Camp believe it.

This is the name of our site. We just can't believe we are here so we call it "Camp Believe It".

Sounds great but we are rushing around trying to get the family out the door to meet the guide from Zion Rock and Mountain Guides at the flagpole by 7:00 a.m. sharp. We can't be late says the itinerary. We rush out the door with almost all of our gear for the canyoneering tour at 6:55. We get to the flagpole at exactly 7 a.m. No one there. No SUV to pick us up. It is now 7:15 and still nothing. Of course we left the phones back in the RV so I return and call the guides. No answer. We hang out another 20 minutes and realize this first guided tour is not going to happen.

I get a call two minutes later from the outfitter saying the guide has been all around the flagpole looking for us. We were at the wrong flagpole.

But everything gets better. We get our rappelling gear and head out. It is one guide and us. The kids are excited and we drive to the canyon in about 20 minutes. We start our hike through the canyon and everything is so foreign to us. The sand feels like nothing we have walked on before, the wildflowers are blooming among rocks and sand, the canyons erupt out of the ground in clusters. The weather is great, upper 60's to 70 and light fluffy clouds stippled across this wonderfully blue sky.

We climb up to a rappel that the guide recommended because the normal spot was too busy due to our late departure. It is a much higher rappel but we can do it, he says. This does not make Samantha happy. She is not fond of heights.

We climb to our spot and tie in. Samantha wants to tandem and not go alone. We get tied together and begin. Sam is quite nervous but goes along. The first few steps are harrowing for her and she is scared. Halfway down she starts to enjoy it and exclaims, "I can't believe I am laughing!" Next over the edge are mom and son. They do a great job with Bryce saying, "Just go woman!" and we move on to the next rappel which is not a vertical drop like the first one. Bryce wants to try on his own and he does very well. Sam and T come down in tandem again. I was very proud of all of them.

The rest of the day is spent with a nice nap, a little walk and dinner at a cute little spot with great food. We return to the RV, watch a movie and turn in. We are looking forward to another great day here in Zion before we move out on Tuesday to the Grand Canyon.

Leaving Las Vegas...

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 4:30 p.m.
"Our shuttle can pick you up at 11 a.m. but if you want to take a cab we open at 8 a.m."

"Ha! This is our vacation, we will be sleeping in. We'll meet the shuttle at 11."

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 5:30 a.m.
"I feel great. Can we pick up the RV now?", says the small boy.

And so there went the only comfortable bed I could enjoy for the next 28 days. 5:30 in the morning and Bryce is feeling better. Stoopid kids.

So we picked up the RV early. The people at Road Bear RV are very nice. They show us around our brand new 2012 RV. It has 1950 miles on it. All of them put on when the RV was delivered to their lot. We are the first rental! It still has that new RV smell, which is a hell of a lot better than that old RV smell of vomit, stale beer, and vomit.

The RV is so new, in fact, that they provide us a group of five keys, four of which the dealer knows the uses of, one he does not. "We have looked everywhere but we do not know what this key goes to. We gave it to you just in case you need it." Hence a new game was born, "Discover The Use of The Mystery Key Before The End of The Trip".

Now this is the first time I have ever driven something this large and it is brand new. Recipe for disaster.

We head directly to WalMart and spend entirely too long in there. We hit the road to go to Zion and I see my dream road. Rt. 15 with a 75 mile an hour speed limit. Well the RV does fine at that speed but the 50 mile an hour wind gusts (there was a wind advisory today) makes it a bit squirrely. It is a bit of work to keep something 2 feet thinner that the average highway lane in that lane when buffeted by strong crosswinds.

We arrive in Zion park and can't believe the gorgeous campsite. We are right on the river in the middle of the canyon. It is impressive. Overwhelming.

We set the RV up, I get dinner on and we enjoy a nice little meal of roasted rosemary chicken and redskin potatoes, baguette, and a nice local brew. We watch the sun set and get some sleep for the early morning tomorrow.

We have touch down!

Ok. We made it. The kids were nervously excited about the flight. For about 1 hour. Then they were bored. How did children survive before electronics? We went through an ipad, ipod, and one phone on this one trip. And they were all boooooring! Samantha likes take offs more than landings. So do I but this landing was quite intersting. Very windy and came down on one wheel. Anyone who knows me knows my love of flying. Actually I enjoyed this flight more than any other in a long time. Something about seeing the magic of air travel with someone that hasn't done it before.

So we get in to the MGM Grand at three and we check out the lions and get in line for the buffet. C'mon, its Vegas, you have to experience a buffet at least once. Well, some of us experienced a buffet just once. Bryce didn't eat anything or drink anything all day. By the time we sit down at 5 to eat he has a headache and stomach ache. Not feeling well at all. A $21 buffet and he is down before he starts. I knew it was trouble when he wouldn't touch the crab legs. Teresa takes him up to the room after one plate of her $35 buffet. So now its up to Samantha and I to make up the difference. Well, let's say we didn't come close. Did I mention that the buffet didn't offer anything Sam liked? We are talking about a restaurant whose offerings are spread over an area measured in hectacres and she can't find anything she likes. It will be interesting to see how that casserole recipe plays when cooked in an E-Z Bake oven inside that RV.

But now I have a sick boy in bed and Teresa's first visit to Vegas she spends in the hotel room. I took Sam to the pool and then we walkled the strip for about two hours. Now its 11pm and I have just ordered room service to feed someone but if course they have all taken asleep. I annoy eating all these damn diners!

I think Bryce will be fine. He has no fever and says he feels better after the forced tube feeding of Gatorade we administered. I have a feeling this is going to be a great trip!

T-minus 4 days and counting...

