared much for tourism.
Anchorage, AKa
You just never know who you will run into, right John K.? Finally some reasonable gas prices!!! More of a place you have to pass thru and stock up on supplies, but the shopping was good and there's plenty of things a short distance's drive away.
Homer, AK
The halibut fishing capital of the world, so they say. With me not a fishing person, I can't attest to that claim, but the town had a welcoming air to it and I shared a couple of drinks with a fisherman Puzzle at the Salty Dawg Bar.
Kodiak, AK
I had the pleasure to spend half a week with Susanne, Erin, Henrik & Enja (from
Denmark) and our camp host Robert, even though the weather wasn't the best the company and adventures were great.
Denali N.P., AK
My cousin Walt joined me for about 10 days, we lucked out and had some incredible views of Denali the first day and a half there, then the clouds came. Aside from the mosquitoes, the hiking was good and plenty of wildlife was seen (once a little closer than comfortable, "Hey Bear!").
Seward, AK
Glaciers, wildlife (sea lions, otters and bears, oh my!)(plenty of bald eagles too), kayaking and hiking up Mt. Marathon (most of the way up). Somehow ran into Henrik and Enja again!
Alaska Highway
Not Rated
One hell of a long two lane road, highlights were Muncho Lake and the Liard River Hot Springs, otherwise just driving driving driving!
Mount Robson
Did an awesome overnight hike up to Berg Lake, an awful lot of hiking but well worth it. Waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, it had it all!
Jasper
Went to a fun music festival, recovered from my Berg Lake hike, saw some beautiful lakes and mountains and soaked in some hot springs. Even got to meet Brenda's sister's boyfriend, eh!
Banff
Some really nice hikes, especially around Lake Louise. Now if they could just do something about all those people!
Radium Hot Springs and vicinity
A little less crowded over here (and some badly marked back roads) and some great hikes. Soaked in yet another hot spring!
Glacier (Canada) N.P.
Yet more excellent hiking!