Here is my most current coumn entry. I was going to write on freebee places to take kids this summer, but I never got my research done on that one so I improvised with our Moab trip. I have posted more photos at yourhub.com Columbine area.
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Well, summer is here, time to go on vacation. Traveling with toddlers is always an adventure. My family and I just spent 5 days camping in Moab and visiting National Parks. Sound impossible with a potty training 3 year old and a wandering 17 month old? Well, it is certainly not easy. The first step to success: realize you are not going to get to do everything you want to do, the kids will be crankier than normal while off their schedule and finally, things won’t always go as planned.
Lesson one: thoroughly research your accommodations. Searching on the internet I found a campground with a playground and a pool, perfect for the kids, I thought. When we got to the campground I made reservations for, the covered tent sites were too small to accommodate our tent and the playground consisted of 4 swings (no baby seats) and monkey bars. After 5 ½ hours in the car the children were not happy to have to go hunt for a new place to stay instead of getting out and running around. Not the best way to start a vacation. In the end it paid off; our new camp site was 4 times as big as the first one, had a nicer pool, cleaner bathrooms and an age appropriate playground. I learned from this experience to call and get all the information you can before making a reservation. Remember businesses use their internet site to make themselves look appealing to potential customers. It’s not that they are lying, just that you may need more information to make a wise decision. Had I called and asked about the size of their tent sites or their playground equipment, I wouldn’t have lost the $30 cancellation fee.
Lesson two: if there is a visitor’s center at the place you’re visiting, use it. This one simple tip could have saved us half a morning driving around trying to find a place my husband had read about that was great for kids. He was very excited to take the kids to an area of Arches National Park that he had read was sandy and covered in low rocks for the kids to climb. Since he was sure he could remember the name looking on a map, we didn’t stop to ask. The first day we didn’t find it, but we thought we knew where it was. The second day we drove back, but of course we could not find the spot we were looking for. We ended up driving half way into the park and back out to the visitor’s center. After talking to one of the rangers for less than 10 minutes we figured out where we wanted to go and were back in the park again. Third time is a charm! We had learned our lesson in Arches and on the third day of our trip when we went to Canyonlands National Park, the visitor’s center was our first stop.
Lesson three: don’t plan everything. Now, I didn’t over book us by any means. We had a few things we wanted to do, but our schedule was very open, which left room for fun side trips. For example, on our first day we left Arches National Park by way of a four wheel drive road, and after a tip from a ranger at Canyonlands we went on an Indian Rock Art scavenger hunt. Both were fun excursions we didn’t plan on, but were glad we did. Then my favorite part of the whole trip was on our way to get ice cream on the last day. On our way, my husband drove me by the Slickrock bike trail he had ridden that morning, but the kids fell asleep so we kept driving and watched a beautiful sunset in some canyon we found down the road.
Traveling with kids can be great fun if you go with the right attitude. Our kids didn’t much care for the spectacular views in the National Parks, but they loved swimming in the pool every afternoon and going to get ice cream in the evenings. A great family trip has something for everyone. So, I guess it is possible to have a great trip with young kids!
Lesson one: thoroughly research your accommodations. Searching on the internet I found a campground with a playground and a pool, perfect for the kids, I thought. When we got to the campground I made reservations for, the covered tent sites were too small to accommodate our tent and the playground consisted of 4 swings (no baby seats) and monkey bars. After 5 ½ hours in the car the children were not happy to have to go hunt for a new place to stay instead of getting out and running around. Not the best way to start a vacation. In the end it paid off; our new camp site was 4 times as big as the first one, had a nicer pool, cleaner bathrooms and an age appropriate playground. I learned from this experience to call and get all the information you can before making a reservation. Remember businesses use their internet site to make themselves look appealing to potential customers. It’s not that they are lying, just that you may need more information to make a wise decision. Had I called and asked about the size of their tent sites or their playground equipment, I wouldn’t have lost the $30 cancellation fee.
Lesson two: if there is a visitor’s center at the place you’re visiting, use it. This one simple tip could have saved us half a morning driving around trying to find a place my husband had read about that was great for kids. He was very excited to take the kids to an area of Arches National Park that he had read was sandy and covered in low rocks for the kids to climb. Since he was sure he could remember the name looking on a map, we didn’t stop to ask. The first day we didn’t find it, but we thought we knew where it was. The second day we drove back, but of course we could not find the spot we were looking for. We ended up driving half way into the park and back out to the visitor’s center. After talking to one of the rangers for less than 10 minutes we figured out where we wanted to go and were back in the park again. Third time is a charm! We had learned our lesson in Arches and on the third day of our trip when we went to Canyonlands National Park, the visitor’s center was our first stop.
Lesson three: don’t plan everything. Now, I didn’t over book us by any means. We had a few things we wanted to do, but our schedule was very open, which left room for fun side trips. For example, on our first day we left Arches National Park by way of a four wheel drive road, and after a tip from a ranger at Canyonlands we went on an Indian Rock Art scavenger hunt. Both were fun excursions we didn’t plan on, but were glad we did. Then my favorite part of the whole trip was on our way to get ice cream on the last day. On our way, my husband drove me by the Slickrock bike trail he had ridden that morning, but the kids fell asleep so we kept driving and watched a beautiful sunset in some canyon we found down the road.
Traveling with kids can be great fun if you go with the right attitude. Our kids didn’t much care for the spectacular views in the National Parks, but they loved swimming in the pool every afternoon and going to get ice cream in the evenings. A great family trip has something for everyone. So, I guess it is possible to have a great trip with young kids!
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