Thinking about adventuring in Alaska?  Here are some tips: 1.  GO!  It really *is* as amazing as people say.  Superlative in eve…

I called Delores at Seabridge International (410.633.0550) again today regarding shipping our RV to Europe.  Here's what I learned: Curren…

Are you wondering costs for camping on a trip like ours?  Here's our info: Grand Totals Monthly breakdown My comments on cost-saving…

After a good night's sleep in the RV at Brownwood, TX Walmart parking lot, we headed for home.  We did stop to help an adventure cyclist by…

10.10.08 Heading for Home         This morning we didscussed heading home and arriving on Saturday afternoon.&n…

Today was the exciting "special shapes balloons" day at the Fiesta!  We'd seen some of them earlier in the week, but today enjoyed more:  a…

10.8.08   Balloons, glowsticks, potlucks, fun with friends!  We are having a blast at the Balloon Fiesta!   Yesterday, the kids go…

5am!  We're up and soon biking to the first official Fiesta Day down the street from RV parking.  It's dark when we arrive by 5:40 am,…

We were ready this morning!  In less than a minute from the yell of "BALLOONS!" we were dressed and out the door!  Coming from all directio…

BALLOONS!!!  I'd peeked out the back window- gorgeous hot air balloons were headed our way!  We flew around the camper getting dressed.&nbs…

By returning the few miles from the campground to the Chaco Visitor’s Center today, not only could we top off Ciao's water tank, b…

9.30.08 Chaco National Historical Park              After a fine night's rest in the W…

Hovenweep National Monument- Adding for the map

We detoured!  As we were driving by Four Corners (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah), we spontaneously decided to explore the Hovenweep Na…

9.28.08 Canyon de Chelly            Yesterday we rode all over the Hopi Reservation, which is be…

We've enjoyed a few days of relaxation at Mather Campground at the south rim of the glorious Grand Canyon, including a beautiful sunset over the cany…

9.24.08 Hoover Dam & Grand Canyon   The kids enjoyed a brief dip in the pool this morning before we left the Las Vegas KOA.  It was a…

By mid-morning the temperature in Death Valley was 105.  It was HOT.  I don't care how dry the air was.  Hot is hot.  This morn…

Internet at last!  I've uploaded blogs from 9/17 to date.  Will try to get some pics up soon. Today was a driving day from Sequoia Nation…

9.21.08 Kings Canyon NP to Sequoia NP   Another beautiful day!  We saw both the world’s largest tree (the Sherman Tree) and the world�…

9.20.08 Yosemite to Kings Canyon   We left Yosemite, after talking with our Lazy Daze neighbor, Gary, who’d learned that a forest fire in Se…

9.19.08 Yosemite   We paid for another night at Crane Flat Campground and then wandered down to the Valley.  It is a 16-mile curvy, beaut…

9.18.08 Yosemite   A busy day exploring this enormous, beautiful park!  We drove Tioga Road to Crane Flat Campground on the west side of …

9.17.08 Yosemite   I spent the morning trying to find a Yosemite Campground.  It is *the* most competitive park in the entire National Pa…

  9.16.08 Lake Tahoe, CA   Lassen Volcanic National Park hikes were highlights with a half mile to learn about the volcanic rocks. …

We have new brakes!!  Whoo-hooo!  What a feeling!  Ford in Redding did us a favor sending us to nearby Athens Auto and $1350 later we …

An incredible hike through Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the south end of Redwood NP started the morning right.  The sun shone through the massive …

  9.13.08 Redwood National Park   A few hours of easy driving down beautiful, and sometimes smokey, roads led us to the magnificent fore…

We really enjoyed Crater Lake.  I wrote a long blog and then managed to delete it.  So, I’ll give you the short version.   Crater …

9.11.08 Crater Lake National Park   We had it all planned out:  we’d drive County Route 200 to Hwy 138 to Crater Lake NP.  …

9.10.08 Cape Lookout State Park   Remember the “hulking, iron shipwreck on the beach” at Fort Stevens that I mentioned from 9/8/08?  …

9.9.08 Fort Stevens State Park to Cape Lookout State Park   What do the following things have in common? Fort Stevens military barracks…

9.8.08 Fort Stevens and Astoria- Lazy Daze (LD) NW Gathering   I cannot begin to tell you how much fun we had with our Lazy Daze friends at th…

How lucky are we that we were invited by some wonderful online friends to attend the NW get-together of owners of Lazy Daze RV's?!  We couldn't …

