I’m of the firm belief that there are fascinating things to see no matter where you are, it’s just a matter of finding them. A recent trip to South Dakota did nothing but enforce this belief.

My husband and I decided it was high time for a road trip, so we piled in our minivan and headed west. Along the way we saw dozens of signs for the infamous Wall Drug Store, so of course we had to stop. We spent an afternoon exploring silly, little shops and taking each other’s picture atop a giant jackalope (a mix between a jack rabbit and a antelope). We enjoyed the much lauded “free water” and 5 cent coffee before hitting the highway again.

After that we stopped and our breath was completely taken away by the expansive miles of the Badlands. It’s hard to describe the beauty that can be found in nature, but it’s not to be missed. Mount Rushmore was crowded as every tourist snapped 100 photos of something that didn’t move, but we stopped anyway. We drove through Custer State Park and saw hundreds of buffalo roaming the Black Hills. We went to see the Crazy Horse monument and discovered that the term “monument” was being used very loosely since nothing, beyond a few facial features, were actually complete.

We camped out in state parks, making s’mores and hotdogs over the campfire at night. We had an afternoon free one day and decided to drive over the state line into Wyoming to see the Devil’s Tower. We bought cold bottles of sarsaparilla in a tiny town along the way and picnicked at the base of the mammoth structure. When we drove home we took a slight detour to see the Corn Palace, which is really just a gymnasium filled with murals made of corn, who knew?

We had an amazing time on the trip and we learned that the key to a great road trip has nothing to do with its location or length. The most important element of the entire adventure is attitude. If you stop somewhere like Wall Drug or the Corn Palace and become frustrated because it’s truly not a big deal, you’re missing the point. The reason those places are fun is because they’re “corny” (pardon the pun) and you’re enjoying them with your family. Focus on your experience there, not just what you’re seeing.

If we’d kept to a rigid schedule we would have missed out on seeing the astounding Devil’s Tower. If we’d lost our sense of humor we would have been incredibly disappointed in the Crazy Horse monument… or rather, the lack thereof. Celebrate the simplest moments, laugh when you could easily become angry instead, and you’ll create some wonderful memories for your family.

Guest Author: Melissa Hall

Travel is a gift, don’t waste it.

Stage Write

We arrived at Goblin Valley at around 10:30 in the morning. By this time the sun was up and it was already pretty warm outside. To be daring, we took our jogging/biking stroller along with us. It was going to be tough terrain for the stroller, but with the big wheels and high clearance, we figured it would survive. We actually were able to pack a medium sized, 2-gallon water cooler in the stroller along with a picnic blanket and a couple of folding camping chairs for my wife and me.

Most of our kids pausing their adventures for a quick snapshot

The kids had a great time walking several hundred feet and then stopping and climbing on the set of “Goblins” or rocks that they thought looked fun. Watch out McDonald’s Play Place, Mother Nature knows how to make the ultimate kids’ playground.

It was definitely a hot day, though. We try to visit Goblin Valley with “Early” in mind — “Early in the Year” and “Early in the day”. The kids each had their own water bottle. This was a MUST. They downed their bottles within an hour. We were lucky to have the stroller and the insulated water jug so that we could provide all of the refills that they needed during our hike.

Leading this crew of mine is like holding the world on my shoulders!

After about an hour into the adventure, we tried to find what little shade there was — provided only by towering piles of rock. There we broke out our picnic lunch. All of the hiking and climbing made the kids ravenous. Our family downed 10 peanut butter and honey sandwiches in one sitting!

One thing we did not prepare well for on our trip was having sunscreen. The red rocks of the goblin valley desert landscape seems to reflect and magnify the sun’s intensity. After two hours of visiting the valley, we knew we would be dealing with some sunburns.

The kids fetching our 5-year old from her daring hike

As the one-o’clock hour approached, we decided we had had enough sun and exercise for the day. We headed back to the Suburban to rest our weary legs and to let the youngest ones take a much needed nap. The stroller had been a good idea, though we were the only ones with the contraption. It worked well, but it was hard to push back up the steep hill that takes you to the Goblin Valley parking lot, but we made it.

The RadRoadTrips Family at Goblin Valley

The kids had a blast during our hike at Goblin Valley. We added a detour at the end of our trip to visit a dinosaur quarry nearby. That was a fun, restful experience compared to the hike at Goblin Valley. The kids were able to see real dinosaur bones in the process of being excavated by professional paleontologists.

It was a very great day trip for our family. Goblin Valley is a must see if you are in the vicinity of Southern Utah and you have younger kids that just don’t seem to run out of energy. We guarantee that by the time you are done visiting the state park, your kids will be happy to sit and rest in a cool vehicle!

