Want to involve your kids in preparing for a trip? One of our favorite ways to help our kids learn how to pack is to use a visual packing list. A visual packing list is a checklist with pictures, so kids can look at the images and words to know what to pack. Download a free visual packing list below!
One of my favorite things about social media is meeting other families that love to travel and adventure. I like to dig in and find out what works for them and what draws their family to want to be "on the go" so we started a little series here on the blog where we spotlight other families who love to travel. We hope you will enjoy the next installment of the "Travel Family Spotlight" series.
Melynda Harrison is the face behind @travelingmelmt. Her goal as a travel writer is to help her audience make travel, outdoor adventures, and sustainable travel part of their lives. Mel writes destination guides, shares travel planning tips, and inspires her readers with stories of their family’s travel experiences. She is currently based in Montana and is an expert on Yellowstone, but also writes about her family travels all over the U.S. and world. You can find more from Mel at www.travelingmel.com and www.yellowstonetrips.com. We hope you'll enjoy our interview with Mel and her family!
Tell us about your family.
I am Melynda (Mel). I am a freelance writer and travel content creator, as well as mom and wife. Henry is a filmmaker, YouTuber, dad, and husband. We’ve pooled our talents (and our two teenagers) to merge into a professional content creating team. Anders is 15 and Finn is 14. We are an unschooling family and spend a lot of time traveling and being outside.
Where are you currently based? Has your family moved around at all? Where is your favorite place you’ve lived?
We are based out of Montana, not far from the Northern Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Both of our kids were born here and it is definitely home.
In 2016 we sold our house and most of our stuff and traveled around Europe for a year, spending each month in a different country. Since then we’ve been back to Europe for multi-month stints several times, and traveled around Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico.
How often do you travel with your family? Is it primarily domestic or international travel? How would you categorize the type of traveler you are?
We travel both domestically and internationally. We are generally “slow travelers” internationally and like to spend at least a month in a given area to get to know the place a little deeper. We move a little faster in the U.S.
Wherever we travel, we focus on outdoor adventure, sustainable travel, and getting to know the cultures we are visiting.
You do a lot of adventure travel with your family around Montana, Yellowstone, and the Western states. How do you find all of the fun activities you plan? What motivates you to get out so much and explore where you live?
I really like being outside in the mountains and rivers of the Greater Yellowstone Area, so I naturally started bringing my family along with me. I’ve used guidebooks and maps to find places to explore, but often “discoveries” come from chatting with friends. I write about a lot of our outings on my blog and Instagram so people can enjoy the same things.
These days, a lot of ideas come from my sons, especially my older kiddo, Anders. He really likes to climb mountains so we brainstorm which peaks we want to summit. In summer, we float the Yellowstone River in our raft and on our paddleboards with a flotilla of friends most weekends. In winter we are often cross-country skiing or hiking to a campfire with buddies.
There are so many benefits to being outside (whether in the wilderness or at a city park) and having unstructured time outside was the biggest component of my kids’ upbringing. Even though they are teenagers – especially because they are teenagers– we still make getting outside a family priority.
Why do you like to travel with your family? Did you travel with your own family when you were growing up?
Mostly, I love traveling with my family because it’s fun. It’s something my husband and I want to be doing so it makes sense to do it as a family. Of course, I want my kids to be open-minded, cultured, and have a deep understanding of the world beyond the Montana Bubble.
What's a memorable travel experience you've had with your family?
There are so many! The year we spent in Europe was chock full of memorable experiences – rafting in Bosnia, taking a train without a dining car or air conditioning from Montenegro to Serbia, jumping into the Adriatic Sea in December, wandering through Christmas Markets in Zagreb, Salzburg, and Germany, picking blueberries and eating Surströmming (fermented herring) at a Swedish summer house… I could go on and on. The great thing about traveling with a family is sharing so many new and wonderful (and not great) experiences. It creates a strong family culture.
What are the easiest and hardest parts about traveling at the stage you are in?
Traveling with teens is the best! They are smart, funny, invested, creative, can carry everything themselves, and can (mostly) manage hunger, thirst, and tiredness without falling apart.
