When all is said and done this summer, we will have spent seven weeks traversing the US driving through 21 states racking up thousands of miles on our RV. People will likely ask us (because they did last summer) about all the typical tourist destinations they assume we visited.
Traveling in an RV that’s towing a trailer is definitely not conducive to driving around in search of cool places to explore. Basically our sightseeing consists of endless highways that all look basically the same, rest areas, Walmarts, and the parking lots and insides of venues.
Traveling around the country with my family on tour is a blessing that I am so grateful for. However, it is light years away from our family vacations when the kids were little and we were strictly tourists staying in national parks, mountain biking, trail running and doing all of the typical family vacation things. So even though logistically we aren’t able to do the typical tourist activities, it would be a shame to drive all those miles, and not experience at least some of the beauty and diversity of our country. Thankfully, we are all runners with adventurous spirits.
Every once in a while, we get a day or two off which allows us to stay at a campground. The beauty about us being runners is that we’re always ready and able to explore. Sometimes due to the campground’s location there isn’t much to see besides the property we’re on. However, there are lots of times when we are pleasantly surprised. That’s exactly what happened at our most recent campground stay in Quincy, Illinois.
At first glance it appeared tiny and didn’t have much to offer as far as running. I was wary of the main road leading to the campground because of the speed limit and traffic. I was not excited about running, because even though there was a park across the street that had a boat launch onto the Mississippi River, upon further inspection, I realized it was only a paved loop that measured less than a half mile. I didn’t want to lace up in the heat just for that. But I did want to see the Mississippi so I decided to try it anyway.
I ran for a half mile enjoying the wildlife refuge I hadn’t noticed from the road and thought it wasn’t the worst place to run. When I arrived at the end of the road I contemplated whether I was going to continue to run that loop for an hour to at least get some miles in or throw in the towel.
Annoyed at that prospect I almost missed the sign across the street for a bike route. Willing to do anything to avoid running in circles I decided to check it out. To my surprise, it was a beautifully paved bike path that weaved past Native American burial mounds, crossed bridges overlooking a river with cascading waterfalls and eventually led to other parks that were shaded, quiet and beautiful.
What I initially thought would be a torturous repetitive half mile loop turned into a beautiful 5 mile run where I got to see parts of Quincy I never would have otherwise. If I had confined myself to the campground I never would have known the banks of the Mississippi were right across the street where I could easily envision Huck Finn rounding the corner on a raft.
I’m so grateful that I’m a runner. Surprises like this happen often when we’re traveling. I’ve discovered several similar bike paths and miles of trails by venturing out for morning runs. I’ve run through cornfields, alongside hidden rivers and waterfalls, around beautiful neighborhoods, on wooded trails, along miles of sandy beaches, circled around campground loops seeing people from all over the country, experienced the heat and weather of summer in the south, and felt the early morning pulse of towns as I’ve sleepily traversed their streets. It really is such a cool way to experience new places.
If I wasn’t so into running, I’d most likely settle for being stuck in campgrounds and never venture out. Even when I’m not up for a run, my runner’s mindset usually convinces me to at least go for a long walk and explore. My whole family has this mentality. We wake up early, explore and return from our miles to share stories about all we’ve seen and what it says about the place we’re in. During my run today I stopped several times to text my kids to tell them about what I was discovering which in turn excited them about going out and getting in some miles.
My husband joined me after my run and we went another 3 miles together. During our walk our kids flew by us and exclaimed how cool the path was. It brought such joy to my heart to know they were loving their adventure and starting their morning off with movement and exploration. I highly recommend it!
I keep reminding myself of all the gems I found simply by going for a run. There are definitely days when there’s no other option but to run in circles around the campground. But when I remind myself of all of the cool treasures I have unearthed simply by lacing up my shoes it makes going for a run while traveling a very special part of the whole experience. When we park at night the first thing I think about is where I can run in the morning.
Whether I am by myself, with Paul or the entire family I truly cherish these adventures and realize how lucky I am to be able to embark on these adventures! Tonight we’ll be sleeping in a parking lot so I doubt I’ll have an adventurous morning, but that just gets me more excited about our next campground and you can be sure I’ll be in a mission to discover something cool!!
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