I came across an interesting story in the Boston Globe about the psychology of vacations. It's an interesting read:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/06/20/the_best_vacation_ever/?page=1
Seems like all the driving on road trips helps to accentuate the experience and positive memories of each stop. Good to hear! In about 6 days, I'll be married to my steering wheel.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tenting Success
Good news. I now have a place to sleep. On Saturday, with a bit of help from Kristie, I was able to get the thing assembled. Amazingly, all she had to point out was that the pole colors should probably match the flap colors. Tent companies must use sweatshop laborers to determine how many people a tent sleeps. When I went to lay down in this thing, I had to lay diagonally to have a comfortable distance from the walls. Seeing how Greg is coming now, I think that I might try to get my hands on an additional tent so that we all have space to breathe. I've also realized that a Prius is not that large of a vehicle and we need to make an efficient packing list in order to ensure that we can sit comfortably without walls of stuff around us. Today was a day of important minutia. The oil change, tire rotation, balance, alignment, and 41 point inspection have all been scheduled. It almost feels like it is coming up too fast. I still only have reservations at two places, Banff National Park and Truth and Consequences, NM. I am kind of ok with this, but I am pretty sure that Kristie, Jared, and Greg are less-so. Oh well I guess I also have Oklahoma City and Nashville too! Thanks Jamin and Jon and Richard - via Kristie.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tenting Failure #1
Well tonight I took the tent out of the Prius trunk to try to put it together in the dark. Since the weather is hot and muggy, it seemed the perfect opportunity to run a test drive of camping in the comfortable safety of my backyard. Step one was to assemble the tent.
It was a complete failure. The process of putting together a tent is incredibly simple - especially when someone who works professionally for the Bowdoin Outing Club shows you how to do it inside on a large well-lit room. In the month since I picked this tent up I forgot EVERYTHING. So, there the tent rests - outside on the tarp in the backyard.
Tomorrow is another day. I'll try to find a youtube video to watch on how to put the thing together, do it a few times in the daylight. Then tomorrow night we'll give it a go in the dark and hopefully even try sleeping out in the tent overnight!
The trip is sneaking up fast. My brother Greg is now joining me for the same leg as Jared and I'll be picking him up on the first to help with the crazy 18 hour drive to Chicago. They are now both flying out of Calgary which kind of changes up my original idea of heading from Spokane down to Crater Lake, Redwoods, Lassen, and the Sierra's down to Vegas. It is looking increasingly more likely that I'll take a more direct route towards Vegas - where I'll be picking up Kristie - in order to not exhaust myself and also to see more of the inner mountain west since the Pacific Coast is more accessible via plane and rental car for future explorations. Regardless of the result, the week between my brothers and Kristie will be without an itinerary and should have a completely different flavor than the run and gun weeks planned with both.
I will begin to post more frequently from here on out!
It was a complete failure. The process of putting together a tent is incredibly simple - especially when someone who works professionally for the Bowdoin Outing Club shows you how to do it inside on a large well-lit room. In the month since I picked this tent up I forgot EVERYTHING. So, there the tent rests - outside on the tarp in the backyard.
Tomorrow is another day. I'll try to find a youtube video to watch on how to put the thing together, do it a few times in the daylight. Then tomorrow night we'll give it a go in the dark and hopefully even try sleeping out in the tent overnight!
The trip is sneaking up fast. My brother Greg is now joining me for the same leg as Jared and I'll be picking him up on the first to help with the crazy 18 hour drive to Chicago. They are now both flying out of Calgary which kind of changes up my original idea of heading from Spokane down to Crater Lake, Redwoods, Lassen, and the Sierra's down to Vegas. It is looking increasingly more likely that I'll take a more direct route towards Vegas - where I'll be picking up Kristie - in order to not exhaust myself and also to see more of the inner mountain west since the Pacific Coast is more accessible via plane and rental car for future explorations. Regardless of the result, the week between my brothers and Kristie will be without an itinerary and should have a completely different flavor than the run and gun weeks planned with both.
