🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello again,
     Before I tell the juicy jump stories, I'll bore you first with an overall
description of the trip.  Is the suspense killing you yet?
     Basically, the trip from Oregon to Oklahoma and back was a whirlwind tour
of our National Parks system.  If you make a cross-country trip in a couple of
years, plan to take your time and see the sights.  We spent the first day
driving across Oregon, and spent the night in Boise, Idaho.  From there, we
went thru Craters Of The Moon, in Idaho, which is a huge lava flow area.  Lots
of interestion formations, lava caves, self-guided nature trails, and stuff
like that.  Allow about a half day, and hike several of the trails.  Most are
less than a half-mile long.  From there we went to Yellowstone, and camped
overnight in a KOA campground.  Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to see
even half of Yellowstone -- we just drove thru the following day and stopped
to see what we could along the way.  To see it all, allow a minimum of one
full day -- two would be better.  There are two "loop" roads in Yellowstone
that form a figure "8".  We drove only a portion of one of the loops, so we
missed things like Yellowstone Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs, and things like
that.  We did, however, get to see Old Faithfull do her thing, and we hiked
one or two short nature trails thru some hot springs, mud pots, and that sort
of thing.  Its' all interesting, and the country is gorgeous.  From Yellowstone
we drove thru the Grand Tetons (non-stop) and down to Dinosaur Nat. Monument
in Colorado/Utah.  Basically its' a bunch of bones stuck into a hillside, with
a building built around them to keep the weather outside.  Its' interesting,
but small, so you need to allow only two hours for that stop.  Then, onward to
Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park, and the highest driveable pass in the USA -- something
over 12,000 feet.  We just drove thru, slowly, but there are trails to hike
if you want to take the time.  From there, we went on to Tulsa, where I farmed
out the kids.  I got to Muskogee Wed. mid-afternoon, and had two jumps under
my belt by sunset!  I made my 17th (and last) jump on Mon. morning, then
returned to Tulsa to reclaim the kids.  By the way, my body was covered with
bruises after 5 days of jumping.  You'ld have thought that I was engaged in
combat RW or something!  I don't even know where I got most of them.  Anyway,
from Tulsa we drove as far as Lubbock, where we spent the hottest, most 
miserable night in a tent that I can ever remember!  We spent the rest of our
nights in motels, except when we could stop at friends or relatives along the
way.  From Lubbock, we went to Carlsbad Caverns -- this is a MUST SEE! -- if
you've never seen them.  It cost only four bucks for the four of us to get in,
and we hiked around the self-guided (!?) trails thru the caverns for 3 or 4
hours!  They provide a walkie-talkie which receives recorded descriptions from
an antenna buried in the trails, so you can stop and listen, or keep walking
as you see fit.  You don't have to wait for, or keep up with, a tour guide.
From there, we went to Phoenix, AZ, and spent a couple of days visiting Donna's
(my wife) parents, and some old friends.  I got a chance to visit the guy that
taught me how to jump, although he's no longer running a DZ.  How times change.
Next stop was LA, where we went to Knotts Berry Farm.  The home leg was up 
thru California, where we passed thru Sequoia Nat. Park and Yosemite.  Each
of those can take anywhere from a half-day (drive-thru) to a whole day if you
want to hike some trails, or whatever.  Don't plan on spending the night at 
Yosemite, unless you've made reservations weeks in advance.  It's a zoo.  The
last stop was in Klamath Falls, OR, to visit yet another brother and Crater
Lake.  Allow 3 or 4 hours to drive around the lake and stop at the visitors
center for Ranger Talks, slide shows, and so forth.  Whew! Home at last! 
     It was a long trip, but worth it.  The trick to keeping the kids happy
during the long drives is to give them little games, toys, and stuff like that
which can be played with in a car.  They sleep alot too.  We stopped every
couple of hours at McDonalds, or whatever, to get drinks, stretch, water the
mule, etc.  If your kids and wife are subject to motion sickness, bring the
Dromamine!  I had two kids get sick on winding mountain roads, but they warned
me in time to get the car stopped and them out!
     Well, this is enough for now.  If you want more details about any of the
Parks or whatever, let me know.  We spent alot of nights in KOA campgrounds.
Cheaper than motels if you don't mind setting up a tent.  And they have showers
and flush toilets, so you can feel half-way civilized.  The cost varies, but
most of them charge about $12 a night for a family of four, if you bring a
tent.  It's a couple bucks more if you have an RV and want water/electricity.

						More to come...

						Ken