Accepting the Unexpected Journey

Summer Vacation 2020 – The “Are We There Yet Chronicles?” Until I started planning for a Colorado vacation, I had […]

Taking our kids to our national parks teaches them the importance of respecting nature, preserving our ecosystem, and learning from our history. In short, it teaches them how to be better citizens and how to demonstrate their love for their country. If more adults did that, maybe our country wouldn’t be such a mess right now.

While we still occasionally shake our heads at ourselves and the fact that we have completely placed aside our tents (we are now on our third camper in six years), it is the one non-mortgage debt that we refuse to regret. Making camping an essential component of our family life has changed us as individuals, made us better parents, and brought our family closer together. I wouldn’t exchange that for the most exotic vacation in the world.

We didn’t want to become accidental tourists in Albuquerque, but we eventually found the charming side to the city and enjoyed it while we were there. While we would have preferred to have been on the road, it is a worthwhile stop for those who are driving through. It wasn’t in the plan, but we got to extend our vacation just a little more before making the final decision to go home.

When I made the plans to stay in Moab, Utah, my only goal was seeing natural arches. I had no idea what else we would discover as we traveled around the entire region. What we found was natural wonders that none of us will soon forget. Now it was time to head home.

God’s creation is beautiful, and peacefully sitting under the arch with my best friend while the sky changed to dusk was the perfect end to a beautiful day. In visiting another dream park, I learned that one week wouldn’t be enough to see everything that Arches National Park has to offer, but I had seen enough to be satisfied.