Our Camping Trip Of A Lifetime

July is just around the corner. This time of the year always reminds me of 1983. My husband and I were making plans for the camping trip of a life time. We were preparing for tent camping and rockhounding across twenty-one states to celebrate our anniversary. We had everything we needed except our tent, sleeping bags and other camping supplies we were buying just before our trip. August could not get here soon enough.

The day finally came. We had everything we needed for our trip. There was even a new luggage rack on top of my AMC Gremlin. The tent, all camping gear and rockhounding equipment were stowed away in the back of the car and suitcases in the luggage rack before we went to bed that Friday night. We had made reservations at state and municipal parks as much as we could. Early Saturday morning we left home headed for our first stop just north of Atlanta Georgia at Red Top Mountain State Park. We knew we had to set up camp before dark so we had a chance to fall in love with our initial park before the sun set. That was our first but definitely not the last time we camped there.

As soon as we ate breakfast and broke camp the next morning we were back on the road north to my parent’s house in Cincinnati where we spent three days preparing for and celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary. The preparations were much easier, more sober and smoother than our wedding. My husband and I had quit drinking five years earlier and the guest list was much shorter. The next day we said goodbye to my parents and set our compass west across Indiana and then north in Illinois.That night we camped in a state park in northern Illinois almost on the Wisconsin line. Rockhounding had not really begun in earnest but we always searched at each stop or if something looked promising at the side of the road. 

Next morning we broke camp and ate breakfast in Wisconsin. Again we briefly continued north then west into Minnesota. We skirted Walnut Grove and stopped at a couple roadside parks but found no rocks. South Dakota was our next state and we camped at a municipal park at the edge of Mitchell. We were up before the sun so we had a quick breakfast and broke camp in the morning mist. The Corn Palace was not open yet but we enjoyed the corn murals on the outside and hit the road west. You simply cannot visit South Dakota without visiting Wall Drugs so we played tourist and spent a short time there. We had an amazing stop in the Badlands then on to Rapid City and the Petrified Forest State Park. Yes, there is more than one petrified forest in the US. The petrified wood there is not as colorful as Arizona but it is still beautiful with the wood grain. You can count the rings to tell how old the tree was when it perished and began its transition to mineral. 

Our first visit the next day was the museum at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. Of course, we went to Mount Rushmore where we learned the story of the carvings and had to tear ourselves away from it. We visited the site of what will one day be the carving of Chief Crazy Horse then a drive through of Custer National Forest. My car had no air conditioning so we had our windows down in the August heat. We saw a car facing us then realized it was stopped in the middle of the forest. As we got closer, we saw a wild burro and her baby along side the car. She would not let the car move. We stopped while we tried to decide if we could get past the burros and the other car. Momma burro trotted toward us but baby stayed behind to beg goodies. As soon as she got to the driver’s side of our car, momma stuck her head in the window and plopped it onto my husband’s lap. I thought if I shooed her she would leave but she just looked at me. It was so funny and cute at the same time, I just had to pet her. She acted like she was used to pets but would not let us go. I knew we had nothing but marshmallows in the car waiting for us to get back to camp and roast them so I brought the bag up front and gave her one. She loved it and begged for more. We gave her a couple more and that ransom satisfied her. The baby had left the other car and they passed us while we were feeding momma. Now baby was heading toward us. Momma decided it was time to release us as well so we carefully drove past the burros and escaped. 

It was time to return to camp for dinner. With all the activity we were tired and went to bed early. We did not sleep long before the park turned into party central with engines racing all over the place. The chaos did not stop until sometime between three and four in the morning. We grabbed another hour’s sleep before going to the bath house to wash up. The women’s restroom was almost too crowded to get in. When I finally was inside I guess I looked puzzled because one of the women started apologizing for disturbing our sleep. She explained that every year the world’s largest motorcycle rally is held in Sturgis. Every motel, hotel and campground around Sturgis was full so this was the closest they could find accommodations. All the women were pleasant and courteous.Sure changed my mind about bikers. 

We ate breakfast, broke camp and loaded up heading to Devil’s Tower. We passed signs for Deadwood along the road so we decided to visit there first. It was way too early for anything to be open as we cruised through town. We saw the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was shot. The town had been kept to look much as it did the day he died. At the far edge of town was the cemetery and the graves of Hickok and Calamity Jane. The foggy mist just gave the visit even more atmosphere and I still see it in my memories. 

Soon as we left Deadwood, the sun came out out and the drive to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming was pleasant except for the “fresh oil, loose gravel” on the roads. Devil’s Tower can be seen for some distance before you reach it. It rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet from summit to base. That night we camped in Estes Park, Colorado in the rain. Being so high in the Rockies setting up camp in the rain was mighty cold for August. I had thought ahead and we had thermals plus our sleeping bags zipped together, we slept warm. We were up before the sun and saw the tundra at sunrise. 

Our next stop was Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. I could have spent months there but we had to set up camp before dark so we continued west to our next park. The rain followed us and gave us the opportunity to see lightning from the top in our campsite up in the mountains. Next morning the routine was the same then we were headed to Las Vega with a cruise through Zion first. Just outside Vegas we heard a news bulletin saying everything was flooded and the interstate was closed so we opted for a motel in Henderson. A brief drive down the strip then off across Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon the next morning. 

Grand Canyon so captivated us we forgot time. Suddenly we realized it was almost dark. We asked a park ranger where we could camp and he said everything on the mountain was full but he suggested we check Cameron in the valley. We turned around and found the road down to the Navajo town of Cameron. By the time we arrived at the road, it was completely dark. That is when we discovered the fresh oil and loose gravel roads had destroyed both headlights. We sat beside the road watching traffic pass us until Bob told me to reach in the back and get our big flashlight. When I was back in my seat, he told me to shine it on the edge of the road to guide him. That was the longest, most nerve wracking thirty-five mile ride ever! 

When we arrived at the bottom, I could have kissed the ground. A service station across the road had one headlight to fit my Gremlin. They offered to let us camp across from them but we would have no water or electric so we opted for the Navajo hotel a couple miles down the road. When we opened the door, we saw the biggest scorpion ever and were glad we weren’t camping there. The Navajo Stew with fry bread for dinner was delightful. 

Next morning we saw the Painted Desert at sunrise then on to the Petrified Forest where we spent a few days. Land adjoining the Forest permitted looking for petrified wood. We spent a day in the field then loaded fifty pounds of the wood with all the specimens we had already collected in the rear of the Gremlin. Next morning we entered New Mexico on the way to Deming. We dry camped in the Luna Mountains then discovered Mogollon, a turn of the twentieth century mining town. The drive on a one lane switchback was interesting and we really enjoyed our visit but Rockhound State Park outside of Deming was calling. The Park is on the side of Little Florida Mountains giving a breathtaking view of the valley. The Duck Races were interesting, too.

A few days later we entered Texas at El Paso and camped in the Midland-Odessa refinery area before reaching Texarkana and turning northeast to Crater Of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. We found no diamonds but had a wonderful stay before heading home with our two hundred and fifty pounds of rock in the back of the Gremlin. We couldn’t understand why people were staring at us as we drove by until we pulled into a roadside park and saw the front end of the car was barely touching the road. 

That last night we could not find any place to camp. We stopped at a pay phone and called home to let them know we would not get in until the next day. A lady overheard our call and volunteered her front yard for our camp site. Our camping trip of a lifetime ended the next afternoon when we arrived home with a worn out tent, lots of dirty clothes and all those beautiful rocks. It was a trip I would not take a million dollars for having taken but I wouldn’t take a million dollars to do again.