Getting into the thick of it now. We should probably begin packing soon. Might need to stop by REI and pick up some clothing and gear. Thank God their annual sale is happening the week before our departure.

We just cleaned the house and confirmed the house/dog-sitter. How nice is that? We get both jobs taken care of with one person! Huge relief! Hamster-sitting is being outsourced. 

We have a friend dropping us off at the airport, which is also a godsend. 

We are starting to ask some seriously detailed questions re: the RV. Things like: what kind of port does the RV have so we can listen to our iPods through the stereo? Is the DVD player blu-ray? Which stops have laundry facilities? 

It is starting to sink in that we will be on the road for longer than we ever have before. Its not like we are at the ends of the earth, but I don't want to be stopping at every park and picking up things we forgot. 

I have loaded up some apps for the iPad but I am seriously doubting I will carry it with me anywhere and I really don't want to play with any more electronic devices than I absolutely have to on this trip. The point of this vacation is to focus on something other than an LCD screen.


On a serious note, T and I see this as a seminal moment in our lives. We are probably building it up a bit too much, but we are reveling in the idea of dropping out for a while. Its a bit naive, but we find that every trip is just bulging with the promise of the unknown and rumors of the unexpected. I have always enjoyed the surprises travel brings. There is a dichotomy in my personality. One part enjoys chaos and just tuning in to the flow of the trip. There is another side that just wants to be in control and ensure that we get to where we need to be before we are late. I don't know if I will ever resolve this contrast but I look forward to indulging the more carefree side of myself on this vacation.  


I really am excited to spend some time with the family. Some parents miss the days that have passed when their children were younger. Some parents are always looking forward to the next stage in their kid's lives. I always try to focus and enjoy the age they are in the present. The memories of times passed seem so fleeting it makes sense to me to concentrate on the time I have with them right now. 

Anyway, its getting late and I should probably start on my packing list. More to come.

T-minus 8 days and counting...

OK, we are off to a great start. Sam broke her arm last week but the cast will come off the day before we leave. Oh, and she got head lice last week as well but those are gone now. Bryce is nervous about flying and won't break in his hiking boots, but at least hasn't broken anything or brought blood-sucking parasites into our home. I am sick and tired of vacuuming and laundry. 

I figure we won't need to worry about vacuuming OR laundry while we are on our trip. We will live off the land. Picture Dual Survival but with four instead of two. No showers, no housecleaning, no friends. 

Everyone is asking about our itinerary. In a nutshell:
1. Fly to Las Vegas and pick up RV.
2. Zion National Park
3. Grand Canyon, North Rim. Known as the connoisseur's canyon which sounds suspiciously like what they would call Siberia. "Experience the 'Connoisseur's Russia', visit SIBERIA! Stay in one of our recently converted gulag motels. Savor reindeer jerky three times a day. Explore the scenery between June and August when we get three entire hours of sunlight each day! Don't stray from the guide ropes or you won't make it back for borscht wrestling!"
4. Bryce Canyon.
5. Salt Lake City. (But in an RV park in Salt Lake City, so none of those swanky SLC hotels for us, no sir.)

6. Jackson, WY. Just saw this little nugget of info: "Travel Alert: May 18, 2011: Please be aware that Highway 26/89 in the Snake River Canyon has been closed due to a landslide."

7. Grand Teton Nat'l. Park
8. Yellowstone Nat'l. Park
9. Elko, NV. Where? You heard me, Elko, NV

10. Lake Tahoe

11. Yosemite Nat'l Park

12. Sequoia National Forest

13. Barstow, CA. As in "Don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino," from the song Route 66.

14. Las Vegas to return our beloved RV. Perhaps we will fall in love with it and keep it! Perhaps not. 

That's the trip. Sounds fun! Stay tuned for more preparations as we get closer to this "once in a lifetime" event.  

UPDATE: Here is a map...

T-minus 13 days and counting...

We are less than two weeks away from launch! Thirty days of living in a 31-foot POD on wheels with the family, touring the great national parks in the American West. In a moment of Clark Griswold euphoria I thought, "This will be great. We can spend time with the kids and share the discovery of a country they have never seen before they start to hate us. Good, quality time."

I have found that there are two reactions to that idea. (1.) "I was just talking to my husband about doing this! I think its great! I am so excited for you!" (2.) "My wife was just talking to me about this. Are you out of your #&@$* mind?"

Now I am thinking, "Four depart, but only one returns."

But it will be good, right? I mean good things will happen, right? I mean in between the kids (8 and 10) trying to murder each other for eating the last Pop-Tart, my wife and I trying to navigate a too-large-for-any-sane-person recreational vehicle, and the filling up of an 80-gallon tank in an RV that gets five to eight miles a gallon in the day of $4.50 gasoline—for a month!

One saving grace—the dog and hamster remain behind.

For one minute let's pretend no one needs to remember the "flush the black water first then follow that with the grey water" rule. Focus on the positive. Let us concentrate on stunning vistas; long stretches of open road in the still not-quite-tamed West of my provincial east-coast suburban imagination. Yes, let us ruminate on that. You know what else ruminates? Buffalo, moose, elk—all manner of wildlife I expect to see roaming around just feet from our camp as my wife and I embrace by the fire, gazing at an impossible number of stars in the night sky while our children recollect the day's hike over s'mores and the babbling of black water being deposited into an underground holding tank.

OK. I promise you, this will not be a Pollyanna kind of blog. Everything will not go well. Things will fall apart. We will document it. It could get ugly. It might get mean, but it will be a learning experience. And, I suspect for all my buddies, damned entertaining.

So buckle up and make sure everything is locked down, we are getting ready to do this thing. The Good, the Bad, and the RV.