Back in early August, I turned in my notice at work and started planning an epic national park tour (a decision long in the making as you can see here and here ). A few weeks after my life-altering decision, my mom invited herself along for the family portion of the trip (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota). Well, she’d always wanted to see Yellowstone, and that would be my next stop after family, so of course she had to extend her time by another week. And Yellowstone is so close to Glacier NP and she’d heard of Glacier's beauty, and well, then, we’d be close to Washington and she could visit her Aunt. So, eventually, the jokes started that she’d just join me for the full two months. Haha Poor dad, stuck at home, working, while his two favorite girls road trip across the USA! I had no problem with an additional person joining the trip (especially since (1) it was my mother and (2) she came with her spacious truck!). I looked forward to splitting t