By the time we leave on our adventure in the truck camper and head west, we’ve spent a year or more dreaming and planning. We think back on past vacations, re-read old travel diaries, research parks and places, bought a few books, a new travel atlas and we’re ready to hit the trail. We get these pictures in our minds, these feelings in our bodies, this desire to get out and explore what God has created for us to enjoy. That’s what wanderlust is. Our curiosity and excitement are what nudge us to travel in the first place.
So I have to say that for this trip, we have a relatively new Chevrolet dually, a 2 month old Lance truck camper and 30 days of vacation stored up. The temperatures here on the gulf coast this month have averaged in the triple digits. We haven’t been on a long adventure since 2007 – the memorable trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, where the Dodge truck broke down and we had to be towed. Although inconvenienced, we were still blessed to be able to explore the park and enjoy one of the best campsites at the park – a full hook-up site right behind the gas station. Who would have thought. Let me just share this overwhelming thought……we can’t wait to get to some cool weather! (And yes, it’s a lot to pack clothes for every season, but we really don’t mind at all.)
We get comments from friends and family that seem to question why we have chosen to vacation the way we do. Everyone has their own lifestyle and thoughts about vacation. One of our goals is to visit every National Park in North America, the country we live in and love, before venturing too much into other countries. There are 58 in the United States. We have ventured to 22 so far. This trip, if we follow our route that is only in our heads, we will add 12 more. We enjoy the solitude and the unknown that is found in nature and in our National Parks system that we couldn’t get if we were confined to hotels and such. We enjoy cooking our own meals outside (except when there’s a bear in the woods watching us!). We don’t mind the driving too much….as long as the scenery is good, the company is good and there is no highway construction. But the driving affords the chance to see and experience things that you might not be able to if you’re flying.
The trip starts August 27, 2010. The only reservation, or definite plan, is for the first night. We will travel to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, near Amarillo, Texas. Mapquest says it will take close to 11 hours to drive it. But…..these are things that Texans must do to get out of the state. We are early risers so the plan is to get a real early start, so we can arrive in the cool part of the day and enjoy this park that we have only passed through in years past on our way home from other vacation adventures.
And yes, for those of you wondering, it was hard to say good-bye to baby Aiden. He's growing so fast! But....does it look like the tires can hold all that weight? We have to remember that there are stores along the road!
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