A Family Road Trip In Covid Times
Every other summer, our family of six tries to take a cross country road trip to connect with old friends and family and to enjoy this country’s natural resources and amazing sites.
We first thought we would cancel our summer road trip this year, but then we thought about how we could do it safely amidst a pandemic.
We used to stay no more than three nights in one location but usually just one night. This time, to limit multiple exposures, we decided to drive through the night to Colorado and then stayed six nights at one place in Fredonia, Arizona, just south of Kanab, Utah, which was our basecamp for SW Utah adventures.
We left our home in Monticello before lunch and got to Jerusalem Bakery north of Atlanta just in time to enjoy shawarma (my favorite food, thanks to my father). We then managed to get to a state park south of Nashville where we hiked about three miles before settling in for dinner in the car and a long drive.
By midnight, we made it past the St. Louis arch, and by morning, we were in wet, western Kansas, where we got stuck on a sandy/muddy road. We were trying to get to Castle Rock Badlands, but our front-wheel drive van couldn’t make it up a hill. Thankfully, a local coached us on how to get out of there and we made it to Denver that evening with a very dirty car.
For every place we stayed, I brought in my “COVID-kit,” a bag filled with disinfectant, paper towels, alcohol wipes, and medicine. I wiped off commonly touched items, and we always washed our hands immediately.
We left Denver pretty early and drove on beautiful I-70, through the Rockies and stopped at a rest stop along the Colorado. By evening, we made it to Moab, Utah.
Usually, we stay with friends about a third of the time. This time, we decided not to visit any friends. Not knowing whether or not we were carriers, we just assumed that we were and did not want to put anyone, including friends and family, at risk.
We also usually stop at playgrounds and parks. This time, we only stopped at isolated areas and state and national parks. No playgrounds. No splash pads. No interaction with other children except from afar (“Hi! Where are you from? How much farther to the falls?!”).
That evening, we visited Dead Horse State Park, which had a view somewhat comparable to that of the Grand Canyon.
If a trail parking lot looked busy, we donned or packed our cloth masks. If we didn’t have our masks, when someone passed us on the trail, we would step aside and give them plenty of room.
The next morning, we woke up at sunrise to visit and hike in Arches National Park. Unfortunately, when two of our children ran ahead, we got separated and one of our children went missing temporarily. A lovely family from Illinois assisted, and we were reunited. (Funnily, we ran into that family again in southern Utah while picking up pizza, and we are now penpals.)
After viewing Delicate Arch, we headed southwest and got to Goblin Valley State Park at lunch time. Thankfully, there was a hot dog and ice cream cart there, because it was very, very hot. Though the terrain was unforgiving, the children enjoyed running about the hoodoos.
We then ventured into Capitol Reef National Park, where we went on a creek walk. My three year-old was so happy when her feet were in the water, so this hike, though long, was a hit. After about two miles, we arrived at a waterfall, where the older two children could jump off of. From there, we drove on scenic U.S. 12 through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to our home for the week in Fredonia, Ariz.
We had hoped to visit the north rim of the Grand Canyon, but the road there was closed due to fires. This was not the first time we had to adjust a road trip due to fires, so we are somewhat used to being flexible and changing locations at the last minute.
We used to eat at restaurants occasionally. This time, we only got takeout or purchased groceries. I wore a N95 mask anytime I went indoors, including a grocery store or a restaurant. We either ate in the car, picnicked outdoors with a blanket we brought, or ate at our house.
Great food abounded in Kanab, and we spent the week exploring SW Utah, including Best Friends Animal Reserve, Bryce Canyon National Park, Snow Canyon State Park in St. George, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Navajo Lake, Kodachrome State Park and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
We endured 110+ degree weather, impassable when wet roads and washboard roads, but the reward was great: spectacular views, fascinating geology and incredible hikes.
We used to go to museums. This time, we didn’t. We never took the children anywhere indoors with other people. Again, if Tyson and I went indoors, we wore N95 masks we had from a construction project we did more than 10 years ago.
No matter where we went, we tried to avoid crowds, which was somewhat easy in these parks and especially down the desolate roads my husband likes to take.
After our week in SW Utah, we headed due east through Monument Valley and to the Valley of the Gods. We stayed in a small cabin in Bluff, Utah that night, and then, after visiting Natural Bridges National Monument, driving down the Moki dugway and visiting the historic Bluff Fort, we continued east to Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Our first morning in Pagosa Springs, we tried to drive up to Silver Falls, but the road was too rocky to pass (that was my judgment — after getting stuck in Kansas and jostled in Utah, I decided I had had enough of crazy roads). We enjoyed a trout stream then drove up to the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass, which is at 10,857 feet.
The next day, we went to Treasure Falls and then the Sheep Creek Trail in search of a hot spring we never found, and then we capped off our Colorado Rockies experience with a final big hike on Fourmile Trail, which ended up being about six+ miles round trip.
The way home found us driving south to Sante Fe, New Mexico, and then east to Amarillo, Texas, where we stayed at a super cool little AirBNB on Route 66. From there, we made it to Little Rock, Arkansas, and on the way, we stopped at the Route 66 museum in Elk City, Oklahoma.
On July 4, our last day of travel, we enjoyed the American south, travelling south through Mississippi, then east through Alabama and Georgia. After so many days in the red rocks of Utah, I was impressed by the striking greens of the southeast: the fields, the pines, the hardwoods. It truly is spectacular too, and we arrived home to a beautiful full moon over the hills of the Piedmont.
Yes, we made changes, but it didn’t feel onerous or too much of a burden. We still really enjoyed our time as a family and enjoyed the great outdoors. We also felt like we had fun and meaningful connections with other people we met along the way, and we talked through our masks or talked at a distance.
As we returned home, we talked about the places we want to go to next time. And when we do set out in 2022, I truly hope we can visit our friends again.
