It’s hard to believe we’ve already been living in our RV for two weeks. Change is hard, even when we know that it is coming. This isn’t our first time leaving friends behind to start a new life in a new state, we’ve done it several times before, but it doesn’t get any easier to leave loved ones behind.
Our moves with the military generally take us coast to coast. There are SO MANY things to see between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. We live in an absolutely amazing country. Growing up in California, I rarely traveled more than an hour outside of my hometown. My family just didn’t travel, but my husband grew up traveling and went on two cross country trips from Alaska to Florida with his family. He has wonderful memories of these trips, so we’ve carried on that tradition with our own children. When we move we turn it into an exciting family adventure instead of a sad event, and try to make positive memories for our children to look back on.
In thier short lives our kids have seen Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, The Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, The Gila Cliff Dwellings, White Sands National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns, Victoria B.C., Alaska, Laird Hot Springs, Devil’s Tower, The Indianapolis Raceway, many of the LDS church history sights, waterfalls in Oregon, food factories across the U.S., the Redwoods in California, and many other sights.
This year we are adding a few more to the list! We’re still working on our final trip itinerary, but have already mapped out a few places in Utah, Colorado, and Kansas that we’d like to see. We are always looking for neat places to explore, so if you have any suggestions of places to check out between California and Virginia—we’re all ears!
We have family in Utah, so we’ve been around Cache Valley and the Salt Lake areas a handful of times, but we haven’t really been anywhere else! Utah is such a diverse state with beautiful mountains, canyons, the desert, and the snow. We added Moab to our list of places to visit and can’t wait to see the amazing rock formations and I’ve been researching other areas like Tooele County.
Tooele County is just south of I-80 as you enter from Nevada. I recently had a friend post on Facebook about attending their Lantern Festival last year, and I immediately thought of the movie, “Tangled”. It would be so neat to go to with our family! At The Lantern Fest, thousands of revelers join together armed with lanterns for one unforgettable spectacle. Before sundown friends and families can enjoy food, live music, a stage show, familiar princesses, face painters, s’mores, balloon artists and more. Then, when the time is just right, we will light the sky with our highest hopes and fondest dreams. Unfortunatly it is happening on May 20th and we aren’t going through that area until late June. Bummer!
My oldest loves race cars. Have you heard about the Bonneville Salt Flats? April-June is the Salt Flats Racing Association’s Test and Tune.
Other activities include: Deseret Peak Facility, Pony Express Trail, Donner-Reed Trail, ATV & OHV trails, Scuba diving – Salt Water underground diving, and Sailing on the Great Salt Lake. If you’re a country music fan, be sure to check out the Country Fan Fest happening from July 27th-30th! Artists include Billy Currington, Old Dominion, Tucker Beathard, Blackhawk and more!
It never ceases to amaze me what each state in the U.S. has to offer. You just have to know where to look, and be willing to travel! I hope our kids look back on these road trips with fond memories and want to continue them with their own families!
So tell me, where should we stop on our summer road trip?
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Thank you, Tooele County, Utah for sponsoring this post!
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Have you heard of the app, “Roadtrippers?” We used it on our last trip to Utah and it helped us find neat little things along the way to break up the drive. We went when Katie was 5 months old, and only traveled a max of 6 hours a day but we tried to stop every couple of hours to stretch and let the kids run around a bit. We found things like, “World’s biggest rocking chair” or a large dragon that breaths fire when you put a token in. Silly things like that that make cute photos. 🙂 It also lists bigger things, as well. 🙂 Have a fun trip!
We haven’t heard of that before, checking it out now! We are only going 6 hours a day too, so it’ll be nice to have time to check out the little things!
I have always wanted to see the USA.. I love that you and your husband make it a fun trip for your kids when you have to move to a new place. I love it and I love all that your kids are getting to see. I think it is awesome!!! I don’t know where you should go or what you should see, but I do know you will find wonderful places to go. You are living my dream. lol I’ve always wanted to travel the US in a camper and see the sights. So good for you guys!!! Have fun and it will be nice to know you will be on my side of the country. I live in central PA and there is tons to do here, so I hope you can make it up to PA once you are settle in VA for some sights here. hugs, Brenda
Thanks Brenda! We haven’t been to many eastern states past Ohio, except for a trip to Niagara Falls, so we are hoping to go up and down the coast while living there! Pennsylvania is so beautiful, probably the best fall landscapes around! We went to Hershey and drove through, I would have loved to have stayed longer!
Brandy,
Have you taken your family to Independence Rock in Wyoming? I don’t know the route you are taking but I live in PA and was stationed in Cheyenne WY. If you are going anywhere near Chicago and are planning to stop there I would recommend the Museum of Science and Industry. They have the most amazing doll house. It is called Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle. They also have a German submarine form WWII. Very cool museum for kids.
Good luck on your travels. I know how much fun a PCS is.
Maureen
Hi Maureen! Thanks so much for the suggestions! I know we are going through Southern Utah to see Moab, the four corners, and spending some time in Colorado. Much past that, we are still deciding so we will have to look into Indepence Rock too!