I love hanging out with my boys and the older they get, the easier it gets. Since we work from home and unschool/homeschool time isn’t an issue for us. The hardest part is coming up with enough money to do what we want.
What are your favorite travel resources?
The internet. I don’t have a go-to resource. I get inspiration from Instagram, friends, books, and life in general. Then, we start researching.
What are three items you never leave home without?
Cell phone (with Google Maps, Google Translate, and a currency exchange calculator)
Electrical outlet converters
Hiking shoes
What's your next travel adventure? What are you looking forward to doing on that trip?
In September we are going to Italy for three months. The first part of the trip will be in the Dolomites and we are spending a week trekking through the mountains and staying a rifugios. I am beyond excited for that.
Then we will go somewhere in southern Italy for the second half of the trip, but that isn’t figured out yet. We got an open jaw flight so we arrive in Venice and depart from Rome and will spend a week or so in each of those cities.
What advice would you give to someone who is new to family travel and nervous about getting started and knowing what to do or where to go first?
Follow other family travelers on social media for inspiration. There are all types of travel families (big families, families with babies, part time travel families etc). Once you see someone like yourself doing it, it doesn’t seem so hard.
Make your first trip manageable. You don’t have to go to Europe for a year first thing! Choose a country where you speak the language and go for a week or two.
Anything else you think we should know about your family?
We love to connect with other families when we travel!
Follow Mel and her family on Instagram at @travelingmelmt or on her website at www.travelingmel.com.
Traveling with kids has its ups and downs and we like to make it more fun with games! We thought we’d put together a fun FREE download for you to use on your next airplane adventure or road trip! If you use our scavenger hunt, we’d love for you to tag us in your social media. Tag us on Instagram at @3kidstravel.
One of my favorite things about social media is meeting other families that love to travel and adventure. I like to dig in and find out what works for them and what draws their family to want to be "on the go" so we started a little series here on the blog where we spotlight other families who love to travel. We hope you will enjoy the next installment of the "Travel Family Spotlight" series.
Cindy Greenstein is the face behind @thepointsmom_. She is a mom of three and an expert travel hacker. Cindy is a former lawyer and CPA and now runs a consulting company to help people learn how to use points/miles to travel. She is currently based in New York and you can learn more about her business and how she helps people learn to use points/miles at www.thepointsmom.com. We hope you'll enjoy our interview with The Points Mom!
Tell us about your family.
I have been married for 23 years (huh!) and have three young adult children. I have a 20 year old, Daniel, who goes to school at Cornell. He is a rising Junior. He is heading to study abroad in Copenhagen in the Spring semester of 2023 (yay!). I also have almost 19 year old twins. Boy/Girl. The girl, Jessie, is a rising sophomore at Cornell (with her big brother) and the boy, Mason, is a rising sophomore at USC in LA.
Where are you currently based? Has your family moved around at all? Where is your favorite place you’ve lived?
We are currently in Westchester NY. We only moved when the kids were babies from our apartment in NYC to our current home in Westchester. My favorite place I lived was definitely NYC and Rob and I will likely go back there at some point over the next 10 years now that we are empty nesters.
How often do you travel with your family? Is it primarily domestic or international travel? How would you categorize the type of traveler you are?
We travel about 3 times a year with my whole family, usually a trip at Christmas and a ski trip over the winter and a trip in the summer. Rob and I also travel a bunch by ourselves, definitely a trip in the fall when they go to school and usually a spring trip too. We travel internationally a bunch, probably more than domestic as a family. I would categorize us all as eager and easy travelers!
Tell us how you got started travel hacking with points/miles and one piece of advice you might give someone who is just getting started traveling with their family and wants to learn how to travel hack?
I was an accountant back in 1990-1993 (I'm old). I traveled about 20 weeks a year as an auditor, often going to remote places in Michigan that required 2 flights. I started earning lots of frequent flier miles by flying all those segments and hotel points on all my stays. My first major redemption were first class flights on Delta from NY to Honolulu for my honeymoon in 1998 from all of the points/miles I had accumulated over the years. Once the credit cards got on board with the banks issuing cards where you could earn rewards, I was all over that and now have about 25 cards (yup).
