Road Trip!
Ok - after a 5 year blog hiatus, we are back to the World of Mackay (Owen is slightly offended that he is not part of the blog title, but I started it right after Mackay was born). Since Bill and I are both off work this summer, we have decided to take the road trip we have dreamed of. Originally, we were planning to drive all the way to New York and then come back via a southerly route. However, due to some serious back problems for Bill - we decided to reduce the mileage and focus on the western national parks -- which we have never really explored.
To make things more interesting/complicated, we chose to drive our Tesla, which puts some general constraints on our route, as we have to stay somewhat within reach of the Tesla charging network. The other thing we learned about trying to plan a trip to national parks is that you need to start at least a year in advance if you want to have campsites or hotel rooms inside a park. Oops.
Anyway, we are cobbling together a combo of campsites, RV parks (where we can poach power for the car) and hotels where we can use our SPG points, resulting in an interesting itinerary. We will share the details as we go, but I thought it would be fun to outline what we are starting with. It's sort of cool to think that (barring power) we are equipped to travel the entire US (or Canada and Mexico, had we brought our passports). Here's what we've crammed into our car and the snazzy extra storage box that attaches to our trailer hitch.
On day one, we made it to Tahoe to pick up 3 of the 4 sleeping bags. Tomorrow, we will join my Mom in Graeagle for their awesomely 1980-ish Fourth of July festival, complete with Civil War re-enactments. If you haven't been, go! The fireworks over the Mill Pond and the kids running around with every type of glow stick imaginable are so fun.
Our progress so far:
Stay tuned - after Graeagle we head East to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce Canyon and Zion...
To make things more interesting/complicated, we chose to drive our Tesla, which puts some general constraints on our route, as we have to stay somewhat within reach of the Tesla charging network. The other thing we learned about trying to plan a trip to national parks is that you need to start at least a year in advance if you want to have campsites or hotel rooms inside a park. Oops.
Anyway, we are cobbling together a combo of campsites, RV parks (where we can poach power for the car) and hotels where we can use our SPG points, resulting in an interesting itinerary. We will share the details as we go, but I thought it would be fun to outline what we are starting with. It's sort of cool to think that (barring power) we are equipped to travel the entire US (or Canada and Mexico, had we brought our passports). Here's what we've crammed into our car and the snazzy extra storage box that attaches to our trailer hitch.
- One camping tent (hurricane rated, about 10x10, pops up in a few minutes)
- Two camp chairs, and two portable hammocks
- Our cat, her food, and her litter box -- dropping her at my mom's tomorrow.
- Four sleeping bags and four pillows
- Cooler bag with ice and various food we didn't want to leave in greenwaste at home.
- Plastic crate with all camping supplies, including percolator, fresh coffee beans, burr grinder, pot (doubles as a popcorn popper), pan, spatula, slotted spoon, tongs, cooking spray and various other cooking necessities.
- Four duffel bags with our assorted clothes and toiletries.
- Two additional backpacks for park hikes, etc.
- Four towels
- First aid kit - which I guarantee we will use, and will hopefully prevent an urgent care visit.
- Four 'DiscoBed' cots that can be assembled into bunk beds (or, a couch!) to save space and keep us off the ground.
- Two moderately whiny kids, armed with backpacks loaded with devices, travel bingo, and other assorted kid entertainment.
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| They actually look sort of excited - but this was taken in our driveway before we left. |
On day one, we made it to Tahoe to pick up 3 of the 4 sleeping bags. Tomorrow, we will join my Mom in Graeagle for their awesomely 1980-ish Fourth of July festival, complete with Civil War re-enactments. If you haven't been, go! The fireworks over the Mill Pond and the kids running around with every type of glow stick imaginable are so fun.
Our progress so far:
Stay tuned - after Graeagle we head East to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce Canyon and Zion...
