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Hey, I'm Jocelyn and I wanted to go over with you taking your kids to National Parks because National Parks are incredible
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But they're not just National Parks. The National Park Service runs National Parks, monuments, preserves, historic sites, national memorials, national battlefields, cemeteries, recreation areas, trails, lakeshores, seas, seashores, rivers
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There's even a parkway or two. So don't think of national parks as just Yellowstone and Badlands and the Grand Canyon
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There's so much more. And this is our history. Whether it's natural history or it's human history, this is ours
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This is public land. We all own this. So take advantage of it and get out here and see it with your kids because it's incredible and such a great education
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You can see everything from historic sites that honor Dr. King to Montezuma's Castle
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I mean, there's just such a plethora of things to do and see. This is a great place to bring your kids
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So let's talk about how to bring your kids and how much it's going to cost you
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A lot of sites are actually free. Not all, but many are. But admissions kind of just change over time and it also depends on the place you're in
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So some may be free and others may be over $20. One way to get in for free is to have a fourth grader So if you have a fourth grader there a program in the NPS called Every Kid Outdoors Program
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So basically, it's just the government trying to get kids to see the outdoors and to experience this
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So if you have a fourth grader, starting September 1 all the way through August 31st
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you can get into parks for free. Your child gets you in for free, so they kind of become the superhero of the family, right
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You can get all kids under 16 in the group as well as up to three adults can come in together
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or just the whole carload of you as long as you've got that fourth grader
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So go to the National Park Service website. Get on there. Look up every Kid Outdoors program
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It's really easy. Basically, you go in, you register, you print off your little ticket, and you take it with you
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There are a couple other little things, but get in there and get that done because you get in free for a whole year
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The other way to get in for a whole year is to buy an America the Beautiful Pass
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And they're about $80 right now in 2020. I'm sure that can change
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But for $80 you get to get into all these NPS sites for just that one price
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Which, if you're going to go on a big road trip and you're going to see a whole bunch of them and you don't have a fourth grader
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that's a really great way to do it. It save you money but all that money is going back into the Park Service to help upkeep these beautiful lands and these incredible monuments that we got Another thing to consider when you making a national parks vacation is to make reservations
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There are a lot of places, if you're camping, they may not even take reservations, but if
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they do, they fill up quick, especially like May through August, you know, when kids are
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off school, everybody's out traveling. So think about that and start making reservations well in advance
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Places like Yellowstone that have an inn attached to them, they are definitely, you've got to get those a year in advance too
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So start making those reservations and plan well ahead. So if you're going to go camping in any of these, be well prepared
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If you've never been camping before, think it out, research it, make sure you've got all the things you need
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and that your kids are very aware of safety things, because safety is a thing when you're camping in nature
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there are rattlesnakes here there are prairie dogs which i don't think are a big deal but there are
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mountain lions and grizzlies and all sorts of other stuff in different parks so be aware of
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your surroundings and educate yourself before you get there when you're planning this with your kids
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bring your kids into the planning have them map out the entire thing have them choose what parks
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you're going to go to and maybe the order you're going to do it in you know get them involved and
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And, you know, that just gives them a little bit of buy-in. And it makes it a lot more important for them and a lot more memorable for the whole family The NPS runs a really great thing called the Junior Ranger Program And it for kids about like five to 12 There are all sorts of different parts to it
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You can do a whole day program that's led by rangers, or they can just maybe get a map and check some things off
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or like fill out a little booklet. They've got all sorts of different things depending on the age and ability of your kids
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So check that out as soon as you get in, go to the visitor center, ask about what programs they've got for the kids
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in the Junior Ranger Program and head out on your own or with rangers
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and let them really experience it and learn a lot. With all of our trips, we really encourage our kids to get in on the planning
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And if they're not helping us with the planning, sometimes we just get them excited by showing them movies or TV shows
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have them read some books, you know, that are based, whether they're fiction or nonfiction
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just get them interested in the area you're going to, even if it's not the exact national park that you're going to see
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Have them read a book about Wyoming and Montana or the Great West
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before you go to Yellowstone. Have them read something set in Maine before you go to Acadia
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There's so many cool things to get your kids involved with. So I really encourage you to visit our beautiful national parks
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and all these great public lands we have. Do it with your kids because it gives them such a sense of pride
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and it's a great thing to do. So goodbye from the Badlands and we'll see you later
