•2:03 PM
January 28, 2010 3:45 p.m.
I am so excited I can hardly post about this!
After years of sporadic discussion, Self-Reliant Man has decided that this might be the year to make our first cross-country van camping trip out west. This might be the right age for the children to enjoy this trip best.
After a busy week of internet research, we have decided that the trip plan would be 23 days in length, during much of the month of September. In fact, we have made a couple of reservations at a few higher demand campgrounds to be sure to get a site.
Self-Reliant Man anticipates getting an extra week of vacation due to twenty years service to his employer. What better way to use it up than traveling cross country?
This has been a lifelong dream of mine, driving across the U.S. in an RV. And although we do not have an actual RV, you may recall that Self-Reliant Man has come up with a workable conversion for our van that we have found to be comfortable and more than adequate for all our trips to date. We have been out west before (by airplane). Self-Reliant Man and I have been to L*ke Lo*ise, Ban*f, Col*mbia Ic*fields, Ic*fields Parkw*y. I have been to Y*llowstone and Gr*nd Tet*ns. This was many years ago. But that was by airplane. We have always wanted to drive it. It may be the optimum time to take the children.
Anyhow, we would be camping all the way in various RV parks that we have preliminarily picked out thanks to my favorite resource, RV Park Reviews . This web resource has always directed us to exceptional RV parks wherever we have traveled, and I highly recommend it if that is what you are into. It hasn't failed us yet.
The total distance of the trip will probably approach 6000 miles by the time we are done, but on no day do we plan to exceed 400 miles. This is for all our sanity, including mine! The children are very excited, too, and they are growing up into fine van travelers; however, we would plan to have more car games and books on hand to while away the hours. The great thing about RV parks is that you can stay overnight for about $30 and have more fun than at a hotel. There are often different activities available, places to walk and explore, and each campground is different. Apparently our greatest expense will be diesel fuel, as you might expect.
This trip is all Lord willing, if you know what I mean. Here are the destinations we have in mind.
Mamm*th C*ve
Badl*nds Nati*nal Park
Mo*nt Rushm*re
Dev*ls Tow*r
Be*rtooth Highw*y (weather permitting)
Y*llowstone Nati*nal Park
Gr*nd Tet*n Nati*nal Park
Ro*ky Mo*ntain Nati*nal Park
Kans*s (yes, Lois, we'd be driving I-70)
Gatew*y Arch (maybe, if traffic is good)
I am so excited I can hardly post about this!
After years of sporadic discussion, Self-Reliant Man has decided that this might be the year to make our first cross-country van camping trip out west. This might be the right age for the children to enjoy this trip best.
After a busy week of internet research, we have decided that the trip plan would be 23 days in length, during much of the month of September. In fact, we have made a couple of reservations at a few higher demand campgrounds to be sure to get a site.
Self-Reliant Man anticipates getting an extra week of vacation due to twenty years service to his employer. What better way to use it up than traveling cross country?
This has been a lifelong dream of mine, driving across the U.S. in an RV. And although we do not have an actual RV, you may recall that Self-Reliant Man has come up with a workable conversion for our van that we have found to be comfortable and more than adequate for all our trips to date. We have been out west before (by airplane). Self-Reliant Man and I have been to L*ke Lo*ise, Ban*f, Col*mbia Ic*fields, Ic*fields Parkw*y. I have been to Y*llowstone and Gr*nd Tet*ns. This was many years ago. But that was by airplane. We have always wanted to drive it. It may be the optimum time to take the children.
Anyhow, we would be camping all the way in various RV parks that we have preliminarily picked out thanks to my favorite resource, RV Park Reviews . This web resource has always directed us to exceptional RV parks wherever we have traveled, and I highly recommend it if that is what you are into. It hasn't failed us yet.
The total distance of the trip will probably approach 6000 miles by the time we are done, but on no day do we plan to exceed 400 miles. This is for all our sanity, including mine! The children are very excited, too, and they are growing up into fine van travelers; however, we would plan to have more car games and books on hand to while away the hours. The great thing about RV parks is that you can stay overnight for about $30 and have more fun than at a hotel. There are often different activities available, places to walk and explore, and each campground is different. Apparently our greatest expense will be diesel fuel, as you might expect.
This trip is all Lord willing, if you know what I mean. Here are the destinations we have in mind.
Mamm*th C*ve
Badl*nds Nati*nal Park
Mo*nt Rushm*re
Dev*ls Tow*r
Be*rtooth Highw*y (weather permitting)
Y*llowstone Nati*nal Park
Gr*nd Tet*n Nati*nal Park
Ro*ky Mo*ntain Nati*nal Park
Kans*s (yes, Lois, we'd be driving I-70)
Gatew*y Arch (maybe, if traffic is good)So we will be happily busy this spring and summer planning and preparing for this potentially exciting road trip!!!
4 comments:
Cool! If it all works out, we'd love to meet you! Keep us posted on your plans!
Lois
Your excitement is jumping off the computer screen! But no wonder - an adventure of a lifetime for you and your family. How lucky you are to have such a huge country to explore. Your taster shots are giving me itchy feet!
How exciting. We are also planning a trip out west...but only as far as Yellowstone...early planning stages, but it is all so fun.
sounds like a GREAT trip! i think your kids are indeed at great ages for it. (and they'll still be at good ages for a trip for another 6 years or so, so you'll have time to get in another. trip west this year, east coast trip in 5 yrs-- perfect! :-)
the only place in your photos that i have been to is the gateway arch, at age 15-ish. never been further west than that! a driving trip west would probably always be out of the question for us, as hubz is self-employed and can't take long vacations. it is hard enough to get him to take a vacation at all, let alone one longer than 3 days. we may do that this yr, though, and go for a week to the smokies or ozarks or shenandoah. that would be a "big trip" for us. the previous "big trips" we've done were orlando in '01 and maine (highly recommended!) in '04.