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The beautiful and diverse Oregon coast has long been a special place for us. As a child, James lived in Eugene, Oregon and made many family trips to the coast. And many years later, it was where we took our took our first vacation together back in 1983. From Crescent City, CA we traveled north…

Northern California is home to forests of magnificent coastal redwoods, the world’s largest trees. Several parks protect these giants, including Redwood National and State parks, with 139,000 acres (560 km sq) of forest, and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, containing the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods. A highlight of the area is Avenue of the…

For our route from Reno to the Pacific Coast, we took the lesser-traveled Highway 70 along the historic Feather River Canyon route of the Union Pacific Railroad. This trip includes unique and dramatic early 20th-century railway architecture, such as the Williams Loop, where the track loops back over itself in a 1-mile descending turn, and…

The National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV contains over 200 classic cars. Most are from the collection of deceased casino founder William H. Harrah, who amassed what was then the world’s largest collection of historic cars with about 1,450 automobiles. One of the museum highlights is a 1907 Thomas Flyer, winner of the 1908 New…

The 408-mile (656 km) stretch of Highway 50 across Nevada is dubbed “The Loneliest Road in America,” with only a few small towns along the way and not much else. The route was the main overland route across Nevada until the first trans-continental railway was completed in 1869, and was part of the Pony Express…

Hell’s Backbone Bridge in Utah was a major engineering feet when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built it in the 1930s. The bridge spans Hell’s Backbone, a narrow spine of rock with canyons dropping of steeply on either side. Completion of this bridge gave the first automobile connection between the towns of Boulder and Escalante….

Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is known for its many long and narrow canyons, some so tight a person can barely squeeze through and others wide enough for vehicles to pass. One of the more unique is Capitol Gorge with its Pioneer Register: as 19th- and early 20th-century pioneers and settlers passed through the…

Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is packed with spectacular, spire-shaped formations. Known as “hoodoos”, these red-rock pillars form over time as holes in the canyon walls form when frost enlarges cracks. The holes eventually collapse, leaving the hoodoos. From Springdale UT, near Zion National Park, we drove 232 miles northeast to Bryce Canyon,…

Utah’s Zion National Park is exceedingly popular, and for good reason. The rugged red-rock canyon scenery is spectacular, with many hiking trials, climbing and canyoneering opportunities for unique perspectives and experiences. And after enjoying a day at the park, nearby Springdale has excellent accommodations and restaurants. From Flagstaff, AZ we drove 328 miles to Springdale,…

Grand Canyon has long been high on our list of places to visit, and we finally got there on our cross-country road trip from Charleston to Seattle. Even after seeing countless pictures and reading many descriptions, Grand Canyon still appears unbelievably immense when first seen in person. We spent most of our visit on an…