Real-Life Family Travel Tips from Midwest Travel Mama
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
How do you make family travel feel doable—when you’ve got little ones, limited time, and limited funds? This week on The My Outdoorsy Mom Podcast, I’m joined by Kristen Keeler of @midwesttravelmama to talk about real-life family travel and simple ways to explore more as a family.
Kristen’s love for the outdoors was shaped by her rural childhood, playing for hours on dirt roads and in cornfields. Today, she’s raising three kids to love time outdoors—whether it’s in their own backyard or on an epic road trip. Kristen shares openly about how losing her mom was a catalyst for shifting her mindset: “Why wait for someday?” Now, she’s passionate about helping other families embrace simple, local adventures that fit real life.
Making the leap from backyard play to road trips
Kristen opens up about her family’s first big road trip—a 16-hour drive to Gulf Shores with a toddler—and how that experience sparked a love for road-tripping. She encourages parents to start small and let go of the idea that family travel has to be expensive or complicated.
How to find hidden gems close to home
From local Facebook groups to the AllTrails app, Kristen shares her favorite ways to discover new spots near home. We talk about the value of exploring within 30–60 minutes of your house and why “local” absolutely counts as travel.
Tips for hiking with kids
Kristen shares her favorite hiking hacks, from using bribes and snacks to keeping kids motivated with challenging trails that spark curiosity. We chat about why kids often do better with hikes that feel like an adventure and why you don’t need fancy gear to get started.
Why it’s okay to throw out the “rules” when traveling
Whether it’s screen time, snacks, or routines—Kristen gives permission to let go of the pressure and embrace what works during travel days. We both share personal stories of how loosening expectations makes the journey (and the memories) more enjoyable for everyone.
Letting your kids—and yourself—enjoy the trip
One of my favorite takeaways from Kristen is the reminder that family adventures should nurture both your kids and you. She encourages moms to plan hikes, museum visits, or experiences that fuel their own joy too—and to model that curiosity and adventure for their kids.
Outdoorsy Challenge:
Explore something local this week—a park, trail, or nearby town you haven’t visited yet! You don’t need fancy gear or a big budget—just pack a simple lunch and go.
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start adventuring as a family—this episode is your reminder that the time is now. Start small, keep it simple, and build memories that matter.
Want the full episode? 🎧 Listen to Episode 10: Real-Life Family Travel Tips with Kristen Keeler of Midwest Travel Mama
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Julianne Nienberg (00:00)
Welcome to the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast. I'm your host, Julianne Nienberg, mom of three, backyard adventure enthusiast, and your go-to gal for making memories outside with your kids. This is your space to ditch the pressure of perfect and embrace simple, soul-filling time in nature that fits real family life. Each week, we'll talk motherhood, nature play, travel, and entrepreneurship with honest stories, practical tips, and guest conversations that'll feel like chatting with a friend.
Whether you're raising wild little explorers or building a business during nap time, I see you. So grab your coffee, toss some snacks in your bag, and let's make some memories. This is the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast.
Julianne Nienberg (00:38)
Today, I'm joined by someone who's made it her mission to help families explore the Midwest and beyond without the pressure of perfection. I'm chatting with Kristen Keeler, the mom of three behind Midwest Travel Mama on Instagram, where she shares simple, doable travel ideas.
outdoor adventures, and real life encouragement for families who want to get out more Kristin grew up on a farm, so her love of nature started early. Now she's building a life with her kids that prioritizes unstructured time outside, family hikes, and memory-making travel that doesn't have to be extravagant to be meaningful. Kristin, welcome to the podcast.
Kristen Keeler (01:12)
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be on here with you.
Julianne Nienberg (01:14)
I loved learning that your roots started on a farm. mean, tell me more about that. Like, how did that shape your childhood?
Kristen Keeler (01:22)
So when I say farm, we didn't have cows and horses and all that, but we lived out in the middle of the country. We had no neighbors for miles. we grew up in the middle of nowhere and we would spend our evenings, our weekends, our summer just running around on the dirt roads and playing in the corn fields behind our house
we didn't have street lights or neighbor kids or anything. It was just kind of a free for all. So that's how I grew up. my parents would be like, go outside. It's time to be outside. So we literally just grew up outside.
Julianne Nienberg (01:53)
I love that I feel like there's so many of us millennial parents who remember playing outside and literally not coming home until it was dark or there was no parent to guide our playing. some of my greatest memories of childhood
were me climbing trees with a friend and we didn't have anything. We didn't have screens. We didn't have even music to play outside. We would play a Beatles tape on a cassette player while we were climbing trees and just doing stuff with ropes. knowing that was your background in your childhood, how has that shaped how you parent your kids today?
Kristen Keeler (02:17)
you
So much of it has shaped me as a parent. Part of my background is I'm a nurse and my mom was a preschool teacher and so, we would kind of stay up on the research of what screens are doing to kids and how it changes their brains and rewires their brains and how they see the world. before we even had kids, I knew that...
I just wanted to raise them kind of how I was raised. Just like you said, no screens. We were just kids. We didn't have to worry about anything. We just were kids. And so my husband and I have a huge love for the outdoors.
