Clothing-

So the next obstacle in the basic needs department was the clothing and attire.  We have tons of clothes.  Our closets are stuffed full, so finding enough things to wear certainly wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that we would need clothes for two seasons.  So even though Michael reconfigured our camper to make a lot more room for clothes, two seasons of clothes was really going to be a lot. 

We are making a big circle through the American West.  We are starting in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore and circling around by way of Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier National, Crater Lake, Redwood Forest, California Coastline, Nappa Valley, San Francisco, Yosemite, Sequoia, Hollywood, Disneyland, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Zion National, Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde, Pike's Peak, and then back home.  As we travel through the North, it is going to be freezing, literally.  As we travel through the Southwest, it is going to be a burning hot 120 degrees. 

A logical person would ask, “Why not reverse the trip and go the other way?  It would be milder in the Southwest at the beginning of the trip during the Spring and warmer in the North during the summer!”  The problem with that is we really, really want to see the national parks in the North the most. So if anything happens, and we are forced to come home, then we will have seen the attractions that were most important to us. With that thought we made nonrefundable reservations.

After we made reservations, I realized I want to see the Southwest just as much as the North.  And…..well, we didn’t really realize how very, very cold it would still be in May. According to their website, Glacier National Park only starts to try to plow roads in the middle of May!   Too late now to change.  Besides, sitting down and planning this mammoth vacation took both Michael and I working on it 2 full weekends.  We don’t have time to start over. It is what it is now.  It should be well planned in every aspect except the cold and hot reversals.

Our longest stint between laundry days will be 9 days.  So we packed 9 shorts outfits and 4 jeans and sweatshirt outfits with extras such as swimsuits, pajamas, gloves, hats, etc.  I was nervous about everything fitting into the camper, but to my delight, it was a breeze!  We even added some extra sweatshirts.  Plus two compartments were still left over for packing stuff that wasn’t clothes. 

Harrison was the only one who came up a little short…..no pun intended.  He only had 8 pairs of shorts since he keeps growing so fast.  He went from a 28 inch inseam to a 36 inch inseam in just 2 years!  So I made him go shopping for another pair of shorts.  This activity is a very hateful and dreaded activity for both of us.  He hates trying on clothes, and I hate being with someone who hates trying on clothes.  Ha ha.  It took several stores before we scored a pair of shorts that were long enough for his limbs.  It is practically impossible to find nice shorts with a 12-14 inch inseam.  So once we got all his outfits packed up, I figured he would wear jeans for the remainder of the week around the house because all his shorts were in the camper.  We had to pack the camper several days ahead of leaving time because the weather forecast was rain.  We didn’t want to start our journey with a wet pop up camper. 

Imagine my surprise when Harrison came out to breakfast in a nice pair of long khaki shorts the day after we packed up the camper.  Really!  “Where did you get those?” I practically growled.  “In my closet,” was his nonchalant reply.  “Why did we buy you a new pair of shorts if you had those?” I might or might not have said it in a shrill or possibly screaming tone.  I don’t think it was lost on him that he could have avoided a despicable day of shopping, if he would have better examined his closet. 

Natalie and I wanted to pack cutsie outfits for Disneyland.  You know…..like a yellow skort, blue t-shirt, red bow in the hair……Like Snow White or something……We saw a bunch of these outfits on Pinterest.  Super-cute.  However, not really wanting to look that super-cute the other five times we would have to wear that outfit on the trip, so we ditched that idea.  Instead we tucked in tiaras that we bought at Charming Charlie’s. 

On a final note about the clothes, it was a good thing we packed the camper early because the house looked like it was a tornado factory.  Stacks of clothes, accessories, camping gear, food, etc. were in every room of the house.  Once it was all packed into the camper, I felt a huge weight lift.  I could think clearly again. 

Up next:  Leaving Home!