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flintsters · 10-04-2019, 12:06 PM

Thanks in large part to the feedback and posts on this site, we had an amazing 8 week trip this past summer. We did our best to hightail it to get to Colorado, spend a couple of weeks in various locations, and then made our way from Grand Canyon up to Glacier and back home to New England. We had so much fun and loved the lifestyle and experience so much that we are going to go again next summer. It'll be for about the same amount of time but this time the focus will be to get to the coast. Last summer we hiked well over 100 miles and want to make sure that hiking is a big part of this next trip as well. I have 3 daughters (ages 14, 12, 7). Below is a draft of our itinerary. Any feedback/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

(hours for driving time came from Google Maps....I know that they aren't accurate but it's at least a point of reference). Some of the driving between locations are split between 2 or 3 days....we aren't really driving 1059 miles in one day but over 2 long days.

6/18/2020 Drive to Hamburg, NY Walmart 357 miles (6.25 hrs)
6/19/2020 Drive to Indianapolis KOA 475 miles (7 hours)
6/20/2020 Drive to Kansas City KOA 536 miles (8 hours)
6/21/2020
6/22/2020 Drive to Colorado Springs 557 miles (8.25 )hours
6/23/2020
6/24/2020
6/25/2020 Drive to Buena Vista 94 miles (2 hours)
6/26/2020
6/27/2020
6/28/2020 Drive to Moab, UT 318 miles (5 hours)
6/29/2020
6/30/2020
7/1/2020
7/2/2020 Drive to Capitol Reef 144 miles (2.25 hours)
7/3/2020
7/4/2020 Drive to Las Vegas 458 miles (6.75 hours)
7/5/2020 Drive to Sequoia 398 miles (7 hours)
7/6/2020
7/7/2020
7/8/2020 Drive to Yosemite 206 miles (4.5 hours)
7/9/2020
7/10/2020
7/11/2020
7/12/2020 Drive to San Fransisco 167 miles (3.25 hours)
7/13/2020
7/14/2020
7/15/2020 Drive to Crater Lake 398 miles (6.25 hours)
7/16/2020
7/17/2020
7/18/2020 Drive to Beverly Beach SP 225 miles (4 hours)
7/19/2020
7/20/2020 Drive to Mt. Hood/Columbia Gorge 140 miles (2.75 hours)
7/21/2020
7/22/2020
7/23/2020 Drive to Fort Stevens State Park 113 miles (2.25 hours)
7/24/2020
7/25/2020
7/26/2020 Drive to Olympic Nat'l Park 152 miles (3.75 hours)
7/27/2020
7/28/2020
7/29/2020
7/30/2020 Drive to North Cascades Nat'l Park 146 miles (4 hours)
7/31/2020
8/1/2020
8/2/2020
8/3/2020 Drive to East Glacier
8/4/2020 Arrive at East Glacier 754 miles (13 hours)
8/5/2020
8/6/2020
8/7/2020
8/8/2020 Drive to St. Cloud, MN - to visit family, not for the sightseeing
8/9/2020 Arrive in St. Cloud, MN 1059 miles (16 hours)
8/10/2020
8/11/2020
8/12/2020 Drive Home
8/13/2020 Drive Home
8/14/2020 Arrive Home 1354 miles (21 hours)

Rolling Ragu · 10-04-2019, 12:47 PM

I'm at work and can't dedicate the time to write a thorough response, of which I'm sure you will get great advice from others. But I wanted to write to let you know that your story is inspiring.

We were in a similar position to you back in 2014. Our first family trip out west literally changed our lives. It was so much more than beautiful sites. It was learning to bond as a family in ways that we had never experienced. It was resetting life's priorities. It was understanding myself better. Overly philosophical? Maybe.

Since that first trip, we have done 6-8 weeks every summer. 40k miles of RV'ing all over the country together. I can't imagine any better use of our time, and wouldn't sell back the memories for any amount.

I'm looking forward to more of your adventures. Please continue to share. I shared on this forum for the first trip or two, but started a YouTube channel to share more. Maybe you will consider that?

If I find a window over the next few days, I'll throw my 2 cents at it.

flintsters · 10-04-2019, 03:15 PM

We didn't anticipate how impactful the trip would be for us personally or as a family. We found such freedom and joy exploring some of the most amazing places. Our focus was just to be present and in the moment, something that we increasingly struggle to do. We weren't constantly telling the girls to turn off the TV, mowing the lawn, driving them to and from swim team, or the million other things that seem to consume our time and energy. It was the first time since we were kids that we authentically had no clue what the date was or what was happening in the world. I had a binder full of notes of things not to miss....after our first or second stop we never looked at it again. In short, it was so simple. On our last day of the trip we were collectively crying because the trip was over (must've been quite a sight!).