About Goblin Valley

Goblin Valley was formed by years of wind and water carving unique goblin-like sculptures out of rock. This process has created an outdoor playground of sorts that inspires imagination and adventure. The landscape offers unlimited walking, exploring, or hiking opportunities. You can easily spend several hours hiking, playing and enjoying the goblin forms that you find here.

Near the entrance to the park there are excellent off-highway vehicle and biking routes to explore. Please note that ATV’s and bikes are not allowed inside the park itself (beyond the parking lot).

This amazing valley was first discovered by cowboys searching for cattle. Several years later, Arthur Chaffin, owner/operator of the Hite Ferry on the Colorado River, and two companions were searching for an alternate route between two Utah cities, Green River and Cainsville. They stumbled upon this alien landscape were awed by what they saw — a valley of strange-shaped rock formations surrounded by a wall of eroded cliffs.

Directions:
– 24 miles south of I-70 on Highway 24, turn at Temple Mountain junction, follow signs 12 miles to park.
– 20 miles north of the town of Hanksville on Highway 24, turn at Temple Mountain junction, follow signs 12 miles to park.

There is a nearby park & campground with sites that can accommodate large motor homes, interior paved roads, observation overlook, a new culinary water system, modern rest rooms, hot water showers, and a sanitary dump station. Each spacious campsite has a picnic table, paved parking pad and barbecue grill.

Fees for the park: $7 day fee per vehicle & $16 camping fee.

You can contact the state park for more details:
Goblin Valley State Park
P.O. Box 637
Green River, UT 84525-0637
(435) 275-4584
parkcomment@utah.gov
http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goblin-valley

The pioneers had to be creative and hard working to just stay alive. Bees are known for their hard work—and working together for the benefit of the entire hive or group. The early people of Utah adopted the beehive as their emblem for working together to do amazing things.

The Motto for the state is very similar to the emblem. The motto is: “Industry”. Hard work is an important concept to the people of Utah.

Click here to download the Utah! Kids Travel Passport

Our family has spent many years living and traveling through the great state of Utah. Utah has been known by many outdoor enthusiasts as a paradise for recreation. Utah’s diverse landscape and weather provides a wide variety of travel adventures for everyone. With one of the largest number of National Parks within its boundaries, Utah is the prefect place for your family to visit.

Family road trips in Utah can involve rafts, snowboards, bikes, hiking boots, or shorts and a T-shirt. Whatever the time of year, or the hobbies of the family, Utah is the place to be.

We have spent a lot of time in Utah and have explored many of its most popular areas. Despite our lengthy travels however, we have only been able to explore a small fraction of what Utah has to offer traveling families.

On your next trip to the State, don’t forget to print out our Travel passports for your crew. These FREE, travel activity books are jam packed with history, games, interactive exercises and more. They are designed to help your family interact throughout the trip and to keep the kids from asking “When will we get there?”

We started these books for our kids last year and they have been a hit. Any time we make a major trip together, the kids have come to expect a new “travel passport” for the drive.

The activity passport books are free to use. Simply open up the PDF file and print out the book. These books were designed to be printed on both sides of paper in a printer. When these are printed in a two sided formation, they can then be cut in the middle and either stapled or bound spirally at a copy center.

I like to add a clear plastic sheet on the front and back for additional durability.

If you have a Kinkos, or other copy center nearby, you can take a copy of the pdf file to the copy center and they can produce the booklet for you for a nominal fee.

My seven year old daughter with her Christmas version of the activity books.

These books are also designed such that you can reward your children from completing a certain number of pages in the activity booklet (See the last page of the passport).

Finally, feel free to share our Utah travel activity book with others. Save on your email bandwidth by forwarding the website address rather than attaching the PDF itself – it also helps us get more feedback from people that actually use the booklets.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE BOOK NOW!:
Utah! Travel Passport for Kids

To solve Quote Boxes, drop the letters from each vertical column — not necessarily in the order in which they appear — into the empty squares below them to spell a quotation that reads from left to right, line by line. Black squares indicate ends of words (spaces).

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often referred to as the Mormons.

The Mormons were a new religious group that was started in the eastern United States. As the Mormon religion grew larger, many people began to worry about the new religion. The leader, Joseph Smith, was killed in Illinois and members of the new church were told to leave the state.

The first group of Mormons arrived in what is now Salt Lake City in 1847.

The Mormons were the major settlers in Utah. The Mormon Pioneers struggled to make the desert land productive and safe. Once they established a safe area in Salt Lake, the Mormons spread out to settle all over the state.

Utah was a place that the Mormons felt they could practice their religion in safety.

Today, Mormons still make up the largest religion in the State.

For many years, Utah has used the slogan “The Greatest Snow on Earth” to promote this hugely popular activity. When Utah hosted the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, this was a popular attraction.

Click the picture to see only the picture for printing purposes as well as to see it's full size

The structure was built at great sacrifice by the early Mormon pioneers. It took 40 years for them to complete.

Click on the picture for a full resolution print