Most people think I am crazy when I tell them our plans, but I can assure you, I am not. :) Let me explain...
This was the same stuff I heard back in 2008 when I did a similar style road trip with Girl Cub, and it was an awesome experience! She was the age then that Youngest Cub is now, and I am sure he will be just as excited from the experience as she was. That trip was 8 states (Washington twice, Oregon twice, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California twice) in 10 days, and was done at the high point of gas prices in a small SUV (with bad brakes, by the way! Added to the adventure!). We did hotels on Priceline to plan our itinerary, and did the whole trip for under $2,500. Let's face it- for a 10 day vacation, $250 a day is pretty good when you factor in lodging, food, transportation and activities.
Well, our state tally is higher this time (13!), and our budget is lower... and it is happening in a convertible sedan with four people- Myself, Padre Bear, Giant Cub (who is 17) and Youngest Cub (who is 13). Boys instead of the one girl, and much more difficult to plan. You see, with Priceline you can bid and you get a room with only one bed. That was just fine with Girl Cub and myself, but not so much with the boys. This time I turned to Booking.com and found rooms that were within our budget but had 2 beds and preferably Wi-Fi... (most have a pool, and some have a hot tub, which Padre Bear and I will looooooove after a day in the car!) Let me tell you, this has made a difference in our hotel budget! Last trip was $500 and we were able to stay in mostly two-star chain hotels... this time, they are one-star chains and some local places. I guess this is the new version of the "adventure" word I used earlier! I set the planning budget at $600, and after all taxes it finalized at $658. We are planning about $500 for gas, since the prices get lower after we get out of our home state, and we are getting a National Parks Pass for $80, which we can also use for the rest of the year after we return. I chose hotels with breakfast if I could, and when we can't, it will be cereal and fruit in the room before we head out. We are only going to do one meal in a restaurant per day, the other will be things like chips and sandwiches (with bring-along snacks in the car), so I am setting a food goal of about $600 for the whole trip. There are some places we will have to pay entrance fees, and I am sure there will be some souvenirs, but I think we will still come in under the first trip with 2 additional people.
I have made a bound (cheap to have done at Staples!) tour book for Youngest Cub with a copy of the maps of the each days drive and details of the places we are stopping, in the hopes that will minimize the "Are We There Yet" questions and help him better appreciate the places we are visiting. Each Cub has a state list for marking off license plates they see, and electronics like game devices and phones are limited to only when the captain (aka ME) says electronic devices are OK. I want them to SEE the road trip, not just ride along!!
The point of this blog is to hopefully inspire others to plan their own epic road trip... it can still be done, albeit a lost art in our hectic and rushed world. This is Giant Cub's last summer before he runs off to college, and the gift of time and memories with the kids is priceless.
Now, without further ado, here is an overview of our itinerary... Home is Tacoma, Washington :)
DAY
1- HOME TO BUTTE, MONTANA
DAY
2- BUTTE, MT. TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK TO BILLINGS,
MONTANA
DAY
3- BILLINGS, MT. TO CUSTER’S BATTLEFIELD THEN DEVILS
TOWER
NATIONAL MONUMENT TO
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
DAY
4- RAPID CITY, SD. TO MOUNT RUSHMORE & CRAZY HORSE
MONUMENT
TO COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
DAY
5- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. TO FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT TO
GALLUP,
NEW MEXICO
DAY
6- GALLUP, NM. TO METEOR CRATER & GRAND CANYON TO
WILLIAMS,
ARIZONA
DAY
7- WILLIAMS, AZ. TO HOOVER DAM TO LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
DAY
8- LAS VEGAS, NV. TO CAMP PENDLETON TO ANAHEIM,
CALIFORNIA (Get to see Marine Cub that day!)
DAY
9- ANAHEIM, CA. TO SANTA MONICA PIER TO SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA
DAY
10- SACRAMENTO, CA. TO HOME
The Great American Road Trip is alive and well....... 35 hours until departure...... See you at the end of DAY 1!!!
Until next time.... Mama Bear
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