US national parks road trip on $33.50/person/day.

When we originally thought about doing a US national parks road trip after our international stint, we wanted to leave the east coast and meander for as long as possible before landing on the west coast. We looked into WWOOF and HelpX gigs along our route, hoping to find a nice place here and there to rest up and learn some new skills. Our travel funds were getting low and we even considered stopping for several months somewhere to try to earn a little money.

And then we got an email from a woman in Portland, Oregon inviting us to housesit for the whole summer. It would cut our road trip short and it definitely meant no farm stops, both of which we were a bit bummed about. But there's no city like Portland in the summer - free music abounds, bars open their patio seating, there's a street fair every weekend, and that big yellow ball in the sky makes its brief annual appearance... What we didn't spend on an extended national parks road trip, we would be able to spend on delicious PNW beer and Portland food carts. So we cut our schedule, cut our budget, and cut our losses in order to make it to Portland by the end of June.

Our two(ish) month US national parks road trip ended up being amazing. However, it was surprisingly more expensive than Canada and Australia (although we also spent a good portion of our time WWOOFing in those countries which obviously helped keep our costs low). And it was stressful! It's pretty safe to say that we probably won't be doing a 50+ day US car camping road trip again anytime soon. Those farm stays abroad were not only fun and educational, they helped us maintain our sanity!

Anyway, here's the lowdown...

Initial budget: $4000 (based very roughly on average campsite costs along our route, gas costs/mileage expectations, and a daily food/drink allowance)
Actual cost: 53 days at $3556 ($67/day, $33.50/person/day)

we'll just pretend the pen used for the "A" had blue ink

• Lodging: $1076 - two motel nights in Nashville and Waxahatchie; one hostel in Moab; the rest national/state parks or other camping facilities ranging from $10-28/night
• Transportation: $801 - almost all gas, which went from about $2.30/gallon on the east coast to $3.30/gallon on the west coast
• Groceries: $659 - $12.50/day (thank you oatmeal breakfasts and cheese sandwich lunches!)
• Meals: $301 - BBQ in Nashville, Memphis and Austin; the very occasional grab-and-go lunch or dinner; a few happy hour snacks at Moab Brewery; sad to say that the rest went mainly to McDonald's for coffee (and an occasional order of fries or a hot fudge sundae) so that we could get free wifi
• Tours: $164 - Luray Caverns, Mammoth Cave and Mesa Verde National Park tours; Johnny Cash and National Civil Rights Museum admissions; a few $1 trail guides here and there
• Alcohol: $316 - that equals about one pint of good beer/day costwise... not bad!
• Gear: $34 - propane and sunglasses
• Miscellaneous: $203 - laundry; city parking; fee showers; gifts for friends along the way; souvenirs (yes, we actually bought souvenirs for ourselves on this leg of the trip - that Junior Ranger vest is gonna be so amazing!)

This is not exact. It doesn't include the $80 we spent on our National Park Interagency Annual Pass (which paid for itself after about 5 parks and historic sites). It doesn't include a new camping chair and cooler, or the groceries we bought in Maryland before we left. It doesn't include ticket prices for Frank Turner's Nashville show. Etc., etc. We were too busy having fun to edit the spreadsheet accordingly, so it's not exact but it's close enough to show that local vacationing can definitely be affordable.

Other fun US national parks road trip facts...

• National Parks visited: 17 (18 if you count Volcanoes back in March)
• Miles traveled: over 8000

straighter than our usual lines

• Miles hiked: approximately 210
• Bunnies seen on campsites: 93
• Gallons of coffee consumed: don't wanna know
• States crossed: 15
• Supermarket discount cards accumulated: 5, plus a RiteAid card and a Dunkin Donuts card

know anyone who can use any of these?

Over 50 days for about $3500 - all in all we were pretty pleased with costs on this trip. We didn't really feel like we denied ourselves anything (except maybe TexMex in the southwest and a few more zero days), we did almost exactly what we wanted to do, we ate well, we had a lot of fun and we saw some amazing sights.

Next year is the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service. Hopefully these posts will inspire you to check out some of the natural beauty in our own backyard. Melbourne and Barcelona are nice and all, but so is the southwestern US... It's also much more affordable!

Winding down the US road trip - caves and rivers and Portland, oh my!

Three days until Portland. Gulp.

Stop #1 was Lava Beds National Monument. We toured several caves, went to an interesting ranger program, enjoyed some spaghetti at their nice little campground, and mentally prepared for re-entry into Oregon the next day. (The bottle of Bulleit rye helped immensely in that department...)

now-mandatory photo op

going, going...

oh hai, Shasta

OH HAI, OREGON

(holy %&$^)

Stop #2 was Crater Lake National Park, of course.

national park #18/18 -
stick a fork in us, we're done

We drove around the park...

... ate lunch at the lake ...

... took some nice photos ...

