Category Archives: Monopoly Traveler Reflections

Monopoly Traveler Reflections, Troy's Blog

Monopoly Traveler Reflections–Hitting the Road

After months of planning, our first family National Parks Monopoly Board trip had arrived. It was over the 4th of July holiday week so we could take in the patriotic celebration at Mt. Rushmore. We just purchased a new vehicle and were excited to take it on this road trip which would cover over 2,000 miles by the time we were finished. The day before was spent packing the car preparing for a 4am departure. I was both extremely excited and nervous. This was the first road trip I’d planned with multiple stops. Will everything go according to plan? Will it be a positive experience for my family? There are many more trips to come and if this didn’t go well it could prevent us from continuing on our Monopoly travels. At the same time I was going to see places I’d only heard about and never really expected to see. Rocky Mountain National Park was the one I was most excited for on this adventure but we would also see the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore for the Independence Day Celebration, Wind Cave, as well as add Colorado and Wyoming to the states I’ve visited. The alarm couldn’t start blaring fast enough the next morning for me.

One of the many colorful butterflies at the Sioux Falls Butterfly Garden

Surprisingly I was sleeping as the alarm began screaming for us to get up. In just a short time the family was situated in the car heading out of the Twin Cities. Daylight was beginning to breach the horizon as the days are very long at this time of year. The goal was to reach Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we would take some time to get out of the car and find a place for breakfast. On the way I kept running through our adventures in my mind while trying to watch the countryside pass outside the car windows as we entered prairie country with fields of corn and tall grass waving in the summer breeze. My dad was joining us on this first trip but had knee surgery just weeks before. Would he be able to navigate hiking trails or stay in a seated position for long periods of time while we drove? Would the kids become frustrated with my desire to explore each of the places we were going? I was about to find out. While going over these things in my mind I would look into the rear view mirror to find them sleeping in the back seat bringing a smile to my face and a sense of comfort about the trip.

We reached Sioux Falls right on schedule and stopped to get out and stretch from the long ride before going into Perkins for some nourishment.  After breakfast we headed to the water falls this city is named for to begin exploring and climbing around the pink rock that make up this area. While walking around the different features of Falls Park we were stopped by a local news crew wanting to do an interview with us. Gas prices had risen to the highest prices up to that time and they were doing a story on its effect on summer travel plans. These fuel prices really didn’t alter our travel plans as we budgeted for them and they really were a relatively small part of the costs overall. I don’t know if our interview actually aired but it was fun to be considered for their story. We made one additional stop while in Sioux Falls to the Butterfly House before departing for our hotel in Wall, SD. There were many colorful and exotic butterflies. We had a great time watching and holding these delicate little creatures. It was getting later in the day and there were several more hours of driving to do. Everyone safely secured in the car, we once again entered the freeway heading west. This time I took a break from driving to catch a few winks.

The Famous Corn Palace in Mitchell

Soon I dozed off while watching billboards pass along the roadside only to be woken by the sound of the car slowing down. How long was I asleep? And then I saw a sign which read Mitchell. Immediately I looked up and asked what we were doing mentioning that this was an unauthorized stop? Apparently a bathroom break was needed. As luck would have it, it just happened to coincide with the place where the Corn Palace resides. This is a building which is decorated around the outside with drawings made out of corn. They really do an amazing job and create new drawings every year. Secretly I enjoyed this stop and was glad we made it sharing this place with my family. While it delayed our arrival in Wall, SD, it was a worthwhile stop on this new adventure.

Once again entering the freeway, I retook the wheel for our final leg of this long day of travel. A few hours later we arrived at our hotel in the little town known for Wall Drug. We got settled in and decided it was time to eat as it was now getting quite late in the day. Once dinner was finished I wanted to walk around town a bit. After all so many people have Wall bumper stickers on their cars and we passed numerous billboards throughout the day advertising this place. To be honest, I thought it was a hokey tourist trap that didn’t really excite me but many other people seem to really enjoy it. Of course I had to get a picture of the famous Jack-o-Lope before retiring to the hotel for some much needed rest. Our first National Park would be visited the next morning and I couldn’t wait to see it.

