csclifford
Outside of Comfort
Hey everyone,
About 11 months ago I started a trip planning thread (Here) with the idea that I would surprise my Dad with a month-long trip. My Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease two years ago, and this past year he had to retire from his job. Given his newly retired status, I thought that I would try to plan something special for him. This past spring I took the semester off for an accounting internship in Chicago. The internship was from the beginning of January to mid-March. Since I did not have to be back to school until the end of May, the break between my internship and starting summer classes provided me two free months.
Growing up, my Dad and I used to be avid backpackers. All of the trips I took growing up centered around visiting different National Parks. This gave me a great appreciation for the outdoors. Since my Dad's mobility is worsening every year, I figured that we may not get another chance to go on a real adventure. Once I graduate next year I know I won't have the kind of free time to go on a trip like this.
So I started planning the trip. What initially started as an ambitious route that went into Alaska turned out to be much more tame. My Dad and I decided that our first stop would be in Moab, Utah. We planned to stay here for at least 7 days, with the intent on seeing Arches, Canyonlands, and Bryce Canyon NP. After that, we were going to completely plan as we went. Since I had no idea how my Dad's health would hold up, there was no real reason to set a strict agenda.
I returned back to Iowa from Chicago the third week of March, giving us a week to get packed and to get my Jeep serviced and ready to go. (details about my vehicle are in the planning thread).
On March 31st, we were off! With the first day consisting of 12 hours of driving to get us to the outskirts of Denver.
I apologize for the picture quality, as all of these were shot with my iPhone 5. My dad had a camera and took over 1,000 photos, but has yet to go through them all.
My Jeep was fully loaded, as well as the 2000 Coleman pop-up tent camper that were bringing with. I initially wanted to just purchase a RTT for the trip, but my Dad and I figured that he would be more comfortable in something like a pop-up.
We ended up staying in a suburb of Denver for the night at a cheap hotel, as we didn't want to have to deal with the set up and tear down of the pop-up, considering we needed to make an early start the next morning to make it to Moab by a reasonable hour.
The drive from Denver to Moab is a beautiful one, and I always love driving through the Rocky Mountains. Though I must admit my Jeep didn't enjoy pulling the pop-up through the mountains.
It's amazing how much the scenery changes, and I was able to get a few decent shots at lower elevations:
And just like that, the scenery changed again. Entering Utah brought about some very dry and desert-like climate:
MORE TO FOLLOW
About 11 months ago I started a trip planning thread (Here) with the idea that I would surprise my Dad with a month-long trip. My Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease two years ago, and this past year he had to retire from his job. Given his newly retired status, I thought that I would try to plan something special for him. This past spring I took the semester off for an accounting internship in Chicago. The internship was from the beginning of January to mid-March. Since I did not have to be back to school until the end of May, the break between my internship and starting summer classes provided me two free months.
Growing up, my Dad and I used to be avid backpackers. All of the trips I took growing up centered around visiting different National Parks. This gave me a great appreciation for the outdoors. Since my Dad's mobility is worsening every year, I figured that we may not get another chance to go on a real adventure. Once I graduate next year I know I won't have the kind of free time to go on a trip like this.
So I started planning the trip. What initially started as an ambitious route that went into Alaska turned out to be much more tame. My Dad and I decided that our first stop would be in Moab, Utah. We planned to stay here for at least 7 days, with the intent on seeing Arches, Canyonlands, and Bryce Canyon NP. After that, we were going to completely plan as we went. Since I had no idea how my Dad's health would hold up, there was no real reason to set a strict agenda.
I returned back to Iowa from Chicago the third week of March, giving us a week to get packed and to get my Jeep serviced and ready to go. (details about my vehicle are in the planning thread).
On March 31st, we were off! With the first day consisting of 12 hours of driving to get us to the outskirts of Denver.
I apologize for the picture quality, as all of these were shot with my iPhone 5. My dad had a camera and took over 1,000 photos, but has yet to go through them all.
My Jeep was fully loaded, as well as the 2000 Coleman pop-up tent camper that were bringing with. I initially wanted to just purchase a RTT for the trip, but my Dad and I figured that he would be more comfortable in something like a pop-up.
We ended up staying in a suburb of Denver for the night at a cheap hotel, as we didn't want to have to deal with the set up and tear down of the pop-up, considering we needed to make an early start the next morning to make it to Moab by a reasonable hour.
The drive from Denver to Moab is a beautiful one, and I always love driving through the Rocky Mountains. Though I must admit my Jeep didn't enjoy pulling the pop-up through the mountains.
It's amazing how much the scenery changes, and I was able to get a few decent shots at lower elevations:
And just like that, the scenery changed again. Entering Utah brought about some very dry and desert-like climate:
MORE TO FOLLOW
