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tragusa3's avatar
tragusa3
Explorer
Sep 14, 2014

Trip Report: The Perfect Family Trip!

EDIT: I wanted to add this link here at the beginning.

Ragusa's Summer 2014 Trailer


Hello friends! We have been home for two months, but I am just now feeling like getting to the trip report. The trip was so EPIC, that I was honestly a bit intimidated to put it into a thread. Realizing now that I could never do the trip justice, I decided to just jump in and let the report come out the best it does.

Over the last year or more, many folks on this forum had helped in the planning over on this thread: A year of planning for the perfect family trip! Thank you to all that contributed.

Some were put off by my use of the word "perfect", saying that it wasn't possible. Well, not only was it possible, but it was accomplished! Perfect doesn't mean trouble free. Having the right state of mind is necessary at times. But all in all, 99% of the trip went off exactly as we had hoped.

I want to give a thorough report. We have 20,000 photos and over 20 hours of video to sort and sift through. I've been working diligently on iMovie and already have half the trip put together. I put together a very brief slideshow for close friends and family, and even that is a 4 hour process showing some 1,000 pictures. That being said, the photos and videos are a labor of love for us personally. I hope to share them with people, but understand how hard it is to sit through other families home movies. That's where you folks come in! We have a common interest. Campers, camping, travel, etc. I think posting here will be a great way to share with the community.

The trip: We left on June 6, 2014 from South Carolina and headed west for a 40 day loop through the Southwest. We hit as many National Parks as we could in that time frame. When we parked the truck in the driveway, the odometer read 5,999.9 miles. Every last one of them treasured.

Places visited:

Petrified Forest
Walnut Canyon
Sunset Crater
Wupatki
Grand Canyon
Glen Canyon and Lake Powell
Kanab, Utah
Zion
Bryce
Capitol Reef
Goblin Valley
Arches
Canyonlands
Moab
Mesa Verde
Durango
Silverton
Ouray
Ridgway
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Rocky Mtn National Park
Sand Creek
Wichita
St. Louis

I listed places we actually stopped and did things. There were many other things that were just quick "on the road" stops.


The family: Family of 4. We're in our late 40's with twin 9 year old boys.

My windows to post may be sporadic, so I think it's best for me to post in installments, as I get the time. Like a mini-series. LOL

I'll do my best to keep you entertained and offer opinions for any that have questions.

ADDED: Here's a link to one segment of our home movie 2014 ARCHES VIDEO

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  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2014
    Part 3: Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater and Wupatki

    Walnut Canyon was a wonderful stop as well. There are only 2 hikes there, and we took the tougher one that brings you down into the canyon. There was something along the lines of 200 steps, and we did it mid day. It worked out. We were glad to have our new hydration packs! Between the 4 of us we had about 2.5 gallons of water on all hikes. Plenty. I feel silly now for going on our hikes around home with one liter to share amongst everyone. It was a luxury and a necessity to drink at will.

    A highly recommended stop if you have 2-4 hours. No reason to be there any longer.








    We passed through Flagstaff and stocked up on groceries. The logistics of grocery shopping and food storage was a bit more than we anticipated too. What to do with 5-6 days of groceries when you only have a 3cf fridge and an ice chest? We ended up having cooking days right after we shopped so that we were storing cooked meat instead of raw. Seemed to work out, and by the end of the trip we had it down to a science.

    We camped at Bonita Campground just outside of Sunset Crater. It was a nice park with tons of space to roam around. The most interesting thing was that we were camping literally on a lava flow! We were able to do lots of exploring right from the campsite.





    The Lava Flow Trail was a new experience for us, and a surprise on the trip. We didn't expect to hike through a lava flow. A bit dangerous though. Lots of things to trip on, and the lava is sharp as razors! The camp host was telling us about how it will cut right through tennis shoes. We were on edge with our boys, since they don't seem to make it across the living room without hitting something. But everyone survived and lived for another adventure.






