 | THE THOMSON FAMILY SCRAPBOOK Compiled From Original Scrapbook Of David & Jeanne Thomson Click Photos To See Enlargement |
A YEAR ON THE ROAD IN OUR MOTORHOME
June, 1991 to June, 1992
On June 1, 1991, Jeanne, Sam (our cat) and I began a year long trip around the United States in our 27' Travelmaster Motor Home. This was a trip that we had been planning for several years and it all began when I retired from the Columbia Gas System Service Corporation, Research Department on that day.
The first thing we had to do in order to make this trip was assure ourselves that we could be financially independent the rest of our lives. Fortunately, our future needs were not that much and with the retirement package from Columbia and Social Security plus our savings, we felt that we could easily live the rest of our lives in comfort.
The next thing we did was to purchase our Travelmaster 27' motorhome about a year ahead of time so that we could test it out on short trips. We are glad we did this as we found many things that we had to adjust inside and outside the camper that would make life on the road easy.
To see a graphical representation of our journey, please see either our USA Route or Canadian & Alaska Route maps. You can access the various photographic scrap books of our trip by using summary below or use the menu or next button below, and on each page, to select the part of our trip you wish to see.
SUMMARY
- Book 1 - Our trip starts in Columbus, Ohio where we sell our home, put all our belonging except those we need on the trip in storage, I retire from the Columbia Gas System and we head north to Michigan. Crossing to the upper peninsula turn west through Wisconsin, Minnesota to the Badlands of South Dakota. Next is Yellowstone in Wyoming and then north to Canada and Baniff. Then to Dawson Creek and the start of the 1,400 mile trip to Fairbanks, Alaska.
- Book 2 - We fly out of Fairbanks to Barrow, the northern most town in the USA. The return trip stops at Prudhoe Bay to see the oil fields. Heading south from Fairbanks we tour Denahi Park, the largest in Alaska. Other points of interest are: Seward, Portage Glacier and Valdez. Then we head south through British Columbia's Cassier Highway, which has a 300 miles stretch of dirt, pot-hole road.
- Book 3 - In British Columbia we take a six hour ferry ride to Queen Charlotte Islands which is quite beautiful. Continuing south towards the States, we watch Wet'suwet'en indians fish for salmon at a gorge near Moricetown. Back in the States we visit the Boeing airplane factory before heading to Seattle. A visit to Mt. St. Helens is a must as well as the drive down the Columbia River gorge. After seeing as much of the Oregon coast be turn east to visit Crater Lake, absolutely beautiful. Then it is south again to the Redwood forest and finally end up at San Diego.
- Book 4 - Heading east now we stop in Phoenix to visit friends and then continue on to the Chiliracaha Monument. Carlesbad Caverns is next and then down south to the Big Bend National Park, Texas, on the Rio Grande River. From there we stop at Brownsville and then spend several wonderful day on the beach at Padre Island. A long drive to Florida where we visit my son, Chris, in Tallahassee and Jeanne's sister and mother in central Florida. Still much to see out west so we head there, stopping in Houston before we get to Albuquerque where we finally get to use our ski equipment we brought along. Then we enjoy Canyon De Chelly, Monument Valley, which is awesome, and finally stop at the Petrified Forest in the Painted Desert.
- Book 5 - Walnut Canyon, indian cliff dwelling, and Laughlin, Nevada are great stops for different reasons. Then the Grand Canyon! Zion National Park! Bryce Canyon! All of these are terrific parks. Mesa Verda, more indian cliff dwellings, and then the best! ARCHES NATIONAL PARK. Sadly it is time to head east to South Carolina and take up a normal life again.
This scrapbook contains hundreds of excellent color photographs of many parts of the western United States, Western Canada, and Alaska. We both hope that you enjoy the book and look forward to your comments.