We left Seaquest State Park this morning and headed directly to Mount St. Helens volcano!  It was about 40 miles of curvy, mostly uphill, 2-lane…

Okay, who knew that Mount Rainier National Park was so spectacular?!  We were amazed at the many features of this brilliant National P…

  9.3.08 Seattle to Mt. Rainier   This morning we left the Seattle KOA and took Ned the 4 miles to the Airport.  (Seattle traffic i…

A 12:30 pm ferry from Lopez to Anacortes - we were lucky to get on - surprising given we were nearly 2 hours early for it!  But only 60 20-…

Memories: Driving Ciao Baby onto the ferry from Port Townsend to Keystone, then driving to Anacortes Ferry ride from Anacortes- meeting people in l…

We continued up Hurricane Ridge Road this morning from the campground in Olympic National Park to a brilliant overlook at the top. It was freezing!&n…

My friend, Kate Nunes, and family live in Poulsbo, a suburb of Seattle - she's my friend who rode a triplet bike from Jacksonville, FL to Poulsbo, WA…

Preparing for ferry ride in morning- State Park overnighting

8.28.08     N. Cascades NP to Seattle, WA   Ned joined us today- Hooray!  That's our big news.   This morning …

8.27.08   Leaving Vancouver via Canada 1 Hwy around 10am was a good move.  Although a crowded highway, the speed limit near 50 mph made …

By driving this morning to Stanley Park, across the Lionsgate Bridge, we could find a place to park the rig near the rose garden to hop on a tour bus…

The drive from Whistler to Vancouver is only about 120 km.  However, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in the 2 cities.  What does that…

Here's some great hiking info from my Lazy Dazy friend, Andrew, who is terrifically helpful and whose advice I trust: I had asked: "Another hikin…

Food: Are you wondering how we eat on the road?  Maybe this info will help someone.    This is how we do it:   Travel Food:…

We crossed 12,000 miles on our trip today- during 10.5 hours of mostly driving from Ten Mile Lake Campground near Quesnel to Whistler, B.C. We took …

8.23.08    Ten-Mile-Lake Provincial Campground   This is such a beautiful campground with enormous trees and spacious sites tha…

    Kitwanga has a wonderful historical area with interpretive boards and a hike.  We visited it first thing in the morning and en…

8.21.08 Hyder, AK   We saw bears in Hyder today!  Determined to see at least one, we returned down the potholed 3-mile road to the viewin…

8.20.08 Hyder, AK   We’re in Hyder tonight, a funky little Alaskan bush town on the coast, just beside organized and groomed Stewart, B.C.&n…

8.19.08 No gas in Carcross this morning.  Although the truck was “on the way,” we confirmed that Tagish, up an “excellent road” had gas…

  Spontaneity!  That is the joy of RVing.  We changed our plans.  After figuring different scenarios until late in the night, I …

8.17.08  Haines   Today was a work/play day -we needed the basics with groceries, buy books, get gas, tanks dumped, wash Ciao Baby, etc a…

8.16.08 Haines   We made it to Haines!  It was a looong trip, but beautiful.   First, we headed through many construction sites do…

Tok marks the end of the line for us on the Alaskan roads.  We've looped around from Eagle, Chicken, Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage…

8.13.08 Valdez   We left our Little Nelchina campground and bounced down the Glenn Highway road heaves to Glennallen.  We are so enamor…

We left Valdez and headed back through the beautiful mountains.  We were excited to see our Caravan friends headed down to Valdez and flashed li…

8.12.08 Seward to Little Nelchina   A full day of fun and driving today!  We pulled out of our delightful dispersed camping site on Exit …

  After a very good night’s sleep in the store parking lot, we headed off to Kenai.  A historic walking tour, including a jaunt down to …

8.10.08 Homer   Another terrific day!   We met Mike at The Fish Factory this morning - in spite of working a load of black cod with an …

    We moved the RV today to the 2nd Homer City campground, further down the Spit, right beside the fishing hole, on the ocean again.&nbs…

8.8.08 Homer   After booking the ferry yesterday while in Anchorage and high-fiving ourselves, we drove a gorgeous road to Homer!&nb…

Well Hallelujah!  The weather broke and the sun came out, make Anchorage a sparkling, beautiful city.  Anchorage usually has 100 days of su…

8.5.08 Anchorage Exploration   We were slow arising this morning, but were happy to meet campground neighbors with a Lazy Daze, Beth D. and he…