I remember my oldest when I just had one and she was probably 18 months and we would just go sit in the driveway. You know, we live in an H away. We live in the middle of the city, but we would just go out and she'd go barefoot and walk through the grass and we'd color chalk and ride our scooter and you know, just be outside. wasn't anything fancy and but it was outside and it was something to do and my kids have just learned.
to love outside and when the weather's even like 50s, they come home from school right outside. Our weekends we spend outside doing whatever it is, but yeah, that's our happy place.
Julianne Nienberg (03:33)
What's the age difference between your kids? Because you have three kids and I think they're similar to mine, right?
Kristen Keeler (03:35)
My oldest,
yes they are. My oldest is eight, she's in second grade and then I have a kindergartner who's six and then my three-year-old who's in preschool.
Julianne Nienberg (03:43)
Okay.
in the beginning when you just have one, I don't know about you, I felt really overwhelmed. I probably had to some degree some type of postpartum, but because it's just one and you're just figuring it out, I thought...
very overwhelmed at times to get outside. was also working full time and you know, like you said, a lot of our outdoor time was sitting on our front stoop. we lived in a house in Chicago and sometimes I felt some guilt over that. Like this is all that we're doing when I thought, I should be going to the zoo and taking them to all these cool places. And really at that age, they're so young. All they want is to be with you.
Kristen Keeler (04:11)
Okay.
Julianne Nienberg (04:16)
And like you said, doing chalk in the driveway or just sitting on your front stoop or sitting in your backyard to a small child, that's everything, right?
Kristen Keeler (04:25)
Your parenting style and just like you as a person changes so much and evolves so much as you have more children that like your first one like you said you're kind of in survival mode. I mean you're like what the heck is this? I just have this tiny human that I have to entertain all day long and try and keep my sanity from the time she was born I stayed home and I would work some part-time evenings here and there so I would have the whole day with this toddler
Julianne Nienberg (04:31)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah
Kristen Keeler (04:49)
that I'm just like,
okay, what next? Is it nap time? Yeah, like what do we do? it was just such a great way to break up our day and let her do her thing, you know?
Julianne Nienberg (05:00)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (05:00)
And even
from the time she was 18 months old, she could toddle around outside and I could sit her vise. I like that word and just kind of watch. I, you know, I wasn't having to like, OK, let's do this. Let's go here. she could just do her thing and I could kind of just sit back and watch. then as she learned to do it and the next one came along, he joined right in. I've heard you say I can be inside making dinner and the three of them are just outside doing their thing.
Julianne Nienberg (05:23)
I know, I love how the propensity for chaos seems to, you just have a greater tolerance for absolute craziness the more kids that you have, right? Because the things that I did with my daughter when it was just her compared to the things that I do now with three kids, I'm like, I don't even care where you are, just...
be outside, when I ring or call for you, you just come in. I would have never let my daughter just go, you know, I mean, I was definitely into fostering independent play, but at that time she was the first kid, so she was like kind of clingy and she would just like hover near me and she would be at her little water table, you know, five feet away from me. And now I'm like, all right, you know, come in when I call you for dinner.
Kristen Keeler (05:42)
We'll be
Yes, it's so true. you just that is survival mode for that first one. I'm telling you it was by far the hardest one.
Julianne Nienberg (06:08)
So how did you make this jump? I'd love to hear about this from, being a mom, being in the thick of it with three young children to all this travel and exploration that you've been doing over the last few years. I love keeping up with you and following on your Instagram account because you are exploring
A ton of really cool places that I don't think people realize are out there in the Midwest. I love that you are shining a spotlight on places near where you live. And I love that you're also embracing this idea of road tripping everywhere because I think that's just so quintessential like.
American road trip and you and your family are embodying that. I swear you're going somewhere like every weekend and even if you're not I just love seeing the recaps of all the places that you've been that I've have never been on my radar before. So tell me about that leap to having little kids and then deciding you know what let's get out of town or let's go explore somewhere.
Kristen Keeler (07:01)
I so I didn't grow up traveling. We didn't have money when we were kids and like I said, we just spent our summers at home in the backyard. my husband and I, always wanted to travel. We talked about it when we first got married, but we had student loans, we decided to buy a house, we started a family and it's just, we kind of got put on the back burner. And then I lost my mom to breast cancer three years ago and it was kind of an eye-opening thing to me.
we might not ever get retirement. know, like that day that we're waiting for to start all those things we want to do, it might not ever come. And so, I just, think the biggest hurdle was the mental one to just be like, you know what? We can be.
an adventure family, we can do it. We've never camped, we've never hiked, but sure, it can't be that hard, we can figure it out. And so just kind of getting over that hurdle of calling myself a traveler, calling myself we're a hiking family, we're an outdoorsy family. And kind of like what you said, you feel like you look around and you're like, just play in our backyard, we're not really an outdoorsy family. Just kind of getting over that mindset and being like, yeah, we are, we love to
Julianne Nienberg (07:45)
Ha
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (08:08)
outside we're gonna our kids are a little bit older now we're gonna start by going to the town over and then you know we'll figure it out and so that's kind of where it started and we're a family of five we are on one income we don't have unlimited travel funds unfortunately to go to you know all the beautiful places that we would love to on airplanes so we jump in our car and we just go and I think once I kind of started finding places that I'm like
Julianne Nienberg (08:09)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (08:34)
This is an hour from my house? Like how did I never know that? I mean, I grew up here and how did I not know that this was here? The more places I would find, the more intrigued I was. like, okay, well what else is there? Like, you know, how have I never been here? How have I never heard of this? And so that's kind of how I started exploring. And then, once I started sharing about it, people were like, what? That's in Kansas? That's in Oklahoma? Like I had no idea. And so the more I shared and the more people were interested in it,
Julianne Nienberg (08:36)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (09:00)
kind of the more exciting it got to be like, what hidden gem can we come across? Like, what can we find? you know, just encouraging people, like...
