One Car, Five People, Twenty States, Two Months

(Or as I like to call it, "Operation: Road Trip")

It's hot here in Colorado, but we keep getting freak rainstorms that quickly flood the highway and turn my backyard into a river.  This past week, we were locked inside two days in a row because of a tornado.  It brought enough hail to cover the roads in a couple inches of ice.  It was cold and stormy and felt like the middle of April instead of the middle of June.  Then the next day it was ninety-one.  So I've decided it's time for a road trip!

(The tornado pictured is not one of the ones that struck us over the last few days.  I just happen to think it's a cool picture!)


The Participants:
My husband, our two children, my best friend.  And me, of course!

The Goal:
To see as many places in the United States as we can squeeze in over the next two months.

The Plan:
We'll drive through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.  We'll stop to camp in about half the states, and stay at least a week in a few of them.

The Equipment:
Aside from normal camping gear, I don't need much.  My Kindle, my phone and a journal.  I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring a few toys to keep the kids entertained on the long trip.

The Sights:
We're hitting up Lincoln's birthplace, Mammoth Caves, Lost River Caves, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the Mall of America, Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Old Faithful, the Olympic National Forest (and yes...Forks), Crater Lake, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Sur, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, and finally the Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde.
What's wrong with me?  I blame the tornadoes.  I think they showed up to ruin my summer fun.  No?  Oh, fine.  I blame writing, too.  I am inspired by new people, new events, and (especially) new places.  I set most of my stories in the real world, and I love it when I can describe something from memory, rather than an image I found while scrounging through Google's search results.  (Sorry, Google, I love you!)  It's what drives me to explore a cave by boat, or find castles in Ohio, or hike over fifty-foot rocks to see the beach.  And yes, it's what pushes me to sit in the car for nine hours each day, staring at the road in front of me, wondering when we're going to arrive.  It might sound crazy, but it's an adventure.

I'm sure I'll be posting pictures and talking about how amazingly hot and/or humid it is in the coming weeks.  I'm not used to the humidity, and I'm going to miss my air conditioner, but I think we'll survive.  In the meantime, what kind of summer adventure are you going to have?