4-Week August Family Trip

Dick_B wrote:
This looks to be one big yawn for that age group. Have you considered asking them if they might like to make that trip? Seniors like mountain scenery with snow and big holes in the ground but teens?
I'd rewrite the trip and spend a week, or at least several days, at Cedar Point, the roller coaster capital of the world. You might also consider visiting many of the amateur baseball parks in your area. Lot's less driving and fun for all. Also any other theme parks within a day's drive. Do they have bikes? There is always the Erie Canal bike trail with a boat ride on the canal.

Hardly a yawner for kids. There are many roller coasters in this country, but only one Zion Canyon. When I travel to these places, I watch and get real enjoyment from seeing kids having a whale of a good time in these NP's. So when I write a response to a family here on RV.net, my first thought is always to make sure the kids have fun.

I've seen many a kid spend hours either playing in the Virgin River or hiking the Narrows at Zion. How about a raft trip down the Arkansas River in Salida or the Animas River in Durango? Or take a day and go to Telluride and rent some inner tubes to float the San Miguel right through town. They'll have a great time and your jaw will be on the ground looking at the amazing scenery. Afterwards, continue your drive to Ouray and sit in the Hot Springs Pool. Amazing views and great water slides for the kids. Just underwent a major remodel last year. A few years ago, we watched a bear on the hill across the street while we were soaking in the pool. Check out Mill Creek near Moab. Take your towels and swimming suits. Maybe a 30 minute hike in to swim in the creek as it flows through the red rocks.

Maybe they don't spend time staring at the mountains, but riding behind a steam locomotive above steep canyons and exploring a real old west town with dirt streets and wooden sidewalks is a unique and incredibly fun time for kids. Explore the ruins in Mesa Verde and imagine what it must have been like to live there as a kid. (They won't even know they are getting an education!) I still have the old black and white photos from when we went there when I was around 8 years old. Even as teenagers, our nieces got a kick out of climbing all over the rocks and arches in Arches NP.

Kids get plenty of opportunities to be entertained by man-made artificial attractions. But those don't hold a candle to the fun to be had in the great outdoors.

Some of the landscapes in southern Utah just seem so alien. Likewise, the mountains of Colorado are unlike anything they've seen in the east. No doubt they'll remember this trip for years.