Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a great summer vacation!
To be honest, I haven’t really spent a lot of time traveling. I’ve never left the country, and what places I have been to have all been relatively close to my hometown. There have been some exceptions, but they've still been in nearby states to North Dakota. However, the places I have been to have all been pretty amazing, and as a benefit, they’re close by. There are downsides and upsides to that fact. I really would like to travel and see more of the world, but overall, if there are limitations like funding, or having to be close to home for some reason, try looking into places that you’ve never been to before but are a relatively short distance from where you live.
When I was a kid, most of my vacations consisted of going to my grandparents’ lake places, which were about an hour away. Sometimes we’d just go for a day, and other times we’d stay for a long weekend or even longer. Some of my best memories of my childhood are spending time at the lake, swimming with my siblings, and spending time with my extended family on the boat.
One place that I love to visit is the Mall of America in Minneapolis. This was the first place that I’ve ever ridden a roller coaster. The rides are amazing, the stores are incredible, and overall, it’s a great place to hang out. My favorite part of the Mall of America is Sea Life where you can see a ton of amazing sea creatures and marine life- such as sharks, sting rays, turtles, and much more.
When I was younger, I also really loved going to Storybook Land in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It has so many storybook characters and I loved following the yellow brick road around the park. It’s by no means Disneyworld, but it is a really great place to bring kids to, and it’s a lot cheaper, if you’re looking for something to do while on a budget.
If you’re looking for an amazing zoo to view animals, I highly recommend going to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The zoo itself is ginormous and has so many animals to see. You can even ride the ski lift to see even more animals, and the views are incredible. They also have this bird room/area where you can feed the birds. The entire trip here was honestly so much fun.
I’ve spent some time in the Black Hills of South Dakota, seen Mount Rushmore, went up Pike’s Peak in Colorado (which if you’re afraid of heights- like me- I don’t really recommend, but the views are spectacular), Witches Gulch in Wisconsin Dells, and a few more places, but outside of just going to my grandparents’ lake cabins, my favorite place I think I’ve ever been to is Sylvan Lake in South Dakota. If you’re looking for a lake place to spend the day, Sylvan Lake is definitely a spot I would recommend. I’ve been there a couple of times, and as far as traveling goes, this is my favorite place to go. You can hike, view the wildlife, go rock climbing, and the water is absolutely breathtaking. It’s really got something for everyone. There’s even a gift shop to commemorate the time spent there.
If you’re thinking about traveling, I suggest looking for places that are near to you that you may have overlooked in the past. You don’t have to always travel across the country to have a great vacation away from home. I hope this helped anyone who was looking for things to do during their summer! Comment below to let us know where you like to go or what you like to do when you have a break and want to spend some time to just get away from everyday life.
- Caitlin Barnard
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