This month we had the pleasure of visiting Reid’s hometown in Northern Minnesota. When I say Northern Minnesota I’m serious- it’s only seven miles from the Canadian border. In fact we had to fly into Winnipeg Canada so we could rent a car and drive across the border, but more on that later. We have been married for four years and I still hadn’t seen the town he grew up in and since his sister just had a baby it was the perfect excuse to make the trek and visit the Midwest.

I will have to say it’s a beautiful place. Rivers and lakes are everywhere and beautiful greenery completes the scene. Make sure to keep your eye out for wildlife because we saw a bear, a bald eagle, countless dear, and even a fox! The area he grew up in is near Warroad, MN. It is well known for its excellent fishing and hunting. All along the Lake of the Woods, which is known as the Walleye Capitol of the World, there are many fishing resorts that are full all summer long with fishers hoping to catch some tasty Walleye (as seen in the above picture- this statue of Willie the Walleye is located in Baudette, MN). But fishing is not only limited here in the summer-ice fishing is also an essential part of the culture. Fish houses are seen everywhere and many enjoy spending time with friends and family crowded over a hole in the ice hoping to land a big one.

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To mark the conclusion of road trip week, I’d like to talk a little bit about my experiences road tripping. To be honest road trips are how I’ve traveled most of my life. I’m one of 5 kids and when I was younger our family couldn’t afford to buy 7 plane tickets to travel. When it came to vacations we either drove or we didn’t go. I didn’t even take my first commercial plane flight until i was almost 15 and we finally sprung for our dream trip to Hawaii (if there was a road there, we would have driven there too).

Every summer we’d load up our Ford van complete with two, yes two, luggage carriers and head across the country. It was certainly unconventional way to travel, and we probably looked a little like a traveling circus than a family at times, but it was great. I wouldn’t trade these trips for anything. I can truly say that the greatest trips of my life were spent stuffed in a van with my siblings roaming the country.

Take a road trip!

One of the best parts about road trips are all the snacks and treats you are totally validated in eating because you are on the road. Plus all the fast food stops you are bound to make along the way. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned a great way to save money on a trip is packing a picnic or stocking up on all your favorite snacks before you hit the road. This can save you quite a bundle as convenience store prices can sometimes double the price you pay at a grocery store. Plus you have the ability to pack along some healthy snacks as well.

Another awesome part of road trips are the games you play. The license plate game is a favorite, but also twenty questions, mad libs, and who could forget slug bug? It’s just enough fun to drive you crazy! I also like the notion of letting every passenger choose a random stop along your journey. You are bound to wind up at some random locations and see some cheesy touristy things along the way.

To celebrate Unofficial Road Trip Week I wanted to do my first ever giveaway on this blog. Memorial Weekend is coming up rapidly and I’m sure some of your plans include a road trip. I wanted to give away some of my favorite road trip treats to one lucky reader to enjoy. The giveaway includes: a bottle of Coke and Dr. Pepper, licorice, honey roasted peanuts, chocolate covered pretzels, two cans of Pringles, ranch sunflower seeds, and shocktarts and sweetarts (to help you stay awake). If you are interested in entering for a chance to win this fabulous giveaway leave a comment either with your future road trip plans, why you deserve this giveaway, or why you love this blog and your favorite post. I promise winners will be chosen fairly! I plan on picking a winner this Thursday morning (my birthday) so stay tuned!

How quickly can a rocking road trip become a complete nightmare? A blink of the eye it seems. While there is no way to prepare for every situation and sometimes things are unavoidable but there are a few things you can do to keep the trek from coming to a screeching halt.

I’m no mechanic by any means and I’m not the best person to get advice from when dealing with cars (hence this is a travel blog not an auto blog) but I did live 10 hours away from my school so any journey home involved a lengthy road trip. Some of these tips are unfortunately from personal experience.

*Bring a spare car key- who hasn’t locked their key into their car at a remote rest stop in the middle of nowhere? And keep it somewhere accessible because nothing is worse than locking BOTH keys into your car.

*Get your oil changed and fluids checked before you leave- peace of mind is worth a lot.

*Make sure your tires are in good condition and have proper amounts of air- hopefully you do this anyways.

*Make sure you have a spare tire and your jack is in working condition- we found out way too late that my jack had rusted over.

*If you have an older car bring extra water and coolant- arghh can we say Las Vegas in July? Happened to me twice.

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In honor of this being unofficial Road Trip Week- I have pulled together some of the 10 best places to road trip to across this fantastic country of ours. Of course this is personal opinion and opinion gathered from others, so this is by no means a comprehensive list. Just a list of awesome locations that people from all over the world visit each year.

Grand Canyon: Of course the quintessential Grand Canyon trip that must be done in every American’s lifetime. Since the closest airport is a few hours away from this natural wonder- it must be done by car and most preferably an RV. Riding burrows down the canyon is also a long standing tradition that musn’t be missed.

Yellowstone: Who doesn’t ride in a car for hours to see Old Faithful erupt in a big mass of watery awesomeness? Yellowstone (not to be confused with Jellystone) is the perfect place to encounter wildlife, camp, hike to waterfalls, and enjoy nature at all it’s finest. Just don’t forget to stop by the stink pots.

Mount Rushmore: A big rock carved into heads of the founding fathers of our country? Who can pass on such a wonder? Located in beautiful South Dakota, Mount Rushmore stands as a tribute to Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and T. Roosevelt, but there is much more to this park then carved mountains- there are many different species of beautiful wildflowers to look at along the path.

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