It's okay. You don't have to wait until you have $10,000 to go to a, you know, Caribbean island to take your kid on a vacation. you can make memories at the state park, an hour from your house in a little tent that you bought off Facebook marketplace. it doesn't have to be anything big or fancy, but you're still making the memories with your kids. You're still getting them outside. You're still traveling, even though it looks different than what you see on Instagram. And kind of breaking that stigma that people think it has to be.
big and expensive and you have to go to the beach and you know all the popular places to say you're traveling.
Julianne Nienberg (09:42)
in following you all this time, I think you're encouraging so many other moms and parents to do the same thing, to really dig down into where you live and find out what's around you. Right. What were some of the helpful resources that you use? You know, when I research things I'm going to Facebook, what were some of the helpful things that you use to to find gems near where you lived?
Kristen Keeler (10:06)
think like local Facebook groups are the best, that's the sweet spot because I'm in a, an Oklahoma day trip group and it's most people who live in Oklahoma and they'll give each other, you know, go here. This is a great camping spot. And so joining some of those local groups, you can find so many, places and hidden gems that you wouldn't just find on Google. So that is a huge one. Instagram.
Julianne Nienberg (10:13)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (10:27)
TikTok really to finding, know, like searching for places and finding, you know, people who post about it. And then I love the all trails app. I can find all kinds of cool, waterfalls, lookouts, you know, things like that. searching on all trails is one of my favorite ways to find cool places too.
Julianne Nienberg (10:43)
You know, I'm glad you mentioned that because I just downloaded the AllsTrails app again. I had it before and I don't know, I think it was during COVID and you know, we weren't getting out to those kinds of places as much. We were literally just going to the local high school football field and letting my kids run around. But I just downloaded it again. And that's been the push I needed use it this summer to explore some more local places, places that could just be 15, 20 minutes away. They might not be, an extensive hike.
Kristen Keeler (10:55)
Mm-hmm.
Julianne Nienberg (11:08)
but just different places to get outside and explore near where we live. So I love that you mentioned that. So tell me, about your first trip, how old were your kids, what was going through your mind? how far did you go? Did you go to a next town over? Did you go eight hours away? what were the highs and the lows of that first trip with your kids when you said, okay, we're getting out of town, let's go.
Kristen Keeler (11:13)
Yeah.
That's so funny that you say that because...
We had never actually taken a trip at all until my oldest turned four on this trip. So my youngest was just under two. he was like 22 months and on a whim. I was like to my husband. I was like I want to take our kids to the beach we can't afford airfare so we can't go to Florida, but let's go to Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is 16 hours from Wichita with a
Julianne Nienberg (11:53)
And this was your first trip that you were like, yeah,
let's do it.
Kristen Keeler (11:56)
with a one and a three year old and I'm like It's fine and my kids had never really been in the car much I mean we'd never done maybe I don't know a two to three hour get away and so I'm like it's fine we'll get some movies from the library and we'll
get all the coloring books and we broke it up and drove it in two days and they did amazing. They did so great and we went and spent a week in Gulf Shores, Alabama on the beach and it was the best time. We had like no agenda. We just left the kids playing in the sand and we saw dolphins and it was so amazing and after that I was like, okay, I'm hooked. where can we go next? And that was kind of like the first love of like a road trip that I ever had. I love
Julianne Nienberg (12:36)
That's amazing.
Kristen Keeler (12:40)
traveling through all the different towns and getting to make all the different stops and seeing the scenery. part of the best part is the journey there and kind of just seeing the things along the way and really getting to experience it.
Julianne Nienberg (12:51)
I mean, 16 hours is a bona fide road trip. for me, a road trip is two to four hours because I swear, you when my kids were little, they hated, they hated their car seats, hated long trips. And that just, shot my anxiety up to the roof. And so there for a long time, my cap was four hours because one of my kids really struggled with,
just being able to self soothe and fall asleep in the car. So that was really tough for us. we've gone up to the UP and we've broken it up into several legs of the trip. I think that has been a key to success and kind of building that road trip tolerance.
What is some advice that you would give to parents who maybe had kids like mine that hated the car, but you have parents who want to get out and do something and they want to kind of stretch that muscle a little bit. What advice would you give them?
Kristen Keeler (13:37)
My best advice
is that it's okay to throw all your rules out the window. You are really in survival mode when you're taking a long road trip. we are a very limited screen time family at home, but in the car, it's a free for all. We do tablet, we do switch, we do movies, we do all the screens. And it's okay. Like it's fine. it made my anxiety really bad at first because I was like, my gosh, my four year old just watched 10 hours of-
Julianne Nienberg (13:43)
Ha
you
Yeah.
it
Kristen Keeler (14:02)
bluey
like what is happening but it's okay because you get there you turn the screens off and they know it's the same rules at home we are here to enjoy our time and play and it's great and then when it's time to go home here's the screens it's okay it kind of makes it more fun for them too it's something exciting that they don't get to do normally a lot
All the snacks, we do little snack bags for each kid. Here you go, here's your snacks. It's got a mixture of actual like food and lots of treats in it
Just finding what works for your kid. like you said, not every kid is the same. And I got really lucky that my kids just did great in the car. They really have always done great. And I think that's part of why we can take so many road trips is because at this point, we're just kind of trained up and they know exactly what to do and they do great with it. if we would have had kids that weren't as great, we probably would have started smaller, like you said, and make it fun for them. Stop so long the way.
Julianne Nienberg (14:38)
Heh heh.
Absolutely.
Kristen Keeler (14:56)
stop every two hours like cool we found a great playground or here's a short little hike that we can stretch our legs or you know just kind of breaking it up and remembering that the journey is part of it so it's not like okay let's get from point A to point B as fast as we can you know this is 30 minutes out of the way let's take a detour to see such-and-such and you know let the kids run around and just kind of including them too and making them a part of the planning.
Julianne Nienberg (15:08)
Mmm.
I love what you said about the journey is part of the adventure, right? And I think sometimes as someone who likes to plan trips, who likes to plan these adventures, I get so caught up in let's get there, then we start the adventure. And I forget that sometimes getting there is half of the adventure. we've stopped off in certain places and
it's not even a playground, but it's just a park with a couple of statues. And they'll be climbing around the statues. They're probably not supposed to, but they're running around the statues, climbing, and that eats up 15 to 20 minutes. We have a snack, we'll stay there for 30 minutes, and then it gives them just enough time to stretch their legs and get back in the car. It gives everybody some fresh air, and then you can kind of reset and keep going on. I think there's so much of it that...
sometimes as adults we tend to miss. And I love what you've said too about now, especially that our kids are getting older, letting them be a part of the planning, when we've gone to Florida the last couple of times, or even when we've gone up to the UP, I've asked my oldest, my seven-year-old and my five-year-old. what do you want to get out of this trip? what are some things that you remember or what are some things that
Kristen Keeler (16:15)
Yeah.
Julianne Nienberg (16:18)
seem really interesting to you or things that you want to go back to or maybe you want to try something new. And I love hearing their responses because it really gives you a glimpse as to what's important to them. And it could be the tiniest thing. my kids loved sleeping in the bunk beds in the RV. we could have been parked in our driveway and they would have loved sleeping in those bunk beds. as kids get older, we can really be asking them these kind of meaningful questions as to how they want to enjoy their trip to.
Kristen Keeler (16:36)
that you reply.
Yes, I love it. And like you said, my oldest is eight and then six and they are just kind of to that stage where they're starting to be interested. My daughter's been asking, she really wants to go to Yellowstone. So I'm like, all right, let's plan a trip she's old enough where she's starting to learn about that stuff in school, you know, different places and history. And I love that, I can teach her those things like in real life and not just from a textbook. okay. You learned about the Civil War.
let's go see these places in real life.
part of it's almost selfish for me to as these are my memories that I'm making with my kids. And so I cherish them. You know, I know a lot of the trips and stuff we do, they probably won't remember, but I will. And you know, this is my motherhood, even though it's their childhood. I think also one of my biggest pieces of advice is that it's okay to be a little bit selfish and it's okay to do things that you want to do and include your family with them. you don't always have to, center your whole life around what your kid's interest is.
Julianne Nienberg (17:14)
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (17:36)
Not in a bad way.
Julianne Nienberg (17:38)
I completely understand. think it was you who had shared some of that sentiment and I remembered that when I was on a recent trip with my son to New York City. And New York City is great. There's so many things to do, especially for a kid like him who is all about big sights and sounds and it was just a sensory experience overall being in the city. But we went to the Museum of Natural History and this is the world's largest museum of
art and natural history, and I was pumped to see the architecture, and my son's the kind of kid that when he goes somewhere, he's in and out. sometimes I hesitate to do these things that cost, like, museums cost money. You can get Groupons and things like that, but I'll pay money to go somewhere, and that kid will be in and out in 20 minutes, and he's like, okay, I've seen everything I need to see here, I'm done. And I'm like, wait, wait.
This is a family experience. This is a shared experience. you know, there's, think, such a great learning lesson when you are part of a family, You are learning to enjoy and experience the things that other people in your family enjoy. They might not necessarily be something you enjoy, but there is such a learning experience to sit in, learning about someone else's interests, And to be a
part of that without complaining and whining and just being a gracious participant in that experience,
Kristen Keeler (18:50)
yeah. So my kids grumble all the time when we're hiking, but I'm like, you know what? We're a family. Part of being a family means we compromise and we do things that other people in the family want to do too. So we went to the kids museum this morning. Now we get to go on the hike this afternoon. So yeah, it is. It's good them to learn that compromise and that when they are an adult, it's not all about them. And when they're a teenager, it's not all about them.
Julianne Nienberg (18:52)
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes, I love
Mm-hmm.
So you mentioned hiking and I know in watching your content you guys hike and you do amazing adventures in some of these caves and things like that. When you started hiking with your kids were you using carriers? Your kids were really young probably at that time. So how did you get kids started on a hike and getting them to the finish line?
Kristen Keeler (19:33)
that's a good question. Sometimes I don't even know. Lots of bribes. Lots of bribes. Lots of... Yes.
