At this exact moment we would have been out in Yellowstone National Park country enjoying the scenery, wildlife, and amazing features of the area. But COVID-19 postponed those plans for a year. So...just think...one year from today we'll be out there taking advantage of all we missed this summer. It will be worth the wait. The 2021 adventure will be our eighth trip to Wyoming & Montana.

For info on the 2021 adventure, click here.

You can follow us on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/mindstretchtraveladventures/
 
And if you don’t do Facebook you can follow us on our photo site at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums
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So it’s a bit late to sign up for this summer, but we want you to know sign-ups are open now for our 2020 season. We’ll be having just one trip – but’s a doozy and we’re to the place where we’ve been more than any other: Wyoming & Montana. Info can be found, along with the application, at: 
http://www.mindstretchadventures.com/2020-wyoming--montana.html
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​It was a year ago today that we were in London near the beginning of our 20-day adventure that would take us by train to some of Europe’s most iconic sites. About the time of this post we were finishing up our walking tour with our guide and finding our way to the West End to see a production of “School of Rock, The Musical.” Kids loved it and the show made for a nice end to the London portion of our trip. By mid-morning the next day we were traveling by Eurostar to Paris. 
 
Our new season of adventures gets underway ten days from today with a five-day trip to the North Carolina High Country. We will pack in an amazing number and variety of activities in this short experience. In July we’ll be in New England for 12 days. And for sure, just like last year’s Europe and Virginia Highlands trips, no day is ever the same.
 
We hope you’ll follow our travels here on Facebook as we get underway.
 
And if you’re curious about 2020, we’re heading out to Wyoming & Montana for ten days in July. Sign-ups have started and you can read more here: http://www.mindstretchadventures.com/2020-wyoming--montana.html
 

On the Cover! Nothing like old news, but the Christ Church Episcopal School magazine from last spring was buried beneath a ton of other old magazines around my house. These two are both "retired" MindStretch Travel Adventures campers. The magazine is from last year so both guys are now ninth graders.
Tripp (left) is a veteran of four MTA trips including Europe, Colorado Rockies, Wyoming - Montana, and North Carolina Mountains. And Benn has two under his belt -- West Virginia - Tennessee and the North Carolina Mountains.
We're excited that Tripp's little brother, Nate, will be joining us for his first adventure this coming summer on the North Carolina High Country trip.

This photo is from our 2016 Wyoming-Montana trip. We discovered a real phone booth at Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National Park. The boys in the foreground are attempting to hide the boys in the background who were attempting to see how many guys they could stuff into the booth. Now I’m not going to tell you whose idea this was, but definitely not mine! In any case, no park ranger came upon the scene at this moment and we quickly hightailed it out of there. In the meantime, we had a blast.
 
You never know what kind of fun we’ll have on one of our trips, but you won’t know if you’re not with us. 
 
Click to find out about our 2019 adventures. 

​Tomorrow is it – the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. I couldn’t let this pass without saying my heartfelt thanks to those incredibly thoughtful and forward-thinking people for realizing the importance of protecting our country’s beautiful natural treasures.
 
MTA boys and leaders have been humbled to visit, hike in, and explore several of these amazing places. This past summer we were in the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. In 2015 we were in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 2014 we were in Acadia National Park and in Shenandoah National Park. In 2017 we’ll be back in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in June and the Rocky Mountain National Park in July.
 
We love them all. Some of the others we’ve been to back in the early years of my travel program include Big Bend, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Sequoia, Zion, Badlands, Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, and Kings Canyon all come to mind. We’ve also visited national seashores, monuments, historic sites, national forests, and parkways. We should also mention the state parks, forests, and dozens of other public lands we’ve explored over the decades.
 
It has been quite some ride and we’re fortunate to have all of these protected areas for the future. It was indeed “America’s Best Idea.”
 
So, Happy Birthday National Park Service!

It's been about twenty years since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park. Check out this fascinating four-minute video. I'm really looking forward to being back out in Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons and other parts of Wyoming & Montana this coming July.

Click to check it out.

Photo from our last trip Yellowstone National Park in 2012. Can't wait to be back this summer with 23 boys.

This time last year we had only one boy enrolled for our two domestic trips. Fast forward a year and we're up to the 85% full point...and that is exciting. We still have room, but only limited space on the Wyoming & Montana trip (maybe two openings). At this moment we have plenty of space on the West Virginia-Tennessee adventure.

I'm in the process of sending our printed material to folks on the mailing list and hope to get our fall online newsletter out within the next two weeks. But being a one-person shop (during this time of year), it's a slow process. But you don't have to wait. 

Click to see the printed flyer that's going out.

And click this clink to see just some of the reasons why you might love a trip with MTA.

Of course, you don't have to read anything to sign up. Well, other than the application. Click here to access the online application to get a head start on your 2016 summer adventures.

He's smiling because he's the first to sign up for our 2016 trip to Wyoming & Montana. Yes, that's 2016! 

And his folks are smiling because they'll get a nice early sign-up discount. All boys signing up for either trip prior to August 1, 2015 will get the discount and you don't even pay a deposit until then.

It's a win-win.

To find out about our 8-day trip to the West Virginia & Tennessee Mountains and our 14-day trip to Wyoming & Montana...click the link below.

2016 MTA Trip Information

We had a great time out in Wyoming & Montana this past July. It was the first MTA experience for 60 percent of our group this summer and I think most would agree it was a fun time. The other 40 percent of the boys have been on two, three, four, and even five MTA trips before. They knew what they were getting into, but of course - every trip, every day is a different experience. It's just one of the things that differentiates these programs from a typical summer camp experience. The boys this summer hiked and explored in the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, rafted the Yellowstone River, took a horseback trail ride in Cody, visited a couple of museums, saw a rodeo, and of course - got glimpses of lots of wildlife including a mama bear with two cubs, bison, elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep. Click to see some photos from our most recent trip.

And we're always looking ahead...

Boys are already signing up for our 2013 trips. The first up (June 2013) is a seven-day experience in the West Virginia mountains. We'll base in the Greenbrier River Valley area which has plenty of great activities to keep us as busy as we want to be. We'll get to hike, explore, tube, take a train ride, visit America's best-kept secret, bike on the Greenbrier River Trail, and much more. The activities are suitable for all ages starting with boys who will have finished the third grade. Click for more info on West Virginia.

The Europe by Eurail expedition will be our major trip for 2013. This is our fourth adventure across the Atlantic. Can you imagine traveling across Europe by train getting to choose where you want to visit, how long you want to stay, what you want to see? This is exactly how we do it. We will have reservations for the first two or three and last two or three nights - then every day in-between is up to us. This trip already has a waiting list, but if you're interested in joining us there's always a chance. Most of the boys have been signed up since January or February and circumstances do change. So click to read more and let me know if you want to add your name to the roster. There's a chance we'll do another trip to Europe as soon as 2014 or 2015 since these trips have always had very strong demand.