If all goes well, Helen and I should be on the road to Memphis on the first day of our summer road trip when this post is published. After almost a year of planning, Campsites are reserved, an itinerary prepared, Dora (our fifth-wheel) is loaded, and Ruby (new truck) is eager to lead the way. We both received the second of two COVID vaccinations more than two weeks ago. The vaccines don’t make us bulletproof, but we do feel safer than we did when embarking on RV trips in 2020.
We will travel a lot of the ground we covered last summer, but much of that ground was closed due to the pandemic. On the positive side, the pandemic reduced the crowd in the National Parks. We had no trouble finding parking and never encountered long lines; nevertheless, there was limited access to some of the attractions and points of interest we hoped to visit.
We spent three months on the road last summer but added a fourth month to this journey. Canada opens its borders after shutting us out in 2020, and we secured reservations in the campground on Lake Louise in Banff National Park in late June. I held my breath while making this reservation. When reservations opened this past Monday, we were number 32,239 in the online queue. I spent five hours waiting for my turn to reserve a spot. Persistence paid off. We’re in and looking forward to the experience that everyone who has visited Lake Louise says is incredible.
We begin this trip by heading to California (by way of Las Vegas), with stops in Utah and Colorado on the way. Once in California, we will spend some time hugging our grandchildren while camping with them at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Next, we move north along the coast to the northwestern tip of Washington before turning east toward Canada, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. I have posted a map of the route below. It’s not very clear in pinpointing each stop but does show the direction and the states we visit along the way.
I look forward to the photo opportunities as much as I do exploring the new places on the itinerary. We fell in love with the unique landscape of Yellowstone and Glacier National Park last summer, as well as the wildflowers on Mt. Rainier. Photographs from that trip serve as wallpaper on my desktop, and I never tire of seeing the scenery. Some of those pictures are shared above and here.
Hopefully, we will share our journey with weekly updates. Please join us and know that we would love to have reader suggestions of places to visit along the way. Use the comments section of Easin’ Along. We will read them all and reply. Wi-Fi is a bit iffy in some parts of the road less traveled, but we’ll get back to you as soon as we recover a signal.
Although we’re in a hurry to begin the journey, we’re still…Easin’ Along.
Love you both! Have a great tone and can’t wait to see you on the road!
Looking forward to seeing y’all more than anything. Travel safely with that precious cargo! Big Daddy.
Looks like a great itinerary. I look forward to following along and perhaps stealing your ideas for our own trip in 2022. Safe travels!
Thanks, Ingrid,
I have a spreadsheet with all the stops (39) and contact information that I will be happy to share. Have a wonderful summer. Joe
Hi Joe,
I will watch your posts with interest…next spring we will do much the same trip, the one that was started this past fall but never finished. Take lots of photos!
Hi, Nancy,
We’ll take pictures and notes too. I’ll be happy to share. Thanks for checking in. Have a great summer.
Hope to see you in Montana!
Hello, Debbie,
We had such a great time in Big Sky that we’re coming back on July 5th for five nights at the same campground. Would love to see y’all. Hope I can talk Rick into taking me fishing again. We’ll be in touch. Joe
I will be there every mile of the way. Happy travels.
Good evening, Suzanne,
We just arrived in Memphis on day one. Really looking forward to this trip and glad to hear that you will join us. We’re kinda sprinting across I-40 to Utah and Colorado, then we slow down and smell the roses. Please stay in touch. Joe
Congrats on the Banff reservations, Joe – what an exciting score! This epic journey of yours looks like all three of our cross-country National Parks trips combined, and they averaged out to about a month each. The fact that you’re working with an extra month will be a huge benefit – there’s just so much to see and do! Enjoy every mile and every moment!
Good morning, Mary,
We’re off and running, but got a late start due to battery issues with the RV. Nevertheless, we made it to Memphis and camped within 100 feet of the Mississippi River…awesome. Please stay in touch, and have a great weekend. Joe
When you get back to Yellowstone, be sure to point your camera DOWN into the paintpots and other sights… you’ll get some wonderful pictures!
Also, I’d like to see the “key” to all the symbols on the map you posted.
Have a great trip.
Hi, Dave,
We loved Yellowstone and look forward to a return. The sights there are like nothing seen anywhere else. As for the “key” to the map–I use a website called RV Trip Wizard and I couldn’t find a key, but think I know what most of them are. The Good Sam campgrounds use the Good Sam icons. The tents are commercial campgrounds not in the Good Sam system. The red dots are either custom stops–like the address of a friend, or a campground not in the website inventory at all and the dot contains the first letter of the name of the town, like “K” for Knoxville. Hope that helps. I love the website for trip planning. Thanks for checking in, please come back. Joe
That looks like a fabulous trip! I’m looking forward to more of your beautiful photos. So great that you scored a campsite at Lake Louise. That’s still on our list, so it will be fun to see it through your lens. Enjoy your journey, and safe travels!
Hello, Laurel,
We were so excited to get in after being shut out last year. You’ll get the pictures, I promise. Have a great weekend! Joe
Yay, how nice to be out and about again, Joe! I heard Canada closed again, but maybe just a couple of cities are limiting contact. We drove north on 395 here in Washington as stopped in Colville, about 45 miles from the BC border. Banff is certainly on our list, but we may wait til 2022. I saw on your map that you get real close to Spokane, WA, so if you want to stop by and spend the night, please let me know. We got plenty of room for you, Helen and Dora! At least for a quick IRL blogger visit! Safe travels!
Teri,
We felt fortunate to secure a reservation at Lake Louise, but know that it is still an iffy proposition. We gave up on the idea of traveling to Canada, and planned the trip without it. Then, when we learned that Banff would take reservations beginning April 12, we did some rearranging. As you probably know, RV reservations are not easy to obtain, so our schedule is pretty tight now. Nevertheless, I welcome your offer very much. If Canada closes again, we’ll need a place to land for sure. We’ll stay in touch—I’m sure we can at least meet up somewhere. We’re in Oklahoma today! Joe