Family Travel

(This is a guest photo by Family Travel reader Nancy Sathre-Vogel from Family on Bikes. I’m traveling in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and Chicago this week.)

Look at the bottom of that huge cactus down in Baja, California — that’s part of the Vogel family.

Their triple bike is dwarfed by the size of that plant, isn’t it?

Says Mom Nancy:

“This photo was taken in Baja, California as we cycled the length of the peninsula with our 8-year-old twin boys. My husband and twins rode a bicycle build for three - an enormous bike - which was totally dwarfed by the majestic cardon cactus of the area.

Now we are getting ready to take off to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina - YIPPEE!!! Six more weeks til we hit the road!

Dreaming of dropping out of society to travel with your kids? Follow along as we do exactly that! www.familyonbikes.org“

Follow the Vogel family adventures on their blog as well - anyone up for sending them care packages?

This was the view from my hotel room in downtown St. Louis, Missouri during a summer Midwest road trip.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn at the Arch — I’m a big fan of Hampton Inns because the staff is always friendly, especially to families, and the breakfasts are great.

The Gateway Arch is also called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, in honor of President Thomas Jefferson’s involvement in the expansion of US boundaries to the West (through the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.)

Designed by famous Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, the Arch was built in 1965 to commemorate St. Louis’ role as the “gateway to the West;” the city was one of the last major jumping-off points for pioneer travelers.

Finding this photo reminds me that I never wrote up a proper post about our brief stop in St. Louis — look for that in the near future!

Related posts:

• Did you know about the Missouri Amish?
• Kansas City, here we come