Most of us have them.  Those childhood memories of long road trips with the family.

My mom is a regular Marco Polo.  She loves to explore, and wanted to pass that love on to my three siblings and me.  We took driving trips to Big Bend National Park, Smoky Mountain National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  My favorite destination was the Dixie Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas, because like all little boys, I wanted to be a cowboy.

Of all the exciting things we did as a family, I remember the rides in the family station wagon most.  That's because my youngest sister and little brother fought in the back seat the entire way.  The stimulating conversation would go this way, "Mommm!  He's touching me!  Make him stop touching me!"  Followed by, "Owwww!  She bit me!" And on and on it went.

But in between the bickering we had fun playing highway bingo with the little green shutters that you'd pull over a square when you spotted the item that was listed on the card.  And I developed a love for history because my mom made my dad stop at just about every roadside marker to read the plaque.

When my wife and I had kids of our own, we continued the family tradition of taking road trips and drove all over the middle of the country.  We went to both ends of I-35 and as far down I-10 as Panama City Beach, Florida.  We even took a couple of trips to the Dixie Dude Ranch which was much smaller than I remembered it.  You know how that goes.

This summer, make some memories of your own with a family road trip.  Gas prices are the lowest they've been in 12 years.  In a story from the the Louisiana Radio NetworkGasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick Dehaan says that gas prices are lower now than they were this past winter which is generally not the case.  In fact, prices for this 4th of July will be at their lowest since 2005.  "So, certainly a great time to hit the road,” Dehaan said.

 

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