I’m finally sitting down to share our full RV road trip itinerary! 🥳 I know it’s a couple weeks overdue. Quite frankly it’s been an adjustment coming home and getting back into the swing of things. Plus, I was exhausted! And sorry I know it’s annoying when people get home from amazing vacations and complain about being tired. But we were on the road for almost 7 weeks with a toddler, and looking back on it, we barely had time to come up for air. It was definitely a whirlwind trip! 🥱

But now I’m fully recovered (and then some!) and excited to share with y’all some personal “aha” moments I had during the trip and in the month following + give those who have asked for it our itinerary. Some of you have shared with me that you’re interested in doing a similar road trip with your family, so hopefully my itinerary is helpful to you!

Petrified Forest National Park (Blue Mesa).

One thing I want to note up front re: the itinerary… if you want to see exactly what we did inside each National Park, you’ll need to visit my story highlights on Instagram. Everything you may want to know can be found there. It was just too lengthy to include all of that info in this blog post. So check out my Instagram profile if you want to delve into the details of each park, specifically. 👍🏻

And before I go any further, let me note that if you’re just here for the itinerary… then scroll to the bottom of this post! That’s where you’ll find it. 😊

Anyway, back to the trip. We had an incredible time. Truly a trip of a lifetime! I don’t know if we’ll ever have an opportunity to do anything quite so grand again. I’m so grateful for the experience.

I’m still a little shocked we actually did it. Looking back on it, we had just really hit our limit and made a “let’s get out of Dodge!” decision to leave. I needed a mental reset, time to unplug from the news(!), and space to reflect on 2020 and what it’s taught me - the good and the bad - about myself. What a year to question everything, am I right? 🤪 The trip gave me an opportunity to crystallize a few thoughts I’ve had swirling around about changes I wanted to make in my life but was too caught up in the rat race to actually follow through on.

Yellowstone National Park (Swan Lake Flats).

In 2020, I think all of us to some degree have been confronted with a demon or two we’ve needed to grapple with once and for all. For me, it’s been all about self-worth. Why am I valuable? Is it because of all these things I achieve - my accolades and accomplishments - or is it because I’m fundamentally worthy? Clearly it’s the latter, but that’s not how I’d been living!

I’d been living with all these expectations of myself simmering beneath the surface even though I never consciously perceived them as being there. But they were. And when I didn’t live up to them, I’d end my day/week/month feeling like a failure. So then I’d compensate and pile even more on my to-do list and the cycle repeated. It was exhausting and made life so busy I felt like I couldn’t even come up for air, much less enjoy it.

Yellowstone National Park (Lower Falls).

Then one day back in March the world stopped. My days were no longer filled with errands, appointments, or social events and I definitely wasn’t in the mental space to create content for the blog or share day-to-day life on social media. Besides, no one wanted to consume that anyway with so many other more important things going on. Nothing to accomplish, it seemed!

It was in this space that I began my own personal reckoning over the idea of my self-worth. The expectations I had of myself, how others perceived me, and generally realizing that I’d been behaving like someone who had something to prove to myself at all times. And in that hustle and bustle to achieve and do and reach goals that no longer even served me, I lost sight of my own day-to-day happiness. I was just too busy. Can anyone relate?!

Of course, self-worth looks different for everyone. For me it means that as a human and child of God, I was born with value… I don’t have to earn my “worthiness”. It means being a good mom, wife, daughter and friend. It means being present with my family. It means saying “fuck it” sometimes. It means prioritizing my mental and physical health. It means living the life I want to live, separate from anyone’s opinions or expectations of me.

Achieving goals is great and it feels amazing to cross things off my to-do list, but it doesn’t have a direct correlation to my worth as a human. It doesn’t matter how many people think I’m worthy of a follow or a retweet. Even though it can be helpful and even healthy to consider the perspectives of other people, their opinions have no impact on my innate value. Finally, it doesn’t matter what other people have done or accomplished. My personal fulfillment is more important than what others are thinking, saying, or doing.

Grand Teton National Park (Schwabacher Landing).

So while on our trip, I committed to make room for things that bring me the most happiness and to cut myself some slack on the rest of it. Spending quality time with Kate, focusing on my family and actively creating space in my day to make memories with them, and my own personal health and wellbeing. Since I’ve been home, I’ve been super intentional about knocking things off my plate that don’t serve those 3 things.

