Our National Parks have wonderful vistas.....Grand Canyon, and your daughter might enjoy Hoover Dam, and in Colorado - there's Pikes Peak, Santa's Workshop (might be a little old for that - but worth a shot - mine loved it at that age and spent most times petting the reindeer), Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs), and maybe a rodeo in Cheyanne, WY, a stop at 'Chugwater' (it's all in the name and legend), Yellowstone - and the geysers, Devils tower, the Black Hills, and Mt. Rushmore..., and we took a tour of Homestake Gold Mine in Lead/Deadwood which my daughter really enjoyed (there's also one nearby where you can 'pan' for gold), Reptile World near Rapid City, Bear Country (she'll love the antics of the baby bears) (there's a water park on Rt. 16 - where my daughter spent an afternoon). We did Sturgis during bike week one year - and she thought the bikes and all the stuff for sale was kewl! (She also met John Elway, as well as Willie Nelson)...we stayed in Wall, SD and 'the drug store' was a favorite. We stopped at several prairie dog towns, and my daughter laid on the ground and fed the prairie dogs. We did many trips through the Badlands at different times of day and she loved walking some of the trails (until I got too nervous). I stopped at pretty much every tourist trap along I-90, and Blue Earth, MN has the Jolly Green Giant statue and Keebler elves - photo ops! The SD Welcome Center has great vistas, and my teens loved the stop. This has been at least 10 years ago...
Took her to Land of Little Horses in Gettysburg, PA - loved it (not into history at that age), she's been to 1000 Islands, NY and enjoyed the boat cruise from Alexandria Bay, visiting Boldt Castle. Niagara Falls would have been much cooler to her had we ridden the Maid of the Mist. Initially she loved the aquarium, but stagnent air has us rushing to get out. The Adirondack Mountains were a real hit - stayed in Wilmington, NY, and toured Whiteface Mountain (drove up and did the trail via the elevator) (they have a ski lift from Wilmington, but at the time it was too expensive in my book). We breakfasted with Santa (and she tugged the beard to see if Santa was real), and toured North Pole/Santa's workshop....where she enjoyed doing the dances, games, touching the North Pole and most of all - feeding the reindeer. We drove to Lake Placid, and did a horse/buggy ride around the lake - and she was thrilled to drive the buggy! We stopped and saw a bit of the Ausable Chasm, which she thought was neat (hadn't seen Grand Canyon yet). Enjoyed the New York State Fair (Labor Day weekend) one year.
When she was 13-16, her requirements whenever we traveled was to have a swimming pool wherever we spent the night. She's enjoyed the Atlantic Ocean beaches of Cape May, and all the tourist attractions there. Kerr Lake in NC, as well as Lake Gaston, NC, and South of The Border - both motel and campground - Dillon, SC., and a slew of places in Florida (but you might not want to be in Fl. in the summertime).
After our first trip west, I found some ancient post cards from my father to his grandparents....come to find out he was about the same age as my daughter when they took the western tour - and we hit all the same places - I hit Rushmore on an anniversary year, and my father the year they opened!
Hope this gives you some ideas - - make up a list, and from that list have each person pick two or three places they'd like to see. (I did that on my trips - one major destination, and various tourist traps along the way)
We even stopped at a visitor center with a boat ramp and the teens walked into the water there - the great Mississippi!
I will second getting a National Park Pass. We did one trip out west hitting as many as we had time for, great time.
Be careful if you go to Yosimite, I had to call a friend to see if he would bail me out. He asked "What did you do this time?". All I wanted was to carve a leg out of one of those redwoods.
KA9ATV
K2500 7.4 3.73
Michelin 245/70R19.5 XDS2 on Vision Type 81's
31' Dutchmen
Yamaha EF3000iSE
retired gadgetman
Being in Texas you can swing either way. While the East offers more history and much beauty, it also offers humidity for much of the summer. And there are more people, so more cars.
But the West on the other hand offers the chance to visit some of America's most diverse and stunning national parks and other sights.
Here is the trip I would take if I wanted to explore the West from Texas:
--Drive to Big Bend NP
--Drive to Carlsbad NP, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos in NM
--Drive to the amazing area around Four Corners to visit several National Parks--Mesa Verde, Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, Canyon De Chelly and much more.
--Drive to Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, then Glacier in Montana and Wyoming.
--Drive within a 100 miles of the Canadian Border all the way to Puget Sound in Washington on fast routes or slow. Pause in the Idaho Panhandle, the North Cascades NP.
