I’ve never considered myself a camping type of girl.  In fact, to steal a quote from my Dad, my idea of camping was always the nearest Holiday Inn.  But, in 2015 my husband convinced me to face my fears, and we purchased a fifth-wheel camper to live in! I mean, why just test the waters when you can dive right in?  It took months of careful planning and a few bumps in the road, but in October 2015 we moved all of our furniture into storage and packed the camper full of 12,000 pounds of “must-haves” for a crazy adventure!  We started off the camper life by taking an incredible cross-country road trip to break it in! We traveled from Las Vegas, Nevada to Washington, D.C. over 2 weeks.

Before our first night in the camper, our daughter, 3, and son, 15 months, had never even shared a room before! Now, they were sharing a bunk room in the back of our camper.  The first night included little sleep and a lot of giggles as they threw toys back and forth at each other. However, it soon it became the “kids room” and, no matter the location of the camper, they always had their same room!

So, now that they were all settled in, we began our trip across the country! Each stop was incredible and unique and every location offered something for the kids to explore. We learned a lot and prayed a lot on this trip, and I’m happy to share with you the amazing details of our first cross-country adventure! Below is a quick overview of each stop. I will be posting about each location separately over the next few weeks, so be sure to follow along!

Starting Point: Las Vegas, Nevada

While not technically a stop on our road trip, this is where all the fun began! We called Las Vegas home for several years, and it was the only home our kids had known at this point in their lives.  Las Vegas is a fantastic family-friendly city, and we had very mixed feelings about leaving, but the adventure must begin.

Stop #1: Zion National Park, Utah

A familiar spot for us being only 2 hours away in Las Vegas, we love Zion National Park! Between the beautiful canyon walls and the gorgeous flowing water, Zion is hard to beat – especially when the heat of the desert summer is wearing on you in Las Vegas. But, we found that October is one of the most beautiful times to visit the park.  The temperatures are cooling down, the summer crowds are dwindling, and the leaves are changing! We always enjoy our visits to Zion National Park, and this visit was no different!

Stop #2: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Only about an hour and a half from Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon is easily in my top 5 favorite National Parks to visit, and the incredible sites to see here are indescribable. The landscape of spiral-shaped hoodoos intermixed with canyon walls and beautiful towering trees is like nothing you’ll see anywhere else! While visiting Bryce Canyon, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise overlooking the canyon and some hiking!

Stop #3: Capitol Reef National Park and Utah Scenic Byway 12

On the way from Bryce Canyon to our next stop, Moab, UT, we traveled the beautiful Utah Scenic Byway 12 with a pit stop at Capitol Reef National Park. Utah Scenic Byway 12 meanders through some of the most incredible landscapes in America. There is a reason this drive is known as the most scenic drive in America. We also made a lunchtime stop at Capitol Reef National Park. This remote National Park is rugged and beautiful, and there was much more to explore than we had time for, but we enjoyed the afternoon we did have to spend here!

Stop #4: Moab, Utah

Our 3 day stay in Moab was one of my favorite stops on the trip! The first day was spent exploring Arches National Park, the second exploring Canyonlands National Park, and the third off-roading on the trails in the area. We hiked to the most iconic arch in Arches National Park, Delicate Arch, and enjoyed the most scenic picnic of our lives! We hiked to several other incredible arches during our day in the park and enjoyed the visitor center. During our day at Canyonlands, we enjoyed the view of the canyon through Mesa Arch and several overlooks where the canyons appeared to go on for days! Moab is the holy land of outdoor enthusiasts and the opportunities to explore the area are unlimited!

Stop #5: Silverthorne, Colorado

Silverthorne is situated right in the middle of some of the most well-known ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains along the Continental Divide.  We spent some time with family in Silverthorne and enjoyed exploring Lake Dillon and the quaint little town of Frisco, CO.  The aspens were just beginning to turn yellow and the fall air was crisp and cool!

Stop #6: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is such a family-friendly town! Our first afternoon in town we explored Garden of the Gods park and had dinner with some friends in town. Garden of the Gods has a beautiful new Visitor Center, and the park is the perfect place to let the kids explore and climb on rocks. The next day we enjoyed a fall festival at the Focus on the Family headquarters. Later, we drove the 19-mile Pikes Peak Highway to the summit of the 14,115 foot peak where the views of the surrounding area are incredible! The hot chocolate and high altitude donuts were a must at the cold peak. On our last morning in town, we attended church at the unique Air Force Academy chapel and explored the Visitor’s Center before beginning our drive north.

Stop #7: Fort Collins, Colorado

Fort Collins was our half-way point on the trip. We enjoyed dinner and a beautiful sunset in town before continuing to South Dakota the next morning.

Stop #8: Rapid City, South Dakota

When we first started planning this trip, one of the first places that I knew I wanted to include was Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is one of those iconic places that I feel like every American needs to visit at some point in their lives! On the way to Mount Rushmore, we also visited Crazy Horse Memorial. The memorial is incomplete, but you can still tour the grounds and the visitor’s center and museum. The first evening, we visited Mount Rushmore at night to see the lights on the memorial and the beautiful night sky. The next day we returned and toured the museums and hiked the trail to the bottom of the mountain. In the afternoon, we drove to Badlands National Park and did a short hike and drove though the moon-like landscape.

Stop #9: Omaha, Nebraska

After a long day of driving across South Dakota, we arrived in Omaha just in time to have dinner with our college roommates. It was a fantastic reunion and our kids had a great time with their son whom we had never met.

Stop #10: St. Louis, Missouri

Another long day of driving culminated in a visit to the gateway to the west – the St. Louis Arch. The Gateway Arch was another iconic location that I included in our itinerary very early on in the planning process. Since we were leaving the west and moving east, so we had to visit the Gateway Arch! We arrived just in time to visit the courthouse and take the last tram ride to the top of the arch. While we were disappointed with all of the construction on the grounds surrounding the arch, being videoed for a segment on the Today Show made up for it!

Stop #11: Rural Kentucky

Another long day of driving across several beautiful states led to a beautiful campground in rural Kentucky. We were able to enjoy the sunset in the grass overlooking trees painted with fall colors. It was a perfect welcome east!

Stop #12: Ruckersville, Virginia

The last stop before our final destination was just outside Charlottesville, VA. Here we visited family for a couple of days to catch up on a little rest.

Stop #13: Washington, D.C.

Our new home!  We parked our camper in its new home and began exploring our nation’s capital! Our first stop – the steps of the United States Capitol Building.  Welcome home.

Our camper road trip across the United States of America was an incredible opportunity for our little family! We saw a huge portion of the country and our kids were exposed to all kinds of unique experiences.  They stood in front of Delicate Arch at Arches National Park. We rode to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO. They climbed to the top of the 14,000+ foot peak of Pikes Peak in Colorado. Together we marched up the steps of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  While they might not have enjoyed several days of long driving, we know that the memories they made, the friends and family they met along the way, and the incredible sites they saw will stay with them for a lifetime!