It turns out it’s kind of difficult to take a picture of the map we’ve had on the wall for years. Lighting is tough, and I’m not a great photographer, but I think I was able to capture the general idea.

So we’re taking this trip around the world. We’ve decided to structure it so that we do actually circumnavigate the globe going from the United States to Western Europe to Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand to Japan and then back to the west coast of the United States. As we travel, we will update with more detailed maps of our specific destinations, along with blog posts and pictures.

In the picture above, the route with the white thread is the first part of the trip and the yellow thread is last part of the trip. The larger pins are significant endpoints that represent where the different legs of the trip start and end. Except for that palm tree out in the ocean–that’s just Hawaii.

Parts

1. U.S. and Canada

The first 10 weeks of our trip will be spent visiting family and friends and camping across the United States and Canada

2. Western Europe

We will then spend the fall in Western Europe. While in Western Europe we plan to start in Copenhagen, Denmark and end Lisbon, Portugal right before Christmas.

3. Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand

The third segment will see us ringing in 2024 home for the holidays for a couple of weeks. We will then start in Southeast Asia for 8 weeks, Australia, New Zealand, and finally take a Trans-Pacific cruise to return to the United States.

4. United States

Finally, we will find ourselves back in the United States the end of April 2024. We’ll spend the last 6-8 weeks camping and visiting national parks in the Southwestern United States.

Part 1

Summer 2023: United States and Canada

6/30 – 7/3 – Flaming Gorge Recreation Area, Vernal, Utah
7/3 -7/5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
7/5 – 7/6 – Great Basin National Park, Nevada
7/6 – 7/9 – Kelly’s Home, Soda Springs, California
7/9 – 7/12 – Yosemite National Park, California
7/12 – 7/13 – Applegrass Farm Hipcamp site, Grass Valley, California
7/13 – 7/14 – Fish Lake Campground, Orleans, California
7/14 – 7/16 – Vicky’s Home, Ashland, Oregon
7/16 – 7/18 – Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, Winchester Bay, Oregon
7/18 – 7/20 – Portland, Oregon
7/20 – 7/23 – Olympic Peninsula, Washington
7/23 – 7/26 – Long birthday weekend with Finessa and Kris, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
7/26 – 7/27 – Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
7/27 – 7/28 – Spillachmeen, British Columbia, Canada
7/28 – 8/3 – Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
8/3 – 8/4 – Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada
8/4 – 8/6 – Cathy & Lizzy’s Home, Spokane, Washington
8/6 – 8/9 – Pelah & Mark’s Home, Missoula, Montana
8/9 – 8/11 – Missouri River Headwaters State Park, Montana
8/11 – 8/12 – Winifred, Montana
8/12 – 8/13 – Glendive, Montana
8/13 – 8/15 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
8/15 – 8/16 – Fargo, North Dakota
8/16 – 8/17 – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
8/17 – 8/21 – Ira & Peg’s Home, Chicago, Illinois
8/21 – 8/23 – Mary & Gary’s Home, Midland, Michigan
8/23 – 8/27 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
8/27 – 8/29 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8/29 – 9/1 – Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
9/1 – 9/3 – Ogunquit, Maine
9/3 – 9/4 – Albany, New York
9/4 – 9/6 – Julian & Janette’s Home, Rochester, New York
9/6 – 9/13 – Chris & Mike’s Home, Reston, Virginia

Part 2

Fall 2023: Western Europe

9/14 – 9/18 – Copenhagen, Denmark
9/18 – 9/22 – Berlin, Germany
9/22 – 9/27 – Munich, Germany
9/27 – 10/3 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
10/4 – 10/8 – Invergordon, Scotland
10/8 – 10/9 – NewCastle, England
10/9 – 10/11 – Trim, Ireland
10/11 – 10/12 – Derry, Northern Ireland
10/12 – 10/13 – SaltHill, Ireland (Galway)
10/13 – 10/15 – Dingle, Ireland
10/15 – 10/16 – Dublin, Ireland
10/16 – 10/18 – Conwy, Wales
10/18 – 10/24 – London, England
10/24 – 10/27 – Paris, France
10/27 – 10/30 – Normandy, France
10/30 – 10/31 – Paris, France
10/31 – 11/3 – Florence, Italy
11/3 – 11/5 – Venice, Italy
11/5 – 11/7 – Verona, Italy
11/7 – 11/8 – Pisa, Italy
11/8 – 11/12 – Cinque Terre (La Spezia, Monterosso de Mare, Vernazza), Italy
11/12 – 11/15 – Siena, Italy
11/15 – 11/25 – Rome, Italy
11/25 – 11/29 – Naples, Italy
11/29 – 12/2 – Barcelona, Spain
12/2 – 12/6 – Madrid, Spain
12/6 – 12/10 – Lisbon, Portugal

Part 3

Winter 2024: Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand

1/17 – 1/19 – Denver to Bangkok, Thailand
1/19 – 1/21 – Bangkok, Thailand
1/21 – 1/23 – Chiang Rai, Thailand
1/23 – 1/27 – Chiang Mai, Thailand
1/27 – 1/29 – Sukhothai, Thailand
1/29 – 1/31 – Ayutthaya, Thailand
1/31 – 2/4 – Bangkok, Thailand
2/4 – 2/7 – Phnom Pehn, Cambodia
2/7 – 2/10 – Battambang, Cambodia
2/10 – 2/17- Siem Reap, Cambodia
2/17 – 2/19 – Hanoi, Vietnam
2/19 – 2/21 – La Han Bay Cruise
2/21 – 2/25 – Pu Luong, Vietnam
2/25 – 2/29 – Hoi An, Vietnam
2/29 – 3/4 – Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam
3/4 – 3/7 – Saigon, Vietnam
3/7 – 3/8 – Can Tho, Vietnam
3/8 – 3/9 – Saigon, Vietnam
3/9 – 3/13 – Bali, Indonesia
3/14 – 3/18 – Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
3/18 – 3/28 – Campervan from Sydney to Adelaide
3/28 – 4/1 – Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
4/1 – 4/6 – Auckland, New Zealand

Part 4

Spring 2024: A Trans-Pacific Cruise and the Southwestern United States

4/6 – 4/7 – Tauranga, New Zealand
4/10 – 4/11 – Suva, Fiji
4/14 – 4/15 – Papeete and Moorea Tahiti, French Polynesia
4/21 – 4/22 – Honolulu, Oahu, HI
4/27 – San Francisco, CA
4/28 – 4/30 – Denver, CO
4/30 – 5/1 – Grand Junction, CO
5/1 – 5/3 – Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
5/3 – 5/5 – Zion National Park, UT
5/5 – 5/7 – Flagstaff, AZ
5/7 – 5/9 – Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
5/9 – 5/10 – Durango, CO
5/10 – 5/13 – Santa Fe, NM
5/13 – 5/15 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
5/15 – 5/17 – Marfa, TX
5/17 – 5/19 – Big Bend National Park, TX
5/19 – 5/21 – San Antonio, TX
5/21 – 5/23 – Austin, TX
5/23 – 5/24 – Oklahoma City, OK
5/24 – 5/27 – Leavenworth, KS
5/27 – 5/30 – Reston, VA
5/30 – 5/31 – Leavenworth, KS
5/31 – 6/1 – Hays, KS
6/1 – Denver, CO

The Big Meander

Destinations