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What does it mean to explore? Exploring means 

stepping out of your comfort zone and 

experiencing destinations you are not familiar with. 

Exploring can range from exploring your backyard 

to exploring a different state or continent. 

Growing up, I discovered that one of my 

favorite ways to explore was to travel. Traveling 

can teach you about geography, history, and 

different cultures. Over the years, my family 

and I have traveled to many different places 

within the United States. Three of these places 

include South Dakota, Texas, and California.  

Many years ago, my family traveled to South Dakota. 

The first place we stopped was Bear Butte State park. 

Bear Butte State Park is a state park in the Black 

Hills that is known for it's large body of igneous 

rock. Along with it's unique geography, many 

indigenous people and Native Americans believe 

Bear Butte Mountain is sacred. Today, the top of 

the mountain still serves as a place for prayer, 

peace, and meditation. 

Another historical place we visited in South 

Dakota was Mount Rushmore. Mount 

Rushmore is unique because in the front of the 

granite mountain is a carving of the faces of 

four American Presidents. The sculpture 

includes faces of George Washington,   Thomas 

Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham 

Lincoln. After visiting Mount Rushmore we also 

visited the replica of the Crazy Horse Memorial 

that is still under construction. 

Both Bear Butte State Park and Mount 

Rushmore are located near the Badlands 

National Park. The Badlands covers 242,756 

miles of protected rock structures and grass 

prairies that used to serve as hunting grounds 

for the Native Americans. While my family was 

in South Dakota, we spent a day biking across 

part of the Badlands and then spent the night 

at a state park campsite. My favorite part of 

the Badlands was seeing rock formations that 

rolled as far as the eye could see.

When my family and I traveled in South 

Dakota, I learned a lot about historic and 

geographic landmarks. On our next trip, we 

traveled to Houston, Texas where I learned 

about southern culture and got to experience  

much of what Texas had to offer. 

As soon as my family and I arrived in Texas, we 

grabbed a bite to eat at an authentic Tex-Mex 

restaurant called El Patio. Tex-Mex is a type of 

food often served around the U.S- Mexico 

boarder that is a mixture of traditional Mexican 

food and American food. Tex-Mex food typically 

includes dishes with a lot of shredded cheese, 

beef, beans, spices, and tortillas. My favorite dish 

is a traditional beef fajita. 

Our next stop was a Texas rodeo! At the rodeo 

I watched cowboys lasso sheep, compete in 

barrel racing and ride bulls. The rodeo exposed 

me to southwest culture and customs as well 

as taught me the slogan, "everything is bigger 

in Texas." My first Texas rodeo will always 

remain a day I will never forget. 

Our last stop in Texas was the NASA Space 

Center located in Houston. 

NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, is the organization that controls 

outer-space research and discovery. At the 

NASA space center I got to learn about the 

history of NASA, go in a flight simulator, and 

view space artifacts. Afterwards, my family and 

I even got to go on a tour of the Johnson Space 

Center, including the mission control building. 

I would say after trying Tex-Mex food, 

experiencing a traditional Texas rodeo and 

learning about the history of NASA, our family 

vacation to Texas was more than a success. 

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