Cross-Country Family Trip (input requested!) (1 Viewer)

[BigBlueTLC]

Our family of 4 (2 year old and 2 week old) will be heading out on a cross-country road trip visiting national parks starting in a month. We have received the green light from our pediatrician and will be seeing my neo-natal doc cousin halfway through the trip. I have a solid paternity leave which gives us the ability to take this trip without worrying about work/cell/wifi reception. We have been told we are crazy... we probably are. But we are sick of being at home and want to take advantage of the time off. Hopefully this trip will leave us with some great memories!

Some background before the ask:

Vehicles and Gear:
The Vehicle - 2020 Landcruiser will have about 2000 miles on the odometer; Timbren SES towing bumpstops, 1400 Propride Sway Hitch; Planning to change oil before the trip to Amsoil 0W-30 and Diff Oil to Amsoil 75W-90 (not sure if I should change oil mid-trip as well given the load...)
The Camper - Forest Rivers No Boundaries 19.3 tandem axle; 24ft long and will most likely be 5500lbs fully loaded; Honda 3000is generator; Yeti Goal Zero 1000 with (2) 100 Watt Solar Panels; 2 Jerry Cans of water and 2 Jerry Cans of gas; various tools including a floor jack

Tentative Route:
8/27 - Depart Davidson, NC
8/27-8/28 - Kentucky, ???
8/28-8/30 - Illinois, ???
8/30-9/1 - Iowa/Minnesota, ???
9/1-9/4 - South Dakota, Badlands National Park
9/4-9/6 - Wyoming, Big Horn Mtn Base
9/6-9/8 - Wyoming, Yellowstone
9/8-9/9 - Idaho, Sawtooth National Forest
9/9-9/10 - Oregon, Alvord Desert
9/10-9/13 - Oregon, Bend
9/13-9/16 - Oregon, Crater Lake
9/16-9/19 - California, Redwood National
9/19-9/20 - California, Napa (load up on wine)
9/20-9/23 - California, Big Sur
9/23-9/26 - California, Yosemite (unable to book any sites, looking for boondocking spots)
9/26-9/29 - California, Mammoth Lakes
9/29-9/30 - Nevada, Cathedral Gorge State Park
9/30-10/3 - Utah, Zion National Park
10/3-10/4 - Utah, Buckskin Gulch/Bryce Canyon/Capital Reef (nothing booked)
10/4-10/7 - Utah, Arches National Park/Moab
10/7-10/9 - Colorado, Mesa Verde
10/9-10/12 - Colorado, Black Canyon Gunnison
10/12-10/15 - Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park
10/15-10/16 - Kansas, ????
10/16-10/18 - St Louis, Friends House
10/18-10/20 - Tennessee, Great Smokey Mountains
10/21 - Back home to Davidson, NC

The Ask:
I would love to get input from this group on:
1) Any must-see locations or campsites that I missed based on current route
2) Any recommendations, particularly for those I have labeled with "???"
3) Any changes you would make based on dates and/or route
4) Things to consider based on time of year
5) Places to explore that are close to planned route

Thanks for taking the time to read through this. Looking forward to getting recommendations and advice from this crew!
John

 

[grinchy]

You have a kid already, so yeah, probably have a good idea what you're up against. I'd suggest one of those in car kid potty thinga if the older is trained. For long trips, depending on the kid Travel tickets can work wonders. Hand one out every 30 min of drive time, and they can redeem immediately for a small prize or keep for a bigger prize. I forget if it worked at two, but definitely at four. Keeps the when are we there yet when will we stop next talk down. Just gjve all destinations in travel tix increments.

 

[grinchy]

For Yosemite see if you can get a vrbo in Foresta or yosemite west to cut down on driving into the park

 

[desmocruiser]

Looks like a great trip!

I have a couple questions and a comment;

Have you pulled the camper with the/a 200 in the past?

Any reason you are skipping Glacier NP?

