Author Archives: billbares

Now officially on vacation after our passport debacle! 6.5 hour overnight flight on Lufthansa was just long enough for dinner and breakfast (3 hours apart), which preempted any chance of real sleep. We arrived groggily at uncle Niko’s in Frankfurt just in time to catch up with him and 3+y/o cousin before they went toContinueContinue reading “Day 2 – Arrival in Germany”

I was supposed to write this last blog post on the day of the trip to Omaha from the Badlands… but the drive was so exhausting and uneventful (though we did visit Minuteman National Historic Park—very well done and sobering) that I thought I’d give myself some time to drive back to Asheville and getContinueContinue reading “Day 40 — The End”

N.B.: out of consideration for some of our concerned readers, we are posting this list of dangers after leaving Yellowstone unscathed, rather than before entering the park. I picked up this book out of morbid curiosity and haven’t been able to put it down: Full of first-hand accounts filled with gory details, this book discussesContinueContinue reading “Day 36 – Four Days in Yellowstone – or, Dozens of Ways to Die, Averted”

Despite getting plenty of exercise yesterday, I had a real problem falling asleep in our Jackson Lake Lodge Cabin (planned as a break from our RV). I actually wonder whether I am now completely adjusted to the RV and have a hard time sleeping elsewhere. Or maybe it’s just the altitude. In any case, IContinueContinue reading “Day 32 – Teton to Yellowstone”

We began “The Drive” from Crater Lake at 7:30am and finished at the Craters of the Moon KOA in Idaho at 7:30pm (with a 1-hour time change), thus opening and closing the longest drive of the trip with craters. The motion sickness and weariness that come with this kind of drive were amplified, in a way,ContinueContinue reading “Day 28 – The Longest Drive”

We had a leisurely day today that involved a) no hiking and b) no driving. We’ve only had a few days like this since we left Asheville. They’re a nice recharge. Today’s reset involved renting a boat and doing some lake sightseeing from the water. We went for the cheapest option, which we regretted prettyContinueContinue reading “Day 24 – Tahoe part 2”

Leo injured his shoulder and elbow yesterday after flipping his bike while riding at our campground in King’s Canyon. He’s ok but we thought we’d take it easy today—he was supposed to post about our otherwise awesome day in King’s Canyon but he’s off the hook until he feels ready. We saddled up this morningContinueContinue reading “Day 20 – Mariposa”

So we’re almost back on schedule after re-routing because of the Utah fires. We decided to leave Vegas a day early; two days in the big city is enough for us cross country RV road trippers. Not that we didn’t enjoy its comforts after 10 days in the American outback. Among the Vegas highlights: swimmingContinueContinue reading “Day 16 – Vegas to LA (almost)”