Five-day adventure in New Orleans with my spouse and 10-year-old. We delved into the heart of this vibrant city, exploring its rich tapestry of culture, history, and natural beauty. I share the highlights and hidden gems of our family vacation in the Big Easy.

We visited 12 national parks over the course of the year, thanks to getting in free with the awesome fourth-grade pass and the Every Kid Outdoors program.

Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is not actually a canyon - it’s bowls. It is most renowned for its geological formations known as hoodoos, which are tall, thin spires of rock. My friend described it as both futuristic and ancient! This is one of my favorite parks, for sure.

In addition to the awesome junior ranger program, we did the #IHikedTheHoodoos challenge. My kiddo found the plaques to complete the pencil rubbings as we made our way through the trails. We visited in July as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

Located in Southwest Utah, Zion National Park welcomes 4 million visitors each year. We had a series of issues and frustrations during our day in Zion (crowds, heat, closed trailheads), but we still enjoyed the scenery. We visited as part of our fourth grade pass tour.

Not a reef nor a capitol, but one of Utah’s “Mighty Five” National Parks. We drove from southeast Utah through pretty barren lands and arrived to find both canyons and orchards. Yes, orchards! We visited in July as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

If you want rugged terrain and rocky adventuring, Canyonlands is for you. I knew very little about this park before our visit!

There’s no water in the park (except at the visitor center) and very few facilities, so bring salty snacks and more water than you think you need. A lot of the park is void of roads suitable for normal cars. There’s a lot of difficult and long trails as well as backcountry camping. BUT, there are plenty of shorter trails and viewpoints to make this well worth a visit. We visited in June as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

There are over 2,000 arches in the namesake park. We did Balanced Rock and Double Arch day one. Got way too hot, so we went back to Delicate arch a different day.

We visited in June as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

This Colorado park is one of the only National Parks dedicated to the work of humans. It’s home to the famous cliff dwellings of ancestral Puebloans. We visited in June as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky boasts the longest known cave system in the world. I went for the cave but it is so much more. We visited in March as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the country with upwards of 14 million visitors per year. The Blue Ridge Mountains and part of the Appalachian trail run through the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina. We went in March as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

The namesake cacti of Saguaro National Park are really a sight to behold. The park is divided by the city of Tuscon. Spend an unhurried day in the Arizona desert.

Joshua Tree National Park is a giant jungle gym of rock formations. Experience two types of desert, some cuddly cacti, and climbing rocks in this California gem.

Get your camera ready to capture the face of anyone who is seeing the canyon for the first time! You can maximize a full day in the canyon by staying in the park and sticking to the easy trails.

Visit Petrified Forest National Park for the rock formations, multi-colored mesas, and, of course, petrified wood. Here are some of my favorite spots in the park.

The pass allows every 4th-grader in the U.S. and their families entrance to National Parks for FREE for a year. Here’s some info on why and how you should take full advantage of this.

A weekend of culture and coasters in Oklahoma’s capital city.

A long-awaited visit to see Monet’s house, gardens, and water lily pond in Giverny, France.

Chantilly, a Paris suburb, is home to an enormous chateau with elaborate stables, a fake hamlet in the expansive gardens, Chantilly lace, and, of course, Chantilly cream.

A pebble beach and a quirky town. My favorite seaside getaway in England! Grab a deck chair, visit the pier, eat a lobster roll, and hide your donuts from the seagulls.

Experience a flowering wonderland in the moat of the Tower of London.