Trip Report: The Perfect Family Trip!

[tragusa3]

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

[welove2drive]

I enjoyed watching your episodes. Very cool! I'm sure they were a lot of work to put together. A labor of love. They are sure to inspire some parents to take their kids on an adventure.

[EcoBullet]

Sounds great! I admire your courage in going without reservations.

We've added a 3 yr-old to our family, so there's no way all 6 of us can fit in our little camper unless we take a tent, which is something we don't want to do in summer's heat. We decided to split the kids this year. We've got about 16 days allocated with the smallest 3 to go to Colorado in June. Then, in mid-July, the little ones will stay at their other grandma's, while the 14 yr-old flies to Alaska with the old folks to rent a motorhome for Denali, Seward, and points in between.

[tragusa3]

This year is a strange bird. Short answer, Yes. But, we have reason to be in New Orleans early June, so our trip will be a Southwest trip AGAIN. We wanted to cover new territory, but there are tons of things to see in the southwest that we won't be repeating parks and sites. I figure since we are already 1k miles into that direction, we may as well do that.

We are starting deep south, as in Cajun country, San Antonio, Austin, Big Bend, Carlsebad, White Sands and then to the 4 corners area. The heat may chase us into Colorado

earlier.Another thing different about this summer is that we will be without reservations....

[EcoBullet]

Very professionally done! Do you have any big trips planned for this year?

[tragusa3]

I hope this is okay?

I have recently started posting episodic videos of this trip on my YouTube channel. Please follow the link and subscribe if you like them.

RaguFilms

There are 3 episodes out already, and about 20 more from this trip on the way!

[longdrive]

tragusa3 - Liked your new thread so much that I went back and read this one too. Very nice and thanks for the report, it keeps giving.

Chad

[tragusa3]

Ahh, we'll be a few weeks before you. Have a great trip!

As much as I enjoyed the planning stages of the first trip, I'm dragging my feet on this summer's. We have our Yellowstone reservations, but nothing else.

[huffster]

tragusa3, we'll be hitting Gros Ventre in the Tetons on June 19 and then moving on the Lizard Creek on the 23 for a few nights before heading into Yellowstone.

Have you been to Tetons before? If not, you'll be inspired!

[tragusa3]

Huffster, glad you enjoyed the thread! IMO, great choice to fit Zion into your trip. You MUST hike "The Narrows"!

About what time will you be at Tetons and Yellowstone? We'll be there early June.

[huffster]

Tragusa3 thought you should know that your thread is still being read! We are counting down the days until we leave Dayton, OH and head West. It is partly due to your posts that I cancelled two nights at Grand Canyon and booked 3 nights at Watchman. We are going to be on the road for about 40 days beginning at Zion and moving to Grand Canyon, Durango, Ouray, and Moab before heading to Tetons, Yellowstone and Custer.
The year of planning has been a blast for me and I'm hoping that the trip will be EPIC for our family of six. Your pictures and captions really helped me to visualize some of the places we'll be seeing. Time as a family is precious and I wouldn't trade it for anything. One of the great perks of being in education for sure.
I'm bummed that your folks didn't want to see your videos, but in the end... you did it for your family not them. Nevertheless, I know what it is like to want to share your excitement with the ones that you love.
Thanks!

[tragusa3]

I'm so happy that this report continues to be fun and helpful to read! It does take effort to put together, so hearing that you enjoyed it is a real plus! Thanks to all others that do trip reports, many much better than mine.

Skip, thanks so much. I read through the bulk of your links. What a treasure of memories! I really enjoy the way your posts show the passing of time...decades of family enjoyment. I see that you're in Atlanta. I bet we would enjoy a few nights around a campfire together. We'll have to make that happen sometime!

CampingFab5, tell your kids that the nap was "no joke". I had hit a brick wall and would have slept on gravel if it were all I had. The only full length video I posted was the one from "Arches". I hope you enjoy it.

Speaking of videos. We had our 3 week trip in Hawaii this summer. I've been working on those videos for the last few weeks. It was a great trip, different kind of adventure from what you get driving cross country.

Now our sites are set on planning out Summer 2016!

[Campingfab5]

tragusa3: I read this entire thread as my family drove the 10 hours back home from a week-long camping trip. As soon as I got home, I joined rv.net just so I could thank you for such a wonderfully entertaining and informative trip report. My children (ages 13, 10 and 10) looked at some of your pictures and asked if we could go to those places too! And they really got a kick out of the picture of you taking a nap at the museum. I can't wait to watch the videos!

[mdprowash]

Never mind... went through it all. Very nice... thanks for sharing your experience with us!

[mdprowash]

I came upon your thread here and only had time to browse through it right now. Can't wait to sit down and read it thoroughly. Briefly watched a couple of your videos too.. well done.

I have a question.. not sure if it was mentioned. What does a trip like this cost? Hope that's not too intrusive of a question 🙂