This adventure was off to a great beginning as we had a fantastic day seeing some of the sights of South Dakota. Excitement had definitely overcome my nervousness by this time. Now off to sleep!

Jack O Lope of Wall, South Dakota

Monopoly Traveler Reflections, Troy's Blog

Monopoly Traveler Reflections–The beginning

The end of our vacation was quickly approaching with only one day left. My wife and I had flown, along with several family members, to join my cousin as he was married on the beaches of Maui. It had been a beautiful five days with a sunset dinner cruise on the ocean along with fishing, snorkeling, whale watching, and of course a wedding. On the last few days I wanted to go see Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. Only my dad and an aunt decided they would join us on a quick flight from Maui to Oahu. It was a much smaller group now. For our final day, Karen and I decided to rent a vehicle and explore the island as much as we could. Climbing into our red Jeep, we were off. The first stop was Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Our transportation around the Oahu

Soon after arriving we headed for the ticket area to secure our boat ride out to the USS Arizona. That tour begins with a film about Pearl Harbor. We had some time before we needed to get in line so we went into the gift store to browse for possible souvenirs for family members back home who were watching our daughters and our dogs. While looking over the shelves at all the T-shirts, hats, and books, I came across something very interesting to me. It was a National Parks Monopoly Board. I picked it up and examined all of the different places on it. There was Yosemite and Yellowstone along with the Grand Canyon. All places I wanted to visit. Even more so after being in Hawaii surrounded by all of the incredible landscapes.  Most of the other parks on this board also peaked my interest. After a minute of looking it over I held it up for my wife to see and suggested that we should visit all of the places on this game board. She came over and looked at it ending with her approval that it could be fun. Our time to get in line had arrived so I set the game back on its shelf, paid for a few gifts, and headed to the theater to begin our tour.

National Parks Monopoly game set

Several years passed without mention of this idea of visiting the parks on that Monopoly Board. Neither of us could even recall which parks were on it. Besides, our children were still pretty young. They had become our focus now. They were beginning to grow up causing us to move into a new home for them to be able to begin their education and form life long friendships. After getting settled in a new routine at this location for a year or so, I woke up one morning and thought we should really travel to all of those amazing places on that Monopoly board we’d seen several years earlier in Hawaii. Our children were now old enough to remember these places. I mentioned this to Karen and she agreed it would be a great idea and a good time to start. Sitting down at the computer I began to research the National Parks board and found a few pictures of it. From that I began to plan our journey and plot our course. We had nine years before our oldest daughter would graduate high school. This is when I wanted to be complete with all of the parks on this board.

Looking at the US map to plan our expeditions

As the year progressed, I would talk about different destinations with Karen and where our first trip would take us. June approached and the time to leave was getting closer. I would mention a certain park on the board and Karen would bring up a different park that wasn’t on the board and quickly try to adapt to the conversation. Later it became clear why. For Father’s Day the kids gave me a National Parks Monopoly board. Many of the destinations were different than the photos I was looking at which confused me. After a little investigating, I found out there where multiple versions of this board. I was planning off of the first edition while the children had found the second edition. Fortunately there where many of the same parks on both versions – mostly the more popular ones. I spent the afternoon revising the next nine years worth of expeditions. It didn’t matter which board we used as there were plenty of places of interest on both of them.

My list with year and month of travel along with the destinations

The first destination was South Dakota. Fortunately that didn’t have to change as there were multiple parks in that area on both editions of the board. As I continued to plan I looked into some of these parks. What would we do to visit Glacier Bay in Alaska or Isle Royale in Michigan? Both seemed challenging and didn’t really partner with any other park on the board well. Then there were other parks that were clustered heavily near one another. Especially on the East Coast. Should we try to do these all in one trip? Or should we break it up into two different vacations? Working on our potential explorations for nearly the next decade, I decided Alaska and Hawaii should be near the end. As our children would get older I thought it would be easier to entice them to go if the destinations were more appealing. Once the parks were clustered into possible trips, I began putting years next to them and even possible months to go. Some places would make good Spring Break destinations while others would be better suited to summer destinations. It was so exciting and I couldn’t wait to begin this experience!