Since we always head east to see family for Christmas, Thanksgiving became our time to travel wherever we want (just the five of us). Initially we took beach vacations to islands, but then we decided it was time to start exploring the different areas within the United States, more specifically the National Parks.
For this trip, we didn’t have a full week, so we decided to start with three parks that were relatively close to each other.
Also, since my youngest was in fourth grade, we wanted to take advantage of the US Government’s Every Kid Outdoors (everykidoutdoors.gov) program, which provides all fourth graders and their families free access to national parks, lands, and waters for a full year! This is an amazing program—increasing access to outdoor recreation for everyone!
We were in complete awe of the unique beauty of each park.Since this trip was over Thanksgiving, we were especially “thankful” for the US National Park system and very appreciative of the efforts to preserve these natural spaces.
We flew in and out of Las Vegas and then rented a minivan for the road trip.
Because it was over the Thanksgiving holiday we went to Zion National Park first (I heard that’s the most crowded over Thanksgiving weekend since it’s close to Las Vegas, so we did it first to avoid crowds). We stayed at the Zion Park Lodge and we were lucky enough to get a last-minute dinner reservation at the lodge and had a nice meal. Zion is one of my favorite parks!
No saved places for this day.
To explore Paris, Florence, Rome and Tuscany, and visit with our daughter who was studying abroad.
Big Cedar Lodge is America's Premier Wilderness Luxury Resort, and it lives up to it's name! We return here year after year to enjoy Winter/Spring in the Ozarks! Big Cedar Lodge has endless activities, many top-tier restaurants and a lovely spa, just to name a few of the perks!
My family and I are from Albania and like to visit every couple of years. I traveled with my mom for the first few days. Then, my boyfriend flew in shortly after so he could feast his eyes on the beauty this country has to offer.
My daughter and I have always dreamed of traveling Switzerland by train and hiking through the Alps–it was a trip of a lifetime!
