How Winning $15k from T+L Inspired Me to Buy a RV and Visit Twenty National Parks in the U.S.

The white was blindingly vibrant against the blue, clear sky. It wasn’t snow, we were in New Mexico. It was gypsum—undulating dunes of gypsum sand, one after the other, stretching across the horizon. We were in White Sands National Park.

A distant spire appeared to glow gold. The mountain could have been a golden Thai temple, but at dusk it was glowing. We were in Death Valley National Park. 

The trees were dripping. The ocean beneath trembled. The redwoods were huge, dwarfing the truck and trailer. We had driven to Redwood National Park The road trip of your lifetime in northern California. 

White Sands, Death Valley, Redwood—we visited 20 U.S. national parks We have travelled 11,000 miles in two months through the south and west of America. And we’ve got Travel + Leisure Thank you for that.

I entered T+L’s World’s Best Awards survey By rating the hotels we’d been to in Singapore and Thailand. Then, it was forgotten. After a few months, I received a message claiming that I had won a prize. I thought it was scam. But it was not: I had won $15,000 What could I do with $15,000. I thought about taking a vacation. In 48 years, we had traveled to Europe and the Caribbean. We also visited Mexico, Canada, Thailand and China. We’ve also been on cruises and to resorts. Other than the Grand Canyon I had never been to a national park. It was a roadtrip, which required a travel “home,” or recreational vehicle.

We bought Rosie, our small camping trailer named after her resemblance to the robot maid from The Jetsons. She had everything that we needed: A queen-sized bedroom, a kitchenette with a dinette and a bathroom large enough for Superman.

Our home in Grand Rapids Michigan was sold on November 25, 2024. Gateway Arch, in St. Louis Missouri, was our first national park. The 630-foot tall arch in the world was reached by a ratcheting elevator. It was beautiful to see St. Louis from above, but it was even more spectacular from the bottom, beneath the stainless-steel monument created by Eero Sarinen.

Spending Thanksgiving in the Near Oklahoma CityAnd ate local steak instead of turkey.

After a lengthy drive, Route 66 We visited Petrified Forest National Park while traveling through Texas and New Mexico. Arizona. Trees that were 200 feet high and fell in the Painted Desert 200 million ago are now crystallized.

Zabriskie Point was the first viewpoint we reached as we entered Death Valley National Park. The view was shocking: miles and miles of rock—mudstone badlands—filling the horizon. The people were squabbling over these huge piles in the distance.

The Inn in Death Valley, an adobe-restored compound located in a desert oasis garden, was decked out with pinyon. Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs wafted through the air.

Our first look at El Capitan, Half Dome and the surrounding area. Yosemite felt big—big sky, big climbs, big views. Ansel Adams, the famous photographer, has made monumental granite walls encircle the valley. The Ahwahnee was our dinner destination on the second night. As we walked into the dining area, the tall windows and timbered ceiling beams were overwhelming. As we left Yosemite snow had just begun to fall.

Redwood National Park was our final national park before Christmas. The rain was heavy, but the trees kept it quiet. We walked quietly in the park. The only sounds were our shoes squishing against each other and water dripping onto our heads.

We visited Sequoia National Park in January, California wine country and Palm Springs followed by Joshua Tree You can also find out more about the following: Saguaro National parks. We walked down 750 feet into Carlsbad Caverns and were greeted by calcite formations at every turn.

Big Bend National Park It is located in the southwest corner, along the Rio Grande. This is one of the largest and remotest national parks with over 1,250 square mile, which includes the Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains. It also has spectacular river canyons. Santa Elena Canyon’s sheer walls rise in Mexico, just a few feet away.

Our last park, the Natchez Trace National Parkway, follows an ancient Native American trail, used by explorers and Native Americans such as Daniel Boone from Natchez in Mississippi to Memphis in Tennessee. We walked parts of the Sunken Trace. This section is so badly worn that the walls reach 15 feet above trail level.

On February 1, 2025, we arrived back in Michigan. Rosie is now stored, awaiting the next adventure. I can’t wait to go back. The national parks brought back in me an innocent sense of wonder. Each day was filled with new sights.

You should definitely go. Enter the T+L competition when you see it. You could be shocked by the next events.