The advice I would give, is AS LONG AS U CAN PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME AND IN FULL, don’t be shy about applying for cards and scoring big sign-up bonuses. It is not true that the more cards you have, the worse your credit score. In the long term, it is actually opposite and the more cards you have (so the more credit you have available) will actually help your score. When you apply for a card, your score may take a little ding, but as long as you demonstrate good behavior, your score will come back even stronger.
Why do you like to travel with your family? Did you travel with your own family when you were growing up?
I like traveling with my family because we all enjoy a mix of everything. We like adventure and love to walk everywhere (my husband complains sometimes :-) ). We all like trying different foods and restaurants and learning about the destination that we are in. We are also all pretty good sleepers, no one is tired on the trip because we are all pretty comfortable sleeping in various hotels. I only really went on driving vacations with my family growing up. We once went to see my uncle in Tucson and tacked on California, but that is the only big trip I remember.
What's a memorable travel experience you've had with your family?
One October in Philly, we went to Terror Behind The Walls at the Eastern State Penitentiary. This is a Halloween gigantic haunted attraction where you walk through various sections of the prison. During your tour, people are jumping out at you and even come so close to you that they whisper in your ear. They are only allowed to touch you (AND TAKE YOU!) if you are wearing a glow necklace. We opted for NO NECKLACE! But this was still such a great bonding experience for my family. Each time we were startled, we followed it up with a bout of hysterical laughter together. The actors singled out my daughter, Jessie, as she was the easiest to scare and they sensed that!
What are the easiest and hardest parts about traveling at the stage you are in?
The easiest is having older kids who now have very little issues traveling, so no more meltdowns, whining, fights (ok, still some fights). And the hardest part is the same, having older kids who have their own lives and schedules so it is much harder to nail down time to travel as a family.
What are your favorite travel resources for travel hacking (besides your IG)?
I get a ton of newsletters each day from various travel hacker bloggers. I also read all of the emails that I get from all of the loyalty programs. I actually also have my own website, thepointsmom.com. Although, as I get busier, I am finding it harder to keep it updated with all the latest offers and changes related to travel hacking.
What are three items you never leave home without?
Magnesium (to help me go, I have trouble when I travel, especially when I fly :-) ), my ear buds (I am often up way past Rob and watch tv using my ear buds), a pair of slippers ( I am up always up really early and headed to the lobby for coffee, it is so nice not having to put on a pair of real shoes for my coffee run).
What's your next travel adventure? What are you looking forward to doing on that trip?
Rob and I are headed to Greece in September. We are spending 1/2 the time in Crete and 1/2 the time in Santorini. I am most looking forward to doing the 10 mile hike of the Samaria Gorge in Crete (although I can’t say the same for Rob).
What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first started traveling with your family? (i.e. Any tips from an experienced travel mom you would give them).
Take more videos!! I have tons and tons of pictures from all of our trips but no videos. Now that I am starting to take more for IG, I realize how much I missed over the years in all my kids’ stages by not taking video!
Anything else you think we should know about you or your family?
All of my kids have their own credit cards too. It is a good idea for them once they turn 18 to apply for their own cards so that they can start building their credit history and score. Before they were 18, they were also additional cardholders on some of mine and Rob’s cards which helps them too. My 20 year old has 3 cards and he is basically set up for the rest of his life if he wants to stop there. :-)
They all got the travel bug from me. I am excited for all of them to go abroad over the next 2 years, travel about, and have us visit them!
Don’t forget to follow Cindy on Instagram at @thepointsmom_ and on her website thepointsmom.com
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down and cancelled most our travel last year, but as our state (Utah) opened up, along with other states nearby, we decided to dip our toes back into traveling and take a road trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We picked South Dakota because we wanted to go somewhere we knew wouldn’t be very crowded (we went in May, which is still off-season in South Dakota) and we wanted to go somewhere with a lot of outdoor activities. We knew that South Dakota has a lot of state and national parks that were open for visitors, so it seemed like the perfect spot. We thought we’d share our general itinerary for anyone planning spring or summer travel to South Dakota, particularly the Black Hills and Badlands.
