Last summer, our family loaded up in the car with a tent, an ice chest, and a storage box filled with clothes for different types of weather so we could camp our way across the United States. We left New Mexico and headed East. We drove through Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina (all the way out to Cape Hatteras). Then we headed North through Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and up to Vermont, before turning West and heading home. On the way home, we got soaked at Niagara Falls, experienced the grandeur of the Great Lakes, viewed our reflection in the Chicago Bean before falling asleep in our deep dish pizza dinner, and shared Hurts Donuts in Nebraska before catching fish in the Rocky Mountains.
Here are a few reasons I think you should pack up your car and camp out across the U.S.
1. For less than the cost of a trip to Disney World, your family can experience the history and geography of the United States in real and memorable ways.
2. Each member of your family will learn new skills and talents.
3. You will see that you can live happily with so much less than you own.
4. You will learn to let go of what you can’t change and make and reach goals as a team!
Originally published May 2019.
