Enthusiast III
Well, our international trip for this summer isn’t happening due to our destination not accepting Americans until further notice. My wife and I will instead be visiting my in-laws near Chicago for a last gathering in her childhood home before it goes on the market and we’ve decided to turn this into an overland trip instead of flying. We’ve also somehow managed to miss Arkansas and Missouri in our travels so we’d like to add a few states to the list.
We figure that respecting communities along the way who may be apprehensive about visitors bringing COVID from out of town by making as few stops as possible will be a good motivation to test our ability to stay self-contained. We’ll also both be getting COVID tests before we leave so we can travel with a clear conscience.
We’ve done trips up to 3 days, 2 nights in the Subaru without stopping for supplies other than gas and are hoping to stretch that to an additional night both for fun and to shorten the driving legs. With 3 stops on the way there and the way back we’ll still be pushing 7-8hrs on the road on the longest legs and that’ll limit our ability to enjoy our stops and I hate rolling into camp after dark.
Here’s the tentative plan:
Day 1:
Houston to Ouachita National Forest
Day 2:
Ouachita National Forest to Shawnee National Forest
-Maybe a quick stop to see Hot Springs on the way?
Day 3:
Shawnee National Forest to Starved Rock State Park (IL)
Day 4:
With family
Day 5:
With Family
Day 6:
Home to Mark Twain National Forest
Day 7:
Mark Twain National Forest to Ozark National Forest
Day 8:
Ozark National Forest to TBD TX State Park
Day 9:
Home
It’s a tight timeline but I tried to plan a few short legs in there to make up time if necessary and we do have a day or so of wiggle room on either end if we need it. I’d love to have a little more time to enjoy our stops but we’ll be balancing that with the all-important family time at our destination.
We’re hoping to do some light hiking and very light trail driving in the National Forests, does anyone have favorite spots we should check out? We’re taking the furry backseat crew and organic campsite alarms with us and their hiking endurance is limited to 2 miles or so in the summer heat.
I’ll probably brainstorm my packing list on here in the next few days. The goal is to only resupply at either end.
Pictures for attention:
We figure that respecting communities along the way who may be apprehensive about visitors bringing COVID from out of town by making as few stops as possible will be a good motivation to test our ability to stay self-contained. We’ll also both be getting COVID tests before we leave so we can travel with a clear conscience.
We’ve done trips up to 3 days, 2 nights in the Subaru without stopping for supplies other than gas and are hoping to stretch that to an additional night both for fun and to shorten the driving legs. With 3 stops on the way there and the way back we’ll still be pushing 7-8hrs on the road on the longest legs and that’ll limit our ability to enjoy our stops and I hate rolling into camp after dark.
Here’s the tentative plan:
Day 1:
Houston to Ouachita National Forest
Day 2:
Ouachita National Forest to Shawnee National Forest
-Maybe a quick stop to see Hot Springs on the way?
Day 3:
Shawnee National Forest to Starved Rock State Park (IL)
Day 4:
With family
Day 5:
With Family
Day 6:
Home to Mark Twain National Forest
Day 7:
Mark Twain National Forest to Ozark National Forest
Day 8:
Ozark National Forest to TBD TX State Park
Day 9:
Home
It’s a tight timeline but I tried to plan a few short legs in there to make up time if necessary and we do have a day or so of wiggle room on either end if we need it. I’d love to have a little more time to enjoy our stops but we’ll be balancing that with the all-important family time at our destination.
We’re hoping to do some light hiking and very light trail driving in the National Forests, does anyone have favorite spots we should check out? We’re taking the furry backseat crew and organic campsite alarms with us and their hiking endurance is limited to 2 miles or so in the summer heat.
I’ll probably brainstorm my packing list on here in the next few days. The goal is to only resupply at either end.
Pictures for attention:
