Prior to Covid quarantine, we travelled about 3 months per year. Tom's first trip was at 12 weeks old and at 7 months he travelled to Australia for the first time. Since then we have travelled with both kids within the USA and international. We have done road trips, cruises, RV trips, many month-long stays, and international travel. I really like to travel as part of the kids' "experience-based" homeschool. But Covid put a pause on that for 18 months (and is still ongoing) and in that time our kids became teens (well, almost a teen for Em).
So, now that we are emerging from the Covid cocoon, I had to re-evaluate how we are travelling. Gone are the days where I can just tell the kids what I have planned, drop into local library story-times on our month-long vacations, or stop at a park to burn off energy in the middle of a travel day. Teenagers travel differently that toddlers. They have their own distinct interests and tolerances. For my kids, that means a higher need for adventure (think rollercoasters instead of playgrounds, adventure courses amongst the trees instead of picnics under trees, 4WD Tours instead of scenic drives). Also, in order to get more buy-in for the trips, they need to be involved more in the planning (all aspects for Tom, activities for Em).
With all that in mind we recently had an opportunity to take an RV trip to Phoenix, Az. A trip we had done several times before. But the last trips included things like Junior Ranger books at National Parks, a quick stop at roadside attractions like Four Corners, and taking along workbook style schoolwork. Now, with teens, we planned 3 high adventure activities and 1 field trip specific to Tom's career goals. Emily, who has decided that she is not into travel right now, even enjoyed the activities.
Sandboarding at the Great Sand Dunes National Park - We rented a sandboard just outside the park and the kids spent a morning careening down the dunes. The parents failed at their attempts as the sand was a little wet and our weight was too much for sledding. But the kids had fun. Em, the eternal thrill seeker, dragged the board up a big dune and rocketed down attempting to use her feet as brakes. She had a blast.
4wd Tour - we took a guided 4WD tour that was equal parts beautiful, stunningly scenic, thrilling, adventurous, cold, and fun. Tom enjoyed it but was cold by the time we climbed to to the top of the range. Em liked the bumps and the sheer drop offs. She giggled a lot and loved the wind blowing in her face as we ascended the mountains outside of Ouray, Colorado. Fall is definitely the time to go there as the colors are simply incredible.
Million Dollar Highway - Admittedly this one was more for the parents but it was conveniently the road we needed to use to get to our next adventure. This has to be one of the most stunning drives in the US, especially in the Fall. The weather was perfect and the scenery amazing on the drive between Durango and Ouray, CO.
Colorado Gators Reptile Park. One of the benefits of traveling in an RV with teens is that if some passengers don't want to participate in a particular activity and if the weather is OK for staying in the RV, they can stay behind. This was the case for our field trip to the Reptile Park. Since Tom wants to be a Herpetologist, he was interested in the field trip and I really like smaller animal parks (rather than giant zoos) so we checked out the "herps" (reptiles and amphibians) while Em and Steve stayed in the RV.
Ziplining at Flagstaff Extreme - The kids had done the Kids Ropes Course last time we were in Arizona but now they were old enough for the ziplining. Up to 80 feet in the air, we all soared along the ziplines and had a blast.
We also enjoyed a few downtime activities like swimming at a KOA, hiking (for Steve), smores around the campfire, and playing cards in the RV. But the theme of this trip was adventure. I have no doubt that the teen squabbles or missing home will be long forgotten and the memories made doing these activities as a family will become cherished reminders of our experienced-based roadschool.
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