NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2006
Jack's Journal: 9,632 Miles
On The Road With The 'Great American Vacation'
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Play CBS Video Video Trip For Two To Miami Only On The Web: Dave Price took a trip to Little Rock, Ark., to award Patricia James and her husband, David, with a "Great American Vacation" giveaway.
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Video Price Visits Clinton Library As Dave Price makes his way to Little Rock, Ark., for the next "Great American Vacation" giveaway, he stopped to check out the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
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Video Freys Headed To Wine Country Only On The Web: Thanks to a friend who appreciated the Freys charity work during Katrina, Becky and Keith are headed to Sonoma, Calif., as part of the "Great American Vacation."
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"Winny" enjoys the view of Mount Rushnmore during a stop in South Dakota. (CBS/Jack Halsbond)
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"Winny" gets a prime parking spot at the main gate of the Steamboat Days Festival in Burlington, Iowa. (CBS/Jack Halsbond)
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Photos "Vacation" Photos See the places we've been and the people we've met during The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" tour.
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Video Archive 'Vacation' Video The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" recipients and stories from our road trip
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The Early Show 2006 Road Trip! We traveled the country giving away dream vacations! See where we've been and who got surprise getaways.
I left New York on June 6, 2006, and headed to Johnson City, Tenn., with a stopover in Harrisonburg, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley.
From Johnson City, I headed towards Knoxville and Nashville, where I
spent the weekend and visited the Grand Ole Opry before traveling to
Then it was on to St. Louis, where we shot a "Postcard from the Road" segment at the Mississippi Queen RV camp in East St. Louis. Next I traveled on to Burlington, Iowa, where the weekend was spent at the Steamboat Days Festival.
Off to Minneapolis, en route towards Fargo, N.D. and another giveaway.
From Fargo, I headed down to Deadwood, S.D., and south of Rapid City to visit Mt. Rushmore National Park. Then it was back up to the northwest through Bismarck and Billings towards Bozeman, Mont. I stopped and visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument southeast of Billings in Hardin, Mont., before resting overnight in Bozeman. Next, it was west on Interstate 84 towards Spokane, Wash., and some of the most spectacular scenery in the land. Passing into Northern Idaho through Lookout Pass — elevation 4,680 feet in the Rocky Mountains — was the most thrilling part of the ride to that point. Lake Coeur d’Alene opens up in front of you as you come down the pass and enter Idaho.
I continued on to Spokane and then onto Yakima, Wash., before turning east towards Utah. Heading southeast to Boise, Idaho through Twin Falls and into Salt Lake City, Utah (vacation giveaway time).
From Salt Lake City, it was south through Provo and than east toward Grand Junction, Colo. Aspen followed, and then the most spectacular part of the journey: I drove the Winnebago up Independence Pass, elevation 12,095 feet and quite narrow at times and through the Continental Divide. To my knowledge, Independence Pass is second only to Mt. Elbert, at 14, 433 feet as the highest point in the Rockies. Looking down took a leap of courage — the vertical drop is close to 2½ miles, with very few guardrails. I picked up close to two hours by going through the pass and bypassing Denver on the way down to New Mexico and my weekend assignment at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
From Santa Fe, I continued east towards Amarillo, Texas, on my way to Waco for another surprise vacation giveaway. From Waco, is was a short hop south to Bryan for the Weekend Harvest of Messina Hof Winery — and then onto the final vacation giveaway location of Little Rock, Ark.
Eight weeks, 9,632 miles — and a boatload of memories.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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