Utah

Our last set of parks were Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. Although both parks are worthy of at least a whole day's visit, we only spent half a day at each. We went to Arches first, checking out the visitor center and driving part way into the park so we could hike out to delicate arch. After eating lunch in the RV, we headed out of the park, stopping so the kids could get their Junior Ranger badges and drove to Canyonlands. The two parks are close to each other. 

Canyonlands is divided into three areas, two of which are accessible by car and have visitors centers. We went to the northern one, Island in the Sky. After touring the visitor center we attended a ranger presentation, then hiked out to the overlook of the park. Once the kids earned their Junior Ranger badge we headed north.

Tuesday we stopped near Salt Lake City to visit friends, and yesterday we made the long drive back to Oregon. We visited 18 new states during our trip, bringing our total to 35 states. 

Colorado

On Saturday, we drove up to Rocky Mountain NP. We stopped at the Estes Park and Fall River visitor centers so the kids could earn their Junior Ranger badges, then headed south to Golden Gate Canyon State Park, where we stayed the night.

Sunday we headed west toward Grand Junction, and stopped at Colorado National Monument. We drove up Rimrock Drive to the visitor center, admiring the views of the canyon and rock formations, then hiked on a trail.

 

From there we drove into Utah, and stayed the night at a campground in Moab.

Nebraska/Wyoming

Thursday morning we turned north into Nebraska. Our first stop was Scotts Bluff National Monument. This natural landmark was used as a reference by wagon trains on the Oregon Trail as well as the Pony Express. It marked the end of the long trek across the plains, and the beginning of the ascent over the Rocky Mountains. The visitor center contained exhibits on the Oregon Trail, as well as the geology and animal life of the Butte area.

 

In the afternoon we visited Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Formerly part of the Agate Ranch, these fossil beds contain remains of early mammals who flourished during the ice ages. The visitor center contains many Native American artifacts, given to James Cook, who once owned the Ranch, because of their friendship with him. Besides those and some fossils, there's not a whole lot here. After completing the Junior Ranger program, we turned west into Wyoming, where we stayed the night.

This morning we visited Fort Laramie NHS in Wyoming, located at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers. Originally a trading post used by trappers and native Americans, this fort was the largest and best known military post on the Northern Plains until it was abandoned in 1890. Like Fort Scott, the grounds contain many buildings that have been preserved or reconstructed.

 

We then drove south into Colorado, stopping to camp for the night in Loveland north of Denver.

Kansas

In the afternoon we drove west to Fort Scott in Kansas, which was pretty interesting. This fort served as a military base for the US Army, providing security to the surrounding areas during the middle of the 19th century, a period which included Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War.

Lastly, we hit Harry S Truman's house in Independence, MO. We were in the last tour of the day. Since I knew Truman served as Grand Master of Masons in Missouri, I tried to see if there were any Masonic books in his library but couldn’t get close enough. It was a very long day, but we managed to finish four Jr Ranger programs.

We stayed the night in Lawrence KS, and in the morning hit the Brown vs Board of Education site in Topeka, and then drove across Kansas into a thunder storm. By the time we got to western Kansas it was dark but the lightning looked really cool.

Missouri

From St Louis, we headed southwest to Mansfield, to see the house where Laura Wilder lived while she wrote the "Little House" books.  She was a pretty short woman, so her husband made all the cabinets shorter than normal to accommodate her.

Tuesday morning, we visited Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, which had a very nice visitor's center for a fairly minor civil war battle.

Then we hit the George Washington Carver National Monument, which similar to Grant's House will be better soon, as they are currently constructing a new visitor's center.  Over the course of his lifetime, Carver rose from slavery to become a renowned educator and research scientist.  He created 325 uses for peanuts.

Saint Louis

Following a night in a Tennessee State Park, we drove to St Louis to visit friends for the weekend. On Saturday, we visited the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the Arch). The arch was more impressive than I expected. The museum there was very nice, and the movie about how they built the arch really drove home what an engineering feat it was.

 

While claustrophobic, the elevator system used to take visitors up to the top of the arch was really interesting, and the views of St Louis and the Mississippi River were pretty great.

Today we visited the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. US Grant's house was a bit of a disappointed after how much we liked Eisenhower's. To be fair, however, they are a fairly new park, and had just moved the visitor's center into a new building, so not all the exhibits were set up. It should get better in the next few years.

We also took a tour of the Anheuser Busch factory. It was interesting, and the kids enjoyed seeing the stables of the Clydesdales. I enjoyed the free beer in the tasting room.

Finally, we stopped for some frozen custard.

Great Smokys

Thursday we drove through the Great Smokys, and weren't too impressed. It was pretty enough, but it's no Yellowstone or Yosemite. Maybe if we had taken the road to Cades Cove. Anyway, they claim it's the most visited park in the nation, but we were a little skeptical, since they don't have admission booths like some parks. That said it was pretty crowded, especially considering it was a weekday in October.

Most of the turnouts contained at least a couple of cars, so I was unable to pull the motor home in. I imagine it's close to unbearable in the summer. We stopped at the Oconaluftee visitor center in North Carolina on the way into the park, and the Sugarlands Visitor Center in Tennessee on the way out. 

After leaving the Smokys, we drove through Pigeon Forge, TN, and stopped at another Boyd's Bear shop. Pigeon Forge reminded us a lot of Kissimmee - lots of mini-golf courses and touristy shops and restaurants.