TRAVEL fun / Introduction

[DuckforcoveR]

First - we need a "travel" section added to the "Member Interest" forum. 

With that said, 65 hours in a car with 4 kids (3 - 16) probably better fits under the "Survival" section anyways. 

So, here we go. Some of you are new here, some of you are vets here, but since I don't post much due to work, you may be meeting "me" the first time. Figured a trip around America's Southwest is a good visual of our family hobby: Food Trips!

My daughter was born in 2012 (my first) and joined her sisters who were 4 and 5 at the time. In 2013 we took our first trip to the Badlands in SD, it was about a 15 hour trek. We took a 2 year hiatus, but one night watching Food Paradise, we saw a small place in Iowa that looked to have amazing food...specifically, a pork tenderloin sandwich. Grandma's Kitchen at the I-80 truck stop in Iowa became our first real food trip. 

Since then, we've been to 31 different states, hundreds of restaurants, and tons of Americana memories that I hope they will cherish forever. I don't personally fly (only once as a kid in a 2-seater), but some day in the future I still @"Gordi"#4  coffee and will need to jump on a flight. So we do all of our trips with 4-wheels. Almost 330K miles in 8 years to be exact. 

This specific trip has been planned for a couple of years, and it all started with 1 goal: see the annular eclipse of 2023. Best spot? Richfield, Utah. So I booked a couple rooms for us, and let it soak & marinate for a year or so. Exactly 10 days before the eclipse, I booked the rest of the trip based on food, sights, and my penchant for wanting to go big with "miles per day". 

Youngest kiddo was ready for take off!




Little did they know this epic "last trip" was longer than a typical hop-skip to grandma's kitchen. My oldest step-daughters are at the age of almost done with school, so I figured this is the last "all hands on deck" chance to explore some sights. 



It's also worth noting that while I was using earned PTO from work, I was skipping the most important day(s) of the quarter with our corporate meetings to discuss financials. In solidarity with my amazing plant team, I bought matching EBITDA shirts to wear at all the sights. First of those was Uranus. We packed fudge and tasted everything Uranus has to offer 



Day 2 was visiting family in Oklahoma. But day 3, that was a highlight: Big Texan 72oz Steak Challenge in Amarillo Texas   The Kiddo loved being a cowboy...

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But not just him, the older girls loved it as well!



And when "dad" said he was going to attempt the "72 oz steak challenge", well, they loved it (especially the part about me failing miserably and not even sniffing a respectable quantity. I did end up eating about 43oz, the potato, the roll, the shrimp cocktail, and the salad. And yes, I did it in my EBITDA shirt...



So, the dust settles on that disastrous night, and yes, we had steak & eggs for breakfast (because I had leftovers, unlike her!)

120-lb woman eats THREE 72-oz challenges!

Next day we headed through my favorite part of the country. The heart of the Southwest: New Mexico and Arizona. My biggest regret was always telling Big G I was going to visit her in AZ, and never just going down there. But every time I'm there, I see something new and fall in love all over again. 

This time? We visited the big ass crater in AZ 





And yes, the EBITDA shirt made an appearance 



Next day we headed for sin city. What better place to take a family than Vegas... Am I right?!?! 

Wife and I put 20 bucks into slot machines, but the highlight of the night was the kiddo watching videos of him and Grandma on the phone because "he missed her" 



We're officially at the halfway point. From here, it's just a trek home to our beds, our familiarity, and back to the grind of life. 

But first, we need to check out the eclipse!

Kiddos were able to look through an awesome telescope set-up (with filters), Mrs. Ducky and I had a nice blanket to keep us warm with the 15 degree temp drop.





After Utah, we took backroads up through Wyoming, I took a Nat Geo - worthy picture of Wyoming that I hope you all enjoy...



that's it....brown, nothing, windy, and just overall crappy. 

Stopped at Wall Drug (3rd time with the fam - each time we discover something new) and met up with my "side girl" of about 15 years now. I introduced her to my son while my wife was in the bathroom...



We then made a quick 15hr drive back home after leaving Wall, South Dakota. 

All in all, it was bittersweet. I love that they aren't jetting around missing all of the sights in between. I love that they have endured tens of thousands of miles of road trips, collecting irreplaceable memories along the way. But I also recognize this is the end. The 2 older girls will likely not go on trips after next year (done & almost done with high school) and they'll be onto the next chapter of their lives. But I sincerely hope they take some learnings and show their kids the off-path stuff some day. 

