- ONE vacation.
- TWENTY FIVE National Parks.
- FIVE family members.
- THIRTY foot RV Trailer.
- EIGHT weeks.
- ONE HUNDRED year anniversary of the National Park Service.
One day in late August 2013, we had an idea. Actually, it was originally more of a moment of panic. We suddenly realized that we only have so many summers to travel as a family on summer vacations...and there are a lot of places to go!
I traveled a lot as a kid growing up. My parents saw to it that I had seen all but six states by the time I was 16. We took most trips driving, but flew to a few destinations as well. I loved these vacations. Some of them I loved more in hindsight, but I loved them just the same. I like that I have seen most national parks, oceans, gulfs, great lakes, waterfalls, destinations spots like Disney World & Land, and many other sights of this country and Canada (back when you could go without spending hundreds of dollars on passports).
If our three kids (now ages 13, 11 and 7) were going to see even half of the places I had seen by the age of 16, we would need to get busy. I would also add that my husband has not seen many of these places, and I am excited to re-experience them as an adult with him. So I made a list of a few vacations we might like to take. The list grew...and grew...and grew. Exactly how many vacations would we have to take each year to accomplish all of this?!
And so an idea was born: Take an EPIC 5-6 week family vacation (it has now become 8 weeks) and visit as much of the western states as we could. Our focus would be National Parks, but a few other "must sees" might slip in. The details of the trip are sketchy at best and can be summed up with: Go West. That's pretty much it. We don't even have a time frame yet.
We began planning in late 2013, yet for various reasons, we will not actually take the trip until the summer of 2016. (We are telling ourselves things like: good things come to those who wait, or patience is a virtue, but seriously, we cannot wait to go!) And did I mention that 2016 is the 100 year anniversary of the national park service?
Thus begins our journey as we research the states and national parks and begin to outline a plan. We will use this blog to document our thoughts. Sometimes the kids might write entries, but I'm guessing it will usually be me (Mom).
Let the planning begin!
National parks we plan to visit:
I traveled a lot as a kid growing up. My parents saw to it that I had seen all but six states by the time I was 16. We took most trips driving, but flew to a few destinations as well. I loved these vacations. Some of them I loved more in hindsight, but I loved them just the same. I like that I have seen most national parks, oceans, gulfs, great lakes, waterfalls, destinations spots like Disney World & Land, and many other sights of this country and Canada (back when you could go without spending hundreds of dollars on passports).
If our three kids (now ages 13, 11 and 7) were going to see even half of the places I had seen by the age of 16, we would need to get busy. I would also add that my husband has not seen many of these places, and I am excited to re-experience them as an adult with him. So I made a list of a few vacations we might like to take. The list grew...and grew...and grew. Exactly how many vacations would we have to take each year to accomplish all of this?!
And so an idea was born: Take an EPIC 5-6 week family vacation (it has now become 8 weeks) and visit as much of the western states as we could. Our focus would be National Parks, but a few other "must sees" might slip in. The details of the trip are sketchy at best and can be summed up with: Go West. That's pretty much it. We don't even have a time frame yet.
We began planning in late 2013, yet for various reasons, we will not actually take the trip until the summer of 2016. (We are telling ourselves things like: good things come to those who wait, or patience is a virtue, but seriously, we cannot wait to go!) And did I mention that 2016 is the 100 year anniversary of the national park service?
Thus begins our journey as we research the states and national parks and begin to outline a plan. We will use this blog to document our thoughts. Sometimes the kids might write entries, but I'm guessing it will usually be me (Mom).
Let the planning begin!
National parks we plan to visit:
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Arches National Park
- Canyonland National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Zion National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Channel Islands National Park
- Sequoia National Park
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Redwood National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Mt Ranier National Park
- Olympic National Park
- North Cascades National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Grand Teton National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- Wind Cave National Park
- Bandlands National Park
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