Amis Family Adventures

End of summer 2021 we decided to "squeeze" in one more camping adventure. When we start planning a trip we often start with a main destination. Then, as we begin planning we find other sites to visit, or stay for a while, along the way. This trip was planned around the prize gem that was a campsite in West Yellowstone.  We decided to go north on our trip west to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We left home around 2pm towing our new, to us, travel trailer. First stop down the road was a Costco for gas and pizza. We made it to our first overnight stop in Bismarck, ND around 10:15p. We chose a KOA Journey for an easy in-and-out stop and it was exactly as expected. Day 2 was hit the road and go. We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park at the Painted Cavern Visitor Center. There was a small herd of bison and a beautiful view. As we drove on to Medora it began to rain. We stopped at the South Unit Visitor and did the first part of the Scenic Drive. The prairie dog town...

When it comes to long distance car rides getting there is definitely not my family's favorite part of a vacation. And the only thing longer than a 24 hour road trip to an amazing destination is the same distance car trip heading home.  Over the last 5 years we have hustled from MN to Banff in 2 days pulling a tent trailer; drove to Washington DC and back without a working radio/stereo system; and most recently hauled a 20ft travel trailer to the Grand Canyon. Each ride is unique (and exhausting) in it's own way but we've survived and enjoyed our trips enough to plan additional long haul vacations. Here are the tips and tricks that have made these long rides a bit more pleasant: Snacks! You can never have enough snacks on a road trip. There is a great meme to the effect that your road trip snacks should look like a 5 year old got to pick anything they wanted from the convenience store. And while that sometimes is true, we're also intentional about how many treats we...