rubyrose23

My family and i live in Florida and want to take a summer trip across country in our RV. Want to get all the way to California and make alot of stops on the way. Don't know when we will get to do this again and want to see as much as possible. We have 5 kids ages 17-2 so it will be kid friendly most of the time. we have 10 weeks to do this and would like to get as much input as possible. want to see as many national parks as possible and maybe some amusement and water parks as well. we have even thought we might get into vancover but i told my husband that might be pushing the time limit. ANY advice on good campgrounds and stopping points would be helpful. Thanks

kleroux

I'm not sure what month you are thinking of traveling..but I took my kids to Canyon de Chelley (sp?).. Indian Reservation. You go in big open trucks up the creek bed to see indian ruins lost in canyons. Monument valley is another must....Grand Canyon. These places get hot in July, Aug, but if you go in June, you should be OK. Then come back the Northern route.

dbdurand

How about an overall concept like "Pioneering the West"? It would start at the St. Louis Gateway Arch and then roughly follow the Oregon trail route through Nebraska and Wyoming, with a visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs, then on to Oregon, the ultimate destination for the Pioneers, but not for you. Then down through Oregon and California all the way to San Diego, hitting Redwood, Yosemite, and Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP, and of course the major cities with amusement and water parks galore. The tie-in to pioneering is that the southwestern states, including California, were all Spanish colonies until 1848, and the pioneers came from Spain and Mexico. Then the return route is not so clear. You probably would want to hit Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon on the way.

If you enlist some of your kids to help with the details of the trip, they will get more out of it than if you do it unilaterally.

RVtraveler

Several thoughts--
With 5 children you must be prepared for extreme heat as you are in the desert. Suggest you check temps at www.wunderground.com and go down a couple of screens to "seasonal averages" to help you anticipate areas of greatest concern. Several years ago we were at Big Bend National Park, TX, in late April and the ranger advised us to tour in the morning and stay in our airconditioned RV in the afternoon because of the high temps. Along the Pacific coast it is cool.

For an idea of places to visit check my profile and go to the website mentioned there. Places are arranged in a logical travel sequence for ease of planning plus RV tips. As an RVer we keep extra water jugs handy in case our water pump fails in desert conditions.

Barblab

RVtraveler - What a GREAT website you have! Love the pictures with the text, easy to navigate, tons of very useful info, super planning tool. Thanks for sharing!

rubyrose23

Well this trip would be the middle of June till schoolstarts in August. The Pioneering the West is a good concept. I am looking for kid friendly sites in Vegas, as well as California. How are the driving conditions. I hear the road are pretty hilly or curvy? Thinking of taking highway I-10 over to california that way and little pit stops along the way or maybe big ones depending on what happens. Hoover Dam, Beverly Hills, Indian Reservations, We want to do it all!! Or as much can fit into 10 weeks.

emalloy

Have you been to the National Parks site? www.nps.gov It will provide you with information on the fantastic parks you should be introducing the kids to.