USA 2018 - Las Vegas, St George, Bryce, Kanab, Yellowstone, Moab: SUV + RV trip – mosquitoes in the North, storms in the South (page 7 of 7)

Thanks Gilles! Good luck with your prep!!

JF

Yes Julien, it's a tactic to extend the travel journal a bit more! See you soon, JF

Good evening,

I’ve been quietly following your exciting adventures for a few weeks now. Rediscovering places I’ve already visited and getting tons of ideas and info for new trips. Great photos!

Good evening Viviane,

We’re so glad you’ve been able to escape into our stories and photos from your couch! Don’t hesitate to ask if you’d like more details.

See you soon, JF

Good evening JF and/or Christelle,

I’ve been following you since the beginning. What a wonderful trip with multiple generations—so many great memories. It reminded me of my 2017 trips to Yellowstone, and the return to MV for the second time—pure happiness. Your photos are lovely. I really enjoyed it.

I’m currently planning July 2019 for the US Northwest and Vancouver. The travel bug bites fast—our first road trip was in 2015, and this will be our fourth time returning to the USA.

Have a great evening.

Thanks Sylvie. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for your travel journal about Seattle!!! 😎 Did you read the 2013 journal dug up recently, written by member YeahMax about a trip through the Northwest USA? You might find some useful info in there.

On our end, we haven’t really settled on any destinations yet for next summer: it’s hard to plan ahead after our recent trip, and there’s also some professional uncertainty...

Have a good evening, JF

Thanks for the info—I haven’t read that travel journal yet. I’ll look for it and check it out because now I’ll need to fine-tune the day trips. I haven’t kept any travel journals myself. I love reading them, but I don’t really feel like writing them. I make photo albums instead—I take a lot of pictures because I enjoy it, even if I’m not a "pro". A basic DSLR is enough for me.

Yes, Seattle, Vancouver—we’ll head down to Bend. Originally, I wanted to go all the way to Yosemite and fly back from San Francisco, but with all the wildfires, I wasn’t sure what would be accessible, so I decided on a different route. From Bend, we’ll head back up toward Mount St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, then Seattle and Vancouver for the flight back to France. It won’t be the full U.S. West experience, that’s for sure... but I think it’ll still be great.

One day, I’d love to visit New Mexico, but in May or September to avoid the extreme heat. We’re not camping fans, so motels and hotels for us.

Best,

Christelle and Jean François, we’ve just finished reading your road trip journal with so much emotion and nostalgia... because not only are we your "Mamoune and Papoune" (the ones who lived this wonderful trip with you), but we also get to relive it through your summary—all the memories, the intense moments, and your beautiful photos! BRAVO!!! For a whole year, we’ve followed your long and meticulous preparation, all your questions about bringing together three generations on this adventure. It wasn’t easy at all to make sure everyone in a group of 9, aged 9 to 76, could find activities, freedom, and visits that often stay tucked away in a "wish box" we don’t always open... and yet, you managed to unlock them—hot-air ballooning, for example!!! You pulled it off! Really pulled it off, and those strong family moments are still so vivid! Everything was absolutely perfect, except for the mosquitoes, of course... they were nowhere to be seen on our two previous trips! But us veterans were relatively spared—they must not like... well, not at all, mature skin... consider yourselves warned! Thank you again, and may your beautiful travel journal inspire many forum members whose comments we enjoy and who make us dream... May the future bring you, all four of you, the happiness of many more trips as wonderful as the one we’ve just experienced together. Andrée and Michel (Mamoune and Papoune)

Good evening

It's surprising to be chatting through a forum like this! I’m starting the travel journal this week and I’m still waiting for Xtof and Delphine’s photos.

See you soon JF

Awesome, just missing the kids on the forum. It would’ve been fun to see some crossover photos! 😊

Next year we’re trying something like you did, but in Indonesia—there are definitely a lot of questions about a multi-generational trip.

Good evening

Funny how we’re talking through a forum like this!! I’m starting the travel journal this week and I’m still waiting for Xtof and Delphine’s photos.

See you soon JF

Well!!! Traveling with multiple families brings a few extra little hassles, but in the end, the fun outweighs all those hiccups!

Good luck with the Indonesian prep!! JF

Thanks, I’m right in the middle of it and it’s not as easy as prepping for the USA. Less info, fewer specialists on the forums, fewer replies... Luckily, a regular on the Indonesia forum gave me some great tips for our first accommodations.

See you soon!

Bah!!! Traveling with multiple families brings a few extra little hassles, but in the end, the fun outweighs all those hiccups!

Good luck with the Indonesian prep!! JF

what a trip!!! brings back memories of my own travels and makes me want to go back again 😎 thanks for sharing 😉

you mentioned edited videos—are they "private" or available somewhere? (maybe I missed a message 😕)

Hi Jean-François and Christelle, I just finished reading this amazing travel journal. I loved the final photo recap and pretty much everything else. It was such a pleasure to revisit Monument Valley and the Wildcat Trail too... which was closed for us two years ago because of extreme heat! Thanks for taking the time to write down these memories that always make us dream. Françoise

No, there won’t be any video posts this time. We did it for the last trip, but it’s too complicated—especially because of copyright issues with the music. You can still check them out at the end of our 2014 travel journal! Christelle

Hello, New to the forum, thank you so much—I had a great time reading your travel journal and dreaming over your amazing photos. We’re planning a similar trip next year with little ones, adult kids, their partners, and grandparents, and I’d love to get an idea of your total budget for this road trip before we dive deeper into planning. (Flights, rental, insurance, gas, camping, food, sightseeing, and miscellaneous) Thanks in advance for your reply. Julia

Hi Françoise,

Thanks for your message!! Your travel journal is wrapping up nicely too!! Have a great evening JF

Hello, We’re considering a similar trip next year with young grandchildren, adult children, their partners, and grandparents. We’d love to get an idea of your total budget for this road trip before we go any further in planning ours. (Flights, rental, insurance, gas, camping, food, tours, and miscellaneous) Thanks in advance for your reply. Julia

Good evening Julia/Jeanne,

I can’t give you the exact details, but I think I listed the rental prices at the start of my travel journal. Here’s a rough estimate from memory: We spent around 5000 € for the two RVs for two weeks with unlimited mileage and insurance. The week in a GMC Yukon XL (insurance included) was around 300 €, and a day in a 12-seater Ford Transit was about 150 € (insurance included).

For flights, the four of us paid around 2800 € for round-trip Paris-LA-Las Vegas.

For health or cancellation insurance, since I have a Visa Premier, I didn’t take out any additional coverage.

Gas was about 0.85 € per liter. For reference, the large 30ft RV consumed around 25L/100km, and the smaller 25ft RV around 20L/100km.

Campsites run by the NPS ranged from 15 € to 30 € per site/night. Xanterra sites were more like 60 € per site/night, Monument Valley around 50 € per site/night, Moab around 50 € per site/night, and Las Vegas around 65 € per site/night.

Food—I’m sorry, I don’t have those numbers. For visits, aside from the parks, I’d recommend getting a National Parks Pass soon (it pays off quickly if you visit two or three parks).

Happy planning! JF

Hi, A big thank you for the quick reply. All these details will help me make a better budget estimate. Have a great day! Jeanne

My pleasure!! So glad I could help you move forward a bit!! JF

Hi Nicolas,

I’m so glad to see VF up and running again. If you ever happen to be in the area and you’re still interested in checking out the videos from our road trip, I’ve uploaded them. DM me and I’ll send you the link. JF