I think the greatest fear on a road trip with small children is that you will somehow scar them for life.

They’ll get abducted.

They’ll see locals smoking weed.

Or Mom and Dad will have a complete meltdown – potentially in public.

The last one, I’ll admit, is the closest to reality.

But I’m happy to report that none of the above have occurred on our cross-country road trip.

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Day Six was indeed our best day yet, but you would never have believed it yesterday morning.

At our little canyon motel outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, our toilet wouldn’t flush properly. In fact, it didn’t flush at all. The shallow water didn’t budge.

So our family collectively held in nature’s call until Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where the river took a hipster turn.

Smoothies, a paleo muffin, and functional plumbing. Finally, reassurance that God hadn’t abandoned us!

After two windy hours on mountainous roads, we stopped for a picnic. This time it didn’t rain, and the kids actually played on the nearby playground.

At one point, I glanced over my shoulder to see our three-year-old swinging his little sister – completely of his choosing. I swear our children have matured at least one year since we left nearly one week ago.

But our beautiful day peaked with Dinosaur National Monument. My husband and I have scientific backgrounds, and it thrilled our souls to see our kids overwhelmed by prehistoric enormity.

I even captured – with a strategically placed iPhone – our son discussing how dinosaurs in and around the monument met their demise.

This, this is why we do the hard things.

And, truly, there is no greater reward than viewing the ancient petroglyphs before sundown with your children in arms.