When my sister first proposed an RV trip out west with all of our kids, I was a bit skeptical. Neither of us had ever set foot in an RV. Could either of us even drive one? Would my son, at just shy of three years old, be too young for it? Would it be at all enjoyable with five kids all under the age of eight?
Luckily we threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it. Thankfully, after handling the logistics of a ten day trip to Germany for 16 people just a few weeks earlier, I didn't have to do any of the planning for this trip as my sister took care of all the details. All I had to do was show up and help drive/wrangle the kids on occasion.
Quick stats:
Luckily we threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it. Thankfully, after handling the logistics of a ten day trip to Germany for 16 people just a few weeks earlier, I didn't have to do any of the planning for this trip as my sister took care of all the details. All I had to do was show up and help drive/wrangle the kids on occasion.
Quick stats:
- 29 foot, class C Ford RV (no special license required to operate)
- Two weeks
- Five kids (Neale and his four cousins)
- Three adults (me, my sister, my sister's German au pair Nina)
- Leaving from and returning to St. Paul, Minnesota
- States: Minnesota → Iowa → Missouri → Nebraska → Kansas → Colorado → Utah → Wyoming → South Dakota → Minnesota
- National Parks: Great Sand Dunes, Arches, Canyonland, Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Badlands
On July 17th, Neale and I flew west to Minnesota where my sister picked us up at the airport. We spent a few days at her place in St. Paul, then we all boarded the RV in the afternoon and started driving south to Iowa. We parked and slept in the parking lot of a random Walmart somewhere in Iowa that night, then headed out the next day for Kansas.
My sister and I quickly became adept at driving such a large vehicle. All we had to do was allow for extra room when making turns, and extra time when stopping or accelerating, and we were fine. Though my sister never did take a liking to driving through the mountain passes with steep cliffs, which she let me handle.
After spending the night in Iowa, we drove through the northwestern corner of Missouri (my first time in the Show Me State), where we briefly got lost amidst the cornfields, then into the southeastern portion of Nebraska, then finally to our destination of the day: Kansas (my first time in the Sunflower State).
We spent an hour at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas where the kids finally got to run free for a bit:
We then parked at our "RV campground" on the edge of a farmer's property in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. The campground consisted of a small grassy lot with a few water and electrical hookups spaced throughout, a locked metal box to deposit money on the honor system, and that was it.
I went running that night under the stars and almost got attacked by a dog who came barreling out of a nearby front yard, all teeth and hackles and a ferocious bark. The owner stuck her head out of her front door and yelled at me not to run. A steely calm came over me as I faced the dog, backing away slowly, ready to fight if needed, but once I retreated enough, the dog went back to his yard. I was pleased to note I could keep my calm under pressure and not lose my shit, both figuratively and literally.
The next day we were all packed up and ready to trundle onward through the heartland when we ran into RV trouble. The back "bedroom" of the RV, which slides out at night to create more space, would not retract. We spent hours in the blazing Kansas sun trying to figure out what to do. We eventually got ahold of a nearby RV technician who could not fix the problem either, so we eventually just used brute strength to push the part of the RV back into place, where it stayed the rest of the trip.
Onward across Kansas and into Eastern Colorado, which is just more Kansas.
In Eastern Colorado we met a man on the side of the highway who had survived brain cancer and was walking across the country just because he could.
In Southern Colorado we stopped at Bent's Old Fort which used to be on the border of Mexico. I bought a book there - Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides - and spent the rest of the trip engrossed in the bloody history of this region of America.
We soon hit our first national park of the trip - Great Sand Dunes National Park - where we spent time playing in the sand dunes before retiring to an RV campground outside of the park.
The next few days were a whirlwhind of national parks in Southern Utah. We hit the big five in the Beehive State: Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Capitol Reef. At each one, we lathered the kids in sunblock, loaded the backpacks with snacks, and set off on short hikes near the visitor center or anywhere we could park a 29 foot RV (including one trailhead that was so crowded I had to parallel park the RV - clearly the defining accomplishment of my life).