Badlands is a series of overlooks on a driving loop, in my opinion nothing much more to see there than a partial day. Also try to enter Yellowstone via the entrance near Cody, in my opinion it was the most scenic way to access the park with range Bison etc.

Okay, maybe that is 2 comments, but I just returned from a similar journey.

 

[Armed in Utah]

Early October is prime time in Utah.....

Too many people/rules in Zion even then for me....

I live west edge of the Swell...2 hrs north of CR NP......

I could show ya places not on the map near my turf......

although your 19' tanden axle trailer would somewhat limit your back road travels

 

[sdnative]

You could take highway 12 from Bryce on your way to Moab. Very nice drive. Check out Kodachrome Basin SP campground down the road from Bryce. Nice clean trailer friendly campground with laundry. If you can leave the trailer there you could explore Cottonwood Canyon and even further to the south House Rock Valley Road. Not sure how you are planning to get into Buckskin Gulch, but check out Wire Pass canyon off of House Rock Valley road which will dump you into the north part of Buckskin Gulch.

May help us to visualize your general route if you map it out and post it here.

 

[hickuptruck]

Keep your diff fluids stock. Wasting $ if you change them at 2k miles.

 

[bloc]

Agreed on diff fluid.

 

[CharlieS]

I can't begin to imagine a trip like that with a two week old. Best of luck!

 

[mcgaskins]

My best advice is to relax and not over think or over plan the trip. You're in a brand new, extremely reliable vehicle with nothing mechanical to worry about. Your schedule looks very regimented and planned out, so my suggestion is to relax those dates and spend more time at the places you really connect with and go quicker through the places that you don't find as enchanting. Don't "lose the forest through the trees" and make sure you really absorb what you're experiencing instead of checking boxes and collecting stickers from places you drove through.

 

[terrapin]

My best advice is to relax and not over think or over plan the trip. You're in a brand new, extremely reliable vehicle with nothing mechanical to worry about. Your schedule looks very regimented and planned out, so my suggestion is to relax those dates and spend more time at the places you really connect with and go quicker through the places that you don't find as enchanting. Don't "lose the forest through the trees" and make sure you really absorb what you're experiencing instead of checking boxes and collecting stickers from places you drove through.

Have to agree with @mcgaskins on this.

That said, I was recently at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and while it is a beautiful place, there is not a whole lot to see and do there. Very few hiking trails or scenic drives. It is, however, close enough to Ouray/Silverton that you could take a few day trips. I would not advise taking your trailer to Silverton or even Ouray unless you like white knuckles.

 

[TimCFJ40]

In Kentucky, you can make a stop at Land Between The Lakes. There's trails, a buffalo heard, and camping etc. It should be pretty much on your way.

I'm Jealous. We're driving with our 3 and 5.5 year olds out to Colorado in September in my 200 series. We've done a lot of 8 hour car days, and we've found a routine that works for us:

Breakfast, then a 3-4 stint in the car to a good lunch stop. Good food, snacks, and a place to play, walk, etc for an hour or two is necessary. Then another 4 hours after lunch usually with a nap and a movie. In COVID times, stopping and picnicking is safer than trying to eat in a restaurant, and honestly my kids prefer it.

You're lucky, because you have the time to not make too many long car days. Enjoy it!

Also, don't count on campgrounds being available to walk-ups. Camping is booming right now, so lock in an itinerary and book the sites ahead of time. It would be great to be flexible, but it's harder with a travel trailer than it used to be with just us sleeping in the back of a truck or van.

 

[Cruisin911]

So, about the travel trailer. You will be limited to the established campgrounds. With the virus going around it seems EVERYONE is going camping. If you don't already have reservations at those National Parks, its too late. They are booked within minutes, 6 months out, to the day. With that being said, it may be better to do VRBO, especially if you have little experience towing that trailer. Colorado can and will cook the brakes of the inexperienced if you try I70 or most of 285. Also, I found with my Forest River (29FBSS) that I towed with my Tundra was way over the sticker weight. Before you head out, make sure and get everything weighed. It won't make much of a difference if you're in the flatlands but trying to control that kind of weight in the Rockies will be a challenge.