I will begin to post more frequently from here on out!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Finally Concrete
Jared booked his flights today. This is the first concrete plan that's been made for the trip and really makes it feel real. I'll be picking him up on July 2nd in Chicago and he'll be flying back on July 11th from Spokane, WA. That's a lot of real estate to cover in a bit over a week, especially since we'll also be heading up to Banff in Canada for a couple of days.
We've been looking to solidify our route over the past few days. A few things have surprised us. National Park campgrounds generally don't offer showers. For example, in Glacier National park, there is only one location offering showers. This seems gross to me and I am worried that my car is not going to smell good at the end of the trip. Bears are a significant problem at many campgrounds. In fact, there is one at Lake Louise in Banff that has an electric fence to keep the bears out in response to recent problems with bears making late night visits to careless campers.
I also took a look at a campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park today. The reservation site shows pictures of each campsite. Viewing the picture, it really sank in how different it will be to sleep in a tent on a patch of dirt with no electricity at a park. I'm thinking I should bring some books on this trip, as well as a battery and flashlight to read by. Maybe I can bring the reading lamp that I got with my Snuggie at the Yankee Swap this past Christmas. I am also realizing that I'll be adjusting to the schedule of the sun. I'll probably go to sleep by 9 and wake up by 6. I find this to be incredibly exciting. For example, it will enable me to climb to the top of a couple of volcanic peaks by the time I'm usually microwaving soup at work. Speaking of work, what will it be like to go back there after a month of vagabond life? Will this trip change me? Or just be a blast?
Well for now, I think I should go try to book a campsite within bear-proof electric fence perimeter. Nothing says adventure like a security system.
We've been looking to solidify our route over the past few days. A few things have surprised us. National Park campgrounds generally don't offer showers. For example, in Glacier National park, there is only one location offering showers. This seems gross to me and I am worried that my car is not going to smell good at the end of the trip. Bears are a significant problem at many campgrounds. In fact, there is one at Lake Louise in Banff that has an electric fence to keep the bears out in response to recent problems with bears making late night visits to careless campers.
I also took a look at a campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park today. The reservation site shows pictures of each campsite. Viewing the picture, it really sank in how different it will be to sleep in a tent on a patch of dirt with no electricity at a park. I'm thinking I should bring some books on this trip, as well as a battery and flashlight to read by. Maybe I can bring the reading lamp that I got with my Snuggie at the Yankee Swap this past Christmas. I am also realizing that I'll be adjusting to the schedule of the sun. I'll probably go to sleep by 9 and wake up by 6. I find this to be incredibly exciting. For example, it will enable me to climb to the top of a couple of volcanic peaks by the time I'm usually microwaving soup at work. Speaking of work, what will it be like to go back there after a month of vagabond life? Will this trip change me? Or just be a blast?
Well for now, I think I should go try to book a campsite within bear-proof electric fence perimeter. Nothing says adventure like a security system.
Impetus
This might just be it... the journey of my lifetime. I've always wanted to drive cross-country, visiting as many national parks as possible. This seems to be the perfect time for it. I'm in a stable job with a bulk of accrued vacation time. Marriage and children are rapidly approaching. Gas is relatively cheap and I'm thoroughly infected with the travel bug.
So, I've got 31 days to cover the America. My brother Jared's my partner for leg 1 of the journey, I'm flying solo through the Pacific region, then picking up my girlfriend, Kristie in Salt Lake to explore the Southwest. The final leg will be the long drive east which will be broken up nicely with a few stops to visit some of my more geographically distant friends. This blog will serve two purposes: capturing my own daily experiences for posterity's sake and updating any of you curious stalkers out there!
I've never pitched a tent, or gone a day on the road without a shower. This should be prove interesting.
So, I've got 31 days to cover the America. My brother Jared's my partner for leg 1 of the journey, I'm flying solo through the Pacific region, then picking up my girlfriend, Kristie in Salt Lake to explore the Southwest. The final leg will be the long drive east which will be broken up nicely with a few stops to visit some of my more geographically distant friends. This blog will serve two purposes: capturing my own daily experiences for posterity's sake and updating any of you curious stalkers out there!
I've never pitched a tent, or gone a day on the road without a shower. This should be prove interesting.
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