The campervan was already reserved, months ago, along with the resort nights and Yosemite nights. This week I booked our flight, woohoo! I was able to cover the trip out there on points with American, left over from when I travelled often for work. I also reserved most of the campsites for the trip – there are only 2 nights left to make reservations for!
I tried my best to get a premium site at North Rim Campground (Grand Canyon) but there was only 1 available for our dates and someone snagged it the instant reservations opened for it. 🙁 I was super bummed about that, after stalking the rim-view premium sites for so many months. Note to future self: next time reserve for a longer timeframe that starts sooner, then later modify the reservation to lop off the unneeded dates in the front. #strategy
I did, however, land a good site in what appears to be a decent location with a fair amount of privacy. My mom and her husband might be coming to visit us there so I made the reservation for a campervan and a tent to be sure there’s enough room.
Next stop: Page, Arizona. After 2 nights at the Grand Canyon I got us on a highly sought after 11:30am tour of the beautiful slot canyons. This is the prime viewing time because the light beams shine into the canyons in a magical way between 11:30 and 1:30. We’re about 6 months out and there were only a few seats left for the 11:30 tour – they usually sell out well in advance so I was pretty stoked about getting our tickets. All this early planning is really paying off!
After the slot canyon tour we’ll head to our nearby campground for the night. I think we have a nice view of Lake Powell at this one but it was hard to tell for sure on the map. The next day is a 6.5 hr drive to Colorado National Monument, passing through Arches National Park on the way. It should be a very nice drive with plenty of sightseeing along the way! We have reservations at a “meh” campground there, then the next day we’ll head to Rocky Mountain National Park. I have fond memories of camping in the Rockies when I was about Jacob’s age so I’m very much looking forward to taking him there. Two nights in the Rockies, 3 nights in Yellowstone, and off to California we go. I booked an amaaaaaazing site at Oh! Ridge Campground in June Lake, CA. Here’s a photo of the actual campsite.
After Oh! Ridge we’ll head 1/2 hour up the mountain to the beautiful Village Lodge Resort at Mammoth Mountain for some Day 12 pampering. And by pampering I mean hot showers and climate controlled bedroom. 🙂
The last few days are still being worked on but I’ll update my official itinerary and map once it’s all figured out. This trip is still like 6 months away and I’m already so incredibly excited; I can hardly wait to BE THERE!