59 Days and Counting Down

Wow! The kids spring break is over, and now we are in the final countdown to the end of the school year. We have just 59 days until we leave for our trip, enough time to buy the necessary equipment, try it out, buy new clothes, save up more since gas prices are so high and get more excited!
I hope that if you are reading this blog, and like it - please consider becoming a follower! I would like to see who is following my preparations and then our journey in June and July.
I would love some ideas of what to do in Las Vegas. Neither family is huge into gambling, and we will have four children with us. We are staying at the Circus Circus Hotel, but will have a few days at the end of our trip to sight-see. Any favorites?
I am going to try on some hiking boots, and break them in before we go. I have been warned repeatedly not to bring new shoes on a trip like this. So, happy shopping!

Tickets going out!

We officially are going! No word yet on whether we are coming back (hee hee hee). We bought one way tickets to Las Vegas for June 23. Yippee! Now we will see if the prices drop on return tickets soon.

A Map of Our Journey

I am trying to put in a map of where we are headed.  We are flying in and out of Las Vegas, and will travel north, west, south, east on our journey.  In case my map fails, here is a list of where we are going:
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim
Zion National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Mammoth Hot Springs
Craters of the Moon National Park
Crater Lake, Oregon
Out N' About Treesort, Cave Jct, OR
San Fransisco
Yosemite
Las Vegas
I think Ian and Dave figured 14-15 nights camping and the same in hotels or a condo in S.F.  Looking forward to our trip, and going on this once in a lifetime trip!


View Larger Map

Our Ride! 8 of us in a van this size with all our gear!

Planning and Packing!

This weekend was spent with the Tewksbury's, planning what we will pack, how we will pack it, what we will need, what we will buy in Las Vegas or on the road when we get there.  Who knew that whether to bring toilet paper or buy it there, or whether there will be enough room for a netbook (to post on the blog) would create SUCH drama!  We did find that we should have enough room for all our clothes, cooking implements (don't mention a Dutch Oven, we will NOT be using one). 

All in all, we are well planned and in our heads and on paper we look good.  How it looks when we are all packed (how many clothes does one person really need?) will be another story.  We even taped off the floor with the dimensions of the back of the van to see how much we could fit.  Ian and Dave even took braking quickly into account so if we have to stop on a dime we won't hit all the people in the back row with camping gear. 

We have an awesome condo in San Fransisco, with a rooftop deck.  Bought our tickets to Alcatraz, so are ready to go!  Once there, we may lock one or more of the crew in a cell and quietly sneak away, though.  Jean has already determined what clothes she is bringing, meanwhile I haven't even bought the clothes I am packing.  Another adventure, since Dave loves to see me spend money!!  We are figuring 7 days of clothes, with warmer clothes for evenings as Yellowstone still gets cool at night in July.

Getting Started

So we continue to prepare for our big 32 day trip out west, and have booked most of the campsites and hotels we will stay at.  I am setting up a blogspot for our family and friends to follow us as we travel through Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and more!