We found a cabin on Airbnb in the Black Hills on 21 acres and from the cabin we took day trips around the Black Hills. When we booked our cabin it was $250 per night, but the price fluctuates over the summer season. Our overall trip, including driving there, lasted 7 days (3 days were travel days). To start off, we drove from Salt Lake City, UT to Rawlins, WY (4 hours) and stayed the night at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Rawlins ($117 per night). The next day we drove from Rawlins, WY to Custer, SD (4.5 hours) and our cabin was located near Custer in the Black Hills. We settled into our cabin and explored the local area when we arrived. Below is a detailed look at what we managed to fit into four days in the Black Hills. There is a lot to see, and we could’ve definitely stayed longer. Also, keep in mind, because of COVID-19 closures a lot of things were limited or closed during our visit but many things have since opened.
Day 1: Custer and Hot Springs Area
During our visit, the first day was rainy and cold, so we didn’t fit in as many things as we had planned. Also, we were still trying to figure out what was open and not open with the COVID-19 closures and Google didn’t have everything updated. However, we still managed to have a lot of fun! Here are some of the places we visited:
Wind Cave National Park (hiking trails and animal watching). It rained for our visit to Wind Cave, but we planned to check out the Elk Mountain trail (1 mile), Prairie Vista trail (1 mile), and Rankin Ridge trails (1 mile). Utah Adventure Family has some good tips for hiking and exploring in Wind Cave National Park that we thought were helpful. The visitor center and cave were closed but we hiked in the grasslands and forest.
Hot Springs, SD. We drove around the town of Hot Springs (it was pretty quaint) and got lunch (it’s near Wind Cave National Park) at Red Shed Smokehouse. Not a lot was open when we were there, but some things we want to visit next time are the Mammoth Site (world’s largest mammoth research site) and Evans Plunge (oldest tourist attraction in the Black Hills, hot springs).
Crazy Horse Memorial (near Custer, SD). Crazy Horse is the world’s largest mountain carving and considered the 8th wonder of the world. At the memorial there is a well-done Native American art museum and a hands-on educational/cultural center and a Legends Light Show in the evenings. This is a fun place for kids to learn more about South Dakota’s Native American History. This memorial was closed when we visited, so we just drove by and watched some YouTube videos on our own about the memorial. It has since reopened for visitors.
Custer, SD. We finished off our day wandering around town, getting ice cream (we tried both Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream and Bobkat’s Old Fashion Purple Pie Place, we liked Horatio’s ice cream better). There were souvenir shops open, murals to look at, and colorful bison around town. We mostly just stretched our legs and explored town. If you are looking for somewhere to eat in Custer, we’d recommend the Black Hills Burger & Bun, Co. for dinner.
Day 2: Mount Rushmore, Keystone, and Custer State Park
Our second day was jam packed with fun activities. We could’ve stretched these activities into several days. In fact, we’d definitely suggest your use a whole day (or more) to explore Custer State Park. Here are some of the places we visited:
Mount Rushmore. This iconic site is a must-see in the Black Hills! The visitor center was closed, and some construction was going on at the site, but we could still get a glimpse of Mount Rushmore from several areas at the site. There is also an easy hike along the Presidential Trail where you can read about the four presidents and get closer to the monument. We spent about an hour at the monument exploring and walking around.
Keystone, SD. We wandered around the town of Keystone and looked in souvenir shops, looked at wood carvings, and ate lunch at Cruizzer’s Pizza. We also got ice cream at Turtle Town and taffy at Rushmore Mountain Taffy. There were other fun activities in Keystone – mini golf, zip lines, tramway adventure, gold mine tours, National Presidential Wax Museum, Borglum Story.
Bear Country USA. This drive-thru experience to visit bears, bison, elk, etc. was probably one of the highlights for our kids. They love animals, especially bears! At Bear Country there are a lot of animals to see and you are able to drive slowly and take it at your own pace and stop and take pictures. We especially loved the baby bears! Some areas were closed when we went because of COVID-19, but mostly everything was accessible. Entrance fees per car were $40 or less if you had a smaller group with you. We loved this place!
