Our Pandemic Road Trip
Our family loves to travel, but after spring break plans were cancelled and virus cases surged around the world, we weren’t sure when we would get to travel again. Then one afternoon in mid-June, my husband found out he needed to make a last-minute trip to Minnesota for an urgent matter with work. He wasn’t comfortable flying, so he was going to drive. We started talking and decided that we could turn this trip into a fun pandemic family road trip, and we believed we could do it safely by following the same precautions that we were following at home. We only had about 3 days to plan and pack, so we didn’t have any time to waste!
Our boys had been begging to go to Mount Rushmore, which is in South Dakota. It’s still quite a distance from Minnesota to Mount Rushmore, which is on the western side of South Dakota, but it’s a lot closer from there than it is from East Tennessee. The opportunity was just too good to pass up, so my husband arranged to take some time off work, and we got busy planning! It turns out Mount Rushmore is very close to Custer State Park. It’s also not too far from Badlands National Park and Devils Tower National Monument. When you are that far west already, it doesn’t add too many miles to pass through Rocky Mountain National Park as well! So, we mapped out a big circle that took us through Estes Park, Colorado, up to South Dakota, over to Minnesota, and back home to East Tennessee.
I researched hotels and Covid precautions and made a few phone calls to verify procedures for my peace of mind. In addition to all of the normal things we pack, I made sure we had an ample supply of disinfecting wipes and spray, and we gave the rooms a good wipe down after check-in at each stop. We packed a cooler of food and plenty of picnic supplies to reduce the number of times we would need to order takeout during the trip. We bought disposable masks since we wouldn’t have a washer and dryer handy. We also packed disposable gloves to use at gas pumps and other places where we would need to touch things. I also added a few extra items to our first aid kit, including a thermometer and a pulse oximeter just in case someone started to feel sick.
We hadn’t really been anywhere since this all started back in March, so I was very nervous as we started out, but I quickly discovered that travel can indeed be done safely during a global pandemic. We made so many memories and have some iconic photos of us with masks in front of Mount Rushmore and of making sandwiches in the back of our minivan at rest areas. In many ways, this trip was much simpler than what we are used to, but I know it will be one we always remember. If you’re looking for a way to travel safely during Covid, a road trip is definitely worth considering!
Blog by: Naomi Brown, Wishes Travel Concierge Specialist