  We loved visiting the puppies at the Iditarod Headquarters!  They encouraged us to hold them and since we beat the tour buses initiall…

We spent most of our day enjoying Talkeenta:   National Parks Service (NPS) Ranger's Station:  This is a gorgeous log lodge wh…

A 10am Denali NP Ranger Walk from the Visitor's Center this morning was great fun!  The Ranger was peppy and informative and Lia enjoyed playing…

Great sunny day today- Whoo-hooo!   We were thrilled to see Ken and Sheri, our caravan friends, who found us this morning in the campground.&n…

2 Month Trip Summary:    We’ve been traveling for two months today and have had such a terrific time!    We cannot imagin…

Our 8-hour shuttle bus ride into Denali today took us through beautiful mountains where we saw a fox, a wolf, two moose, and some caribou.  I wa…

  If it's just 90 miles from Fairbanks to Denali on the fast Parks Highway, why did it take us until 5 pm to drag into Denali?  Well, th…

Well, we didn't strike it rich gold mining this morning, but we sure had a lot of fun!  The Binkley Family, who owns the terrific Riverboat…

A relaxing morning with the kids riding their bike around the campground - I booked our Denali campground and shuttle for later in the week.  …

  Pioneer Park  http://fairbanks-alaska.com/alaskaland.htm  was entertaining and educational today.  Museums on Alaska’s …

  We went on “the #1 Fairbanks tourist attraction” - the Paddleboat Discovery III.  It was awesome.  Really!  It wasn’t ju…

Several terrific things happened today! Ned arrived on an earlier flight at 5pm!  Hooray!  After dinner, we returned the 2 miles to t…

7.24.08 Chicken to Fairbanks   It is amazing how productive a day can be with continuous sunlight!  The darkness in Eagle must have been …

  7.23.08 Eagle to Chicken     At the U.S. border crossing, the kids were tickled with a sign there that said Population 2.  …

Just adding Tok on the schedule to correct the map. 

7.22.08 Dawson City & Top of the World to Eagle   Long, but great day today!   Friends: Enjoyed chatting with our new friends from…

7.20.08   We survived the Dempster!  Here’s a riddle:  What’s more difficult than driving a dusty Dempster? Answer:  Dri…

7.19.08   We sadly bid farewell to Inuvik today.  Something about Inuvik struck our hearts unexpectedly.  Perhaps it was the people …

Today was Inuvik’s 50th Anniversary Celebration!  There was a parade at 1:00 pm, which involved the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, fire trucks…

7.17.08   Happy 12th Birthday, Charles!    We really enjoyed the small town of Inuvik today.  With about 3500 residents, thi…

Inuvik- 1673 Miles from Dawson Creek   What a fantastic adventure and dream come true!  Today we made it to the Arctic Circle and the re…

We left Whitehorse after stocking up on Canadian cash at an ATM, propane at a Shell station, Walmart for food and toiletries, etc.  (Did you kno…

Dawson City

We were so happy to have stayed the night at the wonderful Liard River Hot Springs, but the drive the next day was long.  We did spy 3 bears tho…

Watson Lake

7.11.08       Ft. Nelson to Liard Hot Springs   Wow!  So much happens in one day that it’s hard to rememb…

A relaxing morning and then an afternoon of driving brought us into Fort Nelson tonight.  We've washed Ciao Baby, visited the Ft. Nelson …

Dawson Creek!  The beginning of the famed Alaska Highway is an exciting start to the journey north.  Excited folks travel north in RV Carav…

Lake Louise and the treasures of Jasper National Park took hours to explore, yet only the surface was touched.  Hikes to waterfalls the Col…

7.7.08       Olympic Park to Banff     I stayed up late last night researching online for our adventures t…

We enjoyed the Stampede today!  Be careful if you put your kids in charge of the budget!  They can get picky.  They convinced me las…

Hooray!  We've made it to Calgary and miracle-of-miracles, got a 2-night RV spot (the last site) at the Mountainview Campground http:/…

Great Falls, MT to Glacier NP   Happy 4th of July!   The kids enjoyed the joyous atmosphere at the KOA this morning at the playground a…

Yellowstone to Great Falls, MT   This morning we went with our fun campground neighbors, the Courtneys, on a terrific hike up Mt. Washburn.&nb…

Did you know that Yellowstone is *the* oldest and largest National Park in our country?  Pretty neat!  And did you know that much of Yell…

