Towells take America

Gandolf dad

And we're back! We've been back in America for a few months now (the Kindle never made it back), and as the pictures show, the adventures have continued.  Between July 5th and now, I travelled in Chicago for a week, we've done about 60 hours of recorded exercise, hiked three high peaks, we (plus mom!) moved Sydney into college and explored California, and mostly prepared me to move.  Emphasis on mostly.

Right before we decided to do
3 high peaks instead of 4

Devon, come home!

Anyway, tomorrow morning at about 6 am we embark on a semi-Facebook funded road trip across America.  You can see the route below, and look into the destinations with more detail by clicking here

Palo Alto Trip on Roadtrippers

It promises to be a wild ride, with 4600 miles (which apparently takes 72 hours to cover).  Around 60 of these hours will be taken up by Harry Potter 1, 2, 4 and 5.  We couldn't find 3.  Utah promises to be a high point, the single day trek across Minnesota and South Dakota a lower one.  Here is an approximate itinerary

Day 1 (Sep 15)- Niagra Falls
Day 2- Chicago, and a visit with Brendon and family
Day 3- Madison (for my friend Rachel), and the Crane Foundation
Day 4- Crossing Minnesota and South Dakota (including the Badlands)
Day 5- Rushmore, and Devils Tower
Day 6- Drive to Yellowstone, hopefully some time in Yellowstone
Day 7- Yellowstone- Heart Lake hike
Day 8- Grand Tetons- Amphitheater Lake hike
Day 9- Craters of the Moon and on into Salt Lake City
Day 10- Salt Lake City and surrounding, drive to Arches
Day 11- Arches, Deadhorse, Canyonland, and onto Bryce Canyon
Day 12- Bryce Canyon Park
Day 13- Zion National Park, Angels Landing Trail (considered one of the best hikes in America)
Day 14- Vegas for a hand of blackjack, and on into Claremont to see Syd!
Day 15 (Sep 29)- Arrival in Mountain View CA

I plan to update semi-daily, as I exclusively booked hotels with free wifi (Facebook required 3-4 star hotels and only reimburses for wifi out of the plus moving budget.  Its all very complicated).

After this trip its back to normal for Dad, and begin to work for me.  The car is now in my name, the hotels are booked, and we are ready to end the summer with a bang

Its time to be a big girl