We’ve been to all the parks in the west except Glacier and Olympic plus the Smokies and many other non-park sites like Shiloh and Amish country in Ohio. I don’t recall any of them ever complying about anything in the parks. We did a lot of hiking and sightseeing and they enjoyed it all. I think they especially liked the nightly ranger talks. We went to Yellowstone when number 3 son was 5. Then he went off to school for an advanced degree for years. When he graduated we were prepared to give him anything he wanted for a graduation present. What he wanted was to make the Yellowstone trip again, so that’s what we did. And Yellowstone/Tetons are definitely his favorite places. What’s he dislike? Country with no mountains and the poor guys in FL where the highest point is a highway overpass.
My youngest granddaughter likes any kind of camping regardless of where we go. But she especially likes Zion and Mesa Verde and Telluride. Oh, and the Siverton-Durando train ride, we've done it 3 or 4 times. She got some of her grandfather’s genes in that she cares little for cities or citified entertainment like Disneyland. My afore mentioned son is going to give a talk in Europe at some sort of neurological seminar in July. Then he’s coming to Phoenix in September for the same and he wants to hike down to the bottom of Grand Canyon and my granddaughter really wants to go with him. She’s a senior next year and far enough advanced she should get her BS in 3 years. So we’re hoping that may allow her to get a couple of weeks off school to go with him and we’re working on that.
So I think the common thread of what my kids liked is the hiking and the outdoor experiences. Regardless, keep up the good work and take them all the places that you can. You never know where it will lead and you’ll give than memories they’ll never forget.
