Travel Tales: The great American road trip

Courtesy of Lorraine and Ray Judd

Lorraine and Ray Judd took off from Huddleston in August for a two-month trek across the United States in a camper/van.

Courtesy of Lorraine and Ray Judd

At Yellowstone, buffalo roamed the roads. "They told us buffalo were dangerous and we should not get out of our cars when they are that close," said Lorraine Judd. "They can run over 30 mph, and the rangers herded them with their cars off the road."

Courtesy of Lorraine and Ray Judd

The Judds described the Colorado National Monument as "magnificent."

Courtesy of Lorraine and Ray Judd

In California's Redwood National Park, "Trees of Mystery" includes wood carvings made by a chainsaw. "We actually took a cable car ride to the top of a mountain. It was amazing how tall those trees are," said Lorraine.

Ray and Lorraine Judd of Huddleston returned recently from a two-month trip across the country in a camper van. It was just the two of them, and they spent every night except two in the van. And yes, they are still married. "This wasn't an RV, but a little van," said Lorraine. "It's a good thing we get along well." The couple knew what they were getting into; it was their second trip across country. "We took the southern route in 1992 and this was the northern route," she said. The couple retired to the lake in 1990. Ray, a former industrial engineer, and Lorraine, who previously worked in accounting, are both pilots and often fly themselves around the country to visit their six children and five grandchildren. Among the places they've traveled to overseas: Spain, Portugal and Hawaii. By far, their favorite place, said Lorraine, is the United States.

Name and address: Ray and Lorraine Judd of Huddleston

Where did you go? We actually went through 19 states. Our original destination was Yellowstone National Park.

How long were you there? We left home on Aug. 19 and returned on Oct. 19.

What did you like best about your trip? On our way to Yellowstone [National Park], we first visited the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. In South Dakota, we visited the Badlands; we saw our first buffalo there -- lots of them. Then it was on to Rapid City, S.D., where we took a bus tour (the only way we both could see the scenery). We did Custer State Park, Crazy Horse [memorial] and Mount Rushmore -- incredible!

Yellowstone is indescribable. You have to see it for yourself; no pictures can do it justice. It's a huge National Park; we were there for a week and didn't see it all. Every American citizen should see this park, which, by the way, was the first national park. September is a great time -- the crowds are less, the weather still good. Besides the incredible geysers, mud pots, boiling pools, there is lots of wildlife. We did not see any bears, but did see lots of buffalo, elk, moose and fox.

Grand Teton National Park, [Wyoming] just south of Yellowstone, actually adjoins spectacular mountains.

At Glacier National Park [Montana], there aren't as many glaciers as there used to be, but the Ice Age is still receding. Again, we took a bus tour, the only way to actually see the scenery. We saw our first bear right on the side of the road.

Just southwest of Glacier is Flathead Lake. This is the only place we have ever seen that is comparable to Smith Mountain Lake. We love to travel, but Smith Mountain Lake is where we want to live.

We are this far, so we might as well keep going. Driving west on [U.S.] 90, we see a white thing on the horizon. We are told that is Mount Rainier, 100 miles away. We are having wonderful weather. We detour to Mount Rainier [Washington] and it is so worth the trip.

Seattle is a big, busy city. We could see forever from the top of the Space Needle. We were told the weather is never this nice.

We cross the Puget Sound on the ferry and make our way to Olympic National Park. Then down the coast of Washington, we visit the towns of Forks and La Push, where the "Twilight" movies are set. The rain forest is really creepy, a great place to make a vampire movie. We still have bright sunshine -- not even a cloud.

The coast of Oregon is indescribable, U.S. 101 is mostly on the oceanfront, spectacular views and lots of state parks. Almost the entire coast is open to the public. We still had great weather and every turn in the road was another wonderful view. We see whales and seals.

We took a jet boat ride on the Rouge River at Gold Beach, Ore. What fun! In the northern part of California is the Redwood National Park. We are talking BIG trees here. We camped in a private campground and their trees are just as big as the parks.

We make our way back into Oregon to Crater Lake National Park. This is another wonder. Although there was a forest fire to the west and smoke obscures the view a little, it is still wonderful. The water is a lovely shade of blue.

It's about time to start heading home, but on the way we might as well go to the Great Salt Lake and is it ever salty --and big. We visit the Bonneville Salt Flats where our son-in-law had raced his three-wheel motorcycle and set a national speed record in 2007. Salt Lake City is very interesting. There is a huge cancer research facility there, and, of course, the Mormon Square and Tabernacle.

Going through Colorado, the Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon of the Gunnison -- magnificent. The west side (the best side) of Rocky Mountain National Park was closed already due to snow. The east side was still doable, but a little disappointing.

This country is so vast and so amazing. We could drive for hours and see nothing but marvelous scenery, no towns, stores, restaurants, gas stations for miles. We saw truly amazing things, and met truly amazing people. Camping is the best way to see the country.

We had no time constraints, no itineraries, we did what and where we felt like doing at the time. We would do it again in a heart beat. After two months, we only saw a small part of this great country.

What, if any, were the negatives? There were no negatives.

What advice would you give to lake residents who are considering this destination? SEE AMERICA FIRST!