Neale handled the trails about as well as I would expect from an almost-three-year-old. He walked intermittently but mostly wanted to be carried. I was pleased and proud to see that he seemed to take a liking to rock climbing. Like father, like son.
From a young age I've always loved climbing anything and everything - trees, buildings, cliffs, etc. - and was in heaven with the rough red sandstone of southern Utah and its numerous natural hand holds. There were many times when I scared the wits out of myself when I realized I had climbed higher than I intended and realized I wasn't sure how to get down. No caffein for me, thanks, my adrenaline has already spiked enough.
I was enamored of the landscape of southern Utah. I'd been there before, with my mother when I was 17, but I'd forgotten how simply breathtaking the landscape is. The best view from the RV was in the driver's seat, so I found myself volunteering to drive as much as possible just so I could take it all in (and maybe also to get away from the chaos in the back for a bit).
Life inside the RV was difficult at times. We were on the road for long stretches, and keeping five young children occupied was challenging. Too often, when they became bored of the limited supply of books/coloring materials/toys they had brought, they resorted to annoying each other for fun. Screams of "he's touching me!" or "she stole my Legos!" or variations thereof clanged around in the small space and tested all of our patience. There were a lot of tears and breakdowns on this trip.
As we settled into a driving routine, so we settled into a campground routine. My sister took care of the laundry, while I took care of monitoring our fresh/gray/black water tanks and draining/filling as needed. Nina helped with wrangling the kids and food meal prep/clean up.
I think all but three meals during the entire trip were prepared in the RV. We did a lot of grocery shopping, and on the few occasions when we went to a restaurant, we usually got pizza.
After hitting the national parks of southern Utah, we slowly started making our way north through the state, then veered east for the first time of the trip into Wyoming. We barreled across the state until entering South Dakota, where we stopped at our final national park: Badlands National Park.
After spending the night there, we continued on to the Corn Palace of Mitchell, South Dakota. Surprisingly, this was my third time in the Mt. Rushmore State, and my third time visiting the Corn Palace. My first time was in 1997 on a service trip to an Indian Reservation, my second time was in 2007 during a cross country road trip, and now my third time in 2017. I figure I'll head back for a fourth time in 2027.
And finally, two weeks after setting out from Minnesota, we crossed the border back into the North Star State, and shortly thereafter arrived back in St. Paul. Neale and I stayed on for another two days, then flew back to the east coast.
Huge thanks go out to my sister for coming up with the idea for this trip and then planning every last detail. I have no doubt this is something we'll be talking about for years to come. Though it was tiring and stressful at times, it was a wonderful trip, and one I won't soon forget. Neale had such a good time playing with his cousins, and loved playing with Kiera especially.
At each national park I bought a poster, and I plan to frame those posters and eventually hang them in Neale's room. I also hope to make a Shutterfly book for Neale with all of the pictures of the trip. I don't know how much of this trip he will remember, if any at all, but I do hope I have succeeded in planting the seeds of wanderlust deep in his soul.
My sister and I quickly became adept at driving such a large vehicle. All we had to do was allow for extra room when making turns, and extra time when stopping or accelerating, and we were fine. Though my sister never did take a liking to driving through the mountain passes with steep cliffs, which she let me handle.
After spending the night in Iowa, we drove through the northwestern corner of Missouri (my first time in the Show Me State), where we briefly got lost amidst the cornfields, then into the southeastern portion of Nebraska, then finally to our destination of the day: Kansas (my first time in the Sunflower State).
We spent an hour at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas where the kids finally got to run free for a bit:
We then parked at our "RV campground" on the edge of a farmer's property in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. The campground consisted of a small grassy lot with a few water and electrical hookups spaced throughout, a locked metal box to deposit money on the honor system, and that was it.
I went running that night under the stars and almost got attacked by a dog who came barreling out of a nearby front yard, all teeth and hackles and a ferocious bark. The owner stuck her head out of her front door and yelled at me not to run. A steely calm came over me as I faced the dog, backing away slowly, ready to fight if needed, but once I retreated enough, the dog went back to his yard. I was pleased to note I could keep my calm under pressure and not lose my shit, both figuratively and literally.
