The Moran's Trip to the Pacific Northwest and Back

July & August 2003

Even though we had to leave Dallas 5 days later than planned and had to come home 2 days earlier than planned, our FIRST long RV trip was TERRIFFIC !

We zig-zagged our way up to Oregon, traveled the coast, drove East across the northern states and Canada, and came home on I-29 & I-35
 We spent EVERY night (the blue squares) in a different town.

We drove just over 6,700 miles and visited 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces in 25 days. Except for the trip home, we tried to stay OFF of the Interstates as much as possible.

 

On our second day, we visited Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in
Cimarron, NM. The last time I was here was as a Boy Scout in 1955.

So much has changed that I didn't recognize ANYTHING.
Could it be that my memory is fading ? ? ?

NAW ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !


 

That's me in the front row, on the left.

 

We had intended to go to Mesa Verde, CO, to see the Pueblo Cliff Dwellings, but when we found it closed due to wild fires, we made a
U-turn in the middle of the highway and took off for the 4-Corners.

This is the only place in the US where 4 states meet.

Tim's trying to be in NM, AZ, CO, and UT at the same time

 

Sherry has most of her assets in Colorado

 

This is Wilson's Arch... I didn't know that
"Mother Nature's" last name was Wilson....

 

One of the most spectacular places we visited was Dead Horse Point near Moab, UT. It is "across the street" from Arches National Park.

If you are ever in the area... Don't miss it !

 

This is the "Wall of Bones"in Dinosaur National Park.
Just think... This was a river bed only a short 75,000,000 years ago.

 

Yep... Real dinosaur bones. Amazing !

 

Here is our campsite at Diamond Lake, OR

 

Here's Tim, at a scenic overlook at Crater Lake.
Crater Lake is in a volcano cone at 7,400 feet and is 2,500 feet deep.

 

Crater Lake is high enough to still have snow.
Folks, this is in AUGUST !

 

At the Portland airport, we picked up Miki, Steven,
Courtlyn and Kelley for the drive to Cannon Beach

 

When we were not able to find a place to park the RV for our first night in Cannon Beach, we drove 10 miles down Highway 101 and spent the night parked in a scenic overlook.

 

When we parked the night before, we saw a string of lights off in the distance. This was the view that we had out the window during breakfast.

 

Leaving Miki, Steven, and the twins in Cannon Beach, Sherry and I
drove down the Oregon coast. We stopped to visit the Naval Air Museum, housed in a WWII Blimp hangar in Tillamook, OR.

The hangar is and 1,200' long, 280' wide, and 300' high.
The construction is ALL WOOD so as not to attract lightning strikes.
You can compare it's size to the cars on the left.

 

Outside the Air Museum was this cargo plane modified to take
especially LARGE loads.

 

A huge fog bank was chasing us down the coastline,
but here is some of the fantastic scenery along the Oregon coast.

 

Fog caught up with us as we stopped to see the Cape Meares light house.
Here is Tim at a scenic overlook. Great View, Huh ?

 

We outran the fog long enough to visit the lighthouse at Yaquina Bay

 

But it caught up to us again as we visited the Heceta Head Light

 

Here are Sherry, Tim, and Tim's sister Marcia at Cannon Beach, OR

 

And here are the Ranlys at Cannon Beach.

 

Our twin grandchildren, Kelley and Courtlyn

Steven had to fly home to go back to work (Sorry Steven... Been there),
so Miki, the twins, Sherry and I drove home together.

Canadian Highway 501 was a once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
At least you hope it is ! After 50 miles, the pavement stopped and a 200 mile GRAVEL road began. The worst part was that there were no towns, no roads back to the US, and no GAS STATIONS for almost 300 miles.

Miki drove this part of the trip. Thank You, Miki.

Here's a better look.
That's what 5 hours of BOREDOM looks like

 

We picked up a few of the local residents (GRASSHOPPERS)
of Canadian 501 along the way.

 

While in Canada, we also saw some REAL Canadian geese....

 

For ME, the trip had a supreme reward. I visited my 48th state.
I have now been in all of the lower 48 states of America.

 

Courtlyn and Kelley catch a nap along the way.
Yep, even asleep, they're REAL twins.
(In 10 years, they'll hate me for this one)

Since we couldn't leave our kitty "Shadow" home alone for a month,
we took her with us. This is about as interested in scenery as kitties get.

 

Here is how she spent a good portion of the trip.

By the way, the small TV screen on the right is for the rear view camera
and the pedestal table holds the laptop, displaying the GPS driven map.

Here is a better picture of the "cockpit"

The little yellow thingie on the dash is the GPS

 

For Sherry and me, this trip was a unique traveling experience.

Like a lot of parents, we have always based our trips around taking the kids to visit relatives. This was the first time we have been able to change directions and to change plans at a whim.

Even though we had a fairly tight travel schedule, this is the first time that, when we started out in the morning, we didn't know what road we were going to take and where we were going to end up at bedtime.

Ah ! Freedom..... I recommend it to all

Tim - 8/15/03