Most families who do road trips have the nerdy things they do, things kid remember when they are older and may incorporate into their own road trips as grownups.
Ours is signs! 
Not just any signs but signs that tell a story about our trip. We try to catch the state signs as we cross the border. 
Most times it works, but occasionally, especially on bumpy roads or at night, the picture is blurry.
There are some signs we always try to get like the continental divide or time zones, or the one that makes you wonder “huh?” 
During our trip across country we saw a lot of interesting things, but the most startling were in the panhandle area of Florida, and the surprising evidence that remained of Hurricane Michael from last October. I just read this morning that this hurricane was upgraded to a category 5 and after our drive through its damage path I am not surprised.
The huge stumps of massive trees ripped from the ground, 
the ripped and tossed interstate signs, and houses and barns that looked like they exploded gave hubby and I pause at the power of nature’s fury. Interstate 10 was closed for quite a while due to downed trees and storm debris. Huge swaths of land were cleared where trees had been uprooted.
I’ve enjoyed road trips, mostly, especially when I go places I’ve never been and this trip took us through areas of our country that are the polar opposite of southern Arizona. I dug it!! Especially when we have plenty of time for side trips. We hit several places indicated in our National Parks Passport. This really gives us an even more diverse travel experience.
So now I have memories from which to compose, what I hope are interesting narratives, and photos of locations that might make you curious to go see for yourself.
So here we go…
Cheers!
-N