First RV Camping trip to Utah Mighty Five

This is the first part of our first RV trip to Utah Mighty five National parks loop. Here are the links to the next post(Arches National Park)

Preparation:

Plans are useless but planning is indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It took over a month of learning RV 101 and planning everything in detail since this is our very first RV trip once we found the perfect one(32 ft Forrester from Sphere Rental spacious enough to accommodate 10 ppl). 

We modified our camping list to include RV essentials and especially the long list of grocery items for the 10 days. The google spread sheet helped us coordinate meal planning with our extended family joining us on the trip – including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for everyone. We used a website to help look for canceled campsites and book them as they got filled up way before we even thought of this spring break trip to Utah Mighty Five National Parks. That primarily determined the schedule below taking into account we have access to showers in between.

RV vs Tent Camping:

RV has all the comforts of home with mobility; I really appreciated the heater for the cold nights and not having to set up the tent each night and take off next morning. On the go prepared fresh meals with the convenience of having a fridge and stove, dining table for mess free feeds, and queen bed for naps made my life so much easier travelling with a toddler. Not to forget the luxury of having a mobile restroom with hot water shower for the little one in the bathtub. We are still camping within the park, closer to the hikes, nature, grill and the campfire. The only challenge we faced was its not as easy to drive around and park wherever for impromptu hikes and stops.

April 1, 2022:

Finally, the day has come and I have this habit of keeping the house clean and organized for our return, so I’m always a late nighter before the trips, to fold all laundry or organize the stuff around. DD1 enjoyed the extra day off from school so we could start on time to the airport. My cousin received us and our very first impression on SLC is so beautiful surrounded by snow mountains in every direction. After running errands at the Mexican and Harmons stores primarily for deli and fresh meats (while the other family took care of the more elaborate shopping including Costco, Indian store and Target), we had a welcome dinner at their place, but I went to bed early with DD2 tired from the night before and excited for the next day. My mom says if we do something on Ugadi, we tend to follow in the same lines for the rest of the year. Happy Ugadi (Hindu Lunar New Year’s Day), cheers to new beginnings.

A long drive from East to West coast

A really long 3 day(Apr 30-May 2, 2011) drive across 9 states: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming,  Utah, Nevada and finally California was an absolute dream come true! Without much planning, we decided to just hit the road and drive as long as we can in a day. This cross-country road trip was around 2500 miles, mostly on I 80W experiencing the changing landscapes: the great plains in Nebraska, salt flats in Utah, mountains in California and meeting local people. Above that, an hour being added to life each day- fun and tiring too!

  

Day 1: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa

We started early Saturday and by noon we reached the “Windy City”. Enjoyed Panda chinese for lunch at Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis and continued to drive through small cities. It was very windy all day and not much sun. As we entered Iowa, cattle and wind farms was a common scene. By evening we were right at the border of Nebraska. We stayed for the night at Omaha and had dinner in the downtown. The place reminded of Boulder, Colorado with live music, horse carriages, busy restaurants and streets with friendly people.

Day 2: Nebraska, Wyoming

After an hour drive from Omaha, We came across Lincoln, the only other big city for the day. Small towns passed by in the blink of an eye and it was all farms (with overhead sprinkler system used for irrigation) and cattle as far as the eye can see. We stopped for lunch at Perkins restaurant(Absolutely loved the fresh muffins here) in Sidney, a city to the west end of Nebraska. It was full of elderly people and the looks conveyed we were not the kind of people they often see (meant no offense). In Wyoming, the scenery slowly changed from plains to mountains covered with snow and the weather was very pleasant. Utah’s red and tan colored rocks welcomed us and the drive was little challenging on the curvy hill road as we got closer to the Salt Lake City. I was happy to be back in SLC after 2 years and we spent the night there at my sister’s. 

Day 3: Utah, Nevada, California

Salt Lake City was really beautiful in the morning with the pouring sunrays on the snow mountains. As we drove further, we saw the Great Salt Lake followed by acres of white land covered with salt, the famous Bonneville salt flats unique to Utah. We had a quick lunch at a Casino in Winnemucca and were back on the road. Evening as we approached Reno, nicknamed “The Biggest Little City in the World”, it’s vibrant life was quite apparent to the outside. Entering CA, we were fully excited looking at the pines and  national parks. The cities looked amazing between the mountains, nothing like I expected. Luckily we didn’t hit the evening traffic and were able to reach home by late evening.