Go West, Young Fam!

Travel comes in phases in our lives. In high school, it was that first “semi-chaperoned” spring break trip with friends (Hi, Andy’s mom!).  In college, it was the semester abroad. Of course, you can’t forget the tropical honeymoon. Now, it’s the family trip out West that appears to be the next rite of passage. It’s the Great American road trip, complete with wet wipes and fruit snacks. Everything but Walley World.

Everyone I know seems to be pointing their Suburbans west and heading out to show their kids the national parks of our great nation, not to mention kitschy treasures along the way (Spam Museum, anyone?).  We hopped on the bandwagon, or maybe I should say caravan, since we literally almost ran into hometown folks along our path.  I guess our kids are all just of a certain road-trip eligible age. Either that, or we are all just equally crazy. 

We are not as ambitious as some families we know.  I mean, my kids are not about to do a 10-mile hike. For that matter, neither is my husband. One hour on horseback almost put his knees out of commission. 

So we seek balance.  

We take an ATV tour of the Black Hills, followed by s’mores and DT.

We let the kids sleep in until we nearly miss breakfast, then we hand them a shovel and a bucket for some gold prospecting in a creek.

We camp in the woods, but with a bathroom in our glorious glamping tent.

Of course, the kids preferred the aerial ropes course and feeding baby bears over actually getting out in nature.  Anything designed to give me a heart attack was generally their jam on this trip. 

Really, though, they loved it all. This road trip was so outside the realm of our typical beach vacation that it forged family connections we never would have achieved at home. And even though the kids often protested when we ushered them out of the car at one of our adventures, they never wanted to leave whatever destination they had so reluctantly graced with their presence in the first place. 

Would I do it again?  Absolutely. I have already added Glacier and the Grand Canyon to my family travel bucket list. Heck, maybe a drive through Canada or Alaska is in the cards. After all, I have always loved a road trip. (Though our most recent trip was not quite like my post-college trip. This time, at least, we had GPS to bail us out when we made a wrong turn, or when we were just looking for a Jimmy John’s. And let me tell you, GPS and Jimmy John’s are both gratitude-worthy.)

On this trip, I was grateful for many other things, too.  Patience.  Dramamine. Beautiful vistas.

The lack of wifi and cell coverage. Safety harnesses.

Bison sightings. Headphones. Not driving off a cliff on Needles Highway.

Most of all, I am thankful for a week out of our element, making memories and expanding horizons.