Getting Ready to take Epic Trip #2

We are so excited to be leaving tomorrow on our second trip out West as a family. I am having a hard time sleeping because of all the excitement. My mind keeps going over all the things we need to pack. We have been preparing for this trip since December. If you want to stay in the national parks, you have to plan ahead. Neil and I sat down during our Christmas vacation to plan out where we wanted to go, how long we hoped to be away, and how long we planned to stay at each place. Then we worked on a plan for getting a campsite for each park. This is no small feat. Each park has its own policy for reserving campsites. Most parks allow you to book your campsite 6 months in advance. The reservation window opens at 10:00 Eastern Standard Time and sites are booked within a minute. It can be very stressful!!! Fortunately, we were able to reserve campsites in each of the parks we wanted to visit. Neil has become an expert in figuring out how to use the reservation system. 

We will be at 6 national parks and 2 state parks. We feel so blessed to be able to have this time together as a family, especially since Luke will be going to college in August. We are using vacation time, and Neil is taking a Sabbatical from the church. Here are the places we decided to visit out West this time.

• June 19: North Park Campground (North Dakota)
• June 20-22: Indian Creek Campground (Yellowstone)
• June 23-25: Signal Mountain Campground (Grand Teton)
• June 26-28: Diamond Lake Campground (Crater Lake)
• June 29: Ainsworth State Park Campground (Multnomah Falls Oregon)
• June 30: Cougar RV Park (Mount Saint Helens)
• July 1-2: Mora Campground (Olympic)
• July 3-4: Dungeness Recreation Area Campground (Olympic)
• July 5-7: Cougar Rock Campground (Rainier)
• July 8-9: Apgar Campground (Glacier)
• July 10-12: Many Glacier Campground (Glacier)
• July 13-14: Johnson's Of St. Mary Campground (Glacier)
• July 15: The Crossings Campground (North Dakota)
• July 16: Rock Cut State Park Campground (Illinois)

This is our home away from home. We have been cleaning and packing everything we think we’ll need for our trip. We are thankful for our camper. This will probably be its last major trip.  

I am so thankful for all the storage our camper has inside of it. I know there are stores out West, but I tend to be an over-packer. I like to feel prepared. 

Thanks for traveling along with us, and I hope to be able to keep the blog updated throughout our journey when we have internet access. One of the nicest things about being in the national parks is that you don't have cell coverage. It makes it hard to keep in touch, but it is great when you want to unwind and connect with your family and God's beautiful creation.