Today is the day – June 27, 2016! We take off on Stage 2 of our National Park to Park Highway Tour as soon as the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle has all our bags and supplies safely strapped inside.
Anyone who has moved or packed for a long road trip knows how many times you ask yourself “Do we have everything?” That’s been my mantra over the last few days as I’ve made lists, washed clothes, found gear and put everything in its place. I talked about what clothes we’ll have on the trip in a previous post, but now it’s time to talk about the gear we’ll bring. Here are a few of our essentials.
Shelter
The plan is to sleep inside the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle. We’ve converted the back of our truck into a storage/sleeping haven with a Decked Truck Bed Organizer to hold all of our gear and a Sam T Evans truck cap for protection.
Sleeping pads include a Lightspeed Air Mattress and Foam Topper. The tots each have a Klymit Static V Junior Sleeping Pad that Big E and Little G will use on the bench seats of the truck or in their Lucky Bums Pop-Up Tent. Baby L will sleep with her Klymit Static V Junior Sleeping Pad and KidCo PeaPod on the tailgate, or in bear country inside the truck cap with us.
In addition to the truck for sleeping we brought a Tripod Quick Canopy
Food Prep
Since Big E has food allergies, we can’t rely on eating out all the time on this trip. For cooking we’ll be using a BioLite Wood Burning Campstove that has the capacity to charge electronics while you use it. It’s pretty cool.
We’ll also have an Innobaby Aquaheat Food Warmer for quick, flameless heating. I had never something like this before – you have to check it out. Just set a heat pack in the bottom, add water and a reaction puts off so much heat through the stainless steel container that you can boil pasta. Seriously, I made macaroni and cheese at a park picnic table. It’s awesome for heating up leftovers and great for Big E since he can’t have the kid’s picnic staple PB&J. If you can’t have sandwiches what do you eat? With the Innobaby Aquaheat Food Warmer we can make him anything.
For dishes we’ll break out the Sea to Summit X-Pot, Pan & Kettle, Mugs and Bowls. These are the cool collapsibles pack down tight to save room in packing. Our pantry is tucked inside our Decked Bed Organizer and the cooler will ride on top.
First Aid
On our Stage 1 Dry Run Campout we got out our LifelineTrail Light 5 First Aid Kit every single day. Between getting medicine for a headache and bandaids for the many scrapes my kids got, I’m glad we had a good kit. I’m glad to have the Lifeline Emergency Truck Kit for emergencies too.
Fun
The point of this road trip is not just to visit the National Parks along the National Park to Park Highway route. It’s also to enjoy them. We’re excited to get our kids on their Woom Bikes and ride with Baby L in the Burley D’Lite while we explore the National Parks. The Burley D’Lite Bike Trailer is one tough trailer, doubling as a stroller that was capable of doing some off-roading back in Zion.
Woom Bikes with their lightweight, well designed frame have been perfect for our kids learning to ride. Big E loves his WOOM 4 with the eight gear twist shifter. He’s taken off as a riding pro now. Little G is a little more tentative on her WOOM 3.
We’ll also have our old model Kelty Pathfinder Child Carrier hiking pack to make exploring off the pavement possible. Try walking more than ten minutes while holding an almost toddler and your arm muscles will explain just how essential a good kid pack is on outdoor adventures.
With all of the planning, packing and preparing I really hope we haven’t forgotten anything. I’m ready to get on the road and see the National Parks in this Centennial year. I hope you all have a chance to get out and have an adventure this year too. If you do, tell me about it on instagram, facebook or twitter.
This post includes affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you purchase something by clicking through these links. Thank you to Yakima, Burley, Woom Bikes and all of our 2016 National
So exciting!