Julianne Nienberg (19:37)
Lots of bribes. I'm not above
a bribe.
Kristen Keeler (19:40)
I have learned like
the best, you you always have in your backpack, like trail snacks, like, okay, we get Dum Dums or peppermints or gum or something yummy along the way. And then when we get to either the turnaround point or the, waterfall or the halfway wherever, then okay, here's a cookie or an Oreo or some kind of motivation. But.
the best way to get your kids to be motivated is to challenge them. Give them a hard hike. My kids will complain all day when we are on a flat trail just walking a circle around something. This is so boring. My legs are tired. I'm so tired. When you give them a hard hike that's uphill,
Julianne Nienberg (20:03)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (20:16)
water crossings, rock scrambles, anything that you would look at and be like, ooh, I don't know if my kids could do that. they're like challenge accepted. I can do this and this is awesome. And they will just hike it and I won't hear a single complaint and they just do it. So my best advice is to find the challenging hikes, even the ones that challenge me. Actually, when we were in Tennessee, we went on a hike and my husband and my younger boys stayed behind and my eight year old and I wanted to go finish it.
I at one point was like, is tough. I think we should turn around. And my eight year old was like, no mom, really want
see the cave like let's keep going I was like all right let's go if you want to go so you know giving them something that feels hard to them they like to accomplish that and they like to have that feeling of I can do it this is hard and you know I know you talked about risky play it's it's kind of the same thing just something where they feel like they're getting to make their own decisions they're getting to kind of challenge themselves and you're not like be careful don't fall off that rock watch out you know you're just letting them be just letting them go and
Julianne Nienberg (21:12)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (21:16)
and do their thing. We still wear my three year old, we have a Tula carrier and he's getting to where he can hike probably, three quarters of a mile before he wants to be carried and then we'll strap him on our back still but that was one thing, know, the longer the hikes we got and the more we started hiking we were like, well, we just have to find a way to take him with us he is like 40 pounds and it kills my back but we just strap him on so we can keep going.
Julianne Nienberg (21:40)
I love to think about the vantage points that the kids and the carriers get to see. they have ultimately some of the best viewpoints because they're high up. And I say this because I'm short. I'm five feet tall. whenever my kids are being carried by their dad who's six feet tall, I'm like, man, it is such a different world up there. But to be a kid who's outside and getting to experience the world and nature on the back of their parent, that is the sweetest thing to me. I think they're probably having so much fun up there, and I love to see kids.
who fall asleep in the carriers. I never did that. my kids, by the time they got to be 20 pounds and over, that's a lot of weight. I need to get stronger so that I can keep up with my kids, but also carry them when they're that heavy. But I just love seeing those videos and pictures of kids that fall asleep in the carriers while they're out hiking and backpacking. I think it's so sweet.
Kristen Keeler (22:23)
Mm.
And another
PSA to parents, you don't need anything fancy. You don't need any special gear to hike. We have a soft infant carrier that we are still hauling my almost four year old in. We hike in tennis shoes. We have just a regular backpack you don't need anything fancy. You don't need any expensive equipment to get out and hike. I get asked at least multiple times a week, what hiking shoes do you have for your kids? whatever shoes they'll put on. Tennis shoes, rain boots, flip flops. They've hiked in
Julianne Nienberg (22:44)
Mmm.
Kristen Keeler (22:50)
all of it.
Julianne Nienberg (22:51)
I know you and I had that conversation recently. honestly, we just go out in our tennis shoes and like they beat their tennis shoes to death. I did buy a hiking carrier and I think it was to take up to the U.P. and I got it on Facebook marketplace.
somebody else had used it probably a handful of times as well. I never ended up using it, okay? But I still paid like a fraction of the cost of a new one. I wasn't going out to the store and having to get it. I just like went down the street to somebody local who had it.
you don't have to have all this stuff. if you do need a couple things, try to buy secondhand, go to the thrift store or if you're in those buy nothing groups on Facebook or Facebook marketplace, there's so many great things on there. we have gotten almost all of my kids outdoor toys through marketplace. You know, all of their balance bikes have been used by others. And one of the best things we got
Kristen Keeler (23:23)
Mm-hmm.
Julianne Nienberg (23:34)
through our By Nothing group was our bike trailer. And that bike trailer served us for so many years when my two boys were little and then it was just my youngest in the bike trailer. And that was such a blessing that a neighbor was cleaning out the garage and said, hey, you know, does anybody need this? And I happened to be on Facebook that morning. I'm like, I want that. I've been looking for one. And when you're done with your things, give it to another family, That can use it and be blessed by it. But yeah, I think you had a
really solid point too with challenging and kind of leveling up our kids in terms of giving them hard things to do. My kids love a rock scramble. I kind of discovered this over the last two summers. My kids love to climb rocks. There's a couple of parks near us that have giant rocks like that. And then we did Mackinac the last two, three years. And each time we did it, I had a five year old and they crushed the eight mile loop on their bikes.
And the first time we did it with my daughter, Took us four hours to do eight miles, but when we'd stop and take a break, I'd say, do you want to keep going? And she's like, no, want to make it all the way to the end. And so, you know, we had a big, big treat at the end. We all had ice cream cones, but this little five-year-old biked eight miles around an island with varying terrain. So to your point, I think...
It is a great idea to challenge your kids, to give them something hard to do, when my kids see a flat trail, they're like, when are we going to get there? what are we looking for? they get bored too. So I think that's really great piece of advice.
Kristen Keeler (24:47)
Mm-hmm.
I just love, whenever I see a parent who's like, my kid doesn't like to hike or my kid, that's too, I'm like, why don't you try it? just go, just give it a shot and I think you'll be surprised. just letting your kids kind of lead and giving them something that they don't know if they can do and you don't know if they can do, but they can for sure do it.
Julianne Nienberg (25:15)
And I love too on your Instagram account, you always share like things to know before you go and then also just the varying difficulty of certain terrains. And I think that's so helpful for parents. And I want to transition to that. I want to kind of pivot to how you came up with Midwest travel mama. you and I are close to the same age and we've kind of grown up in this era of motherhood.
where everything is on social media, know, for better or for worse, right? I love that there are accounts like yours that are encouraging and that are, giving people great ideas and a great resource for families to plan their next adventure. So tell me, how did that start? how did you come up with Midwest Travel Mama?
Kristen Keeler (25:57)
It was actually kind of an accident. I, when we were planning a trip to South Dakota, I came across the blog, Emily Krause, on Mom Explores, and I used her blog. There just isn't resources for families with little kids. There just really isn't. And I understand now that I'm a mom of three trying to blog and social media, I understand moms don't have time.
Parents don't have time to run a blog or a podcast or social media account you just don't have enough hours in the day So I had spent hours trying to figure out this South Dakota road trip what were the best things to do our kids were two five two four and Six at the time and I was just like, you know, it's not rush more gonna be good for them Are they gonna be bored out of their minds? You know trying to find the resources I need and I came across Emily crosses
blog and I just consumed the whole thing. I was like, this is a real mom. they don't travel full time. Her kids go to school. she's got kids the same age as mine and she is this great resource for all these really great trips. And I just thought,
Julianne Nienberg (26:42)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Kristen Keeler (26:54)
I love to plan trips and I, love to find the best kid friendly things and write out itineraries and if she's out there sharing, I feel like I should share too and give that back to other moms who are looking for that resource. And so I came to my husband and was like, hey, I think I'm gonna start a blog.
Julianne Nienberg (27:05)
Hey.
Kristen Keeler (27:10)
I have no, like, I'm a nurse, I have no, like, social media, no writing, nothing. Like, I gotta start a blog. So, I randomly started it and,
Julianne Nienberg (27:12)
Yeah
Kristen Keeler (27:19)
realized that I didn't love writing as much as I thought I would, but I really loved the creative aspect of it and sharing the itineraries and the pictures and the formatting of it. It was actual writing that I was like, this is very tedious. How many ways can you say this place is great? You know what I mean? Yeah, right.
Julianne Nienberg (27:35)
This place is beautiful, right? It's breathtaking,
it's spectacular.
Kristen Keeler (27:39)
Yes, basically.
And so I was like, you know what? like you said, social media, I'm not a great social media person. my personal page has two posts a year. I just don't really share that much on social media. But I was like, you know, I'm going to give it a shot. And so I did. And of course, my first stuff wasn't that great, but I got better. And the more I did it and the more my account grew and people were like, I didn't know these things were in the Midwest.
know this was here and it just kind of took off and so really that's kind of my main focus now is my social media and I still have my blog and I kind of add to it I would like to add to it more but you know you never have enough hours in the day and so it was kind of an accident like I said I have no marketing I have no any kind of communications background at all and even now like I'll do a typo or something I mislabeled a place on a reel that went viral not that long ago and
I just put the wrong name because I did it at 11 o'clock when my kids were in bed and I'm sleep deprived and people were like, you know this is the wrong name. I'm like, I'm sorry. That's what happens when moms edit. That's what happens when you have mom influencers.
Julianne Nienberg (28:31)
Sure.
Yes. it's so true. I the mom brain never escapes, but I follow Emily too. think I get asked a lot if we homeschool because I don't know, I feel like homeschoolers have this vibe of fun unstructured play all the time. And, I think there's this part of social media that
can romanticize anything, You can romanticize sourdough making. No one's showing all the sourdough failures that they've had. No one's showing the sourdough starter that's been sitting in the refrigerator like mine has for the last eight months, But so there's this kind of this air of romanticizing it. So I get asked a lot if we homeschool. We do not homeschool. My kids, my three kids go to school. And so just like you and Emily's family and a lot of other families, our outdoor time is after school, on the weekends and summer, we go hard.
And so I love that you're a resource for families who are also, sending their kids to school outside of the home, here's what travel and adventure and getting outside can look like when you have your kids in a traditional school setting and you're really trying to maximize your weekends and summers with your family. recently when I traveled to New York City with my son, I thought about Emily's account because, she also talks about traveling on a budget and I know you do the same with the road trips.
we actually flew Spirit Airlines to New York City. And now I've been following their account and it's like, you know, we'll get you there in the same amount of time, just $200 cheaper. I think people think that traveling and planning, adventures and vacations for your family has to be extravagant. I'm like, I'm using a budget airline. And guess what? The...