My wife and I are both teachers, which while we don't do it for the money or vacations, having the summers off together has been an amazing gift for our family. This has allowed us to dream about making this as a cornerstone thing for our family to do together. With our daughters getting older we are feeling a bit of a sense of urgency to do this while we can and they still have an interest and ability to be with us. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times we said we wished we could just freeze time. Since we can't the next best thing we can do is throw the 5 of us into 270 sq. ft for 8 weeks and hope the memories stick.

I don't think you are being overly philosophical...you summed up our emotion and experience in a way I would not have been able to understand or relate to until 6 weeks ago.

twogypsies · 10-04-2019, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flintsters

We found such freedom and joy exploring some of the most amazing places. .......... It was the first time since we were kids that we authentically had no clue what the date was or what was happening in the world. I had a binder full of notes of things not to miss....after our first or second stop we never looked at it again. In short, it was so simple.

.... and that is why we were full-timers for 16 years!

traveler of california · 10-04-2019, 04:18 PM

We traveled with our children as you just did and they still remember our adventures. They are doing their own family travels today. Continue and you will cherish those moments forevermore.

Nick
2014 Allegro Red 34QFA

Rolling Ragu · 10-05-2019, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flintsters

We didn't anticipate how impactful the trip would be for us personally or as a family. We found such freedom and joy exploring some of the most amazing places. Our focus was just to be present and in the moment, something that we increasingly struggle to do. We weren't constantly telling the girls to turn off the TV, mowing the lawn, driving them to and from swim team, or the million other things that seem to consume our time and energy. It was the first time since we were kids that we authentically had no clue what the date was or what was happening in the world. I had a binder full of notes of things not to miss....after our first or second stop we never looked at it again. In short, it was so simple. On our last day of the trip we were collectively crying because the trip was over (must've been quite a sight!).

My wife and I are both teachers, which while we don't do it for the money or vacations, having the summers off together has been an amazing gift for our family. This has allowed us to dream about making this as a cornerstone thing for our family to do together. With our daughters getting older we are feeling a bit of a sense of urgency to do this while we can and they still have an interest and ability to be with us. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times we said we wished we could just freeze time. Since we can't the next best thing we can do is throw the 5 of us into 270 sq. ft for 8 weeks and hope the memories stick.

I don't think you are being overly philosophical...you summed up our emotion and experience in a way I would not have been able to understand or relate to until 6 weeks ago.

Well said. I'm a teacher as well. My wife asked for unpaid time and it was granted.

Explaining it to people who haven't experienced it has been a struggle. Something this good needs to be shared, but you can't grasp it without doing it.

Our boys are 14 now. We make the comments about freezing time as well. For now, the best we can do is document, document, document.

Good for you!

Rolling Ragu · 10-05-2019, 05:05 AM

Can you post a list of sites visited on your first trip? That can eliminate suggestions that you've already been to.

flintsters · 10-05-2019, 06:13 AM

We have struggled to talk about our trip to others in a way that captures things without being in their face or appear bragging. We have also struggled with the lack of interest in hearing about our trip from people we expected/hoped would be genuinely interested (even some family members). While there was a sting of hurt, we have landed at the place that this was our adventure to own and cherish and find satisfaction in that.

Below is our itinerary we followed for our trip last summer as a point of reference to give some feedback about the trip for next summer. We ran out of time in Glacier and only explored the West side and plan to go back and see the East side. We will also have an additional 1,000 miles of driving in roughly the same amount of time.

6/18/2019 Drive to Batavia Walmart (New York) 341 miles 5.75 hours
6/19/2019 Drive to Dayton KOA (Ohio) 437 miles 6.5 hours
6/20/2019 Drive to Babler State Park (St. Louis) 372 miles 5.75 hours
6/21/2019
6/22/2019 Drive to Wakonney Kansas 525 miles 7.25 hours
6/23/2019 Drive to Denver 304 miles 4.25 hours
6/24/2019
6/25/2019 Drive to Moraine Park (Estes Park) 100 miles 2.25 hours
6/26/2019
6/27/2019
6/28/2019
6/29/2019 Drive to Glenwood Springs, CO 219 miles 4.25 hours
6/30/2019
7/1/2019 Drive to Ridgway State Park 138 miles 2.25 hours
7/2/2019
7/3/2019
7/4/2019
7/5/2019 Drive to Mesa Verde 113 miles 2.25 hours
7/6/2019
7/7/2019 Drive to Grand Canyon 270 miles 4.5 hours
7/8/2019
7/9/2019 Drive to Page 133 miles 2.5 hours
7/10/2019
7/11/2019 Drive to Zion National Park 158 miles 2.75 hours
7/12/2019
7/13/2019
7/14/2019
7/15/2019 Drive to Bryce Canyon National Park 146 miles 2.5 hours
7/16/2019
7/17/2019
7/18/2019 Drive to Jordanelle SP (Park City, UT) 273 miles 4.25 hours
7/19/2019
7/20/2019 Drive to Grand Teton National Park 294 miles 5.25 hours
7/21/2019
7/22/2019
7/23/2019 Drive to Bridge Bay (Yellowstone) 58 miles 1.5 hours
7/24/2019
7/25/2019
7/26/2019 Drive to Madison Campground (Yellowstone) 45 miles 1.25 hours
7/27/2019
7/28/2019
7/29/2019
7/30/2019 Drive to West Glacier 389 miles 6.5 hours
7/31/2019
8/1/2019
8/2/2019
8/3/2019 Drive to Billings 419 miles 7 hours
8/4/2019 Drive to Devil's Tower 266 miles 4.5 hours
8/5/2019 Drive to Custer State Park 112 miles 2 hours
8/6/2019
8/7/2019
8/8/2019 Drive to Badlands 126 miles 2.25 hours
8/9/2019
8/10/2019 Drive to Chicago
8/11/2019 Arrive in Chicago 890 miles 12.5 hours
8/12/2019
8/13/2019 Drive Home
8/14/2019 Arrive Home 877 miles 14 hours