The next day we were all packed up and ready to trundle onward through the heartland when we ran into RV trouble. The back "bedroom" of the RV, which slides out at night to create more space, would not retract. We spent hours in the blazing Kansas sun trying to figure out what to do. We eventually got ahold of a nearby RV technician who could not fix the problem either, so we eventually just used brute strength to push the part of the RV back into place, where it stayed the rest of the trip.
Onward across Kansas and into Eastern Colorado, which is just more Kansas.
In Eastern Colorado we met a man on the side of the highway who had survived brain cancer and was walking across the country just because he could.
In Southern Colorado we stopped at Bent's Old Fort which used to be on the border of Mexico. I bought a book there - Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides - and spent the rest of the trip engrossed in the bloody history of this region of America.
We soon hit our first national park of the trip - Great Sand Dunes National Park - where we spent time playing in the sand dunes before retiring to an RV campground outside of the park.
Neale handled the trails about as well as I would expect from an almost-three-year-old. He walked intermittently but mostly wanted to be carried. I was pleased and proud to see that he seemed to take a liking to rock climbing. Like father, like son.
From a young age I've always loved climbing anything and everything - trees, buildings, cliffs, etc. - and was in heaven with the rough red sandstone of southern Utah and its numerous natural hand holds. There were many times when I scared the wits out of myself when I realized I had climbed higher than I intended and realized I wasn't sure how to get down. No caffein for me, thanks, my adrenaline has already spiked enough.
I was enamored of the landscape of southern Utah. I'd been there before, with my mother when I was 17, but I'd forgotten how simply breathtaking the landscape is. The best view from the RV was in the driver's seat, so I found myself volunteering to drive as much as possible just so I could take it all in (and maybe also to get away from the chaos in the back for a bit).
Life inside the RV was difficult at times. We were on the road for long stretches, and keeping five young children occupied was challenging. Too often, when they became bored of the limited supply of books/coloring materials/toys they had brought, they resorted to annoying each other for fun. Screams of "he's touching me!" or "she stole my Legos!" or variations thereof clanged around in the small space and tested all of our patience. There were a lot of tears and breakdowns on this trip.
As we settled into a driving routine, so we settled into a campground routine. My sister took care of the laundry, while I took care of monitoring our fresh/gray/black water tanks and draining/filling as needed. Nina helped with wrangling the kids and food meal prep/clean up.
I think all but three meals during the entire trip were prepared in the RV. We did a lot of grocery shopping, and on the few occasions when we went to a restaurant, we usually got pizza.
After hitting the national parks of southern Utah, we slowly started making our way north through the state, then veered east for the first time of the trip into Wyoming. We barreled across the state until entering South Dakota, where we stopped at our final national park: Badlands National Park.
After spending the night there, we continued on to the Corn Palace of Mitchell, South Dakota. Surprisingly, this was my third time in the Mt. Rushmore State, and my third time visiting the Corn Palace. My first time was in 1997 on a service trip to an Indian Reservation, my second time was in 2007 during a cross country road trip, and now my third time in 2017. I figure I'll head back for a fourth time in 2027.
And finally, two weeks after setting out from Minnesota, we crossed the border back into the North Star State, and shortly thereafter arrived back in St. Paul. Neale and I stayed on for another two days, then flew back to the east coast.
Huge thanks go out to my sister for coming up with the idea for this trip and then planning every last detail. I have no doubt this is something we'll be talking about for years to come. Though it was tiring and stressful at times, it was a wonderful trip, and one I won't soon forget. Neale had such a good time playing with his cousins, and loved playing with Kiera especially.
At each national park I bought a poster, and I plan to frame those posters and eventually hang them in Neale's room. I also hope to make a Shutterfly book for Neale with all of the pictures of the trip. I don't know how much of this trip he will remember, if any at all, but I do hope I have succeeded in planting the seeds of wanderlust deep in his soul.
