Two-wheeled Tourism

We’ve toted a stable of bicycles with us throughout our stateside travels. And recently while driving, one of the bikes fell off our bike rack causing damage to it and one other bike on the rack. Fortunately, no one was hurt and both bikes are repairable with some parts and expertise. But the recent incident (and subsequent cash outlay) made me question whether bringing bikes along has been worth it.

So I’ve looked back at when we’ve used them and came up with this incomplete list.

Near Lancaster, PA Shelly and I enjoyed a road-bike ride through Amish country. We also rode the beautiful Enola Low Grade Trail alongside the Susquehanna River with the family.

In upstate New York, three of us rode a stretch of the 524-mile network of canal paths linked to the Erie Canal. The access point is only 1/2 mile from Shelly’s brother’s house. What a great resource!

Tennessee gave us a chance to ride with some fellow bike enthusiasts, including a Father’s Day ride for two dads.

While in Asheville, Baxter and I rode on some world-class single-track mountain bike trails in Pisgah National Forest. The bumps and berms of the Hard Times trail in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest still makes it our favorite trail so far this year.

In Kentucky, the boys and I got to ride a few miles with their great uncle.

In Iowa, bikes were transport to the store and the pool.

In Colorado, it was double track for the kids and single track through the Uncompahgre National Forest for the dads.

And in Utah, we brought bikes out in the mountain biking Mecca of Moab to for the full family to ride single track at Dead Horse Point State Park.

And later in the day we rode down the beautiful paved bike path back to town.

The boys were especially amused by the bike path sign warning of the steep down grade.

Also in the Vernal, UT area known as Dinosaurland we got the family of four riding single track again in McCoy Flats.

In between these rides there have been dozens of times we’ve just pulled out the bikes for a pedal around the block or the campground. Perhaps we haven’t needed all the bikes we brought with us (we’ve yet to use the trail-a-bike for Atticus). Sure would have been nice not to break a bike by dragging it behind the trailer on the highway. But enjoying what this country has to offer from the pace of a two-wheeled view has been a worthy luxury. We hope we get to cover a lot more of it pedaling.

Our First Few National Parks and Other Cool Places

Have to lead in with a question here: How many of you have heard of Black Canyon of the Gunnison? Alright, how many of you know it’s a National Park? If you’re like us, you’ve only recently heard of this Colorado natural wonder. We decided to check it out with my brother’s family and friends while we were camping nearby with them. We’re glad we did.

This half-mile deep, narrow canyon runs for dozens of miles. We sampled views from the top of the canyon and ventured part way down the wall on a short hike.

While Shelly and I will remember this little-known park for its magnificence, our boys will likely think of it as the place they first became Junior Park Rangers. Completing the workbook sections appropriate for their ages, Baxter and Atticus were sworn in and received their first Junior Park Ranger badges.

Sadly saying bye to our Colorado family, we ventured on our own to the southwest corner of the state to visit Mesa Verde National Park. 

Starting with a ranger-led tour of one of the largest cliff dwellings, we learned amazing facts about the people who inhabited the area some 700 years ago. Life expectancy in men was around 35 years, in women 23. The way the cliff dwellers got food and other supplies such as the stones with which they built their homes was by climbing down the rock face into the dwelling.

We were amazed by the amount of effort the people put into constructing various dwellings. The boys and we agree that we’re fortunate to have life as easy as we do (and that both parents have outlived the life-expectancy of the natives).

Packing up the trailer, we decided to take a detour through Four Corners Monument on our way to Utah. Though ultimately disappointing in the commercial nature of this attraction, the boys were thoroughly amused that we let them go “ahead of us” unchaperoned to both Arizona and Utah! 

And then there’s Moab. What a beautiful area! First stop: Arches National Park.

The scenery from the car kept us mesmerized, but hiking to a few of the park’s 2300 arches brought a more meaningful connection to these windows in time.

It also enabled completion of the field portion of the Junior Park Ranger booklets.

Though our focus is on national parks, we’re dropping in on other points of interest along the way. The jaunt to Dead Horse Point State Park was richly rewarding [more on this park in a later post].

