As some — many? most? — of you know, we will finally be putting Las Vegas in the rearview mirror a week from today. We’ve got reservations at various places, doing various things, and mostly in California, for the next month. Here’s the general itinerary for now:

• Grand Canyon
• Joshua Tree National Park — and, knock on wood, and meeting up with The West Coast Nephew!
• San Diego — the Zoo! and a behind-the-scenes “safari”! laundry!
• Santa Monica
• San Luis Obispo — and, after leaving, the Hearst Castle and elephant-seal viewing in San Simeon!
• Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Yosemite National Park — including a guided tour and, for me, a photography course “in the footsteps of Ansel Adams”!
• Lake Tahoe — including a guided tour!

From there, we’ll be doubling back towards the Pacific for a brief stopover with The Missus’s cousin and a drive up the rest of the way to Redwood National Park. Then eventually we’ll point the car east and north, to drive eventually aaaallllllll the way back, via some route, to someplace yet unknown. Key destinations, if all goes well:

• Yellowstone National Park
• The Badlands of South Dakota
• Mid-Wisconsin (a sort of genealogical side-quest for The Missus)
• Possibly a little jog north in order to skate between Lakes Superior and Michigan, then down the coast of the latter
• …and then, yes: ?????

I like to imagine that I’ll update you all here more often than I did during the (sometimes chaotic) first leg of the year(ish)-long road trip. But I’ve imagined — and promised! — that before. So for now let’s just say, y’know: stay tuned!