Our 2018 Ford Escape has 68 cubic feet of rear cargo storage space. Good thing. We used every cubic inch of it as we packed in all of our gear and supplies for our National Parks escapade. As I write this post, Beth and I are at T-12 hours and counting until departure, and all systems are go. We spent this morning sorting all of our equipment and food and deciding how to pack everthing to maximize the use of space and allow for ease of retrieval.
To be honest with you, I was surprised that everything fit. Many of our family and friends were skeptical that we could squeeze all our clothing, personal items and camping supplies for a three month trip into the back of our compact SUV. Their skepticism was warranted. I must admit, during the loading process I did inwardly yearn for the 1999 Chevy Suburban that we had up until about 2 years ago. The storage space in that behemoth was massive. We could have fit all of our gear, PLUS our Ford Escape in the back cargo area of Big Red. I probably wouldn’t have taken it anyway because it got about 12 miles to the gallon and would have broken our fuel budget in the first three weeks of the trip. The Suburban had a 42 gallon gas tank. The first time I filled it up after I bought it, it cost me over $100. I actually looked under the vehicle at one point to make sure gasoline wasn’t leaking out. I had to tap into our credit line to cover the cost of the fill-up. We don’t own a Suburban anymore, so the Escape will have to do.
So what all did we pack for our trip? Let me give you the highlights:
One 9×12 Tent; One 5×7 Tent (for back country camping); a Coleman 2 burner camping stove; one queen size inflatable air mattress (not inflated, of course); a full-size backpack; two 2×3 storage bins full of various supplies; a 2×4 storage bin for less used (we hope) items like bear spray and rain gear; a 2×3 Rubbermaid cooler; one full size piece of luggage for Beth’s clothes; a carry-on piece of luggage and a large duffel bag for my clothes; winter coats for those higher elevation parks at which we could still encounter snow or below freezing temperatures at night; three big bags of food to get us started for the first week or so; my briefcase to carry my laptop, journals and other paperwork; two camp chairs; sheets and blankets for the air mattress; three French hens; two turtle doves; and a partridge in a pear tree!
Ok, so maybe not the hens, doves and partidge, but everything else, and then some. Believe it or not, all of this fit into 68 cubic feet of space, and I miraculously could still even see out of the back window. That was an added bonus and quite unexpected. After everything was finally loaded, to our great relief, all of the doors and back hatch shut. When Beth went out this evening and opened the door to add a few small items, she had to catch several things that fell out. Surprise, surprise. We will need to be careful when we get to our campsite to unpack so we don’t sustain any foot injuries from falling objects. Beth did take a few pictures of how things are packed so we don’t have to remember how to do it again over the coming months.
So at this point, we are packed and ready to go. We took a few minutes this afternoon to go through our spiral notebook which includes all of the pertinent information for campgrounds and other activity reservations we’ve made and to confirm that everything is correct. I emptied the mailbox one last time and the post office will be holding our mail while we’re gone. We spoke with our neighbors to let them know about our plans and to ask them to keep an eye on everything. And we provided our kids with contact information for the various stops we’ll be making. We checked our list, we checked it twice. We are as ready as we can be.
Our goal is to add a new post for each location we visit. Assuming we have access to wi-fi, you should be able to follow our 12,000 mile trek across the country over the next three months. Our first stop is Congaree National Park in South Carolina. The last stop is Shennandoah National Park in Virginia. In between will be countless escapades and adventures that we are really excited to experience. We encourage you to visit our blog to read all about them. Keep us in your prayers as we travel. Have a wonderful summer.
Beth and Ernie.