Quest for the West – Preparing for the Adventure!

My first Adventure by Disney trip, The American Southwest, took place in 2007! /blogs/debwills/adventures_by_disney/american_southwest/ It was such a fantastic trip, I knew I would do another Adventure someday.

Over a year ago, I decided to co-host an adult only Adventure by Disney called Quest for the West with Beci Mahnken of MouseFanTravel! It seems like forever ago when I made my deposit, but the time is finally approaching.

Joining me on this journey is fellow AllEars teammate Linda, Mike and Mary Newell (MouseWorldRadio, and the WDWToday Podcast), Beci and approximately 30 other folks who decided to journey to Wyoming! I’m sure you’ll meet some of them during our trip report blogs!

This Adventure is 6 nights long and features both Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons — two National Parks that have been on my wish list.

One important item I will be sure to pack is my Passport to the National Parks.

This is a great souvenir and it only costs $8. You can purchase them online or at any National Park Visitor Center. The size is similar to a regular passport but thicker. Inside the United States is set into regions and there is a listing of the National Parks in that area. Spaces in each region are designated for you to collect rubber stamp cancellations at each national park site you visit. The cancellations, similar to those received in an international passport, record the name of the park and the date you visited. The cancellations are free.

I got mine in 1994 (I only wish I obtained it when I first started visiting the parks). Along the way, I have acquired a book full of “stamps” and great memories of the places I’ve traveled and the exact date of when I was there. I highly recommend purchasing one, it’s for Kids and Adults!!!

Here are some images from my National Parks Passport.

This first is from Ellis Island in New York. The photo “stamp” on the top of the page adds not only a photo but some information about the location. These are available for purchase if you want, I think they are $1.25 each. I like to include them for the places I have visited to add to the journal.

This next photo is a great example of why I love my National Parks Passport. On the left side you can see that I was in Yosemite National Park in July of 1994. On the right side, are the stamps from the Grand Canyon that I obtained on my first Adventures by Disney to the Southwest in 2007.

Our adventure officially begins on August 25th – our meeting place is the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming. One of the guides will transport us from the airport to the Wort Hotel. We will be staying there for two nights. Our 2nd hotel is the Old Faithful Snow Lodge at Yellowstone National Park and we conclude at the Brooks Lake Lodge.

Highlights during our Adventure will include whitewater rafting on the Snake River, a hike to Hidden Falls, visiting Old Faithful and the Fountain Paint Pot Trail, the Grand Tetons, Horseback riding and more.

How to Follow the Adventure!
In the past, I have attempted to do daily blogs on my trips. It’s become very hard to do on a daily basis and, while I have finished a number of them, I haven’t finished them all.

This time, we have THREE ways you can follow us! With new social networking, we plan to do something a little different.

TWITTER
There is a program called “Twitpic” that allows one to send photos via a mobile phone directly to Twitter. Mike Newell, Beci Mahnken, and myself will be posting photos “live” via the Twitter network.

Deb Wills: http://twitter.com/AllEarsDeb
Mike Newell: http://twitter.com/MouseWorldRadio
Beci Mahnken: http://twitter.com/beci_mousefan

FACEBOOK
We also have our twitter accounts transmitting automatically to our Facebook accounts. So those of you who are “friends” can follow our adventures that way!

BLOGS

At the same time, AllEars team members Jack Marshall and Debbie Koma will be back home copying our Twitter photos and combining them into one daily blog. So, you can follow us either here, on Twitter or on Facebook. We’ll post a link on the splash page of AllEars when the blogging begins!

We have been told that there are areas where we will travel that have limited, if any, cell phone service, but we’ll make it up once we get service back.

I hope this provides some cool ways for you to follow us on the adventure of a lifetime, an Adventure by Disney to Wyoming!

Oh, and Linda and I will be heading out a few days early and staying in Wyoming. If we have cell service, we will start posting photos!

Comments (1)