We arrived in this beautiful mecca of meadows and snow-capped jagged mountain peaks this morning.  Yesterday Uncle John was kind enough to tak…

It's been fun seeing everyone, talking, eating, taking pictures and I've also gotten Ned's help on some RV projects: Electric heating unit installed…

After retrieving Ned from the airport (hooray!), everything went according to plan and we arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park before sunset.&nbsp…

We've had such a delightful time here at Heaton Bay Campground.  Eight miles south is Breckenridge with it's quaint downtown and summer fun acti…

We headed for Colorado- back up 313, back up I-70, where there was only 1 gas station, with no more gas available for the next 60 miles!  S…

Go to bed late, sleep late, leave late, arrive late... ahh, not quite the "early bird gets the worm" philosophy today, but it all worked out well. I…

After breakfast outside under the beautiful cottonwood trees, we wandered around the historic 1908 Historic Home at Capital Reef NP Campground. …

Well, I didn’t sleep very well last night in the BLM Horsethief Campground.  Being in the middle of nowhere felt very vulnerable.  I ran …

Capital Reef:   Today as we prepared to leave Bryce, our nice camping neighbors from Utah came over to chat and we obtained an excellent ice c…

After fretting upon awakening, I finally decided to let the kids sleep to a normal time and then take things as they come.  I’m convinced that…

After we left the Marble Canyon Lodge with the wi-fi hotspot, we traveled past the amazing colors of the Vermillion Cliffs.  So beautiful and ma…

Terrific time at the Grand Canyon!  Hiked a bit of the Bright Angel Trail, rode the shuttle bus to Hopi Point on the South side, returned to the…

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day”  Henry David Thoreau   We hiked in Mesa Verde on the 2 mile Knife Edge Trail …

World Heritage Site:  Mesa Verde!  This morning we left Durango and travelled less than an hour to Mesa Verde.  We all decided to skip…

Beautiful scenery - historic railroad - an authentic mountain town of Silverton all made for a fun day.  http://www.durangotrain.com/ The dee…

What a terrific day! An early start to the day resulted in 10am arrival at Taos Pueblo.  To get there, we drove through Taos, a vibrant, fun ci…

Hooray for A/C!  Mike at Route 66 Auto Repair in Santa Rosa had Ciao Baby ice cold by 5pm on Monday.  We’d spent the day there, working o…

Getting up early and an hour time change had us arriving at Carlsbad Caverns at 9:30 am, before most other tourists.  We were one of the few goi…

6.6.08    7am and we race out of Big Bend as the desert sun peeked over the mountain range.  What a fabulous place!  I was so d…

Marathon:  Loved the small, quiet town. The Marathon Motel and RV Park was a delightful little place with a quaint courtyard with fireplace and …

6:07 pm, Monday, June 2 We're at Roy Bean's Visitor's Center in Langtry, TX (i.e. on Hwy 90 west of Del Rio and we have wi-fi at this visitor's cent…

Hooray!  We made it out at 10am.  The above-referenced song in the title is by Daniel Boone and is our official RV Adventure song that we s…

10:28pm.  Kids are sleeping in the RV in the driveway.  I think we're ready! We've been working in a frenzy - then had a wonderful break w…

I can see my desk!  I can see most of my countertops!  Today, I ran back to storage to get Ciao Baby out for the final loading.  We ar…

It is late and I'm SOO tired, but I'll give a quick listing of progress: Folding bikes- bought 2 today and some other items from Camping World. Pri…

After hours of precision work, Daddy-on-a-Stick (aka "Flat Daddy" in high respect to "Flat Stanley" http://www.flatstanley.com ) makes his debut!&nbs…

How do you RV in Europe?  If you own a motorhome that you want to use in Europe, here's how to do it.  Keep in mind -I'm no expert- I&nbs…

Recent Progress!: AAA:  Joined AAA Got International Driver's Licenses for Ned and myself ($15 each).  Got my Will notarized for f…

Time marches onward as we scramble to get ready.  We're doing important things like taking Ciao Baby Family t-shirt pics.  Haha! Coach: …

Moving In May (yes, from Flylady) has begun!  The plan:  1 mile per day for each week of the month (max 3 miles), in our hiking boots.&nb…

I am making lists and getting it done!  Whoo-hoo! Rig Progress:  Took the RV today to Gallo Ford and got the cruise control re…

