April 2021- 16 June 2022 (Towson, MD)
When Cassandra and I purchased this camper (and Outback) in Spring 2021, it was with the intention of pursuing this exact trip: a cross-country jaunt to Myrtle Creek, OR to visit our friends' Matt and Lucie's farm, harbinger farm. We planned a 19-day "practice" camper-adventure Summer 2021 to the Great Smoky Mountains (and back) via Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, and eventually started envisioning the shape of this trip. We met many people along the way who were willing to share advice and recommendations for where to go, what to see, routes to avoid, etc. We determined that Yellowstone National Park would be our main attraction; that we'd pass through the Mt. Rushmore region on the way; that we'd try to connect with friends along the way, particularly in Ohio and Illinois, since we'd likely be passing through their necks of the woods. Our neighbors Dana and Billie at Big Meadows campground (in Shenandoah National Park) - the last campsite of the trip - recommended we consider camping at Grand Teton National Park to avoid the crowds and just drive up for day trips to Yellowstone (and, if we make it all the way up to Glacier National Park, to absolutely bring bear spray!), and, given the source and reasonability of the advice, that became the first destination of our Summer 2022 journey.
It was hard for me to not work on planning this trip when we returned mid-summer 2021: the trip to the Smokies was a great success; we learned a lot about our camper; the Subaru seemed genuinely happy when pulling the camper; and I was eager to put it to use. With the Grand Tetons as our definitive middle-America geographic anchor (and Rushmore as a thruway), we started mapping out routes and cataloguing points of interest. We focused on camping at state and national park campgrounds so that we could support public lands and facilities (and the state campgrounds can be pretty inexpensive!), and eventually the route started presenting itself. We planned to primarily use "blue roads" (interstate highways) to help us make better time along the way. We tried to keep our driving distances between 300 and 400 miles, but what's 30 miles here or 50 miles there when you're planning on travelling over 6,000 miles in all? As we considered the path home (back east), we planned even longer drives, assuming we'd be ready for home by the end of the trip.
Most of our stops were secured 6 months to the day prior so that we were able to find a campsite before there were no more vacancy (which for some campgrounds, like Jedediah Redwoods State Park, was within just a few days), so I had the pleasure to "preview" our itinerary through the Winter 2022. I made a calendar for when campsites became available, and slowly secured each leg of our trip.
As we moved through the Spring, went on shorter camping trips, and entered the Summer months on our 4-month dry-erase calendar, this trip seemed surreal and fictional. Some people go on cross-country road trips, but not this person and these people! I assumed there was something I missed, some detail I overlooked, some life-event I forgot that would prevent this trip from happening, and as we got closer to the Summer, I started second-guessing myself: could I really, effectively plan this trip? would I really be able to sleep in a tent (and camper) for 46 days straight? could I keep myself and my family safe on these unknown roads and in these unknown lands I plan on sending us into?
We all embarked on this trip with different hopes and expectations. My hope was for a nature-disruption - I wanted to break my way of being through the past [school] year and discover new avenues of existence through the expansive landscape of America. I brought lots of books and intended to find time for all of them - some fiction, some poetry, some essays, some research. But my greatest desire was for the spirit of the earth (and the road) to fill my children with sparks of joy, creativity, wonder, and curiosity.
Here we go!
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