Travel Journals!

Make them fast and easy without missing a moment of your vacation!

That’s me on the Green River heading toward Dinosaur National Monument when I was about nine years old. Oh, how I wish we kept a travel journal for my first official river trip. It was the beginning of a love affair with river adventures (thanks Mom and Dad!) that has never waned. Next week, I’m rafting the length of the Colorado River from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead. It will be my third time doing a once-in-a-lifetime adventure! I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Independence Day than screaming through Lava Falls with my family.¹

This time around, you can bet that I already have my travel journal ready to go (safely packed in a zip-lock baggie which will also be stowed in a dry bag because rafting the Colorado means we’ll get soaked a lot)!

Over the years, I’ve streamlined my travel journal routine so it’s fast, easy, and keeps me present during my adventures! Basically, I come home with a completed journal without the burden of another project hanging over my head. And, it’s the perfect way to preserve memories I never want to forget.

I can’t wait to share it with you. Let’s get to it!

Travel Journal Goals

• When I reread travel journals, I want to feel like I’m back on my trip, tasting the food, seeing the sights, and reliving memories with travel companions no matter how much time has passed.

• I want everyone—especially kids of any age—to be able to participate in the journaling process if they’re interested.

• I want to FINISH my travel journal by the time the trip ends!

Writing Decisions Based on My Goals

• I create sensory travel journals with pages like the one you see below. Using words associated with sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound help solidify and secure deep memories. ²

• I use lists since they are fast and easy (keeping me IN the moment during the trip). Plus, they allow travel companions to participate easily when I’m acting as the scribe. Making the lists during happy hour or in transit also encourages conversation.

Unpacking Your Trip With a List Poem

• At the end of each trip, we write an unpacking my adventure poem (created by my friend Lesley Tibbits). For me, this is the best part of the journal because every line reminds me of a memory I never want to forget.

• It’s a super easy list poem that’s fun to write collaboratively with travel mates.

• The poem begins with this line: I opened my suitcase this morning and out tumbled some dirty laundry and… Gather your people and ask everyone to call out anything they remember from the trip. Things like:

  • Places

  • Foods

  • Funny moments

  • Activities

  • Inside jokes

  • One-liners/Quotes

  • Books you read

  • Catastrophes (that you'll laugh at in the future)

  • Surprises

• The poem ends with this line: No wonder my suitcase was so heavy.

• Looking back through the pages of your travel journal is a great reminder for what to include in the poem.

• As you might expect, these poems are filled with insider references that only travel companions understand, but that makes your adventure all the more special.

• Here’s a sample poem that gives you a taste of what they’re like.

Even though I always do the same kind of sensory travel journal, the type of journal I use varies depending upon my mood and the type of trip we’re taking.

Here are four short videos showing you the kinds of journals I use:

• Zines made at home

• Cardstock and binder ring journals made at home

• Leather-bound Fillian Journal from Little Mountain Bindery

• Small journals purchased on Amazon, at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby

Printable Downloads and Directions

• Sensory Journal Page Template

• Unpacking Your Adventure List Poem

• Travel Journal Zine Template

Above and Beyond Additions to Your Travel Journal

Lately, I prefer keeping it simple. I bring one small journal (a zine or my leather-bound Fillian) and 2 pens in a ziplock baggie.

In the past, I’ve brought along some or all of these optional items:

• Small photos from mini printers. The quality of the photos isn’t phenomenal and you need power for charging the images and using apps on your phone, but these are fun, and especially convenient because the photos are also small stickers that I can put in my journals instantly.

  • I have the PrintPod (black and white sticker photos that have the feel and look of a receipt) and the Canon Ivy (color or black and white photos that look and feel like printed pictures).

• Travel watercolor set. I have this one.

• Painted paper (or any paper you collect on the trip) for collage

• Scissors

• Glue stick

• Hole puncher

• Markers

What my Travel Journal Doesn’t Include

• With the exception of an occasional sticker photo from my mini printers, my travel journals don’t include photographs.

• I always aspire to create companion photo books when I get home, but more often than not, my photos live in files on my computer.

When I/we write:

• Happy hour

• In transit

• Before bed

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I hope you keep travel journals on your trips this summer whether they are close to home or grand adventures in faraway places. You’ll never regret the process because you can return to your trips over and over again from the comfort of home.

Happy travels, friends!

Always writing on trips,

P.S. Next week’s post is my equation for a happy creative summer. To heck with haiku, let’s do some math!

1. I wrote about my love for the Grand Canyon HERE in a Substack post from October, 2024.

2. Here’s a great article from Psychology Today about the neuroscience behind smell linking our brains to strong memories.