Family & Lazy Daze in front of Mount Ranier There's just nothing like pulling out of your driveway at the start of a cross country trip, and although we were veteran travelers by this point, we were still awed by the prospect of what lay ahead of us -- over 7,000 miles of new experiences and adventure.

Unlike the previous 2 years, our itinerary was a bit more flexible -- not every day was obsessively reserved and planned for. Still we did have to be in Banff in 2 weeks to meet our friends, who were renting an RV in Calgary and joining us again for a portion of our trip. This was to be our third year traveling together and we were all looking forward to it.

Our plan this year was to travel west on Route 80 through Colorado and then up into the Pacific Northwest and back through British Columbia and Alberta.

It was a very aggressive itinerary, averaging close to 260 miles a day. While it sounded okay on paper, what we learned during implementation was that there was just too much driving and not enough multi-day stops. The plan itself would have been great if we had just added a few more days to the schedule. Oh well, it was a learning experience anyway.

Road Trip Highlights and Lowlights

• Driving the 50 mile Trail Ridge Road across Rocky Mountain National Park.
• Floating effortlessly in the brine of the Great Salt Lake while camping on Antelope Island State Park
• Tumbling down the massive sand dunes of Bruneau Dunes State Park
• Photographing Mount Rainier in one of its rare cloudless moments
• Running along the misty, driftwood-strewn beaches of Olympic National Park -- just prior to getting 8 stitches and losing a tooth
• Mountain biking from the top of Whistler Mountain without further injury to any family members.
• Enjoying tea and scones in a remote tea house at the foot of a glacier in Banff National Park

Still, the trip was great and we did get to visit some truly spectacular places. Let's go check some out!