National Parks left to visit - updated for 2022

American Samoa

Biscayne

Channel Islands

Death Valley

Gates of the Arctic

Glacier Bay

Hawai'i Volcanoes

Isle Royale

Kobuk Valley

Lake Clarke

New River Gorge

Virgin Islands

Voyageurs

Zion National Park

 We were scheduled to go to Yosemite and Sequoia national parks but Yosemite was on fire (again) and the RV park close to Sequoia didn't have a spot with electricity for us on our rescheduled days there (not doing that with temps 100+) so we changed some days around and got to Zion a few days early.  

We had been to Zion before but weren't able to do this particular hike called "The Narrows", which is a hike up a canyon in a river, because the river was too high.  That's why we went back.  Luckily the river was just fine so we got some hiking sticks and started wading into the river at 8:30 in the morning! Of course I cringed and whined the first few steps but then it was fine.  We hiked 3 miles up the river among some amazing canyon views.  Absolutely stunning! On our way back I was super glad we had headed out early in the morning.  The crowds were immense and it was yucky hot.  The water wasn't even that relieving.  YUCK.  But, we got it done! We were going to stick around another day but it was too hot, SURPRISE! Well, that and the other hike we were going to do the next day was closed due to a rock slide so I am writing this as we are on the road, headed home!  The Gilliam RV trip 2022 is in the books!

Lastly, we have decided the chapter in the Gilliam Story Book that was about RV adventures has come to an end.  We had an unbelievable time and we know we are so blessed to have been able to do what we did  but it's time to write a new chapter.  We're not sure what that will contain, maybe we follow the original Gilliam's Island and do a (longer than 3 hour) tour, minus the crashing. Or maybe we follow the Griswolds and do a European Vacation or a Christmas Vacation, but we'll let you know when we do!  In the meantime, we thank you for coming along on the ride!  Much love!  

Pinnacles National Park

 We had a 2 day stop to see Pinnacles National Park.  If there is hiking on the website of the park, we always allow at least a day to do at least one hike.  We drove into the park and were surprised to see that it looked like the mountain range about a half hour from our house.  :D  We were a bit disappointed but made that best of it and did a hike, took pictures and got our pin.  

Both Lassen and Pinnacles were a not highlights for us.  We have found the parks on the west side of the country are usually very cool and awe inspiring.  Oh well, as we say, "They can't all be gems". 

Lodi, CA

 Red Zinfandels are my favorite wine so of course Gary scheduled the tour to take us through zin country for my birthday.  He's just that great of a guy.  :)  We got into town around 1:30 and had our first tasting scheduled for 3:00,  Our timing was perfect!  

First tasting, first case purchased. Starting strong!  

We decided that two tastings per day is perfect for us so the next day we planned our route accordingly.  We started early with a fantastic tour of Oak Farm Vineyards.  If you are ever in town I would strongly suggest you go to this winery for a tour.  You get a tour and a tasting in both.  You learn the history of the winery and literally along the way, they have wine stashed here and there on the grounds for you to taste as you walk.  So fun! Ted did such a great job with the presentation we bought another case!  Woohoo!

Third winery wasn't as good but we bought a select few bottles we plan to let age.  (Hopefully at least for a week.  Haha!)

Our last day in town we went to 2 more wineries and came home with 2 more cases.  All in all, I would say our first foray into zin country was a success!  

PS- It was hot here too.  

Lassen Volcanic National Park

 Since we decided to split up the drive from Bend to our next stop, we spent the night in Redding, CA.  Weird place to stop but it's a short drive from Lassen Volcanic National Park. We pulled into Redding where it was 111 degrees. Time to head for the hills!

Lassen is a national park that was granted that status because a huge volcano exploded around 1915-ish.  You could see it from a long way away and the people were fascinated.  They flocked to the area to see the rocks and ash, reporting that some of the rocks were still hot many weeks afterward.  The park has a little bit of geothermal activity as well. It's worth a half day's stop which worked out perfectly for us. I think we only have about 9 parks left to see.  Yay us!

Bend, OR

 After a stopover in Boise for a couple of nights to see my parents, we headed to Bend, OR.  We had been once previously but we felt like we barely scratched the surface so we were excited to go back.  

We met up with Gary's long time friend, Roger and his wife Kristen for dinner. They gave us a few suggestions for hikes in the area.  Once again though, it was SO hot!  UGH. But we made the best of it and took a hike to Tumelo Falls. It's a beautiful area just outside of town.  A short little walk from the parking lot will give you a great view of the falls.  But that would be too easy for Gary so we hiked another 2 miles up the trail to see more falls.  Good news! We saw 2 more falls AND the temperature dropped 10 degrees.  We were scheduled to stay another day but after looking at the drive time to our next stop, we decided to split the drive to 2 days rather than 1and left a day early.  

I'm sure we'll be back though! 

What a Butte

Still exploring Montana took us down the road to Butte.  We found out that it is considered the richest hill in the world.  Butte is historically known as the mining capital of the world.  The main hill in Butte is rich in copper.  About 1/3 of the world's copper comes from Butte.  It provided 70% of the metals for the munitions during WWII. This town is steeped in mining history.

Guess what we did while there? Of course we took an underground mine tour!  :D  I had to admit I was a bit anxious about the tour but I gave it a try and so glad I did.  It wasn't claustrophobic or dark at all.  I would whole heartedly recommend it.  You do learn a lot and you are humbled and so thankful for miners when you are done with the tour.  We also went to the Berkley Pit. It's a Super Fund site.  Yikes! But, you can pay $3 to go out to the viewing platform to see this gigantic pit that used to be a mine but is now full of water.  It doesn't sound that interesting but between the reading plaques and just being there, it's well worth a visit.  After that we drove out to Anaconda which is home to the largest brick structure in North America.  It is a 585 foot smelter stack and another Super Fund site.  (Gary only takes me to the nicest places) They have a cool monument dedicated to all the people involved with the smelter and the whole mining industry.  

I was excited to learn that Big Sky was fairly close to Butte so we drove 2 hours up the road to visit.  I am so glad we did! The views of the mountains and the ski hill itself were breath taking.  What's amazing is the ski hill is set up with a lot of fun activities during the summer time.  The main activity is set up for mountain biking though.  They have most of their chairs operating, they have automated gates for loading and they even have reports of trail conditions for the bikers to consult before heading up.  Quite a thing to see.  After having a light lunch at the bottom of the ski hill while taking in the views, we went back into town to explore,  Upon leaving the town we have decided a trip back to Big Sky is in our future.  After all, it is a mountain and mountains are what we love the best! :)

More adventures down the road!