Our final park visit in Moab was to Canyonlands National Park. Equally excellent for rock-hopping and jaw-dropping.

Despite temperatures topping 100 degrees, the number of beautiful things to see and fun things to do make Moab, Utah a likely repeat destination for our family. 

In addition to many national parks, the Park Service runs many national monuments throughout the country. Before leaving Utah, we set our sites on Dinosaur National Monument where we found, as you might expect, fascinating dinosaur remains. 

Recently redone, the monument’s visitor’s center and main exhibit at the Carnegie Quarry were top-notch. We were floored to find hundreds of dinosaur fossils exposed in the rock just as they had frozen in time 150 million years ago. This single site in Jensen, UT has produced hundreds of the world’s fossilized dinosaur skeletons. Being able to touch the fossils brings out the imagination in us.

Dinosaur National Monument highlights some of the area’s more modern inhabitants with information and preserved petroglyphs from only 1000 years ago.

In case you got confused by our detours, it’s important for me to keep score for you. We’re now up to 5 Junior Park Ranger badges for each boy (one at each of the four national parks, and one at the national monument). 

More things to see, learn, and do. We’re only halfway through our first of three months touring the public lands of our western states. Tomorrow we hitch up again and ride on to new sites.

Our New Home on Wheels

In the last post, we left our tale of travel in Kentucky. Before pulling out of the bluegrass state, we enjoyed time with relatives that included:

Visiting horses at the equestrian farm at Aunt Dawn and Uncle David's university. 

Roaring with cousin Juniper and a Lexington lion.

One of the longest driving legs of our journey next brought us to Iowa to visit Aunt Beth.

Her tolerant cats amused the boys.

And then off to our final family visit stop for a while: Colorado. First, we spent a few days in Colorado Springs with Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Eric, and cousin Marissa.

Making caramel brownies in Marissa's kitchen.

But then we all drove to the western side of the state to camp in Uncompahgre National Forest.

We're unaccustomed to this scenery, especially in July.

Our camping provided a jumping off point for

Exploring Box Canyon in Ouray.

Hiking to glacier-fed lakes.

And pedaling around fire roads.

Of course many of you know that before we left Colorado Springs, we acquired what will be our home for the next 3 months or so: a Jayco travel trailer.

This wagon train is heading west.

Baxter loves his top bunk.

And Atticus finds the "cave" beneath cozy.

For a family that has only ever camped in backpacking tents, the trailer feels luxurious. It provides us similar space to what we shared in Guatemala and Ecuador though with enhanced conveniences like potable water. As we kick off our tour of National Parks we'll drive a bit slower but be thrilled that every night each of us gets to lie down in a familiar bed.

The First 3,000 Miles

We’re coming up on a month of road tripping and have logged our first 3,000 miles touring around the Eastern United States. 

Since our Memorial Day post, we’ve enjoyed stays in Maine, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Upstate New York, Western Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Excepting for three nights of tenting in Pisgah National Forest in Asheville, NC we’ve stayed with family and friends throughout our road trip to date.

A few highlights from our U.S. tour:

Kid friends in Maine.

Adult friends too!

Getting spoiled by Aunt Cathy, Sammy, and family.

Maine lobster!

Catching Great-grandma's 93rd birthday.

Lawn games and scavenger hunts with Grandma and Grandpa.

Feeding the calves fingers in Lancaster.

Dirt bike riding with Uncle Pete . . .

. . . and with cousins too.

Trying to figure out how to survive the falls in a barrel.

Cardboard creativity with cousins at Nana's house.

Fourth generation model train conductors.

Soaking up sun with friends by the pool in Tennessee.

Making s'mores while tenting in Pisgah National Forest in Asheville, NC.

In under a week, we'll depart family in Kentucky to visit a sibling in Iowa and arrive at our final family stop in Colorado. From there we'll be on to a big camping tour of the western states. Want to meet up with us in a National Park this summer? Drop us a line. We plan to add a lot more highlights over the next few months.

Including some unexpected moments that defy captioning. . . .