: Leigh Ann Wilson
: Dear Nolan and Odette Traveling to all 50 states and 63 National Parks with kids!
: BookBaby
: 9798317819675
: Dear Nolan and Odette
: 1
: CHF 10.50
:
: Reiseführer
: English
: 300
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Driven by the memory of a mother who ran out of time, a young family embarks on an ambitious quest: to travel to all 50 states and 63 National Parks before their children grow up. This is the heartfelt, humorous, and often chaotic story of their journey across America. The family navigates the challenges of traveling with growing children-from toddler meltdowns to teenage angst-while exploring the country's most iconic and remote landscapes. From the glaciers of Alaska to the rocks of Bryce Canyon, they collect stamps, memories, and a powerful lesson about living life to the fullest.

Leigh Ann Wilson lives in South Central Pennsylvania. She is a community leader serving on multiple boards and committees. In 2025, she started her company, LA and Order, LLC which focuses on organizing work, home and moving transitions to bring order to your life. Most of her career has focused on marketing, organizing major events, office management, and developing systems. She met her husband at Juniata College. She has her MBA from Penn State, Behrend. Together, they have ensured they use all their allotted paid time off. Visit the author at www.la-order.com

Visiting Fifty States:
Bucket List Expanded

June 17–23, 2017, Nebraska, South Dakota
and Wyoming

Dear Nolan and Odette,

We coordinated our big trip of the year to visit our family in Denver, Colorado. It was our first visit to their new house and was perfect for the cousins’ sleepover. They took us to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It was remarkable to see a bison herd slowly cross the road in front of us. We even saw a few baby bison among the many large ones. The overlook gave us a magnificent view of the Rocky Mountains. We also went to the visitor center and got a kids’ photo with the stuffed bison. This was the only way you may be this close to a bison. His horns were sharp, and you definitely didn’t want them near you!

The next day we headed to Winter Park Ski Resort. We stopped at the Continental Divide and marveled at how much snow there still was on June 18! It is here that water flows either to the east and the Atlantic Ocean or to the west and the Pacific Ocean. You had a blast with all the mountain activities, including a bungee trampoline that allowed you to bounce and flip. Daddy was feeling adventurous and was successful in doing a full flip. This was not something I would attempt as I liked my back functioning as expected. There was also a freestanding climbing wall that Nolan quickly traversed. Odette was super into the “rock mining,” sifting through dirt to find colored rocks. By the end, all three kids had bags full of treasures. The favorite activity was the alpine slide—the longest in Colorado! You were both big enough to ride but not to steer. There were two tracks, and we could go down simultaneously. Without fail, Daddy’s cart was the faster one, and you both wanted to ride with him. I’m sorry I was too cautious! On the way back to Denver, we saw a Hawaiian license plate. That got your father excited to look for all the state license plates over the week.

June 19

Monday morning, we said our midweek goodbyes, allowing the adults to go to work and your cousin to go to a summer camp. We headed out to check off some new states. We drove for about three hours to arrive at our first destination of Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska. This 800-foot bluff rises above the North Platte River. It was a landmark for people moving along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trail. We stopped at the visitor center for our stamp and history and then headed to the summit parking lot. I am sure we suggested everyone should use the restroom while at the visitor center at the bottom of the bluff. Not everyone followed my advice, and when we got to the top, Odette declared she had to pee. There was no restroom nearby, but there was a bush. We walked to the North Overlook Trail, a half-mile paved trail that offered incredible views of the Nebraska prairies. After we drove down from the summit, we did the other easy walk to see the wagon ruts. You both liked the fiberglass oxen and wagon display that showed how the emigrants traveled in the past. The view of the bluff from the bottom was even more impressive.

National parks offer a lot of learning opportunities for science, culture, history, and much more. In advance of our trip, y