June 2nd ~ Canoga Park, California
The loop we are taking on this trip
Finally! Ellie Mae Camp-it is all loaded up and we are just about ready to head out-of-town. Tomorrow our Summer 2017 Road Trip officially begins!
For anyone new to our blog, Ellie Mae is our Coachmen Prism 2200LE motorhome. We recently added a tow vehicle, Jethro, a Subaru Crosstrek, to our family.
Since I’m half dead on my feet this evening with getting everything loaded and ready, this will be just a short post to give a little overview of what we have planned and the ground we hope to cover over the next three and a half months.
The main goal is to explore the National Parks in the Western USA and Canada. We won’t get to all of them this trip, but hopefully get a great start on them. Here is a run-down on which parks we are planning on visiting on this trip:
- Grand Canyon
- Zion
- Bryce
- Capitol Reef
- Canyon lands
- Arches
- Grand Teton
- Yellowstone
- Glacier (USA)
- Banff
- Jasper
- Glacier (BC)
- N. Cascades
- Olympic
- Mt Rainer
- Yosemite
- Sequoia
- Kings Canyon
Along the way we plan on hanging out in some state parks, wildlife reserves, a few museums, ghost towns, hike to a waterfall or two, check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, gaze upon a petrified forest, take several scenic highways and byways, look at some dinosaur bones, meet-up with some family members, take a tour at the Columbia Icefield, check out numerous mountain lakes and green forests, see some of the most awesome scenery on this planet and of course take a few thousand photos.
The first 10 days are planned out with reservations in RV parks, but the rest of the trip is pretty loose. Since it is summer time, we anticipate that many of the campgrounds will already be full, but some are on a first come, first served basis. We know we have a LOT to learn about the RVing way of life, but we are super excited to get under way.
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am especially grateful that we have the time and ability to take off on such an amazing journey. It has been a bit more time-consuming than I imagined getting the RV all set up to go. My checklists have been legendary. But now all that is left to do is get a good nights sleep, and in the morning hook up the dinghy (just recently found out that is what RVers call their tow car), and top off the fuel and propane tanks on the way out-of-town.
We hope you will join us on our latest adventure…
A Note From Abroad 
Looking forward to your Summer Adventures.
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Thank you Gaye. Hope all is well with you and your family Down Under ❤
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Wishing you a wonderful journey full of joy and discovery. Have a great time!
Alison
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Thank you very much!
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Happy Trails. You’ll be coming to our neck of the woods (Oregon) and I don’t see any numbers, so I have a couple of suggestions. #1 turtlebay.org/sundialbridge The Sundial Bridge in Turtle Bay park near Redding Calif. If you have a chance to stroll over the glass bridge and listen to the jazz…. a delight. Worth stretching your legs. #2. You will be driving very close to one of the best Shakespearean Theater towns — Ashland, Oregon. It will be summer and the open air theater is not to be missed. The town of Ashland is a small college “hippy” down straight out of the 60’s. The shows are consistently first rate. #3. If you get to Port Angeles in Washington, take the trip up to see the Hurricane Ridge. Worth the winding road.
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Bobbi I grew up in Southern Oregon and lived in Medford and Ashland and have spent many wonderful days exploring this amazing state. Crater Lake NP otherwise would have been on our list as it holds many great memories. Loved your recommendations! Thank you.
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Wish you a wonderful journey!
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Thanks Deb!
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As ever, it all sounds fascinating, and, as our ‘long haul’ days are limited, fun to read about (and less exhausting for us ‘more mature’ folk!) Punch on! Be in good health and take care… Best wishes.
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The good health part is certainly not to be taken lightly. Feeling so fortunate that we can enjoy these long trips now.
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Sounds like a wonderfull epic adventure! Have fun. I will be traveling with you vicariously.
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Thank you, so happy to have you joining us!
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Our family has done one RV road trip, and it’s packed with memories. Enjoy your upcoming adventure.
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I hope those were GOOD memories 😃
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You are off to see some of the most spectacular scenery you can imagine! Wishing you safe travels and happy trails!
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I have to agree with you. We have so much to see and enjoy right here in the USA.
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Oh looks really lovely. If possible check out Mount St Helen’s volcano. Well worth the trip. The KOA at the bottom is nice and the people there can give you lots of advice.
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Love this suggestion. Thanks!
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Your trip looks amazing! So many places I’ve never been to; I look forward to reading about them. We’ve done a couple of long-term expeditions and there certainly is a learning curve. Enjoy it all!
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Leah, I’m hopeful that the learning curve is gentle with us…
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Sounds like an amazing journey. We live in Kelowna, BC so let us know if you are coming through. Looking forward to reading your posts.
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Thank you so much. And by the way, love your name Chauffeur and Navigator – sure can relate!
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Good luck and a great time to you two. I’ll certainly be traveling with you via your blog. I’ve only seen about half of those you’re visiting.
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So glad you will be following along. I think we have some incredible stops planned.
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Let me know if you need some New Mexico sight-seeing tips! Sounds like a great adventure!
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New Mexico will probably be on next years itinerary and we would welcome your input!
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Neat!
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Living in Reseda in the 1960’s I the know the feeling of getting out of town in the summer. Enjoy and travel safe!
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I must admit that I’m more than ready to be out of the big city for a while. Looking forward to enjoying the great outdoors!