Airplane was great. It was actually brand new. It was clean and it got us there 15 minutes early. that's all I need. I don't need a huge experience for a two hour flight. I just need to get there and I'd like to get there in a budget friendly way. So I love that you share those types of tips as well as Emily. And I think it's really, a testament to your social media and your Instagram following, mean, people just want more of those real life tips on how to
experience nature, how to get outside, how to have these great adventures with their families on a modest budget,
Kristen Keeler (30:44)
People like to see themselves, you know, and be able to see a family and say, they are a single income. their kids go to school, if they can do it, then, we can do it too. people just like to see relatable content. And so I think a lot of the people that are consuming the content are, millennials with kids at home and that are just trying to get out there and explore. And so, yeah, it's just nice to see people that you can relate to.
Julianne Nienberg (30:46)
Mm-hmm.
So I want to try something new because I feel like you have so many great adventures and great experiences. I want to do a rapid fire question. So you know how these go. Like you ask a question, you tell me the first thing off the top of your head. hopefully it'll pull some fun answers because I know that you and your family have been to so many different places.
Kristen Keeler (31:24)
Okay, let's go.
Julianne Nienberg (31:25)
Alright, here's our rapid fire question with Kristin Keeler of Midwest Travel Mama. What is your go-to car snack for road trips?
Kristen Keeler (31:32)
Probably cookies, Oreos, chips ahoy. Yeah.
Julianne Nienberg (31:33)
Ooh, Oreos, okay.
Anything that you can just throw back and you're like, I don't care, whatever.
Kristen Keeler (31:39)
Yeah,
right. Crumbs? My car is caked in them. I don't even care.
Julianne Nienberg (31:43)
Alright, what about, One Midwest destination that always surprises people.
Kristen Keeler (31:48)
Missouri, I
Julianne Nienberg (31:50)
I know you post
so many great things from Missouri from Kansas, I'm always blown away.
Kristen Keeler (31:55)
Yeah,
I grew up in Kansas, three hours from Missouri, never. I I think I went to Branson once, my whole childhood. And we really explored Missouri a ton this last year, and I was just blown away. this is four hours from Wichita. The hiking trails, the natural springs that are literally the prettiest shade of blue, just so many places that I was like, this is crazy, this is in Missouri.
Julianne Nienberg (32:19)
I know, I love seeing your stuff because we actually went out to Wichita. a couple years ago, we were invited to a wedding and we had never been. Like my daughter had never been through Missouri, my daughter had never been to Kansas, I had never been to Kansas. And we were out there for 32 hours for the wedding. But we were out on a farm outside of Wichita. this is such a beautiful part of the country.
we had a gorgeous sunset on like the farm fields and my daughter was outside for, no joke, eight hours because she was in the wedding too. She was a flower girl as for one of our dear friends, they got married and she was just running around on this farm field for eight hours in her little flower girl dress and she had a blast. So yes, I love seeing all that stuff on your Instagram. Funniest mishap with your kids.
Like funny as it could be funny to you maybe it wasn't funny to them but like looking back on it later you're like yeah that was actually hilarious.
Kristen Keeler (33:08)
and
We forgot my shoes.
He was two at the time. We forgot his shoes. We like we just didn't bring shoes. Which luckily it wasn't a super far trip. We were I think we just went to Kansas City and we pull up and we're like where where did you get Luke's shoes? Like where when we're searching the car and I'm like I don't think he came. I don't think he got in the car with shoes and yeah we didn't bring shoes for him. So luckily there's a Target everywhere and we got him shoes but I was just like how do you forget your
Julianne Nienberg (33:13)
⁓
Kristen Keeler (33:37)
Yeah, yes.
Julianne Nienberg (33:37)
For sure. Was this your youngest? Of course, of
course. The youngest, like that happens to us too. I'm like, I thought you were wearing shoes, We haven't been on a trip, but I'm like, okay, we have to go pick up your brother and sister, but you're not wearing any shoes. Like what happened? Okay. One thing you'll never leave home without.
Kristen Keeler (33:49)
Thank you.
gosh, on a road trip? Probably movies, DVDs, something for my kids to watch in the car. always, have it in screen like on our van and we go to the library and stock up on DVDs.
Julianne Nienberg (34:04)
Can I tell you, because I know that you're a nurse, I thought you would have said a first aid kit, but I love that you Okay, so.
Kristen Keeler (34:11)
I mean, I do have that, I use the movies
a lot more than I've ever used the first aid kit.
Julianne Nienberg (34:16)
You
I totally hear you. I've used the movies. So there's this trend going on on social media. I don't know if you've seen it, but the, you know, the hook is what's your most unhinged hack or tip? So let me ask you, have you seen it? Have you seen reels with that? Okay.
Kristen Keeler (34:28)
Yes, I have, yes.
Julianne Nienberg (34:29)
So let me ask you, What's the most unhinged thing you've done to either get ready for a trip or while you're on a trip just to survive it?
Kristen Keeler (34:36)
I think mine is screens. I mean, we've watched like 12 hours of screens and it's fine. Like they're fine. all screen time rules are out the window on a trip.
Julianne Nienberg (34:40)
Yeah,
Totally.
It's a free for all. It's absolutely a free for all, whether it's in the car or in an airplane. we do very limited screen time. most of the time, we can get through the week, without any screens and then we'll have a Friday night movie night as a family. My kids, when they know that a trip is coming up, they know that they're going to get to veg out on screen time for hours. it does build some excitement up for a trip, right?
Kristen Keeler (35:03)
Yes.