Custer State Park. You could spend an entire day here or more. We just were in the park for a few hours. There are lots of places to hike, animals roaming (bison, elk, mountain goats, etc), lots of campgrounds and cool spots to see. We would’ve loved to spend more time at Sylvan Lake (it was beautiful). We just stopped the car anywhere that looked cool and got out and hiked around. Also, we’ve heard you can usually rent water toys in Custer State Park and there are four lakes, some with sandy beaches and playgrounds. We’ve heard Center Lake is fun for kids (it was too cold when we were there to swim). There are also a ton of great hikes in Custer State Park. There is an easy trail around Sylvan Lake (1 mile). Definitely spend some time at Sylvan Lake. Our favorite part of the park was the number of animals we saw!
Needles Highway. We drove the Needles Highway at sunset and it was beautiful. Usually we might not recommend a scenic drive with kids, but this drive was worth it for us. The Needles Eye Tunnel was exciting (and very tight). The drive along the highway takes about an hour and there are scenic places to stop and take pictures.
Day 3: Deadwood and Sturgis
Some of the fun of South Dakota is its gold rush history, so we headed out to Deadwood to check out this western town. We had been there about 12 years ago and thought it was cool, and wanted to take our kids back.
Deadwood. This is a city known to have a gold rush history. It still wasn’t very open when we were there, but we still had fun. A few restaurants were open and some shops. The drive out to Deadwood is pretty and there is a big reservoir on the way that is popular for fishing and boating (Pactola Lake). We got ice cream in town and lunch at Eagle Bar on Main Street. Usually in Deadwood there are old west gunfights on Main Street, re-creation of the shooting of Wild Billy Hickok, gold mine tours, and a fun park.
Hill City. We drove through this town on the way to Deadwood. It is a charming town with a busy Main Street. Teddy Bear Town there has the world’s largest collection of Teddy Bears. There is also a popular beef jerky outlet. We didn’t stop, but this might be a fun place to get out an explore if you have extra time.
Sturgis. We stopped by Sturgis because my husband is a big motorcycle fan and wanted to go. Not much was open. It has a cute little main street. There is a motorcycle museum, but it wasn’t open yet. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in August, so it is extra crowded then (you might want to avoid it in August). Sturgis was relatively close to Deadwood and was a fun, curvy drive from Deadwood.
Day 4: The Badlands and Wall Drug
Our last day was a trip out to the Badlands. We accidentally drove the wrong way to the Badlands from Hot Springs (thanks Google) and ended up on closed roads on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (oops). We found a great spot to see the Badlands from within the Indian Reservation, but then left through the COVID-19 reservation checkpoints and drove the regular way to the Badlands out to Wall and to the main entrance.
Badlands. Our kids loved the Badlands. There were bison and bighorn sheep and baby goats to see on the sides of the road. We got out and climbed around in different areas where the topography looked cool. There are some good scenic overlooks to take in the views. The visitor center wasn’t open when we were, but it has a theater and is newly remodeled with some good exhibits. The Badlands is also a hotbed for dinosaur fossils and a great place for hiking with kids. The Fossil Exhibit trail wasn’t open when we were there, but that would be a good place to start if it is open. The Door Trail is an easy 0.75 mile trail with a boardwalk. Window Trail is an easy 0.25 mile trail. There are progressively harder trails for older kids. You can check out this blog post from Big Brave Nomad about some hikes for kids in the Badlands.
Wall Drug. We stopped for an obligatory picture at Wall Drug and to wander around to the few stores that were open. Wall Drug is a fun cowboy-themed drug store, gift shop, and roadside attraction near the Badlands. It wasn’t open when we were there, but we’ve been before a loved exploring it! You will want to stop because you’ll see so many signs about it. It’s probably overrated, but we liked walking around. It opened during the Great Depression. People like to take pictures riding the Jackalope in front. It’s a great place to stop for food or a treat before or after you visit the Badlands.
So that was our South Dakota itinerary! We obviously didn’t fit in everything we could’ve, and things were closed because of COVID-19, but we still had a great time just getting outside and exploring. Here is a list of some other activities that we were told might be fun in this area of South Dakota if you are looking for more ideas:
Black Hills Central Railroad - 1880 Train
Black Hills Caverns
We hope you enjoy this extra info about our visit to the Black Hills of South Dakota. For more information, videos, and photos from our trip visit our @3KidsTravel page on Instagram and our “South Dakota” Instagram highlights.
You can also download and buy our full itinerary here!