Don't you wonder how people will react to your trip?  Who will be supportive and who will be discouraging?  (My main goal with this bl…

Books: I've read 3 books of world travelers (as well as regional ones):  Adventure Capitalist (3 years by car) One Year Off-  1 year…

  Granbury:  We're back from a *fabulous* weekend in Granbury, TX, an antique, quaint town west of Dallas.  Ned did a *fantastic* pla…

One month until we leave on June 1st.  Full blown panic attack!  I guess the adreneline will come in handy.  :) Big picture:  th…

  RV fixed-up:  installed the SeeLevel Gauge faceplate finished the Pergo on the bathroom floor added robe hooks & bungie hold…

"I'll see you tomorrow!" the UPS guy quipped, delivering 2 packages today.  Haha.  Okay, so we're in buying mode to prepare for the trip.&n…

While this trip planning is seeming a bit overwhelming, I have to remind myself that I AM making headway.  Here's what we've done: The rig:&n…

Suppose you had the lifelong dream of going into outer space.  Suddenly, your dream comes true - NASA calls and tells you that NOW is …

Ciao Baby did great on the 5.5 hour trip to Texarkana.  Fabulous time meeting with the South Central Lazy Daze Group.  That's the group&nbs…

For the safety of my kids, "Friends" approved on this particular site are only people that we personally know or have known online for awhile.&n…

Hooray!  I just picked up Ciao Baby (the RV) from Elder Automotive.  We went over everything that was done and made a short list …

Still waiting for a report that Ciao Baby is ready for pickup at the mechanic's.  The batteries are all ready to be installed (Trojan T-105 coac…

Had dinner with world travelers, Lynn and Tom, Gabrielle & Mike. We met in 2001 on a cruise to Greece and just love them!  They travel all t…

My friend, Kate, gave me this idea when she biked 4200 miles diagonally across America on a triple bike (yes, she's my hero).  She gave these ou…

It took me a long time to determine that a motorhome is the *perfect* travel tool for me.  But once I realized it, the travel world opened up!&n…

Just called Seabridge International (410.633.0550) who is a Freight Forwarder, which is essentially like a travel agent for shipping.  For $125 …

  I've organized a listing of all the U.S. and International World Heritage Sites for the locations we'll likely be traveling.  http://wh…

The kids' K12 supplies arrived!  My oh MY!  They seem very high quality and interesting and rather overwhelming in quantity.  The kids…

Notes to self: Items I've ordered so - Can use as a packing list: K12 curriculum with Spanish Flashmaster (for kids' math fact practice) Cell…

Ciao Baby did great going to South Padre- the curtains that replace the doors to the bathroom and wardrobe make a tremendous improvement in the hallw…

K12 materials for all the kids were finally ordered today - Hooray!  Jazy's math book was identical to the one they use at her school, which I'd…

Hear me now, listen to me later... don't ever, ever start painting the interior woodwork of your RV.  It takes *forever*!   Ciao …

I've now made reservations at Happy Valley Campground in Inuvik, NWT, Canada!  It is within walking distance of the town.  The Great Nort…

Even though I paid $30 extra on Progressive's Insurance for towing coverage, I was so impressed that Good Sam's ERS would cover us inCanada and Mexic…

Update:  Skype seems to cause BIG problems on computers that have Vista.  I know of 3 computers that had to be restored to a "pre-skype" st…

Preparations I've been working on lately: Electronics for the rig:  I have pestered my dear Lazy Daze friends individually on topics of their e…

Reap what you sow: My friend, Kate, said that she and her husband don't plan far ahead because "things happen to us."  "Oh," I said, "That'…

We've been Busy, Busy, Busy getting ready! I made a plan, now just need to work it.  That's the hard part. An Excel Spreadsheet with multiple …

Believe it or not, there are many people shipping their RV to Europe, as well as more exotic locations, like South Africa.  Here are just a fe…

Today I wrote a letter to the school- it's time to turn in the contract showing our year away.  I sure hope the kids get readmitted upon …

  Our itinerary changes by the hour - the more we read, the more we want to see!  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the w…

Here are things I hope to do on our Adventure:   catch a fish in Alaska and eat it for dinner drink a tropical drink on th…

Note:  This is 1st page.  For most recent date, click right on tiny green link "Jump to most recent entry"  For&nbs…

***Note:  This starts Blog 1 of 4 trip blogs.  ALL blogs are here:  http://www.travbuddy.com/TessaHill/blogs  USA, …