--Consider a side trip to Canada. Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria are well worth a stay as is Vancouver.
--Explore Mt. Baker, the Skagit Valley, Whidbey Island and Deception Pass north of Seattle. Then visit Seattle.
--If you have the time and I really hope you do, drive around the Olympic Peninsula and visit the wild beaches, mountains, and rainforests of Olympic NP.
--As you drive south, Mt. Rainier is a very special place with outstanding hiking. Mt. St. Helens is awesome as well.
--As you enter Oregon you can spend a few days in Portland and the Gorge if you want city time. Then I would head to the northern coast of the state. Head down from Astoria as far as you wish, then swing inland. Try to visit Silver Falls SP near Salem then drive to the Sisters/Bend area for amazing camping amidst volcanic displays and beautiful rivers and mountains.
--Visit Crater Lake NP and the surrounding area then cut over to Ashland to watch a Shakespearean Play under the stars.
--Drive down California Coast through Redwood NP to the Bay Area. Either hug the Mendocino coast or drive 101 through Napa to San Francisco. Spend time in San Francisco.
--Drive to Yosemite NP for at least 3-4 days. Then either follow the mountains down through Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's or return to the California coast.
--Take the kid to the wonders of Southern California--Big Sur, great beaches, Disney/Sea World/etc. Visit LA and San Diego. Go to Joshua Tree NP.
After that it would be up to you...Return to Texas or say, no, I liked NM/Colorado/Montana/Washington/Oregon/California--I think I will move there.
Just one person's list, but you couldn't go too far wrong with this big circle tour of the West.
Family that loves to camp 30 days a year! Two kids, 13 and 9
IF you plan on being settled again by the time school starts (mid- to late-August most places) & you aren't already on the road, that really means only 2 months. You either can cover a lot of miles and get a glimpse of many different things, OR you can pick and choose a fairly large loop and spend a bit more time actually exploring things along the route. You just can't do BOTH in that short a time!
As suggested, go northwest if you're more interested in seeing natural wonders of the country or east for more historical spots. Find out what kind of things your daughter would like to see and do and try to work those things into your plans. And definitely allow a 13-year-old to "kill time" on the longer travel days doing something (like watching dvd's) that she enjoys...even as an adult, I find mile after mile of the same scenery a bit boring! And we all know a bored teen is an unhappy teen!
"Time passes but memories remain"
Fulltime since Jan. 2004
40' Allegro Zephyr
Wow, thanks so much for all the information. I really have to do some quick homework to figure this all out. We were supposed to already be on the road by now but just can't seem to get our house empty. Too much pack rattin....but the RV lifestyle is gonna change that real quick. Thanks so Much. I have a lot of information to look through now from you guys!!!!
steve
robertlaxson wrote: This is our first RV and our first long RV experience. I have sold my business and my house. So now my wife, our 13 year old daughter, and I are going to travel all over the US until the end of summer. What we do after that? who knows? I guess it depends on if we have any money left and what part of the country we fall in love with. My questions is What should we see? I figure we can see maybe 20-30 really cool places. Grand Canyon? Niagara Falls? This may be the only time my daughter gets to do something like this. How do I make sure these memories are the absolute best that I can give her? She doesn't have any specific hobbies, I'd just like to hit the best spots possible to give her the most memorable summer. We will be driving our Class C and have no tow vehicle so we will be somewhat limited on where we can go but it's only 27' and seems to be able to travel most places pretty easy. thanks for any input!!!!! Steve
Steve,
In the short amount of time you have I would do a Rocky Mountain Loop – Maybe add in Mt Rushmore at the start and Utah at the end.
Just connect the Dots;
Custer
Devils Tower
Red Lodge – Cody – Beartooth – one or all if possible
Yellowstone
Tetons
Glacier
Flaming Gorge
Dinosaur
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Ridgeway
Ouray
Silverton
Durango
Mesa Verde
Monument Valley
Lake Powell
Antelope Canyon
North Rim
Back home
Could add lots in between but in two months you might – if you all enjoy it – think about a year of home schooling and just keep traveling. If that’s the case the trip will change dramatically.
This is totally different but since you have a teenage daughter, it might be something to consider. Six Flags has season passes that are good for all of their parks. Many of them also have water parks. http://www.sixflags.com/national/tickets/seasonpass.aspx
You can also get yearly passes for zoos and science museums which will get you free admission to hundreds of zoos and museums around the country.
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