CA , OR vacation in July
 

We're driving from Vegas to Portland OR, via Grand Canyon, San Diego, & LA. What can you recommend for a family (boys aged 12 & 14) to do on their way up north during our 16 day trip in July. Don't want to OD on Redwoods or ocean views. Want to keep it fun for the kids. Any suggestions?

A wild or scenic trip on the Rogue River combined with lunch at a riverside lodge. Lots of wildlife, exciting white water. Your boys would love it.

Considering your route and kids I would recommend a stop at Wildlife Safari's in Roseburg OR. Kids love it. You stay i your car and drive though large areas with big animals such as lions all around.

Thanks for the help. Actually am considering the white water rafting. Do you think the Rogue is too difficult for novice rafters?<BR>The animal park sounds interesting, but will it be a letdown compared to the one in San Diego operated by the zoo there?<BR>Thanks again for any and all ideas!

We actually booked a jet boat trip that left out of Gold Beach {excellent}& included a stop at your choice of lodges for lunch {not included in the price}. They had a few trips of different lengths of time and speed. We opted for the scenic trip {still fast}. I wish that I could recall the name of the outfitter, but there are a few of them in the Gold Beach-Grants Pass area. I can't comment on whitewater rafting trips, as we didn't have time to try this, but I think that they're available. You're best bet is to launch a search on the internet for "Rogue River". This was how I booked our trip. Alternatively, your boys might really enjoy "Wildlife Images", a really special animal sanctuary located in Merlin, near Grants Pass, combined with a whitewater or jet boat trip leaving from the Grants Pass area. The sanctuary, featured on several television specials, gives free tours with advance notice, and has a site on the internet. Word of warning: We combined an a.m. trip to Merlin with an afternoon jet boat trip down the Rogue at Gold Beach. Relying on our trusty computerized map, we had assumed that we could easily and quickly access Gold Beach through a road that seems to go across. Not so! We were advised that this road is extremely tretcherous and slow, and should only be attempted in a 4-wheel drive vehicle by those not afraid of heights! We had to take 199S to 101N, which is a very curcuitous route, and barely made the boat trip-talk about stress!

Definitely doing the raft trip. Any ideas on rafting places in the Grant's Pass area? How about other areas in OR? Keep in mind that we are "newbies" to this great recreation. Thanks for all input. These Fodor's boards are great!