As some of you may know I've had some interesting changes happen in my life the last month, and this seems to have reset my mind into a different viewpoint; a different way of thinking. I'm tired of the drama, the bs, the wondering what the future will bring - I feel like I need to get away from it all for a while. I had already planned to take 3 weeks off in July to do some other events which have now fallen through, so I'm saying to hell with it and taking the entire month to go where I want to, and I'm calling it the Long Loop.

The plan is to take off the entire month of July, pack the 4Runner, and head north up the Pacific coast, hitting some trails and National Parks along the way. If I'm lucky and can get my paperwork done in time I'll cross the border to Vancouver the head east the Banff (cause Mike said I had to go) and Calgary. I'd then like to head south and hit up Glacier and the Badlands, through Colorado and New Mexico before returning home. Laurence has already given me some awesome routes to hit up in NM!

My budget: not much. How far I go on this trip will depend on how much more $$ I can save between now and then. Right now my goal is about $3500, which still isn't much but I am planning on taking my cue from Mike and go the simple route as much as possible on all aspects of this trip. I have been looking for another part time job to supplement since December and to no avail which is another reason I've decided to seize the opportunity and take this trip even if it is on a tight budget....one thing I do have going for me is I think I have enough cash in my savings to at least cover gas (provided it stays under $3.50/gal this summer! ) and that is a huge step!!

I have a lot to do for this trip, but today I took one huge step and passed my HAM radio Technicians test! I'm playing it mostly by ear right now, just trying to prep the truck and figure out the set-up details...not delving too much on the route - I have ideas of where I want to go but really beyond the state of Washington I'm not sweating the small stuff because who knows when and where I'll be or if I'll even have enough $$ to get there!!

I'd love to hear ideas from my friends here in the community about great places you may know of that I must see. Most of these areas I've never even been to before let alone driven through...especially the Montana and Wyoming areas (hint hint Jonnie!).

Good luck girl friend. Sometimes you got to ask yourself "what price serenity" and like Ferris Bueler said "sometimes ya gotta say --
what the fu-- and just do it".
Call if you need.

Doc

Miss R2,

Sounds like a great idea. Ive been toying with a simliar idea except my route would include Moument Valley a few days in Ouray and Durango then on to Rocky Mountain National park to Jackson hole through Grand Teton and Yellowstone and maybe Glacier then back down through Grand Junction and all the parks "Arches, and Moab area then down to Grand Staircase Escalante and over to Devils Garden, Bryce and Zion then back to page and home through Flagstaff. Mine is not as set and more of a pipe dream. But being that i was laid off lately I have the time now. I guess when you have the time you never have the money. lol

I keep telling myself do it now and don't put off a life adventure. Memories are always so much more rewarding then the Sh*& we all have to have.

You may become very enlightend on your trip. It's always nice to leave the constant drone of society behind for a few days and recharge those mental batteries.

I vote GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!

BTW if your in Wymoing you have to do the Tetons and Yellowstone! Beautiful and Wildlife haven.

Thanks for the support guys. One reason I didn't include any Utah in this trip is because I'm still hoping to do a 9 day trip through there with Josh and that would also include Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly. There are also other areas I'm intentionally skipping because Josh and I have discussed taking trips to those areas, such as Yosemite, Sequoia and Yellowstone....although Yellowstone is also being avoided because I hear its an absolute nightmare in the summer.

If I make it as far as CO I'll be hitting up Rocky Mountain National Park for sure and probably also Pikes Peak...maybe zip on over to Ouray?

But yes I agree with this:

Quote:

I keep telling myself do it now and don't put off a life adventure. Memories are always so much more rewarding then the Sh*& we all have to have.

It seems whenever I have the money I'm too busy working, so to hell with it...maybe I'll sell PB&J on the side of the road for gas money like at the Dead shows!

You should get out and do the same man!

Montana huh? Well, starting with Glacier and the run to the badlands, you'd be riding the plains a truly long ways once you get to the east side of Glacier. If you take the highline, you'd go through Blackfoot territory, Shelby, Havre and points east until you drop down around Miles City or so. IF you go that route. Otherwise head to Shelby and go south to Great Falls and THEN east to Billings and the badlands.

