Lessons learned visiting national parks with in-laws

Here’s What 7 National Park Trips With My Father-in-Law Have Taught Me About Life

Stories 18 Apr 2025 Mar Yvette

Over the last seven years, my husband and I have traveled to seven national parks with my father-in-law. These trips have taken us across breathtaking landscapes throughout the United States, but their real impact has been on our relationships.

From our first trip to Yosemite to our most recent adventure in Zion and Bryce Canyon, we’ve learned how to navigate our differences and strengthen our connection in ways that everyday life doesn’t always allow.

Living on opposite coasts (us in Los Angeles and my father-in-law in Miami) means that visits have always required a bit of effort. For years, we stuck to the usual routine: either we’d fly to see him, or he’d come to us.

But soon after my father passed away in 2018, my husband and I realized how important it was to make more memories with his dad. That’s when we decided to turn our visits into something more, trading the familiar backdrop of home for new experiences.

Family dynamics can get awkward, especially when spending hour after hour, day after day, in close quarters. But keeping the bigger picture in mind and going with the flow has taught me valuable lessons about travel and life in general.

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