April 20, 2022

Out of the Starting Gate (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents the first installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  We logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks.  Read all about it here – the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly.

Previously, on Reflections Around the Campfire . . . In 2007, one year after we bought our first travel trailer, Alan and I recreated our honeymoon travels with our two kids during our family of four’s first cross-country National Parks trip.  The second followed in 2010.  This third cross-country National Parks trip would be our final one.  Not our final trip, of course, but the last one dedicated to visiting as many National Parks as possible.  Once this trip was completed, Alan and I would have hit all of the Parks designated “high priority” on our Bucket List.  Following this trip, we would continue to visit National Parks and Monuments, but at a more leisurely pace, fitting those visits into future trip itineraries that focused on more than just National Parks.

In 2017, our daughter, Kyra, had just graduated from high school and had no employment commitments over the summer, so the timing was perfect for her to join Alan and me on this third National Parks trip.  It had been on the planning board for years, while we waited until the time was right to execute those plans.  Unfortunately, our son, Ryan, five years older than his sister, was already working full time, and his allotted vacation days wouldn’t cover the extended trip.  This was the only one of our cross-country National Parks trips that didn’t include both kids, and we missed Ryan (and his good luck) immensely.

2007 National Parks Trip #1 - Grand Teton National Park

The West Coast National Parks trip would be our third and final “sampler” trip.  The purpose of these sampler trips was not to linger in any one Park, exploring every accessible nook and cranny.  Quite the opposite, actually.  We were trying to hit the highlights of a number of Parks, and determine which of those Parks deserved a lengthy, more in-depth visit on a return trip.  Many visitors to our National Parks wouldn’t be content with a brief stay of just two or three days stays in one location.  But this plan of attack works well for us, and we’ve logged thousands of miles together as a family of four exploring our National Parks from coast to coast.

In looking back at our calendar for this trip, I’m absolutely amazed at the sheer number of activities and attractions we packed into this rather eclectic itinerary.  In addition to the nine National Parks that were the foundation of the expedition, we also managed to squeeze in a decent number of Route 66 stops, quick visits to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, one National Recreation Area, one National Seashore and countless State Parks along the way.  I believe our success was due to the combination of hours upon hours of planning on my part, Alan’s driving inclinations and abilities, and Kyra’s experience as a seasoned road-tripper – a team effort, as always.  Did I mention that we were really missing Ryan?

To set the stage, I’ll point out that our 2006 Jayco travel trailer was the RV of choice for this cross-country expedition – despite the fact that we had a brand new, never used 2017 Outdoors RV travel trailer sitting on a pad back at home.  Why?  Our new ORV, while it does have room for the kids, requires transforming the sofa sleeper and/or dinette into a bed each night.  Knowing we’d be on the road for more than five weeks – and knowing that making up the bed each morning and evening would get really old, really fast – we decided to use the Jayco with its two bunk beds.  That allowed Kyra to have a permanent bed of her own and extra storage space since Ryan’s bunk would be empty.  So, off we went with our 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck towing our 2006 Jayco Jay Flight travel trailer.

Tioga Pass entrance - notice the snow still present in July

Until this trip, the worst trouble we had ever encountered on a vacation was a flat tire in Colorado on our 2010 National Parks trip.  On this trip, we were barely out of the starting gate when the trouble began.  Let me preface the explanation of the trouble with a piece of information: Before every camping trip, I print out a checklist for each member of the family that details all the items they’re expected to pack for themselves.  It is not my fault when other family members choose not to use or adhere to their packing list.  That being said, you have to know that someone is about to get thrown under the bus.  Yes, indeedy, we were just about an hour into our trip when our youngest family member announced that she had forgotten to pack the extra sets of contacts she would need over the course of the upcoming five weeks.  WHAT?!!!!!

After a short discussion during which we considered (and discarded) all of our available options but one, Alan turned the truck and travel trailer around and we headed for home.  That was strike one.

Since I published current photos of our darling daughter in my last post, you know that we didn’t kill her then and there on the highway.  Instead, I just recited one of my favorite prayers (“God, please grant me the patience to endure my blessings”) and moved on.  What comes after strike one?  That’s right.  Strike two.  And that’s coming up in the next post.

