Recently, my family and I went on a road trip to Vail, Colorado. During those long hours in the car (and I mean long) I had some time-ok, a lot of time-to think about the next article I wanted to write.

As I looked out the passenger window and watched the sunset in the side mirror while listening to the "Grateful Dead" radio station, I realized that I wanted to share some of the great moments of a family road trip (or any road trip in general). Here are the beautiful moments of a road trip that I've recently learned to appreciate.

1. The Snacks

I'm not sure if many other families do something like this, but my family and I will put together bags of snacks specifically for a long road trip. This has (oddly) always been one of my favorite things to do. As weird as it may sound, there's nothing like stocking up on trail mix and sour patch kids before an eight hour car ride. In some strange way, I believe that a plethora of snacks truly makes a car ride more bearable.

2. The Completely Random Stops

Again, I'm not sure if other families do this too, but my family basically agrees that if a car ride is already incredibly long, what's wrong with adding a few special detours here and there? For example, we were recently driving through South Dakota when we saw a sign on the freeway that promoted the 'Corn Palace'. It was a castle made entirely out of corn. How could you not stop and see something like that? So, we all looked at each other and just said, "why not?". As silly as these stops may seem, I will admit it was priceless when my dad pulled to the side of the road in a 'no parking' section, then we watched as my sister quickly hopped out of the car so my mom could take a picture of her in front of this palace made of corn. It's random, spur-of-the-moment stops like these that create memories and can also make a road trip a little more exciting.

3. The Music

As obnoxious as it is having to share the car radio (and sometimes fight over it) you have to admit I can be kind of fun listening to such a wide variety of music. On our car rides my family usually flips through every radio station looking for something to listen to. There's nothing like that moment when you find a song that everyone in the car knows and you all just end up jammin' out.

4. The Views

Since there's quite a lot of land in between Wisconsin and Colorado, I definitely got to see my fair share of landscape in my car rides there and back. Whether the views are as flat and (sorry to say this) boring as Nebraska or as stunning and entertaining as the Badlands in South Dakota, you should admire every new part of the country that you see because who knows when you'll see them again?

5. The Destination

Of course, probably the most important part of any road trip is the destination. It's what you've been in the car for hours for; and you've finally made it! Enjoy your trip because before you know it, it'll be time for the long car ride back home!