Chimney Rock is a landmark on the Oregon Trail.

Historians tell us the last immigrants headed west on the Oregon Trail in 1869, but in a sense the route is still in use: each year many RVers retrace it as best they can on roads. Unlike the immigrants, who sought a new life, RVers follow the Oregon Trail for fun, for history, for education.

The Oregon Trail is only one such "theme" trip popular with RVers. The California and Mormon Trails, offshoots of the Oregon Trail, also attract RVers, as does Lewis and Clark's route. Each year other RVers follow the Nez Perce Trail, on which Chief Joseph led his tribe in 1877 in a desperate attempt to outrun the U.S. Army. It stretches from Wallowa Lake, Oregon, to the Bear Paw Battlefield in Montana near the Canadian border.

Like dots that create a picture when connected, battlefields form many theme trips. The Little Bighorn Battlefield, for instance, is one stop on the roads following the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. Pennsylvania's Gettysburg is a major dot linking Civil War conflicts. Farther East, Bunker Hill in Massachusetts is among 85 battlefields and other sites that mark the Revolutionary War.

Osceola is on the tour of old Nevada mining camps.

Theme trips are great for RV getaways because wherever you live, you can put one together in an area of your interest. In the West, visit the many movie sets Hollywood used to film such western classics as "High Noon." In the Midwest, follow the crime trails of John Dillinger, Ma Barker, and Bonnie and Clyde during the so-called "Public Enemy" era of 1931-35. RVers in the South can tour antebellum plantations or sites commemorating the Civil Rights movement, such as the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Northern RVers have colonial graveyards, early American architecture, Ivy League colleges and other subjects.

Of course, the old Route 66 is a favorite theme trip. Ghost towns, haunted houses, country singer birthplaces, aviation museums, the Pony Express route, current homes of high school friends--the possibilities are limited only by the imagination.

A tour of movie sets should include Utah's Paria.

 

An RV theme trip is like a treasure hunt: follow the map to the X, explore the site, then continue to the next item on the list. You'll need to do some research for whatever subject you choose, but the necessary information is easily and quickly available on the Internet and in libraries.