road trip prep.

August has been the month of starting school and the month of getting ready for our road trip to the Grand Canyon.

David and I have been dreaming of this trip on and off for years. Awhile back, I told him “Our youngest kid needs to be five before we can do it.”

How did it get here so fast?

Noah is five and a half and can hold his own with family hikes, the church approved David taking his first ever 3-week vacation, and so this is The Year. By the time we leave, our kids will be 11, 9, 7, and 5. Great ages for a big adventure.

We even hung an idea board in our bedroom last summer to give us something fun to anticipate.

However, we both became a little more nervous about the reality this year.

We like to talk a big game, but it’s a lot of work planning for six people to spend three weeks on the road. It’s also a lot of money. Even though we’ve been saving up for the trip for some time, it’s hard to imagine actually spending this kind of money. We’ve done a good bit of traveling as a family of six, but nothing of this distance. And finally, aside from a brief trip I took to Colorado as a teenager, none of us has been to these parts of the country before.

As the resident pessimist, these facts took up all of the space in my head for several months and the trip felt scary and too risky. But my mom finally talked some sense into me and said, “Julie, you have to do this. It’s an adventure and an investment, and a memory none of you will ever forget.” She’s exactly right, of course.

I can finally say I’ve reached the point where I’m truly excited about the trip.

Once we got our basic itinerary in place, everything felt much more real and manageable. We nailed down the three main places where we’ll be staying in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona — one YMCA cabin and two Airbnb’s — and we plan to find cheap motels on the road. We won’t be doing any camping on this trip.

Every fourth grader in the U.S. gets a free National Parks pass to share with their family, so this is Amie’s year. I’ve used Pinterest for ideas for taking long road trips with kids, and for navigating some of the tourist destinations.

It takes 32 hours to drive straight to the Grand Canyon, but obviously we’ll be stopping along the way. My mom collected this great stack of activity books for long hours in the van, and we have lots of audiobooks between the library and our Audible account. We use Spotify for music.

We don’t plan to do any screens or movies in the van. We used to let the kids watch movies on road trips, but since we bought a new van without a DVD player last year, no one even asks for screens anymore. We hope to keep it that way, if possible!

We’re working hard at school so that the only thing we’ll have to take on the road with us is Classical Conversations homework. The kids are thrilled (me too). For us, road-schooling will consist of lots of exploring, reading and listening to books, Junior Ranger programs at the National Parks, learning about local wildlife, and keeping travel journals.

David and I decided we’d rather spend long days on the road in order to have longer chunks of time in just a few places. Our aim is to get a chance to settle in and “do life” in these places: grocery shopping, cooking, hiking, trying restaurants and food trucks, and exploring. Of course, we haven’t actually done any of it yet, but we’ve gotten lots of advice from people who have made this trip or some like it, and we at least like the plan we’ve made on paper!

I combined a little back-to-school shopping for the kids this month, with shopping for the trip.

Here’s what’s a bit tricky: while it’ll be in the nineties here in Columbia when we leave, the temperatures in the places we’re going range from the eighties down to a low of 40 degrees in the mountains in Colorado. We’ve tried to figure out how to pack relatively light but bring enough clothes for different altitudes. For example: we need to bring swimsuits and hats and gloves. Everyone needs sweatpants and a warm fleece. But also t’shirts and shorts. Everyone needs waterproof hiking shoes for the canyons. Whew! It all adds up quick.

I know the brand name hiking gear is expensive for a reason but sometimes I think it’s all such a racket. I do have to say that after going through lots of different shoes as a family, we really try to buy good brands because they’re just way better. My solution: find them used.

Between the consignment shop Once Upon a Child, and eBay, I got all four of the kids’ hiking shoes for $55 including shipping. And one pair of any of these shoes is $50 new. Amie’s Chaco sandals were just $4.50! So I feel very thankful. I just ordered myself a fleece off eBay and will let you know how it works. Hooray for second-hand. We’ve also been to the clearance rack at Old Navy and Mast General and found some great deals.

Now for the real challenge: David, Judah, and I are just trying to figure out how to pare down our reading list for three weeks’ away. I plan to use the Kindle and our 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited. David thinks he can make do with one or two books.  Judah has high hopes that he might get a Kindle of his own for his birthday.

As for food, we’ll take a small cooler in the van, and eat as healthy as we can while driving, with crackers and cheese, tuna and salmon salad, fruit, veggies, and hummus. Each of the places we’re staying more than a night in have fully stocked kitchens, which is amazing.

Alright, that’s all I got. The kids are beyond excited. Noah asks nearly every day, “How many days until we go to the Grand Canyon?”

It feels like a giant puzzle in my brain that’s beginning to come together. A very fun puzzle. If you have any tips on road-tripping or food ideas or really anything, please share!