Yeah,
well, and truly, I think part of the reason that my kids, they're excited to go on road trips because they get to watch their favorite mind that they have to sit in a car for 12 hours. they get to watch a movie. So, yeah, that's
another one of my unhinged things is my kids don't eat a vegetable when we're traveling. Like my oldest is a very picky eater and she'll live on french fries for a week straight. And I'm like, you know what? It's all right. It's okay.
Julianne Nienberg (35:23)
You're good.
And one thing I'm learning too, especially as my kids get older, I think when they were younger, I had such finite eating times. was like, since we eat at home at 11.45 or 12, when we're on vacation, we eat at 12 o'clock. And like now that they're getting older, the other day when we were in New York City with my son, we ate lunch at two o'clock, because we were just out, exploring.
and we just skipped dinner and then we had pizza at 9.30 at night you know what, why do I get so hung up about maintaining these routines that work at home but they don't have to be that way when we're in a different setting. So that for me, it's kind of been like a learning curve lately just to like, kind of just let go of that, you know?
Kristen Keeler (36:07)
I feel that really like in my soul and I think a lot of that comes like kind of like we talked about when you just had one and I don't know about you, our routine That was the only way I could survive knowing what was coming what time we were doing it And I probably did have some postpartum too But by now we have three and we're always on the go and just kind of relaxing and just being like you know what?
Julianne Nienberg (36:29)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (36:30)
It's okay. Like, I don't
Julianne Nienberg (36:31)
Mm-hmm.
Kristen Keeler (36:31)
need to worry about it. I don't need to get stressed out about it. There's no use in, you know, energy and worry about something that is really, it's okay if we eat an hour late or if we eat an hour early or if my kids eat chicken nuggets for seven days straight. it's okay. It's fine. We're making memories. One day we're gonna look back and be like, remember that trip? It was so great. And no one's gonna remember that your kid ate chicken nuggets for a week straight. it's fine.
Julianne Nienberg (36:41)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Right. Or
And I think to your point, when you have just one, it's like everything's in a vacuum. Like everything, it's sleep routine, sleep schedules. And, when you're in it, it's hard to see outside of it, when I was in it, I was like, my gosh, am I just going to be this way for the rest of my kid's childhood? Like I really believed that I was just going to be.
Kristen Keeler (37:09)
Yes.
Julianne Nienberg (37:12)
kind of a little uptight about everything, about making sure they had all their sleep interventions, you know, their white noise machine. And I think the gift of time and the gift of having more kids and just the gift of them growing up is that you as a mom, you just go through so many things, you experience so many things. And it's just, it's some of that wisdom that you can only get with time, right? And that now that we have three kids,
we can look back and say, yeah, like man, I was really uptight about that. And now with three kids, it's a free for all. Like they're just running feral. They haven't showered. Like when we are up North, like they don't shower for three or four days. I'm like, who cares? Who cares? We're going to go swim in a lake. And that's their shower. Like they'll get it all off when they go swimming. But yeah, I think it's just that gift of time and that the wisdom that you get as your kids grow up and as you grow as a mother,
Kristen Keeler (37:48)
Yep.
Julianne Nienberg (37:58)
Every week I give the listeners of the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast a challenge, an outdoorsy challenge to do. It could be anything. Kristin, if you could give an outdoorsy challenge to all the listeners, what would it be?
Kristen Keeler (38:09)
Find somewhere local to you that you've never explored. It could be a town close by or a hiking trail or a state park. Just somewhere that was within 15, 30 minutes, an hour even of your house that you've probably lived by it for years and you've never been there. And just go explore, spend the afternoon. You don't have to spend any money. Pack your lunch, pack your snacks and just go explore a new place that's close to home that you didn't.
know was there you just have never taken the time to explore because some of the best places are you know right next door and we don't take the time to explore them because we don't think that it counts as traveling if we don't go far or we don't get on an airplane or we don't spend a lot of money or even if we don't stay overnight we don't think it counts but it does and you're gonna make some of the best memories and see some of the things that you had no idea existed were right there.
if you don't do it. So yeah, explore local.
Julianne Nienberg (39:02)
I love that. That's a great outdoorsy challenge. if you're listening, your outdoorsy challenge for this week is to explore something local. And if you do it, make sure to tag us on Instagram so we can cheer you on.
Kristin, thank you so much for being here. For everyone listening, go give her a follow over on Instagram at Midwest Travel Mama, and you can check out her blog at MidwestTravelMama.com for easy travel ideas and outdoor inspiration that actually fit real life. Kristin, thanks so much for being here.
Kristen Keeler (39:30)
Thank you so much. had a great time.
Julianne Nienberg (39:31)
Until next time, get outside, make it simple, and I'll see you back here next week.
Julianne Nienberg (39:35)
Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. I hope this episode left you feeling encouraged and inspired to get outside and enjoy nature wherever your feet are. If you loved what you heard, it would mean the world to me if you tap those five stars or leave a quick review. It helps other outdoorsy minded moms find the show and grow the sweet little community. And if you're looking for more ways to simplify, slow down, and connect through nature, you can find me over on Instagram at myoutdoorsymom, read the blog at myoutdoorsymom.com, or explore all my digital resources and seasonal guides in the shop.
Everything's linked right there in the show notes. Until next time, take a deep breath, step outside, and I'll meet you back here next week.
