Wearing a fake beard and a red plaid shirt on national television was a small price to pay to see the pyramids of Egypt.

When Alicen Burns Spaulding of south Minneapolis and her family won $42,000 dressed like lumberjacks during a Halloween appearance on "Family Feud," she knew exactly what she and her husband would do.

"We knew that whatever we won we would spend on travel," Burns Spaulding said.

Few have had such luck. As families face falling home prices and rising unemployment, the recession has put a damper on summer travel plans, causing steep declines in spending on everything from hotels to souvenirs, according to the U. S. Commerce Department.

At the same time, many Minnesota families have been loathe to give up their summer vacations, and they've made sacrifices to travel. "People are definitely still traveling," said Alison Traxler of MLT's Worry-Free Vacations. MLT agents have seen roughly the same number of travelers this summer as last year; they're just getting more creative.

Audrey Hendley, American Express' vice president for marketing and strategic partnerships, said a recent survey of travel agents found more customers are taking advantage of last-minute deals and opting for frequent-flier plans through their credit cards.

The survey, an online poll of 603 of the company's agents nationwide, also found that travelers are gravitating toward all-inclusive packages, which some believe makes it easier to understand the total cost of a trip.

Traxler said travel agents have been booking fewer flights to Mexico and Europe, but more to domestic destinations such as Las Vegas and Florida. Those destinations are popular with road-trippers, too.

Lisa and Chris Gemlo of Golden Valley eventually plan to visit all 50 state capitals with their two sons. So far this year, they've been to Springfield, Ill., and have explored St. Paul.

They've toured the country with money they squirreled away in a travel account, including stipends from Chris' volunteer firefighting job and money from a garage sale. Lisa said the account now has $1,200.

Setting aside money for travel sets a good example for their children on how to effectively budget their money and turn long days at work into days in the sun, the Gemlos said.

"We work pretty hard," Lisa said. "It gives us some time to relax."

Randy and Sharon Engelland of Farmington have saved thousands of dollars for family trips by shopping at garage sales, scanning craigslist.org and driving 10- and 12-year-old cars.

They've even won airline tickets by entering radio contests and raffles. "I would rather travel than have a closet full of Coach purses," said Sharon. "If it's not on sale, my son will tell you, 'we're not buying it.'"

They're frugal when they travel, too.

In June, the Engellands took a 13-day trip to Washington, D.C. They parked the camper they bought nearly a decade ago at a campground near one of the city's Metro lines so they didn't have to pay for parking and taxi cabs. And they went to several free museums.

Setting priorities

Dawn Duffy, spokeswoman for AAA Minneapolis, said that while the organization doesn't keep track of such consumer behavior, anecdotally it's clear that more travelers are like the Engellands. And that means cutting back on vacation spending by staying at economy hotels or with relatives, and buying fewer souvenirs.

Duffy said she's been struck by how many people have made travel a priority in their lives. "People are still trying to eke out room for enjoyment," she said. "They're still going, it just means sitting down, looking at what you have and planning accordingly."

That's what Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher of Marine on St. Croix did this summer when they decided that despite worries about their incomes -- both are self-employed -- they wouldn't sacrifice their summer vacation.

Instead, they financed a three-week trip to New Zealand by purging their home of everything they weren't using.

They started with a garage sale to get rid of inexpensive items and put the proceeds in a tin box. Pricier items, including Maher's cross-country skis, two canoes and a 35-millimeter camera, were sold on Craigslist. And gems from Maher's baseball card collection were peddled at a specialty store. The net? About $4,500.

That was enough to pay for most of their vacation, which included overnight stays at the equivalent of an upscale youth hostel.

To finance the family's next adventure, Knutson plans to sell a set of collectible Olympic pins in February, when interest in the Winter Olympics could maximize their value.

During the worst of the recession, such sacrifices aren't painful. "You leave it all one way or another," Knutson said with a laugh.

Hayley Tsukayama • 612-673-7415