Travel Tips
None of this is expert advice. It is just what we have learned dragging two kids (and sometimes Grandma) across the country — the stuff I wish someone had told me before our first big trip. Take what helps, ignore the rest.
Let the kids pick a trail
I look at butts every hike — somebody is always ahead of me skipping rocks or looking for the next treasure. But here's the thing: when the kids choose the trail, they hike it. They complain less, they go farther, and they remember it. Hand them the map. You can always overrule a 14-mile death march.
Pack for snow. Even in summer.
We have been snowed on in June. We have cranked the heater and the air conditioner in the same afternoon. Out west the weather does not care about your packing list. Throw in gloves and a hat no matter what the forecast says, and nobody melts down on the cold morning.
Geocache in every state
It is free, it gets the kids out of the car, and it turns a boring rest stop into a treasure hunt. We have grabbed a geocache in all four states at Four Corners and in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere. It is the cheapest way I know to make a long drive bearable.
Rent the house on wheels
A campervan or RV changed our trips. No checking in and out, the kids nap while we drive, and "where are we sleeping tonight" becomes "wherever has a little waterfall to sit by." It is not glamorous — I have made stovetop s'mores more than once — but it buys you days you would have spent in hotel lobbies.
Buy the America the Beautiful pass
Eighty bucks for a whole year of national parks. We hit our money's worth in a single trip. Get it at the first park entrance and then say yes to every brown sign for the next twelve months.
End the day with a fire and s’mores
Hard hike, frozen pipes, a kid who saw a bird eat another bird and is now scarred for life — it all gets better around a fire. Evan "needs" s'mores. Honestly, so do I. It is the reset button at the end of a big day.
Book the hotel across from the airport
On the last night, when you are tired and someone is crying, do not be a hero. We once stayed directly across the street from the airport and I have never slept better knowing we could not possibly miss our flight.
Say yes to the detour
Stephen is always asking me left or right, turn around or keep going. Half our best memories came from picking "left" — a magical sky, a waterfall nobody told us about, a slot canyon we stumbled into. Leave room in the plan for the wrong turn.
Lower your expectations, raise your patience
Some days the smoke rolls in, the trail is closed, or Grandma quits halfway up. That is travel with kids. We leave her with a log to sit on and some snacks and we keep going. The trip is not ruined — it is just being a trip.
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