If you're looking for remote, take the highline road. For more scenery take the Great Falls route through Billings.

My rez is located along the highline at Havre. Box Elder is the town closest to the rez and it's about 15 miles south of Havre. I'll be up there the 1st weekend in August for the Rocky Boy Celebration. It's our annual pow wow.

I can point at the Montana map and tell you about places that's not on the tourist radar.

Mont-
Helena -cause it inspired a River Runs Through It
Missoula- cause it's a great small college town

Wyo-
I avoided Yellowstone for 23 years. It's a like the grand canyon for AZ folks I guess. Avoid Casper, Cheyenne, Rawlins, Gillette.
Tetons are amazing to look at, more amazing if you can do a 24 hour attempt for the summit. It's doable

LANDER- great town. Look for the Gannett Grill. Tell Julia I sent you. Home of NOLS.

Check out the Bighorns! especially hwy 16A or hwy 14. Lots of great camping up there. Moose are every where. Stop in any remote ranger station and tell them Jonnie V said Hi!
Buffalo has a free public pool. SOunds ghetto I know, but it's mountain fed water and free shower
Sheridan is nice in their historical downtown. Good Toyota Dealer.
Thermopolis....world's Largest Hot Spring Jump in!

Every town in wyoming has a rodeo. Some are nightly, some are weekly, some are annually. If you are in town and there is a rodeo....GO! You will get the best flavor of wyomingites at the rodeo. Buffalo has there's on friday nights. 5 dollars for a car full and it's BYOB. And you can sit where ever including hands on the bull chutes

Much of wyo has no cell coverage, so Congrats on the HAM! Even WiFi is tough to find. Plan accordingly. You have my Cell#....I know people in every town I swear. If you need something I can help.

PS ....one month is not long enough to see half the western USA. If you want to escape BS.....MAKE NO PLANS! Just a priority list. You might find a quant little town that is worth staying for a couple of days.

This is going to be an awesome trip Heidi! I am extremely jealous. Even the worst part of the trip, returning to "regular life", is the best part since it always seems life is better after one of these trips. A clear mind and rejuvenated soul go a long ways. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions about NM. Congrats on the Tech Lic!

If your heading to banff, you must stop in squamish and you must also camp there. You'll love it. Take a picture of the entrance to banff you'll end up framing it and notice how the canadian rockies almost clown the us portion, w/ the exception of the jackson area of wy. Make your way to whistler if you have time, you can ski if you like. Notice how long it stays light while your up there and be super careful not to clip any bicyclists. Good luck and be safe.

Any gear you really need that don't have, maybe people can lend ya some.

Sounds like a cool trip. It's always good to get away from life now and again.
Congrats on the ham test.

Will you be going through california at all? If so, I can help some there.

I know the east side of yosemite very well so when you do that trip I can be of help.

Vacouver is very cool, as is Calgary. IF you are travelling though the Banff national park, you can't go wrong.

Thank you thank you everyone for the great info and ideas. I think my planning is going to involve a definite route up the coast to Seattle, and then after that some major goals but I'll see where I end up. I'm trying to leave myself some room for spontaneous stops and not becoming stranded too far from home if I run out of money!!

Jonnie you are the 3rd person to tell me about Lander so I hope to make it there and spend some extra time. Sounds like a cool place.

Robinhood, I will be going through Cali but as I said I'm going up the coast and staying away from inland areas until about Mt. Shasta, but thanks for your offer to help!

Now if I can get some Sedonfest stuff out of the way I might be able to sit down and really start working on this!!

Sounds like a great trip and I can't wait to hear the stories from ya over Sushi!

Jessa and I are planning an entire USA trip for 2010 so it will be interesting to hear from you...

That will be an awesome trip Dan!! I'd love to do something like that as well!


Also, to everyone, I'm looking for a temp job to help cover costs for the next two months. I have no idea if I'll have my teaching job in June (depends on how many students register) so I'm looking for something I can pick up just in case. If you or anyone you know are in between employees right now and need someone to fill a position please let me know. I have lots of experience in administrative work, delivery driving, and copy/print positions.

Heidi, I am sooo jealous!!! I hope you have a blast and take lots of pics. I'm sure anywhere you go it'll be awesome. Have a blast!


Jim