Date:         Fri, 6 Aug 1999 22:58:32 -0700
Reply-To:     "Tom L. Neal" <jneal@NETCOM.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Tom L. Neal" <jneal@NETCOM.COM>
Subject:      Travels with VW
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

We recently made a delightful loop around the country. Saw lots of family
and friends at several reunions. And met some wonderful people along the
way. Also did some great touring. Here are some of the highlights
from either this trip or previous trips through the same area.

San Diego,CA--Zoo, beaches, La Jolla, Old Town, harbor cruise
Tecate,MX--Nice town square.  Big brewery, no tours.
Imperial Valley,CA--hot and full of crops
Yuma,AZ--old fort on the hill, Colorado River canoe trips are relaxing
Tuscon,AZ--rock museum, some neat towns in nearby mountains, University,
  beautiful Saguaro cactus National Park
Interstate 10--some dazzling big rigs with large cabins--no rust hazard
Bowie,AZ--interesting winery and almond orchard...almond flavored bubbly
Tombstone,AZ--interesting when they re-enact the OK Corral gunfight
Deming, NM--another winery with fill your own bottle spigots
Mesilla, NM--old town with lots of history--Billy the kid--, restaurants
Davis Mtn,TX--McDonald Observatory...star party with brilliant sky...
  star cluster M13 through a 12 inch telescope is stunning
Marfa,TX has mysterious lights in a field
Alpine,TX has a three star restaurant, Reata (from "Giant")...yum!
Big Bend National Park is gorgeous--walk across the Rio Grande to
  Boquillas,MX; nearby Presidio frequently is the hottest place in the US
Balmorhea, TX has a huge natural spring swimming pool
Fredericksburg, TX has some decent wineries and good German food
Austin,TX--university, capitol, lakes, 6th street music, beef
Dallas,TX--the west end rocks at night
Lexington,OK--Wilson's 10 acres of VW's, stretch beetle limo,
  50 busses, 50 vanagons, nice folks, 20 foot tall "beetle" sculpture
Oklahoma City,OK--a touching memorial to the victims of  the bombing,
  I.M.Pei laid out part of the city, "brick town" has a good microbrewery
Ozarks,AR--fascinating culture and scenery, Buffalo National River
  oak waven baskets, quilts
Branson,MO--amazing place, was country music oriented, now more variety
  with more live entertainment than Las Vegas and
  Atlantic City and a few other places all put together,  activities for
  kids, simple shows, complex shows, shopping everywhere, construction
  rampant, traffic heavy and next to gridlock on weekends...go during the
  week.  Mel Tillits and Pam have a great show.  The RV parks are out of
  town.  We spent the night for free by going to a timeshare presentation.
  The information booths outside town are worth stopping at to orient.
Nashville,TN--Grand Old Opry (Opryland is being converted to shopping
  because the action went to Branson), Jackson's Hermitage is very
  interesting, some old plantation houses, Saturn plant, 2/3 replica of the
  Parthenon that is always closed for construction..some wonderful southern
  style food where you can order the veggies individually
Bardstown,KY--center of the bourbon trade; fascinating bourbon museum;
  Rowan mansion where, and about, Rowan's cousin Stephen Foster wrote
  "My Old Kentucky Home"; neat walking tour of old houses; great campground;
  a play/musical of Stephen Foster's life with some terrific music;
  tour of nearby Maker's Mark distillery is very well done...no samples
  of bourbon but you can reach in and taste the mash while it's fermenting!
Illinois--beautiful plains growing lots of good things
Chicago,IL--sports; very interesting ethnic areas--Puerto Rican, Ukranian
  (fantastic churches); Lakeshore Drive and walking trail; Navy Pier;
  Art Museums (see American Gothic); the Chicago food festival was on
  when we were there; lots more..
Wisconsin Dells--entertainment; kid stuff; river cruise; touristy, but fun
Interstate 94--big rigs aren't nearly as pretty as on I10..rust hazard
Chippewa Falls--cool name, pretty lake with a great restaurant
Red River Valley,MN/ND--Red River flows NORTH to the Hudson Bay; 12 (no
  typo) wheel  drive tractors to work the ground wet; gorgeous crops;
  pretty lake country with source of the Mississippi nearby
Winnepeg,Man--the Forks of the Red and Assinniboine Rivers is a
  park/restaurant/entertainment joy...the Pan American games were there
  recently; truly stunning capitol building; great walking town; French area
Brandon,Man--neat museum; great bakeries; friendly folks; old town;
  Double Decker Pub; the Keg restaurant without beer on tap...go figure
Saskatchewan with some great sounding places like Swift Current and Moose Jaw
  Regina has a beautiful park and the huge capitol building
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump near Ft. Macleod is a "don't miss" if you're
  nearby...10,000 years of crafty buffalo hunting; we attended "Buffalo Days"
Glacier National Park, Mon/Alberta--Drive the Rising Sun Trail in the late
  afternoon for some spectacular views and colors.  What a park!
Highway 93 south--lots of RV parks; Mission Valley winery; beautiful country;
  follow Lewis and Clark's route along the Salmon River!
Craters of the Moon, ID--Amazing place.  Great campground among the craters.
  Ice caves from lava tubes.  Cinders and lava moonscape from great rift.
Twin Falls, ID--amazing valley of the Snake; Evel Knievel's jump site;
  some beautiful falls
Nevada--cheap food, lots of action, interesting R rated CB conversations to
  listen to
Sacratomato--lots interesting here, too

Cheers, Tom Neal