In 2017, I was looking at maps, and that is when I realized that Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks are all pretty close together (relatively speaking), and that if you drove from Spokane to Denver, you could go to all four parks within a 900 mile or so drive.
And so the plan was born to do this in a two week period in 2018. But how was I to get to Spokane? Why, I'd drive up through Oregon and Washington, visiting friends the whole way. And then I'd drive home from Denver, taking a week or to to do so, and having more camping and traveling fun. Then I looked at a calendar. I know that the only month I would be happy going that far north was August, because I hate cold and snow. I had also made reservations in mid-2017, for Comic-con in San Diego (July 18-22) and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon from September 6-10. So I had to fit this summer trip in between the two of those. Doug was interested in the Oregon week ending in Spokane, so that would have to start on a Friday to go in with his work schedule. And I wanted to be home by September 2 to have a couple of days to unpack and sleep before we left for Ashland. Plus I was going to camp in Death Valley for a few days before Comic-con, and spend a night in Riverside with my friend Jo Nell on the way home from San Diego. So this became the plan:
And it just got more complicated and fun... So here is the whole thing, broken up into manageable pieces for your delectation, pictures, maps and stories and all |
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Part 1 Camping in Death Valley July 15-18 |
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Jim and JoAnn camp, hike, and generally have a good time in the hottest place on earth in the middle of summer. |
Part 2 Comic-Con San Diego July 18-22 |
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JoAnn and Megan in Geek Central. |
Part 3 Oregon and Washington July 27-August 4 |
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Doug and JoAnn drive north through Oregon to Spokane, doing stuff and visiting friends and family the whole way. |
Part 4 Montana, Wyoming and Colorado August 5-18 |
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JoAnn and Kelly visit five national parks and do other fun stuff for two weeks. Special Guest Appearance by Ellen for Grand Teton and Yellowstone NPs
• Glacier and Waterton Lakes • Yellowstone and Grand Teton • |
Part 5 Six Days in Colorado August 18-24 |
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JoAnn, Jo Nell and Chris drive, hike, climb all the stairs on the planet and see a lot of great stuff, with much eating, drinking and laughing included. |
Part 6 Utah, Arizona, Nevada...and home. August 24-September 2 |
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JoAnn and the Squirrel Lady camp, hike and kayak all over the Southwest. |
CamerasPhoto credits: j for Jim, k for Kelly, e for Ellen, c for Chris, n for Jo Nell, and s for Squirrel Lady. The pictures are named [letters][sequential numbers]. The thumbnails have an a on the end. Pictures by the above people will have their initial after the sequential number, and (in the case of the thumbnail) before the a. mwc01ka.jpg means it's from the montana/wyoming/colorado section, picture number 1, kelly took it, and it's a thumbnail. Oh, and the kayak guides on Lake Powell took pictures and shared them with all of us, those are labeled kayak(number). Yes, I am very organized. |