We technically began the road trip with a college reunion at Haverford for a weekend, but it really started when we drove west from Philadelphia.
After two 12-hour days from Philadelphia and a motel on the road, our first stop was at our dear friends Wendy and Morgan’s house in Boulder, CO.We then drove to our first true campground, and one of the best, in a National Forest Service Campground in Ouray, Colorado.From Ouray we drove over the million-dollar highway, past recent avalanches, to Durango, CO, where we met our friends the Youngs. That night we Andy, Anika and Charlie came with us to camp out in Mesa Verde National Park.From Mesa Verda we drove to Utah. We didn’t get a picture of our “expensive parking lot” in Moab, UT, but this is where we ate lunch one day while there, visiting Arches National Park.After Arches, we stayed in a Cabin in Bryce National Park for Liam’s birthday. The sheets and the shower were a treat. The kids claimed the beds immediately.After Bryce, we visited another major Utah hotspot, and camped Springdale, Utah, just outside Zion National Park and next to the Virgin River.Next we camped at Jacob Lake National Forest Campground, in striking distance to the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Liam and Reid washed the dishes.After a 12 hour drive from Jacob Lake, including a trip down the Las Vegas strip, we arrived at midnight to set up our tent in San Simeon State Park in California, and could hear and see the Pacific Ocean!
Our breakfast that morning in San Simeon.
Our trusty car, under some exciting new trees on the way up the California Coast on Route 1.Next we drove up the coast to Big Sur State Park to meet with the Kolster-Sextons!The kids, eating first.After Big Sur, we visited Jay and Mo’s house in Mariposa! From Mariposa we explored Martinez and then Epinai Levin (and her family Maggie, Abe, and Danerys) played host to us in Davis, CA.After two days in Davis, we made another 12-hour sprint, to meet Bri and Anna all the way up at Pacific Beach State Park in WA. It was a big change: cold and wet.Our site, right next to theirs.With Brian and Anna we explored the Olympic Peninsula for two days. Here, Reid photo-bombs my shot of our second camping site there with his characteristic new “rat-face.”After exploring the Olympic Peninsula a bit, we stayed with Bri and Anna in their Seattle apartment.And after Seattle we finally arrived at 458 W 21st. Ave, Spokane, WA. The home of the Quirks.After a few short days in Spokane, Katie and I dropped off the kids at Camp Reid, an hour to the north. This is a cabin like the ones Reid and Liam are sleeping in now.Making our way to Glacier, Katie and I stayed a night in a free National Forest campground called Peaceful Valley outside of Kalispell, Montana.After Glacier Park in Montana, we made it to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, the old Bulger favorite. It was a treat to see it again.This morning, we awoke at 5:30 in our campsite in Waterton to a red sunrise, to start on three 12-hour days, headed for Montreal.
Tea and Kate 