 

10 comments:

  1. Well, that must have been quite a trip! I only thought it was a big deal for us to travel from Texas to, well, merely halfway across the country in several directions. You win the primrose medallion for cross-country travel (each way). I admire your methodology for teaching your kids to be responsible. I can only imagine how the missing contacts experience was burned into Kyra's mind by the long ride back home. We were far too indulgent with Mindy, but we can probably be forgiven, due to circumstances that I'll reveal privately in another venue. Thankfully, she was remarkably compliant with her much-too-few restrictions, and our omissions didn't seem to affect her success. She is now the senior nurse in the largest and busiest hospital trauma unit in Texas, all the while being a supermom of three boys, 13, 8 and 3. Alas, the bad behavior expected of her as a child didn't show up until her three-year-old, Sutton, came along. I'm pretty sure my youngest grandson is destined for prison. Can't wait for your publication of "Strike Two."

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    1. Mike, I had to laugh at your comment about Sutton. Fate has a devious sense of humor. When you're dealt an easy going child in the first hand, then one with a completely different and much more challenging personality in a subsequent hand, you end up scrambling to restructure your parenting tactics appropriately as you rise to the challenge. Good luck to Mindy and Tyler with that one. By the way, I can't believe your oldest grandson, (Mason, right?) is a teenager already!

      As for Kyra's reflection on her transgression, she has ingeniously turned the tables on us. Her position now is that, if she hadn't forgotten her contacts, we would have been much farther from home when "strike two" occurred. As much as I hate to admit it, I do see her point.

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  2. When we travel, we often remind ourselves that where we are going probably has stores, so if we forget anything, we can probably just buy a new one. Not so much for contacts. I hope Strike Two isn't too bad.

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    1. The good news about the contacts is that Kyra gets them through our local Walmart Vision Center. So, we considered just calling Dr. Matt and asking him to order more and have them shipped to another Vision Center on our route. Then we realized that, if they didn't arrive in time for any reason whatsoever, we'd really be up the creek without a paddle. Best to just bite the bullet and return home. As for Strike Two, well, it was pretty bad. But, when things are tough, you find out who the good guys are.

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  3. So Mary, since I haven't heard these stories before, I am looking forward to hearing about Strike Two as well. I think I would have worn my glasses the whole trip rather than admit I forgot my contacts. �� Kyra is very honest...and that is a good thing. �� I guess an hour back wasn't TOO bad...yeah, it was!

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    1. Joan, I'll bet the Strike Two story will ring a bell because I can't imagine it not making our 2017 Christmas newsletter. Regarding Kyra's contacts, I'm sure we were thinking that if that was the worst thing that happened on the trip then we were in good shape. You've probably heard the expression, "Man plans and God laughs." He must have been rolling on the floor that week. Love to you and Tom!

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  4. Your trip planning skills really are excellent! That's a lot of territory to cover, and to see ALL of those national parks and so many other attractions is remarkable. It's actually a great idea to do an "overview" trip and to then return to explore more in-depth the places that you found most intriguing. And, of course, a quicker trip is a necessity when you don't have unlimited time to travel.

    We ALWAYS forgot something when taking off on a trip. But I refused to pull out of driveway until I physically checked again the absolutely most important things—which included my contact lenses! One reason I loved traveling full-time is that we never had to pack and unpack, LOL!!

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    1. I've always enjoyed the trip planning, Laurel. It's like fitting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. Numbers are my friends, so I don't mind the time and distance calculations at all. Since I enjoy reading and travel, the research is a piece of cake. One of the reasons for the sampler trips was to expose the kids to as many different experiences as possible. That way, as adults, they'd have a better idea as to what kinds of destinations appealed to them. It always worked well for us but, for others, maybe not so much.

      Kyra is the only member of the family who wears contacts, so they're not on my "walking out the door" checklist like wallet, phone and keys are. Not until after that trip, anyway!

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  5. Mary,
    Looking forward to this adventure. I would have to think long and hard about turning around, but you both handled it well. One of my favorite prayers is God, please grant me patience...and please don't make me wait for it! Have a great weekend. Joe

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    1. Joe, I love that we can find humor anywhere - even in prayer!

      Alan and I were talking about this trip over coffee this morning. It was the worst trip we ever had for medical issues (all minor, thankfully) and disasters, but it really was one of the best, too. We had SO many exceptional experiences that we never thought of it as a bad trip. Several bad days, for sure, but still an amazing journey.

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