h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not next year's big UK trip (though I did pick up passport applications yesterday, and I'm thinking we'd likely do it after the county fair, which is the first weekend following the first Thing in August, since the girls both want to do 4H again next year). No, we're doing a big family trip this year--a roadtrip to Yellowstone! We're going to be going up to see my relatives for a couple of days (staying with my aunt), then taking 3 days to drive across eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, tent camping each night (while we do have access to an RV, we're not sure that it could make the trip, and, even if we were sure, fuel costs would make it impossible to go, anyway. Granted, the most expensive gas is likely going to be just from here to the Oregon border, but still). On the way, we'll be visiting the Craters of the Moon National Monument. We've reserved a camping spot outside Yellowstone for 4 nights--it's a good thing I called when I did, because there was exactly 1 space left in my 3rd choice park for that many nights--if we'd just wanted one night, we would've been able to be 10 miles closer... We've got a reservation in a motel for the night after we leave Yellowstone--real beds! Showers! A ceiling taller than me! And that's as far as the accommodation planning has gotten. Partly because we needed to make sure we had somewhere to stay while exploring Yellowstone, and partly because, an hour and a half out from the town the motel is in (Evanston, Wyoming) is Salt Lake City, Utah, where I will finally get to meet Marv and GDZ! That will be August 17. We'll likely start planning the stops on the way home in the next few days, though we do have friends that have moved to an area we'll be going through the last day or so of the trip home (PaperKid's old coach--for some reason, she doesn't want to commute 3 and a half hours each way 3 times a week to coach. Several people have already complained about how unreasonable she's being )

I've done some looking into temperatures at Yellowstone during early to mid August (daytime like a warm day here, night requiring long underwear inside the sleeping bags!) and should probably look into temperatures along the rest of our route--though if we're prepared for the night temps at Yellowstone, we should be fine everywhere else, at night. I've also discovered how to search for free science fiction and fantasy books to read with the Kindle app on my phone... I've still got about 5GB of storage left, so there should be plenty of room for pictures (especially if I cull pics I no longer need, like price reference pics and such). We've even already arranged for petsitting for the 2 weeks we're going to be gone--the dogs are going to stay here, because Penny won't eat when she's not home, and Abby would be barking at every. Little. Noise. All. Night. Every. Night. Besides, a lot more will be open to us without the dogs, and we can't just leave them in the car while we're out and about. The chickens are pretty self-sufficient, but there is no way that the feeder and waterer will hold 2 weeks' worth of supplies.

We are most definitely looking forward to this!

Sounds a fantastic trip I hope everything goes to plan, have a brilliant holiday.

You are well organised! You deserve to have a great time.

I was talking to someone last night who is looking into booking a trip including Yellowstone for the solar eclipse next August.

Well, we're travelling on the cheap-as-possible, so I have to be! I'm just glad I realised that I'd better get a campground spot reserved ASAP...

We now have a place to stay the last night before we get home (former coach) so I need to get the part between figured out, so we can tell her exactly what date! Can't wait to tell Notepad that we'll be spending the night at FC's daughter's house! (And I think PaperKid will be happy to here we're staying there, as well, though less for the children.*


*Which made much more sense in my head...

I'd be happy anywhere that isn't a steady diet of politics and world/local disaster stories .

Those of you that know me on Facebook have already gotten to see a lot of pics from the trip (though just the ones from my phone. I need to see what's on Tom's phone, and to see what PaperKid has on the house phone (there would've been more, but Notepad had been making lots of little videos with a toy she'd brought along that was taking up memory, and there was an accident with the delete function... PaperKid had been the main photographer for the Craters of the Moon portion, so there're just a few between Tom and I). There will be a series of articles in on the trip. Division places may or may not be determined partially by the 6-pics-per-article limit

That will be something to look forward to