In order to pull off our two month Vanlife Road Journey we had to plan it out. Things change we know, but it saved us a lot of money and headaches and here’s how…

Checklists are very important throughout the planning process. They can help you save time later on, be more organized, and help you save money! Check out ours here.

We have broken down our planning process for you all. We hope it gives you some ideas to help better plan your next journey!

Let’s talk about some of the items we purchased and used for our traveling adventures. We will also share items we purchased and let you know if they worked well or not.

Markis shares his camera equipment and how he used it to film travel videos! Markis has a passion for taking photographs and filming short films. Learn more here…

Find out what truly inspired us about taking this trip out west. Can you guess what it is? There are many reasons but there is one in particular that is really cool, we are making a film about it soon.

This Journal / Guide lays out our recent two day trip to the Florida / Alabama state line also known as Flora~Bama. We camped in our van locally and had the time of our lives. You can too!

This Journal / Guide lays out our recent two day trip to New Orleans, LA. We Camped at a state park just outside of The Big Easy! We explored downtown and took a two hour airboat ride into the Louisiana Swamps! You Can Too!

On our way to Big Bend National Park in Texas we made an overnight stop in San Antonio. We checked out the Alamo and went for a boat ride down the channel in the middle of downtown! WE ate some fabulous food and had a great time! You can too!

This Journal / Guide lays out our visit and exploration of this enormous National Park! It was quite the drive through the state of Texas to get there! We are sharing our experiences during our very first visit to this park and what we learned!

This Journal / Guide lays out our first visits to the awesome state of New Mexico and our adventures in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We had a “Batty Time” and you can too!

This Journal / Guide lays out our visit and exploration of New Mexico’s White Sands National Park! We enjoyed a very bumpy ride in our van, slid down the dunes, and enjoyed the sunshine! You can too!

This Journal / Guide lays out our recent visit to Arizona and among the many great places we visited, this was first, and turned out very magnificent. Plan your trip today1

Our most anticipated stop along our journey Making Our Way Out West and it surely didn’t disappoint! The perfect place. This Journal is a must read!

Why is the Grand Canyon so popular? We had avoided this park for so long. We remained curious and told each other we would go one day. So we did. This was how we spent our first time at the park.

I don’t even know where to start. This place is simply amazing everywhere you go. The town of Page, the Antelope Canyon tour, Camping at Waheap in Glen Canyon National Recreational Area with Lake Powell was a dream come true. We didn’t want to leave! Perfection!

Probably our Favorite State. WE had spent 12 days in Utah a couple of years ago and loved it. So of course we went back to explore one of our favorite parks in the state, Zion!

Idaho put a massive SHOCK on us! It just blew us away! Came up and smacked us in the face SILLY! Shoshone Falls, an Ice Cave, a cracked windshield, a potato museum, kayaking, and more. Definitely one of the best times had on the trip out west.

Grand Teton is definitely the Grandest National Park in the US. This is my opinion and Amy was super impressed as well! The wildlife, Amy’s first Moose up close and personal, an epic hike along the Inspirational Trail, lakes with snow capped mountains surrounding them, just so beautiful it hurts to look around! A trip down Mormon Row + so much more.

The coolest little town ever! So much to do it would take at least a week to fully discover the town’s magic! Amy’s first Rodeo, a trip back in time at the Old Town, Buffalo Bill Museum, fine dining and just a great time! If you visit Wyoming put Cody on your maps!

We didn’t think we were going to be able to visit. Two days before we were supposed to be camping inside this park, a devastating flood. They put the park on lockdown. We waited patiently . Finally, the park opened up partially and we left Cody on our way! Even though we only got to visit some of the park we could see why this place is the 1st National Park in the US to kick it off!

I lived in Montana when I was younger. I lived in Willow Creek and then moved six miles away to Three Forks. We camped at Lewis & Clark State Park surrounded by Montana’s rolling green hills. I asked Amy about revisiting and showing her where I spent some of the best childhood days in two of the coolest small towns in Montana!

If Glacier National Park is not on your bucket list, place it there RIGHT NOW! I rank this park with Grand Teton and Acadia anyway! We had such a fantastic time. We camped at our favorite campground on the trip here! We drove all over the park, west, east, up north to Many Glacier. We took several hikes that were breathtaking (literally, lol) that blew us away!

This tower has some history to it! It was back in Wyoming and the whole experience was worth traveling off course for! They filmed Close Encounters of the Third Kind here, remember that movie? Just mesmerizing. The campground was wonderful, right next to the tower! Restaurants and stores nearby, and you can drive and / or hike around the tower!

The coolest small western towns. So original from any other state. We hiked the Devil’s Bathtub which is probably Amy’s favorite hike of all times. We visited Custer State Park, drove the Aloha through the Needles (So scared!), took on Mount Rushmore + so many other exciting things!

South Dakota will keep your eyes wide open every single mile! We camped in a small town just outside The Badlands. We met up with friends and went to the Rodeo, we drove into the park and got out nearly every five minutes to take a hike or just take in the views! One of my favorite parks for sure! Amy fell in love with South Dakota!

We definitely never explored this part of the US. We saw quite a bit of new territory to explore. WE stopped in St Louis to visit the National Arch. We ate downtown and had the best BBQ food ever, yes, even better than Texas, sorry Texas!

The title says it all! These two places we so incredible! We have been wanting to visit the Ark since it was first opened! There is so much to do and the experience was INSPIRATIONAL! To have a Bible story come to life was beyond words! There is a lot to do once you're inside, and we spent some time chasing kangaroos just outside of the ARK! Mammoth Cave was something else! So glad Kentucky got put on the maps during Making Our Way Out West!

Nashville was so exhilarating! We took so many walks and visited museum after museum, we ate some delicious foods at Aldeans! Twice, actually! So much history of the Volunteer state. We know why country singers love this place now! We of course saw Jimmy Allen at the Grand Ol Opre! A no brainer! That trip was amazing! We ended our trip visiting Rock City and the Smoky Mountains! Going out with a BANG!

There is a reason the Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park. It’s simply gorgeous! There are so many hikes and things to do, places to go, things to see, places to camp its unreal. We never get bored or find ourselves without some new adventure here whenever we visit!

If you reached this article this Making Our Way Out West Journey / Adventure has come to and end. We would like to share some final thoughts about the entire experience from Vanlife to favorite hikes, campgrounds, and destinations we visited during our trip!