Reservations begin

I started making some reservations this week. I recall that when I was a kid and my family would go on road trips, there was something about not being able to make reservations at national parks until 6 months out. Apparently, this has changed with the Internet, because when I was looking into reservations for a couple of the places 9 months out, they're already pretty full. In fact, for the dates that I had wanted to go to the Grand Canyon (north rim), there was already one night that was unavailable. So I shifted the whole trip up 2 days and started booking. So now the plan is to leave on Thursday, May 9. I'll be at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the day that it opens for the season. 

I also booked a room in the Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park and a room in the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. The Old Faithful Inn was already pretty booked, so I ended up in a room with a shared bathroom, which will be just fine. The important thing is that I'm in the Inn. 

I also used google maps to create an image of the route that I plan on taking. I posted it on Facebook last night and a lot of people joined in my excitement for the trip. I've started reaching out to some people with whom I would like to stay along the way. It's great having so many friends all around the country, so I'll get a chance to visit with so many people that I haven't seen in a long time!

I also have an open invitation to any friends that would like to join me for portions of the trip along the way. I'm really hoping that my brother will be able to get off work and join me in Disney World for my birthday! How fun would that be??? 

Please feel free to let me know if you're on my route and would like to get together while I'm in town or if you're interested in joining me along the way. My only thing is that I have the dates pretty meticulously planned out in order to reach specific points at specific times. So I can let you know when I'll be where, but there's not much wiggle room in adjusting those dates. What will actually be done along the way or in destination cities is up for adjustment, if necessary.