    The San Francisco Peaks are the tallest peaks in Arizona. This evening, we parked the truck at this field, put out lawn chairs and opened a bottle of wine. We sat here and watched the sunset and saw our first prairie dogs. They were all over the field running around to settle for the night.




    About a half hour north is Wupatki National Monument. We went as a day trip from Bonita and spent about 2 hours there. Very cool ruins.


  • knshook's avatar
    knshook
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2014
    Really enjoyed the photos but especially enjoyed your post and enthusiasm! How wonderful for you and your family and what great memories to share with your children! Thanks for bringing us along on part of your lifetime adventure and look forward to reading more about it as time allows you to share.
  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2014
    Part 2: Petrified Forest, Homolovi, Winslow

    The drive west was uneventful. Mechanically, all was working as it should, except for one interesting morning. We hadn't adjusted to the time zone yet, so during a real toad strangler, I woke up at 4am ready to rock and roll. The parking lot had several inches of water standing, and it was coming down in buckets. I got my cordless drill and starting going around the trailer raising jacks. One jack fell completely apart as I tried to raise it. Seems the cotter pin that held it all together had come off somehow. Fortunately, I was at a Walmart and was able to get it all back together fairly quick. The longest of it was going back inside and changing out of my drenched clothes.

    This was also our first time traveling with a smart phone. Having the internet available was a godsend.

    We had planned for Petrified Forest to be a few hour stopover. However, we left feeling like we should have spent 2 days their. I assumed there was only some chunks of rock to look at. There is far more. We intended to do some moderate hiking on this trip, and there were 2 hikes at this park that we wished we could have fit in.




    An old piece of Route66 along with a memorial.


    The critters were looking a bit different too!



    This was one of the hikes that we would have enjoyed. But we only did the first 10 minutes of it.




    We underestimated how much fun the kids would have with the Junior Ranger program. It was an outstanding program that we highly recommend to anyone with young kids. In all, my boys each collected 15-20 badges and learned a tremendous amount about the parks. You can see their workbooks in this photo. They never left their sides.



    We spent a total of about 6 hours at the park and then stumbled into nearby Homolovi State Park. The park was a nice quiet park with only a few other campers that night. There was nothing special about it aside from being amazed at how much "nothing" could be special. :) That's us in the distance. We hiked some of the ruins that were at the park.


    This was around June 10th. It was a little warm in the day, but the nights were still beautiful. You can see here that I needed a blanket for my morning coffee!


    Before leaving the area, we stopped by to see the "Corner in Winslow, Arizona". As a huge fan, we really enjoyed this quick stop. There is a store right across the street dedicated to the park, it plays Eagles music loud for all to hear!
  • rvnutts's avatar
    rvnutts
    Explorer II
    Sep 14, 2014
    Great pictures! Glad you and your family could take a trip like this together Looking forward to more updates!
  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    Sep 14, 2014
    Part 1: The Drive West

    We had planned pretty hard for this trip. As the departure date drew near, it got incredibly difficult to wait. In the last few days, I was checking air pressures several times a day, and was an overall wreck with anticipation. We were completely packed and ready to roll a week ahead of time.

    We planned to leave on a Saturday morning, but got home Friday after work and decided to hit the road that night. We drove about 4 hours and stopped at a Sam's club for the night. We had never been "Walmart camping". It was a new experience that we were a bit nervous about (particularly with young kids). We stopped at our first Walmart and the parking lot was loaded with kids hanging out at their cars. Small town Friday night. We laid down and got up 15 minutes later to move down the road to something safer. This Sam's club was about a half hour further, and worked out nicely.

    For the entire trip, we spent 6-8 nights in Walmarts, and it was an overall positive experience.

    An Eric Church tour bus was at this one too.



    Made it out to Petrified Forest in 3 days. Each day was in the neighborhood of 650 miles. Like I said, with so much anticipation, the driving wasn't difficult at all.

    Here are a few highlight on the way out. Most along I40.


    Getting my kicks on Route 66. I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever pose like this!


    An interesting billboard.


    This car passed us back and forth many times. I was always a bit nervous when it was close.


    Things are starting to look a little different than the east coast!

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