I’m now forcing myself to do less in a day (that’s my #1 rule… do less in a day) + I’m intentional about giving myself a break if something needs to get pushed off until next week (whereas before it would always occupy space in the back of my mind, taking up room until it got done).

Of course life is already beginning to move on post-COVID, even if it’s not back to “normal” yet. I know that in the months to come I’ll feel myself slipping back into some of my old, over-scheduled ways. But I don’t want to forget the lessons this year has taught me. I’m determined to let this improved mentality be the silver-lining to this shit-show of a year!

Ok. That’s it. Things got a little more personal than I intended, but that’s just where the writing took me today!

Thanks to everyone who followed along via Instagram throughout the trip. I had SO much fun sharing our adventure. Maybe a little too much fun… I got a little burned out on my phone towards the end! 😅 And if you’re a new follower who found me during this trip… welcome! I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you stick around. ❤️

Our Family “Road Trip Across America” Itinerary

*Note: to see exactly what we did while in each National Park, please visit the saved story highlights on my Instagram page. You’ll find everything you need there, organized by park! It will provide more detail than I have room for here.

Day 1 - Depart Austin for Seminole, TX (Stateline Cabins & RV Park; note: I don’t recommend this place)

Day 2 - Depart Seminole for Roswell → Albuquerque, NM (Route 66 RV Resort)

Have lunch in Roswell and do some sightseeing.

Day 3 - Depart Albuquerque, NM for Williams, AZ (Williams / Exit 167 / Circle Pines KOA RV Park)

Day 4 - Depart Williams, AZ for Grand Canyon National Park (Trailer Village RV Park, inside the National Park)

Days 5-6 - Grand Canyon National Park

Day 7 - Depart Grand Canyon National Park for Page, Arizona (Wahweap RV & Campground; note: their customer service is not great.)

Day 8 - Page, Arizona

AM: Horseshoe Bend (note: visit early in the morning… better light for photos and less crowded.)
PM: Antelope Canyon Tour (note: this was closed while we were there, but definitely do it!)

Day 9 - Page, Arizona

Rent a boat for the day on Lake Powell. We rented from the Wahweap Marina. We didn’t have a great experience picking up our boat, but they did knock some off the price because of the delay. If you can swing it, get a driver to navigate the lake for you. This wasn’t an option for us due to COVID, but I think it is normally. It’s a pretty tricky lake to navigate!

Day 10 - Depart Page, Arizona for Zion National Park (Zion River Resort RV Park & Campground; note: we loved this RV park!)

Days 11-13 - Zion National Park

Day 14 - Depart Zion River Resort for Tremonton, UT (Aspen Grove RV Park)

Day 15 - Tremonton, UT for Gardiner, Montana (Rocky Mountain RV Park; note: while we really liked this RV park, I recommend staying in West Yellowstone as your gateway to Yellowstone National Park if you can… it’s just more convenient.)

Days 16-22 - Yellowstone National Park

Day 23 - Depart Gardiner, Montana for West Glacier, Montana (West Glacier RV Park)

Days 24-29 - Glacier National Park

Day 30 - Depart West Glacier, MT for Darby, Montana (Travellers Rest Cabins & RV Park)

Day 31 - Darby, Montana

Swing by the filming site for the TV Show “Yellowstone”
Visit the Lake Como Beach Swimming Site

Day 32 - Depart Darby, MT for Jackson, WY (The Four Seasons Resort & Jackson Hole; for an RV Park, I recommend The Virginian Lodge RV Park.)

Day 33 - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Visit the square for shopping, restaurants, etc.

Day 44 - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Day trip to Grand Teton National Park; take the water shuttle over Jenny Lake for some hiking in the morning, then drive through the rest of the park in the afternoon.

Day 45 - Depart Jackson, WY for Beaver Creek, CO (The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch)

Day 46 - Beaver Creek, CO

Day 47 - Depart Beaver Creek for Rocky Mountain National Park (Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort)

Days 48-51 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Day 52 - Depart Estes Park, CO for Alamosa, CO (Cool Sunshine RV Park)

Days 53-54 - Great Sand Dunes National Park

Day 55 - Depart Alamosa, CO for Red River, NM (Road Runner RV Resort)

Day 56 - Red River, NM