Next trip - First Leg of Phase Two, Plan B, Stephens 2018 Travels.

OK, I got a little carried away with the title :-).  But we are getting excited for our next adventure which is the start of our cross country trip.  The main reasons for the cross country trip are 1- to see our kids and grandkids plus any extended family and friends we can find; 2- now that I have been to all 50 states we want to complete Debra's 50 too; 3- we want to be in New England during the Fall foliage season; 4- we like to travel and since we are in reasonably good health we want to do this while we can.

The first leg of our trip will start here in Utah on July 3rd.  We will be heading up through Utah and into Wyoming on Interstate 80.  Our plan for the first day is to travel as far as Casper, Wyoming where we plan to dry camp at a yet to be determined site.  Casper is approximately 435 miles from here and that will be a good road test for our truck and trailer.  There are a couple of WalMart Supercenters there that allow overnight parking and we think that is where we will stop.  There are also a few other options in and around Casper if we decide against WalMart.

The second day on the road will take us up through Wyoming into South Dakota where we will pick up Interest 90 and continue East into Minnesota.  Out destination for the second day is the Blue Mounds State Park near Lucerne, MN.  This destination is 623 miles from Casper and will take about 9 hours to get there.   Minnesota is one of Debra's needed states so when we get there she can cross that one off the list.  Since that will be on the 4th of July we have already reserved our campsite there to be certain that we can get in.  This particular park does not yet have potable water so if we need water we will have to fill up at designated sites in the town of Lucerne.  We will have electric at the campground so the generator should not be needed.

The third day out we will be traveling down from Minnesota through Iowa and into Missouri where we will stop for the night around St. Joseph.  This is approximately 325 miles from the park in Minnesota. St. Joseph was the starting point for the Pony Express so we may spend some time in and around that area.  That is still to be decided.

Our fourth and final day of this leg's journey will take us from St. Joseph, MO down to Mountain Home, Arkansas to our son Anthony's home and family.  Mountain home is about 330 miles from St. Joseph and should take about five and a half hours to get there.

We will be based out of Mountain Home for three or four weeks after that before we head out on the second leg of our cross country trip.  More to follow on that.

Happy Trails Everyone,

Tom & Debra Stephens