Nothing to add but gosh this sounds like a great adventure, and I’m seriously jealous
#VanLife #RetirementGoals

Popping back in to say I think your timing for this itinerary is perfect. You should have brilliant late summer temps for the early part and hit some nice fall color later on.

When I did my Teardrop Trailer Tour back in 2010, I left in late August, went northwest to the UP of Michigan then west into the Dakotas and the mountain states, hitting Badlands, the Black Hills, Roosevelt NP, Devils Tower, Glacier NP, a bit of Yellowstone, etc. Then continued on to the Palouse in WA and then the Oregon coast and Crater Lake. Headed south into CA to see the redwoods and then Great Basin NP and some of NV, into UT (did a quick trip there because I’d visited the big 5 in other trips), and CO (Rocky Mountain NP and south along the Million Dollar Highway during fall foliage!). Then did bits of Route 66 to head back home. Somewhere I have a wall map with my whole route outlined — I had it up in my studio gallery with photos from the trip. I was away for about 2.5 months, and my husband flew out and joined me in Portland, OR to enjoy a few days on the coast, and then again in Denver, CO. That trip was truly epic and remains one of the absolute highlights of my life! I’m so excited for you!

PS if you’re interested, here are some of the pics from that trip. A lot of rusty details in this collection, more so than landscape photos, but these are a drop in the bucket. Every so often I pull up a folder of images from this or other trips and revisit and re-edit the photos to see what I may have missed or taken for granted earlier!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/.....4829089102

Janet, thank you so much for your detailed response! It helps more than you can imagine and will help me rethink some things. My capsule is city activity heavy, which you’ll see when you get to the Part Two post, and I don’t think it’s realistic for what we plan to do. I was nodding my head and chuckling as I read your first comment. You’ll see what I mean when you see my capsule — we have a very similar approach and types of items. I think I need to do some revising and plan more casual comfortable items that can be dressed up some with a jacket or jewelry, and remove the dressy stuff. I’m eying those shorts too— I normally don’t wear shorts but the wider legs on those make me reconsider.

Btw I do have these pants shown in the finds below which look dressy but are ridiculously stretchy. I could definitely hike in them and they could be dressed up too for a night out.

Lana, I love those Athleta shorts. I clicked through on my Find and discovered they now make them in a BLUE! I might need to try those. I wonder if the fit is the same as a few years ago when I bought the first pair.

I think my rugged travel capsule needs have been particularly simplified by a few factors:

1) Traveling with my husband and dogs in the Airstream. We don’t do cities, just small towns, and those tend to be very, very casual. Places like Durango, CO, Bisbee, AZ, Cody, WY. Even smaller cities like Tucson, AZ or Santa Fe. I felt completely at ease in all those kinds of places in causal outfits spiced up with some interesting jewelry, accessory, or jacket.

2) Laundry on the road is a chore, and you never really know about the machines. I’ve used a lot of commercial campground machines and mostly they’ve been fine, but occasionally there is some mystery stain or goop that gets in there. So I’m inclined to not take things that I’d be afraid to ruin in the wash. I do my underwear in the sink and hang dry.

3) Traveling with dogs means the vehicle is a perpetual supply of dog hair.
Also, the nature of this kind of trip is that there are lots of little stops to hops out and check out a scenic overlook or a roadside market or what have you — lots of dust and dirt and sand and mud gets tracked in all the time. Nothing will stay pristine for long. I learned to have a higher tolerance for a bit of dirt in my environment and on my person, LOL. I’m normally quite a clean freak!

4) Tight quarters mean that you’ll never be as organized and have things as tidy as they are on your first day out. Anything that takes extra time to put away or get out will quickly get shoved into an available space or be left sitting out because it’s a PITA to deal with. If you feel like you’re trying to make space for things while you are packing, consider whether you need it all. Stuff expands on these trips! Especially once you buy a quilt from the Amish market or the bottles of wine from the Harvest Host vineyard, etc., etc.

Just some thoughts. I’m happy to share if it’s useful! I absolutely love traveling this way and have learned a thing or two.

Janet your photographs are stunning! I especially love the closeups of the textures and colors.

Lana, you had me with Sadie! What a cutie, and how lovely to be road tripping in this way. Boston and LA hold a special place in my heart - along with Seattle. Fun to see your kids, and more of the US! A memorable adventure awaits

Janet sprang to find as someone who has done this type of trip regularly in their Air Stream, and is full of handy tips. Listen to Janet!