Road Trip!

If you've wondered why I've been gone a bit more than I usually tend to be these last few days, it's because I've been getting things together for our massive road trip. Today is officially my last day of blogging until we return in several weeks. We were up late last night running errands to pick up a few extra camping supplies that we had run out of, get some of the non-perishable food that we wanted for our trip, and go through our camping gear to make sure everything was there.

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This is not my first big road trip. In my lifetime, I've gone on many two, and even three, week trips with my parents. Out to the Grand Canyon and up through the Rocky Mountains, to Glacier National Park and on to Seattle and down Highway 1 to California, up through Canada and around the Gaspe Peninsula to name just a few. I've been lucky to take the trip we're taking these next two weeks twice already-- out through the Badlands in South Dakota, on to Yellowstone in Wyoming and down to The Grand Tetons.

However, this trip is a first for Andrew. While he has been to Colorado and to the Southwest once or twice, we has never actually gone on a road trip like this. Being one of five kids growing up, road trips were not such an easy option. Imagine traveling across the country in a mini van with five kids crammed in the back and then trying to set up a campsite while trying to wrangle those same five kids. I don't blame his parents for not wanting to do that. This is the kind of trip Andrew has wanted to do for a long time, and when he asked me which parks he should see, there was no hesitation in stating that this was the route we should take.

So we head off tomorrow afternoon. Our plan is to stop tomorrow night in Cleveland at Andrew's parents' house where we will drop off Lilah for free pet sitting (They are amazing for doing this! And Lilah loves staying with them-- think big yard to run in, another dog to play with, and all sorts of adventures) and maybe go to a wedding ceremony on Saturday. Then on to Indiana to my parents' house for two days before we head off to the parks.

I will not be blogging while I'm on the trip. I love being able to disconnect completely when I'm on vacation (I may have an Instagram here or there if I remember! So be sure to follow @heidishenk), but I have some amazing ladies filling in for me while I'm gone. Be sure to give them some love and to check out each of their blogs as well-- they are all fabulous!

But for now, it's road trip mix making time. Time to get some of those playlists together on the iPod. Have you been on a road trip like this before? What are your all time favorite road trip songs?