Quadrants, rather than one big cross country trip?
I retire in 34 months and we had initially planned on taking a long cross country trip once we move to the Tennessee-ish area. Kids are home schooled, so we can avoid the busier summer months. The wife and I were talking yesterday about perhaps instead of ONE big cross country trip, maybe it would be nicer to take a couple trips over a couple years. I'm hoping that my next job after retirement will be the kind where I can work remotely and go part time for a couple months of the year (but that will be another thought process and discussion).
We were thinking about a 4-6 week trip to the southwest in the April-May timeframe, then come back home. Then the next year maybe take a September-October trip to the midwest national parks area. Then the next year taking a January-February trip to the southeast, etc.
When I was a kid, we did a 6 week cross country trip. I remember a LOT of waking up, driving all day, setting up camp, going to bed, waking up, driving all day, etc. Those memories are just as strong as the memories of Mesa Verde, the Redwoods, Yellowstone, etc. I thought if we broke it up into quadrants, it would be less driving and more experiences. We want to see a lot of national parks, we want to spend some time at lakes, we want to try local foods, etc. I'd LOVE to do some legit boondocking at BLM lands a couple nights in a row, love to find some nice campgrounds near an attraction for a couple nights in a row for the kids to be able to hit a pool or a lake.
Also, if they were shorter trips, we could try to avoid the summer months where it would be a lot more crowded (and hot) and enjoy it more. I remember being at Hoover Dam and it was 120 degrees in the shade as we waited for the shuttle bus to the dam. We got tired of waiting and just drove across... If we visited in April, it would be a LOT nicer than going in July!
The hope was that I could do some part time work remotely while we are traveling, to keep some money coming in. Also the hope was that by breaking up the trip over 3 or 4 years, it would also keep some costs down or at least spread them out over a couple years.
For those that have done trips like this, what do you think of this plan? I see a lot of benefits, but I'm sure there are some downfalls. One potential downfall is drudging through a lot of the same areas multiple times... but I'm pretty sure we can find a couple different routes to take that wouldn't neccessarily overlap. The hope is to avoid interstates and take more of the surface highways and see some small towns and history of our country, rather than just truck stops and fast food joints.
We were thinking about a 4-6 week trip to the southwest in the April-May timeframe, then come back home. Then the next year maybe take a September-October trip to the midwest national parks area. Then the next year taking a January-February trip to the southeast, etc.
When I was a kid, we did a 6 week cross country trip. I remember a LOT of waking up, driving all day, setting up camp, going to bed, waking up, driving all day, etc. Those memories are just as strong as the memories of Mesa Verde, the Redwoods, Yellowstone, etc. I thought if we broke it up into quadrants, it would be less driving and more experiences. We want to see a lot of national parks, we want to spend some time at lakes, we want to try local foods, etc. I'd LOVE to do some legit boondocking at BLM lands a couple nights in a row, love to find some nice campgrounds near an attraction for a couple nights in a row for the kids to be able to hit a pool or a lake.
Also, if they were shorter trips, we could try to avoid the summer months where it would be a lot more crowded (and hot) and enjoy it more. I remember being at Hoover Dam and it was 120 degrees in the shade as we waited for the shuttle bus to the dam. We got tired of waiting and just drove across... If we visited in April, it would be a LOT nicer than going in July!
The hope was that I could do some part time work remotely while we are traveling, to keep some money coming in. Also the hope was that by breaking up the trip over 3 or 4 years, it would also keep some costs down or at least spread them out over a couple years.
For those that have done trips like this, what do you think of this plan? I see a lot of benefits, but I'm sure there are some downfalls. One potential downfall is drudging through a lot of the same areas multiple times... but I'm pretty sure we can find a couple different routes to take that wouldn't neccessarily overlap. The hope is to avoid interstates and take more of the surface highways and see some small towns and history of our country, rather than just truck stops and fast food joints.