On the other hand, we had an "oops" 9 years after the last girl, so in a way, I get to live it all over again. And this time, I know where all the secret spots are. So here's to my main man Elijah, and his poor butt that will be glued to a car for the next 15 years 



So, that's DuckforcoveR in a nutshell. At least, that's the part you'll be interested in. I fell in love with this place like many of you, after being alienated at TOS (and many other places) years and years ago. But here? No matter how long I'm gone, no matter what's happened in between. We have a home. We are never EVER Rogue in that sense. 

Peace out RN!

[DuckforcoveR]

It should be worth noting, the steak in Texas wasnt that good. It wasn't bad, and I've had bad, but they intentionally design the contest with top sirloin, full of ligaments and other chewy stuff to deter the rookies like me. I gage up because my jaw was cramping up, not my stomach 

[kdog]

Wife and I made a similar trip a few summers ago. She has family in Texas and my family are in South Carolina. We did Roswell, Meteor crater , and Grand Canyon for the high points. Loved Sedona and met an ATS friend of ours just south of there. We tried camping most of the time. 

Did I mention we saw a ufo over White Sands, NM ? 

Great memories for the kids. We did alot of camping trips out west when I was a kid.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Excellent post!! You brought back a lot of good memories when I was a kid and years later did the same as you with 4 kids (9, 11, 14, 15) mostly around Pacific Northwest and the Southwest. I'm like you when it comes to planes, but we did take one flight to Disneyland (took 3 years paying that bill off) and another flight to NY.

I had to compromise and split it up between actual camping & hotels with a pool. My youngest later became my brutal hiking trooper hitting places all over Oregon to Idaho, all over Nevada down to Death Valley and Route 66 on over to Grand Canyon and literally all over southern Utah. BTW, my son at age 16 also did the 72 oz steak challenge...and devoured it all! An hour later wanted ice cream. smh. Fun times and they all remember the road trips!

[Macsen191]

That is so cool that you do this with your kids. I don't travel much... only place I go is like 2 and a half hours away from me to my Aunt's in Mauston.  Once I went to Disney World and some sights in Orlando, FL when my kid was 3 and now he's 16... so yeah.

[Chiefsmom]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us, and your lovely family!  I want to road trip really bad with the hubby.  Too scared to fly anyway.

BTW?  Elijah?  Awesome name.  Twin grandsons named Elijah and Jayden, so I'm a bit partial.

[Freija]

This is really cool and I'm sure made some good memories for your kids. What an awesome thing to do. Thank you for sharing!

During the late summer of 1969 between the 8th grade and starting high school for me, my folks and I took a road trip in my mom's GTO from Phoenix to Ohio and Wisconsin taking an alternate route on the way home and to this day, I still have fond memories of the sights and sounds of that trip. All the radio talked about was this big music festival taking place at Woodstock and a hurricane we got caught in the tail end of.

Sidenote: When my mom later bought her Trans Am, I got handed down the GTO

When I had my Honda Gold Wing, that I bought new in '93 and sold with 100,000 miles on the clock, I took many trips With the most epic being a 3½ week, 10 state jaunt highlighted by taking Highway 101 up the coast from SoCal to Seattle. Another memorable one was a solo 956 mile trip to Yuba City to visit my dad I made only stopping for gas and food. That was the closest I ever came to riding 1000 miles in a day. I was a road stoned zombie when I got there, drank 2 beers with my pop and passed out.

Some of my more epic routes:


On many trips I was accompanied by my daughter, a seasoned passenger that had been hauled around on 2 wheels from the time she was six. Pic below was taken at a motel in Cortez, CO during my permed big hair phase! We were gone for a week on that journey. These travels left her with fond memories too and when she grew up, she got a motorcycle of her own.



I'm sure your kids will remember their family road trips too. What a wonderful opportunity. Thanks again!

[ChiefD]

Hey DuckforcoveR, welcome back! Thanks for posting this wonderful thread and sharing your family's travels. Pics are awesome, especially the one of Wyoming, LOL! What wonderful memories.

[DuckforcoveR]

Hey DuckforcoveR, welcome back! Thanks for posting this wonderful thread and sharing your family's travels. Pics are awesome, especially the one of Wyoming, LOL! What wonderful memories.

I had a good half hour trying to find a pic of Wyoming in my phone, then I googled "the color brown" and figured that was good enough 

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Sidenote: When my mom later bought her Trans Am, I got handed down the GTO

Handed down. You lucky dog!!

I rode a crotch rocket once from Vallejo, Calif to Dallas Texas when I was 19. Took the scenic route through White Sands & Roswell. Took about a week for my balls to recover. 

One for DuckforcoveR: