My sister-in-law is planning a trip to DC with her family this summer, and I shared some of the tips that worked for us when we visited last year. I thought you might enjoy my “Top 10″ list as well.

1. Do stay at the Hotel Harrington - it’s affordable, historic and close to everything.

2. Don’t rent a vehicle - just hoof it, use the metro and the bus. One bus goes around the loop all day long and only costs $1 per trip.

3. Do visit the treasury, National Archives and sculpture gardens. We would have loved the American History museum also, but it was closed for renovation last summer.

4. Do visit Mt. Vernon - just take the metro and then a bus for very cheap and efficient transportation. Mt Vernon is often open when other museums are closed. But get there early and tour the mansion right away, or you’ll end up waiting in line for 2 hours.

5. Do visit the Holocaust museum. The “Daniel’s Story” exhibit is excellent for adults and kids alike - and much less horrific, while still telling the story.

6. Don’t plan on viewing most of the rest of the museum with kids.

7. Do eat at the cafeteria in the Agriculture Building near the mall. It’s an inexpensive place to eat normal food at normal prices. Few know about it because it’s where the government workers eat, so you need to ask around to find it.

8. Do rent bikes right away, to visit the mall monuments without having to walk so much.

9. Don’t rent a tandem bike with your spouse.

10. Do find out which monuments offer timed-entry tickets. I waited in line by myself at 8 AM for the Washington Monument, and got 4 tickets for our family to go that afternoon.

BONUS: Do see the monuments at night. We were always too tired to go out after dark, but we heard so many people say the evening tours were wonderful

Washington DC series:
View from Washington Monument
Mount Vernon
National Archives - Declaration of Independence
Sculpture Gardens
Arlington Cemetery - Unknown Soldier
Washington DC Subway - Metro
Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial

On our way to Utah last month, we went through Southern Colorado to get to Mesa Verde National Park. The beauty of travel field trips is that you get to walk around and crawl into awesome spots that you’d otherwise only see in books. Mesa Verde is a perfect example of this. We visited Spruce Tree House, which (after the park entrance fee) is a free self-guided tour close to the museum.

The American Indians that lived here left more mysteries than they did answers, and archeologists still dig to find out what became of these people. Here the kids are using the grinding stones the Indians used to make flour. The sand in the stones mixed with the flour, abnormally grinding their teeth down with age.

Of course our kids had to test the foot and hand-holds that had been carved into the cliff face. These cliff dwellers must have had very strong and lithe bodies to climb the rock walls.

We even climbed down a ladder to enter a “kiva” built like a basement, and which housed the fire that would keep extended families warm throughout the winter. Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling, was constructed between AD 1211 and 1278 by the ancestors of the Puebloan peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (ceremonial chambers,) built into a natural cave measuring 216 feet wide. It is thought to have been home for about 80 people.

Southern Utah Series:
Bryce Canyon
ATV and Antelope
Zion National Park
Zion Canyon Family Adventure, Part II
ATV Trails
Mesa Verde, Colorado
Grand Canyon, Arizona

Zion, Part One is here.

Once we reached the Zion Canyon floor, we found a place to park (difficult, even on a Tuesday in early April) and took a shuttle bus which would carry us to several stops along the Virgin River, which cuts through the Canyon.

While there are many beautiful hikes along the shuttle’s path, my husband and I knew which point would be the most memorable for our kids, since it was the reason we have always claimed Zion is our favorite national park in Utah: Hiking up the Virgin River to the Narrows.

Hiking the Narrows can be dangerous because of flooding — after a rain, the water rushes through the narrow canyon with such force that it can kill those who venture there. But there wasn’t any risk of rain, and although the river was higher than it was when I’d hiked it in the summer 20 years ago, what concerned me most was the frigid temperature. It couldn’t have been much above freezing.

But with a high of nearly 80-degrees air-temperature in the sun, the kids convinced us both we should go on the adventure that would surely create the most memorable journey of our entire trip. This well-worn path directly across from the starting point shows that many have hiked up the narrows. But at this time of year, most are wearing wetsuits.

We followed a pair of Germans as they zig-zagged across the river, so we could watch and see how difficult it might be (we ended up crossing three times up and three times back.) They’d gone without shoes and it seemed hard on their feet, so we left our hiking boots on, a risk to the boots, but not our soles. Although the rushing water reached just above our knees, it came with enough force that the kids were eager to hold Dad’s hands and cross together. As usual, I’m left behind taking photos of the backs of heads;)

A grand site, isn’t it? The only way to get the full magnificence of it is to hike into the Narrows.

As we returned to the starting point, we could see all the Zion visitors watching us. The German we’d followed up he river said,

“They are the tourists, we are the explorers!”

It’s a story our kids will tell their kids…

Southern Utah Series:
Bryce Canyon
ATV and Antelope
Zion National Park
Zion Canyon Family Adventure, Part II
ATV Trails
Mesa Verde, Colorado
Grand Canyon, Arizona

During our stay in Southern Utah last month, our cabin was located only about a half-hour’s drive from Zion National Park. This was by design, since it was our favorite stop two decades ago when my husband and I last visited the area.

These shots taken through the windows hardly do it justice, as we drove in toward the East entrance of the park. But clearly, the terrain looks much different from the rock formations we saw the day before at Bryce Canyon.

The kids liked the tunnels we went through on the way - this one was a short tunnel before the mile-long one that many visitors miss because they come by way of I-15, rather than State Road 89. We had to wait for a while before entering the mile-long tunnel because a motorhome was coming from the opposite direction, and was too wide to allow on-coming traffic.

After the tunnels, we seemed to go down, and down, and down. It’s understandable how they came to the term “Grand Staircase”. Zion is in the center, with it’s peak the altitude of the bottom of Bryce Canyon, and it’s canyon floor the highest altitude at the Grand Canyon.

Yes, we meandered down the canyon to the road wayyyy down there!

Be sure to stop by later this week to see photos in part two of our Zion National Park family adventure!!

Southern Utah Series:
Bryce Canyon
ATV and Antelope
Zion National Park
Zion Canyon Family Adventure, Part II
ATV Trails
Mesa Verde, Colorado
Grand Canyon, Arizona

During our trip to Southern Utah earlier this month, we enjoyed the ATV trails in our Yamaha Rhino. We had it outfitted with a rumble seat and seat belts in the back, so all four of us could ride in the same ATV.

And look at what you get to see when you visit the “Backways” of Utah!

We discovered this herd of antelope just outside of Bryce Canyon on the ATV trail system near Ruby’s Inn.

Beautiful, aren’t they?

Southern Utah Series:
Bryce Canyon
ATV and Antelope
Zion National Park
Zion Canyon Family Adventure, Part II
ATV Trails
Mesa Verde, Colorado
Grand Canyon, Arizona