Where Have You Lived and Traveled in Your Life?

Roadtrip through the San Rafael Swell | The Wedge (Little Grand Canyon) ...

Growing up on a farm my family didn't travel much.  As an adult, I have realized that some of the places we did go which weren't very far away were some amazingly beautiful places.  I still haven't seen all the places in the San Rafael Swell.  Seeing videos like this brings back some memories and gives me a chance to see places I haven't seen yet.  You may want to share videos with your family or friends of places you have been too.  Share photos that you have of places you have been.  Write about your experiences in traveling there. 

 

Loa Utah Travel Video

Another way to learn more about your grandparents or other ancestors is to look up videos of places they lived.  My grandmother was born in Loa, Utah.  Searching for videos I found the above video about Loa, Utah.  I didn't realize it was close to the Capitol Reef National Park.  The area is beautiful.  It is fun and interesting to see where she was born.  Look up photos or videos of the places your family members were born or lived.  It can help you get to know your ancestors even better.

Consider making a family tree using a photo of an area your ancestors lived in.  The following family tree mouse pad has a photo of the area my parents grew up in and that I grew up in.  The mouse pad is set up with templates that can be personalized with your own photos.

Family Tree Castle Country Photos and Quote
by storykeeper

Oakland View San Francisco Photo 2 Family Trees
by storykeeper

Create a family tree poster with a photo of a significant place in your family's history.  This photo is significant in my husband's family history since his maternal grandmother experienced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when she was living in Oakland.  Below is a video filmed in 1906 in San Francisco.

Following is a video of the destruction from the earthquake.

Add to your story or your family's story with information about places traveled to and lived in.

Memories of Places You have Traveled

What places have you or your family traveled? Are there any special memories from visiting certain places? What do you remember?

 A lot of people take a yearly vacation to some place special. You may have pictures or even videos of the places you have visited. Pictures say a lot about your trips, but there are stories to go along with the pictures. Why did you go there? Was it as nice as you thought it would be? Who went with you? Did you spend a few hours or a few days there? Every trip has a story behind it. Write about your trips to add to your story.

 I grew up on a farm. We didn't travel very much. I don't think we ever went on a trip more than two or three hours from home. Usually we only went for the day, since my dad had to get someone to take care of the animals while we were gone. Most of our trips were to Salt Lake City since it was the closest big city. My parents may have needed to do some shopping there, but they usually planned something fun for us to do. We went to the zoo, the amusement park, the state capitol, Pioneer Village, and frequently Temple Square.

 My husband planned trips for our family to see some of the beautiful places around us. He took us to Yellowstone on a trip up to see his parents. He took us to see fireworks on the Fourth of July of the lake at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He took us to see the Giant Redwoods and to see Yosemite National Park.

 We didn't take photos of many of the places we went. Remembering cameras and film and paying for developing the film was often not done when we traveled. Today with digital cameras and smartphone cameras you usually have a camera with you. The cost of developing film is gone. You just have to have memory to store the photos. You can choose to print the photos or you can keep them in a digital format and view them whenever you choose. Many photos of places are available online now. Seeing those photos can bring back memories. You can purchase photos or you may even find some photos available for your use without charge. Even if you don't have photos of you or your family at a certain place, you still have the memories that you can write down to preserve your story.

 Take time to write about the places you have gone and your memories of those places and add to your story.

USA, California, Yosemite National Park, 5 Poster
by DanitaDelimont

Tell About an Exciting Place You Have Been To

Another prompt for writing your story is:
Tell about an exciting place you have been to.
 You have probably been to many exciting places.  A place could have been exciting because you had always wanted to go there and there were exciting things to do and see there.  A place could have been exciting because of who you would see and spend time with there.  A place could have been exciting because of an exciting event that happened there.  The post just before this one is about a woman's search for her family history and how it made history come alive for her.  She hadn't really felt really American until she found out how her ancestors had been involved with the Gold Rush and the Salem Witch Trials.  Traveling to those places where her family had lived became very exciting.

The above photo is of Bodie, California.  It is a well preserved ghost town.  I enjoyed going there because I love historic places.  I like the feeling of going back in time.  I went with two of my daughters and a group of other friends.  We spent the day and had a picnic lunch there.  It was a most enjoyable day.
Record the places you've traveled to, why you went there, who you went with or who you went to see and what you did while you were there.  You probably have many places you have been that have been exciting and you were grateful you could travel there.