... but our goal that day was Camp Sherman Campground in Deschutes National Forest. Patrick came to this area often when he was younger; I'd never been to this part of Oregon but five minutes after we set up camp I totally understood why he wanted to stop here.

goal achieved

we want to live in a tent down by the Metolius River

roasted veggie salads never get old

breakfast by tree trunk in front of Douglas-fir forests also never gets old

Stop #3 was Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, where for $0.25 you can feed the fish.

Wizard Falls

feeding frenzy

giants

happy campers

Stop #4 was Dee Wright Observatory along the McKenzie Pass - more nostalgia from Patrick's childhood, more new Oregon sights for me. We couldn't have picked a better day. The skies were clear and mountains were everywhere!

oh hai, Mt Hood

40 degrees of the 360 degree view

not at all what I was expecting

when I heard we were going to an "observatory"

After lunch, instead of driving around for hours looking for the perfect "last night" campground we decided to stop early and enjoy the afternoon before heading north to Portland the next day.

Stop #5 was Paradise Campground just west of the Pass. I highly doubt there is a more aptly named campground anywhere in the world - Patrick found a spot right by the roaring river, we were surrounded by trees, and we were completely unaffected by the heat wave hitting all of Oregon that day.

paradise indeed

the river is RIGHT THERE

(keeping the site # secret this time, haha)

going all civilized for our last campsite meal
(shush, box wine is SO civilized!)

If arriving in northern New Mexico felt a bit like coming home, and arriving in Colorado felt like stretching out on that comfy couch in the living room for an afternoon nap, then camping in Oregon's national forests felt like that bear hug from your partner after you've been away from each other for way too long.

Camp Sherman and Paradise were absolutely perfect. We really couldn't have asked for a better end to this whirlwind US road trip and we definitely want to go back to each for a much longer stay.

Many more pictures of our last three days here... And then?

oh hai, Portland!

Stop #6, day 796. Gulp.

Two days in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

With just a week of our epic national parks road trip remaining, we decided to skip the entire Bay Area this time around (sorry, friends!) and just head straight for Lassen Volcanic National Park. We expected beautiful mountains and pretty mountain lakes, and we were looking forward to hiking in pine forests again.

But otherwise we didn't know much about the park (like, for example, that it's still an active volcano - a minor detail) so we were pretty surprised to drive past bubbling cauldrons of mud and steam vents when we first arrived.

We saw most of the major highlights over two full days. As usual, the park rangers were very helpful and the signage throughout the park is accessible and informative - sometimes even funny!

"the volcanoes in the park are not dead,

just resting"

The hikes. There are 150 miles of trails in the park and the PCT also weaves through. Serious hikers who visit the park all want to climb Lassen Peak. The ranger recommended the slightly longer Brokeoff Mountain hike instead, promising amazing panoramas of the park as well as great views of Lassen Peak that you wouldn't see if you climbed the Peak. (Kind of like when I lived in the Bay Area - why live in San Francisco and look at Oakland, when you can live in Oakland and look at San Francisco?)

San Francisco from Oakland

(now it makes sense, right?)

We also walked down to Bumpass Hell to see the "resting" volcanic action, and we hiked down to Mill Creek Falls one morning.

Bumpass Hell pools

burbling, steaming mud

(see a video here)

Lassen Peak from Lake Helen

Mill Creek Falls

Dozens more scenic photographs can be found here... The views really were stunning and the geology of the park is fascinating.

But for me, Lassen was really about the wildflowers. After being in the desert for so long I really couldn't get enough of springtime in the mountains.

[Begin ridiculous flower photo series.]

[End ridiculous flower photo series.]

Dragonflies and butterflies were everywhere too, especially around the walks to Cold Boiling Lake and Summit Lake.

one-month lifespan ...

... seems so unfair ...

... for such beautiful creatures

The campsite. There are three at Lassen - Manzanita Lake in the north, Summit Lake in the central area, and Southwest (guess where that one is located?). We arrived too late for a walk-in site at the Southwest campsite. Summit Lake wasn't open for another week and Manzanita Lake was too far to drive that night, so we headed back down the road to Gurnsey Campground in Lassen National Forest. It would make a good base for exploring the national park if you couldn't actually get a spot in the park, and we'd definitely stay there again.

In the morning we secured our walk-in site at the Southwest campground. Patrick chose the most remote site and we were surrounded by trees and beautiful mountains. It was perfect.

campsite #5 for the win

our backyard view

The food. Campfire cooking for the win... Except for the first night at Gurnsey, when we just needed "easy."

salad by campfire

grilled tofu, veggies, and rice

(and four thumbs up for Unruly Red)

nacho(ish) night

The summary. Lassen totally wowed us. It probably helped that we'd just come from over two weeks of hot, dry desert and almost six weeks of the general south, but I think if we'd gone straight from Portland we would've still been wowed. We definitely want to go back and explore more of the trails but it's also the kind of park where even we, the constant go-getters, would be happy sitting at our campsite and soaking up the views.

y'all come back now, ya hear?

So close to Oregon now... So close!