Sorry to interrupt the Circumnavigation of Iceland Road Trip...

Sorry to interrupt the Circumnavigation of Iceland Road Trip...

We're going to have to leave Iceland in the past for awhile and fast-forward to the present because we are about to embark on this year's family adventure!  We have decided to stay in-country this summer.  For many people that know us, that seems like a huge surprise  considering that we tend to go as far away as humanely possible when we have the opportunity (i.e., Queensland, Australia in 2010...blog forthcoming), but the United States of America is HUGE and there is much that we have not experienced within our own borders.   It's not like we are going to Cleveland.  Instead, we are doing a huge, 3-week, Western loop through the nation's National Park System. 

Here is the tentative itinerary:

1.  Arrive in Vegas (yuck, I know), Nevada

2.  Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim, Arizona

3.  Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

4.  Moab, Utah

5.  Canyonlands National Park, Utah

6.  Arches National Park, Utah

7.  Salt Lake City, Utah

8.  Jackson Hole, Wyoming

9.  Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

10. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

11. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

12. Salt Lake City Again, Utah

13. Great Basin National Park, Nevada

14. The Hermitage Ranch, Nevada

15. Zion National Park, Utah

16. Depart Las Vegas, Nevada...maybe.

We will be camping about half the time and staying in cabins when not in the tent.  This should be an incredible adventure for our kids!  Our daughter, who just turned 5, is totally pumped.  She just got a brand new climbing harness and can't wait to put it to use on some real rocks (she has been hanging from our rafters in our house since she got it!).   Our son has no idea.  He is only 1 and a half.  He is going to be a handful for sure.  The kid DOES NOT walk...he RUNS.  He will be either attached to me via his own harness, or snuggly packed away in his luxurious Deuter Kid Comfort III kid carrier.  He is not to be trusted near canyon ledges on in bear country.  Yikes.

I hope you enjoy the blog!  Please feel free to comment.  We will update as often as we can! 

Have kids, will travel!