Busskipper · 10-05-2019, 09:51 AM

Not trying to be a Negative on California - BUT - even with all the Beauty of the NP's and the Ocean/Beaches - For me personally, it is just too Crowded and nothing like being in the SouthWest. (Like Yogi would say "Nobody goes there anymore it's TOO Crowded")

Might be that I spent a lot of time there as a kid and the oldest son went to Whittier for College and we had a good deal of time there 20 years ago that along with the childhood memories were very different than what it is today, very Different.

Let me add that we are at this time we are in Colorado, taking care of the Granddaughters for a week + while the Son and DIL are in Yosemite (Yes in Cali) on a lottery hike into the backcountry. So if you have never been it can still be Amazing just IMHO it will have a hard time matching the time you had in the SouthWest, so keep that in mind. Last month the DIL had a Lottery hike into the Tetons, (Yes we flew out and took care of the Grands then too) that she Loved, it will be interesting to hear the comparison of the two Hikes. (Along with all the Images

)

One last personal, side note - I also taught for three years right out of College (was 4-f so this was my military service

) - had the students do a Report on all the National parks - then DW, let me take her Coast to Coast in 21 days - most pictures had the truck mirror in them as it was more like a race than a vacation - but - we planted the seeds and have never stopped traveling. Having made our way to China and Europe we honestly believe that the Southwest is the closest thing to Heaven we have ever Seen/Hiked/Driven/Explored/Visited/Enjoyed.

Just remember to Enjoy all these places - Take Two or three images every time you think one will do, then store these, as if they were Gold, as IMHO they will be the treasures that can never be replaced, Last Talk to the Locals - the info you get is the Best info you can find.

Couple of sites that may help as you plan/travel;

Stan's images and organization is/are just amazing, and may help in planning some of your stops/destinations. - https://www.pbase.com/sparker1/root%26view=tree

This family did it every year and Chronicled it to share ; -http://www.cross-country-trips.com/

Enjoy and remember to try to make the drive is as good as the destination if you plan it correctly.

Best of Luck,

Arch Hoagland · 10-05-2019, 10:07 AM

Are you planning on making reservations way in advance?

We travel throughout California, Nevada, Utah and Oregon during July and August. Years ago we didn't need reservations....now I make them a month in advance.

This past July and August we hit over a hundred miles of road repair where it was down to one lane 35 MPH so keep that in mind. That was in Nevada, California and Oregon.

Alan_Hepburn · 10-05-2019, 12:13 PM

If you haven't already experienced it, I would recommend stopping in Kearney, Nebraska and spending a couple of hours in the Great Platte River Road Archway - your kids will enjoy learing about the history of our westward migration! There is also a really nice 1880s pioneer village nearby that's worth a few hours.

Jay D. · 10-06-2019, 07:49 PM

your drive from Crater Lake to Beverly Beach is going to be boring on the route you have listed. why not take 138 w out of Crater Lake down to Reedsport then north on 101 to Beverly Beach. its a spectacular drive up the coast and so many things to see. its about the same mileage and all good highway.
Jay D.

flintsters · 10-11-2019, 03:15 PM

Thanks for the tip, Jay D.

flintsters · 10-11-2019, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Are you planning on making reservations way in advance?

We travel throughout California, Nevada, Utah and Oregon during July and August. Years ago we didn't need reservations....now I make them a month in advance.

This past July and August we hit over a hundred miles of road repair where it was down to one lane 35 MPH so keep that in mind. That was in Nevada, California and Oregon.

Yes, we are mostly planning to make reservations which is why we're trying to get this nailed down (at least in draft form) so we can start looking at places we might want to stay. If it were just my wife and I then I'd be more up for rolling the dice, but with a family of 5 and a somewhat restricted time constraint it seems to make sense to have a place we know we can stay in an area we want to explore.