Did I mention this 3-week trip to the national parks of the western United States has been a life-long dream of mine? In this moment, I am living my dream. My initial thought was to capture and convey the trip to you as we mozy on from point to point, providing clever narrative and stunning photos as we go.

But I am here . . . living my dream . . . a dream of a lifetime.

So, the trip updates are less frequent than intended, the narratives brief, the photos uncropped.

First, I attempted to write and post every morning, which stole from reflective early morning conversation with my partner.

Second, I tried to write and post from the car en route to the next point. Nice idea, but I was missing the show outside my window. On a trip like this, to places where I’ve never been, every bit of the journey is interesting. When not in national parks or campgrounds, I’m getting a feel for how another part of this country looks, smells, and even tastes.

Distractions involving organizing, resizing, and renaming photos, as well as writing narratives and dealing with an inconsistent internet connection completely detached me from my partner and the joy of the journey.

The third attempt was to post cumulatively after pairs of parks, possibly targeting one major update each for the remaining two weeks. No go. At Yellowstone alone, I snapped 250 photos.

Yesterday, I actually caught up to Day 14 in photos, but realized the challenge before me. We’ve now gone through four additional national parks–Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, and Canyonlands. The task of selecting a sampling of photos at any of these locations is as overwhelming as the great expanses of meadows and canyons we’ve recently traversed.

I may make an attempt to post some Yellowstone pictures soon, but I don’t want to rush it. There is much to say about the experience, and yet I suspect words won’t do it justice.

Just as words are limited, so, too, are photos in capturing the beauty of these places. Yellowstone was sensory overload. So, was Grant Teton. And Arches. And Canyonlands. We still have Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.

I haven’t even talked about the KOA campground experience, dog kennels, and dealing with the unexpected.

I felt pressured at the beginning of the trip to do it all–writing for pleasure, updating the Teardrop Adventures blog regularly, and enjoying the trip. I haven’t written for my own pleasure (nor will I attempt to on this trip.) and am officially slacking off from trying to update the blog in step with each length of the 3-week trip. At this point in the trip, I vow to ENJOY it.

Stay connected with Teardrop Adventures (by providing your email in the FOLLOW THIS BLOG option on this web page), and I promise to provide you with additional updates about this eye-opening, life-changing trip.

Happy Trails!

To see our original trip route map, click on the first post of this mini-series:

Teardrop Trailer Summer Road Trip: 9 NW States, 8 Nat’l Parks

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