2 week - Go West Young Man (and family & dogs)

[jcarlilesiu]

Originally Posted by KKnight

Your wife deserves a medal for hauling that injured foot/boot along for several weeks on the road.

Ha! Yes. She broke her foot literally weeks before we departed. I offered to cancel the trip, but she refused.

Setup and tear down at nine different sites was challenging, but she was a trooper.

[Jakieboy]

jarlileisu: God bless you for sharing! The smiles on the faces of those beautiful children is well worth the price of admission to the "universe" of fellow campers. We have all been there and done that, but perhaps not to the level that you have reached.

We will embark on a Great Western Tour of National Parks in May this year with some dear friends who have never seen them. I hope I can figure out how to post photos of our adventure as you have done.

[dcheatwood]

Wow. Brought back memories of our first long RV trip. Small tt from Louisiana to Yellowstone via Estes Park co. Had been to Yellowstone twice before but nothing like the RV experience. Been back twice since. I really hope you get to go again. We see new, beautiful, wonderful sites each time we go back. Thanks for sharing.

[RacerRalph]

Thanks for sharing your experience, you have a beautiful family.

[John Jones]

that trip sounds great, my family wants to go!!!

[mimiG]

Wonderful pics! Thank you for sharing! We are doing the exact same trip this June from Indiana. Badlands, Yellowstone, and RMNP on the way back. Our first big trip with the travel trailer.

[freyguy]

Thanks for sharing!! Awesome trip and looks like great family time. We are doing a similar trip in June as well! Leaving Delaware, stopping at Rushmore, hitting Yellowstone for 3 nights, then Glacier. If it's still too frozen, we'll hit badlands on the way back east.

Do you have any upgrades that you recommend for the trip? Most of our campsites will be no-hookup/boondocking. I already bought a generator that will run everything, but I'm thinking of doing a dual battery setup as well. Thanks!

[Jakieboy]

frey.guy - - - -That is a very aggressive plan to go from Delaware to the great Southwest National Parks. I admire your fortitude.

If time permits do not miss the chance to spend some time in Grand Teton NP, just south of Yellowstone. It is far more interesting than Yelowstone, especially if you are travelling with kids.

You may also want to visit Devil's Tower in NE Wyoming, not far from Mt. Rushmore.

The town of Vernal, Utah has one of the most informative Dinosaur Museums in the entire country, not far from the Dinosaur National Monument in NW Colorado.

Farther south you will find Arches NP and Canyonlands NP with sights that exist nowhere else on earth.

We will be visiting all of these sites during the next few months with another recently retired couple who have never seen these sites. Perhaps our paths may cross!!

[jcarlilesiu]

Originally Posted by freyguy

Thanks for sharing!! Awesome trip and looks like great family time. We are doing a similar trip in June as well! Leaving Delaware, stopping at Rushmore, hitting Yellowstone for 3 nights, then Glacier. If it's still too frozen, we'll hit badlands on the way back east.

Do you have any upgrades that you recommend for the trip? Most of our campsites will be no-hookup/boondocking. I already bought a generator that will run everything, but I'm thinking of doing a dual battery setup as well. Thanks!

Hi Frey... just saw this.

I did several upgrades to the camper to anticipate the boondocking nature of the trip. Here is a short list and how useful:

1. Bought a Honda 2000i and companion. I was concerned about heat in August in badlands and other low elevations. We got lucky with weather and never had to run the air. (wasn't useful in our case)

2. Upgraded to (2) 6V batteries and installed a 2000W inverter hardwired into the distribution center with transfer switch. (hugely useful, though the amount of time around the TV or charging devices was exceptionally lower than expected. Everybody was playing in nature and around the camp fire)

3. Had a locale fabrication shop install a rear rack with enclosed box that held both generators and a 5 gallon fuel tank. We could also carry our fire wood and outdoor carpet. (hugely helpful, its amazing how much a box and rack adds storage wise)

4. The wife made several meals and froze them in disposable tupperware. We had spagetti, soup, etc. We would pull the frozen food out of the dinner, throw it in a pot on the stove and dinner was served! (hugely helpful for quick good meals)

5. The day before departing I noticed a screw in the china bomb tire. I was on the fence about replacing, and just decided that was a sign. I put on 4 Goodyear Endurance the day before leaving.


Thats about it. We were diligent in knowing where our next stop was and what amenities were available. We often dumped and fully loaded the fresh water tank before taking off just in case, and that safety was worth it. Most places we stayed didn't have hookups. We even topped off going in when required.

I probably over prepared, but the trip had no issues.