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I am looking forward to reading about your journeys! We’ll be visiting #9 – #15 later this year, so I’ll be especially interested in those stops.
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Wonderful! Hoping our write-ups will be both interesting and helpful for you.
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Have a safe trip. I look forward to you’re future posts with all the details of your adventures.
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Thank you very much!
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You might enjoy the book Dear Bob and Sue, available through Amazon. Reg and I read it while on our recent cross country trip. It chronicles a couples adventures as they visit all the U.S. National Parks…easy to read and entertaining.
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Thank you so much for the recommendation. I’ll download a sample to my iPad and give it a try. Always interested in a good read.
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You may enjoy the book Dear Bob And Sue, available on Amazon. It chronicles the adventures of a couple as they visit all U.S. National Parks in a 12 month timeframe. Easy and entertaining to read.
Safe travels!
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Oh I cannot wait – I am thrilled for you both xxxooo.
I did not know a camper is aka dingy.
I have always wanted to go the the Grand Canyon. I used to visit Mother about 4 times a year in NM and was so close but I always wanted to be with her…no sense traveling all this way from NY to see her and then trot off the the Grand Canyon.
Most of all be safe and have fun,
Petrina
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Petrina , thank you for your good wishes. It is a shame you were so close and did not get to see the Grand Canyon, but I do appreciate wanting to spend time with your mother.
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Such a cool trip, so excited for you. We are heading south to see these places, may cross on the way, so looking forward to your posts. check out gypsie tours, they have gps audio guides for some of these parks, they are excellent. Save Travels!
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Thanks for the info on Gypsie Tours. I’ll check them out this evening.
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Sounds wonderful! I’ve been to 11 of those parks over the years – hard to pick a favourite.
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Anabel, our favorite (so far anyways) is Yellowstone. We spent 10 glorious days there about 10 years ago and have yearned to return ever since. Glacier NP is at the top of our wish list though of ones we have never visited.
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What a wonderful adventure!!! 😀
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Sure hoping it will be!
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Oh boy, ROAD TRIP. So fun and it looks like a great trip. I think you’ll enjoy the CrossTrek, I just bought a Outback and it is a wonderful vehicle.
Enjoy and I can not wait for the posts.
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Thank you Terry. I’m so glad to see that you too have been getting back out on the road and exploring.
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I’ve visited some of these parks. Wishing you as wonderful a trip as I remember.
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Thanks!
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That sounds exciting. I’d love to be on the road everyday! Love to drive Rt 66. We do take off on road trips, love finding things off the beaten track! Looking forward to reading of your travels
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Jeanne some of those off the beaten path finds are pure gold – and usually uncrowded. We were just talking about wanting to take Route 66 all the way to Chicago at some time in the future. Maybe that will be next years big trip 😉
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Sounds like a packed summer, but a wonderful one. Looking forward to following your adventures.
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Thanks, we are happy to have you join us!
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Have a safe and great trip. Looking forward to living through your travels vicariously!
love, Linda and Paul
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Thank you Linda and Paul. So glad you are still following our adventures. Big hugs to both of you!
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Have fun – we’ve been to the parks you listed and they are all great in their own way.
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That is wonderful to hear. We are expecting to be wowed!
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Can´t wait to read all about your different destinations and adventures. Save travel to both of you!
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Thank you so much. We are very happy you have decided to join us.
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I am way behind on my blog reading, and even further behind on my writing, but that’s because we have been on a similar trip (southern version) through parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. All I can say is the National Parks and monuments are fabulous!!! One day I may get back to blogging about it too. 😊 Bon Voyage!
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Sometimes the blogging is tiring, but I’m always thankful afterwards to have my notes to jog my memory. Enjoy your journey!
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Exciting times – enjoy!
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Thanks! Well, we are certainly off to a great start. So much more to go…
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Sounds just awesome! Have lots of fun and share them beautiful pics! Thxs in advance :o)
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Many more photos to come 😬
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Ah . . . hopefully this will be me some day!
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It took us a lot of years of hard work and planning for retirement, but now living our dream. I hope you make ALL of your dreams come true!
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Sounds like a wonderful trip! I look forward to following your adventure!
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Sandra, we are so pleased you are joining us! Welcome!
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Nice to meet you Tim and Joanne,
Learning here, so Ellie Mae it is. Got it for future reference.:) what a wonderful dream you made come true, I wish you a most fantastic trip.
You are visiting a number of places that are on my dream list too…….although, a camper across Atlantic is tricky. 😊 .
Miriam
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Miriam, welcome to our blog! I’ve been told that RV’s can be shipped across the ocean, but I’m not sure if that would end up costing more than just renting one here. We have seen a couple rigs that were of European design, so that seems to say it is possible. Thank you for your good wishes!
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Pingback: Month of June Travels in our National Parks ~ Highlight Moments in Pictures | A Note From Abroad
Looks like an awesome trip! Wish we were going. Love the Oregon Sand Dunes.
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I grew up in Southern Oregon, so I have to admit that I’m pretty partial to the Oregon coast too.
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Wow you have quite a bucket list of parks to visit. Hope your adventures have been so far so good! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Thank you very much. We are looking forward to seeing more of our national parks in 2018. Sending you Happy New Years wishes as well.
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