Oh, and I didn't see a brake controller on your list. Make sure you have one. During the summer I see tons of RVs wadded up on the side of the road on I70. People underestimate the challenges on that highway for towing.

 

[tincan45]

My best advice is to relax and not over think or over plan the trip. You're in a brand new, extremely reliable vehicle with nothing mechanical to worry about. Your schedule looks very regimented and planned out, so my suggestion is to relax those dates and spend more time at the places you really connect with and go quicker through the places that you don't find as enchanting. Don't "lose the forest through the trees" and make sure you really absorb what you're experiencing instead of checking boxes and collecting stickers from places you drove through.

+1 to go with the flow. Allow yourself you take time meet new people and see things you hadn't planned on seeing. I would love to have the time to take a trip like this. Hope you create fantastic memories.

 

[LBridges]

If you are planning to go from Crater Lake to Redwoods Natl Park, I suggest you head west from Crater Lake and plan a route south starting at the north end of Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor in Oregon. Plan a bunch of stops along the way to look at some great ocean views. FYI, that's easily a whole day worth of stopping. Many places with short easy trails for little ones, but keep a hand on them, cliffs, etc.

 

[BigBlueTLC]

You have a kid already, so yeah, probably have a good idea what you're up against. I'd suggest one of those in car kid potty thinga if the older is trained. For long trips, depending on the kid Travel tickets can work wonders. Hand one out every 30 min of drive time, and they can redeem immediately for a small prize or keep for a bigger prize. I forget if it worked at two, but definitely at four. Keeps the when are we there yet when will we stop next talk down. Just gjve all destinations in travel tix increments.

The 2 year old is potty trained but I'm assuming we will have to stop a decent amount. We have the portable potty or worst case she runs pops in the camper. I like the prize idea!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Looks like a great trip!

I have a couple questions and a comment;

Have you pulled the camper with the/a 200 in the past?

Any reason you are skipping Glacier NP?

Badlands is a series of overlooks on a driving loop, in my opinion nothing much more to see there than a partial day. Also try to enter Yellowstone via the entrance near Cody, in my opinion it was the most scenic way to access the park with range Bison etc.

Okay, maybe that is 2 comments, but I just returned from a similar journey.

I have not pulled the camper before. I am actually going this week to pick it up in Michigan and drive it back to NC.

Only reason we weren't planning to do Glacier NP was because of our route... We weren't sure if we wanted to go that far north. I keep going back and forth on this. It looks beautiful. I am wondering if we should swing up north more and add on to our trip...

Thanks for the advice on Badlands and Yellowstone. We booked the campsite for 3 nights, I may switch that to 2. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Early October is prime time in Utah.....

Too many people/rules in Zion even then for me....

I live west edge of the Swell...2 hrs north of CR NP......

I could show ya places not on the map near my turf......

although your 19' tanden axle trailer would somewhat limit your back road travels

That sounds amazing... unfortunately we are going to have to pull our home around most places. I may be reaching out to you!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

You could take highway 12 from Bryce on your way to Moab. Very nice drive. Check out Kodachrome Basin SP campground down the road from Bryce. Nice clean trailer friendly campground with laundry. If you can leave the trailer there you could explore Cottonwood Canyon and even further to the south House Rock Valley Road. Not sure how you are planning to get into Buckskin Gulch, but check out Wire Pass canyon off of House Rock Valley road which will dump you into the north part of Buckskin Gulch.

May help us to visualize your general route if you map it out and post it here.

This is perfect. I am going to make these adjustments. I just added the map view of the route to original post. Thank you!

 

[BigBlueTLC]

I can't begin to imagine a trip like that with a two week old. Best of luck!

Haha... she will be 3x that. A whole 6 weeks by the time we leave. We actually think she will be easier since all she does is drink boob milk and sleep, at least my wife can breastfeed with a view.