Last summer I was inspired by a friend's stories and photos to plan our National Park trip of a lifetime! I have always wanted to take my kids to Yellowstone after having gone when I was seventeen, and when I learned about the federal Every Kid in a Park program, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. It was really difficult (like, really) to narrow it down to a few national parks and monuments that would be feasible to see in the finite amount of time we had. I spent hours on Google maps and nps.gov and with some input from the grandparents, who were thrilled to join us, we decided on a trip through Colorado (Rocky Mountain National Park), diagonally across Wyoming, then visiting Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. Returning home, we would again cut down through Colorado but this time, see Great Sand Dunes National Park and then cut through New Mexico with a stop at Capulin Volcano National Monument before completing the trip home.
My parents recently bought a Winnebago Class C motor home, and Chris' parents have a Roo trailer, so we opted to leave the pop-up at home and bunk up with the grandparents. We tried lots of combinations for all the driving days, and it was good to change things up!
One exciting moment was following a fuel stop in Childress, Texas. Dad was towing his Mini Cooper behind the RV and he decided to make a left out of the gas station parking lot... but couldn't quite cut the turn enough. Turns out you're not supposed to reverse when towing, so he blocked traffic both ways (luckily, just a little side street) while he unhitched the Mini and steered the Winnebago into a more manageable position. Then we hooked back up and continued on! Poor Dad.
As every Texan knows, pretty much any trip northwest requires going through Amarillo. That's where we spent our first and last nights. Our reservations were at Fort Amarillo RV Park, which had a steamy indoor pool, a fun playground, and a surprise free hamburger dinner the night we happened to be there!
Mom, a native Texan, had never stopped to see Cadillac Ranch. Unfathomable! We HAD to make a quick trip there.
The kids were given leftover spray paint from other visitors so they had to add a little of their art to the classic roadside attraction.
Not a bad start to summer!
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