Since you can’t visit Yellowstone right now, I thought I’d share photos of our visit there. I realize they aren’t spectacular in any way and there aren’t a ton of the actual scenery. I was too busy being in the moment to worry about capturing it with my camera. Plus, I’m afraid of heights so the part where we are hiking up and down Uncle Tom’s Trail I was trying my hardest to stop my thoughts and fears from creating an anxiety attack. 🙂
We traveled in a motorhome which was really nice. The kids were able to move around a bit, use the bathroom without us having to stop for breaks, we cooked our own food, and didn’t have to stay in motels. Instead we got to spend one night at the Wal-mart parking lot in Burley, ID! My older girls were super funny saying they could cross sleeping in the Wal-mart parking lot off their bucket lists.
We entered Yellowstone through the west entrance and almost immediately pulled over because Mr. FR was extremely tired of driving. While he took a little nap the kids and I walked a trail to the Madison River. They kicked their feet in the water and threw rocks. What is it about rocks splashing that is so satisfying, especially to little boys?
The kids really wanted to see Old Faithful so we obliged though I really don’t think it’s that spectacular. While we waited 40 minutes for it to start we walked a bit around the Visitor’s Center. On the way back out Ganache stopped to watch two women in their 20s from China taking pictures. One noticed him watching so she ran over and knelt down next to him and motioned for the other woman to take their photo. He saw the camera and said, “Cheese!” while smiling really big. The other woman wanted her picture taken with him too. Too bad someone else had our camera and was ahead of us or I would have taken a picture of them taking a picture of my son, the tourist attraction. He was super cute, shook their hands, and waved, “Bye!” when they left.
I love this motorhome idea. I have a family of soon to be 11, and I am curious to know if you rented or own your motorhome, and how economical the gas is compared to 12 passenger vans and inn rooms for families that travel once or twice annually.
Fuel for this trip cost $344.77 (the motorhome takes diesel). Our farm owns the motorhome that all the families share and take turns using when we want to go somewhere. The only other cost we had was for food that we normally would have eaten if we were at home to begin with.
Our trip was four days, three nights. The second night we stayed in a wooded area off the side of the road right outside Ashton, ID. The last night we parked at my SIL’s parent’s home in Rexburg. We drove over 600 miles to get to Yellowstone. Roundtrip it was about 1,300 miles.
Last time we spent a night in a hotel it cost us $150 because we had to have two rooms. The occupancy rules for hotels requires only 6 to a room and they will charge you extra if you go over. I consider myself a good negotiator and these two rooms at $150 were the best we could do (this was in Las Vegas). The only problem we had with the motorhome was finding a spot for all the kids to sleep. If we had teenage boys instead of girls it would have been much easier to set up tents outside next to the motorhome for them to sleep but since we have girls we didn’t feel that was very safe.
The great thing about RVs is you can park and stay anywhere. There are RV parks that only cost between $35 – $60 per night. But really, there are always free places to pull over and park. If you plan ahead you can find free spots to dump the sewage and refill your water. There was a place just outside of Ashton, ID that we used and left a donation (they had a donation box but it wasn’t required to use the dumping station).
Hope that helps!
Hey! We were in Yellowstone at about the same time…middle weekend of September. It would have been pretty funny to have run in to you. There sure were TONS of bison. weren’t there?
There were a lot of bison!
You are the cutest family ever. We haven’t taken the kids to Yellowstone yet. It’s on the list.
We took the family to Yellowstone in July, a big last family reunion,before my oldest went to college & on his mission, that we planned last summer. Well, then last October, Pres. Monson changed the mission age. I talked to my mom, she said no way he will leave before the 4th of July. Guess what, he entered the MTC June 12. So he was not there for the big family reunion that we planned for him. Family came from ID, PA, AZ, FL, TX, & OH
Also, I am so impressed you did Uncle Tom’s, I started down it with my 1 year old and had to turn around due to fears. I had hiked it when I was single & in college. Being a mom has not made me bolder.
I, too, would love to know an economic comparison for the motorhome versus staying somewhere. Now I’m feeling homesick for Yellowstone. We used to visit several times a year when I was growing up. Now I’ve been once with my family. We were going to try to go this summer when we were visiting family in Idaho, but settled for Yellowstone Bear World instead. I finally got to see a bear in real life, so next time we can hit the park (if it ever opens again!).
The one photo of you and Mr. FR is lovely. That is one of the best pics of him I’ve seen. He looks so casual and relaxed, and even has a real smile! When we went to Disneyland, my hubby had the video camera going all the time. When we were getting off Pirates of the Caribbean, there was a group of Oriental getting on. He put the camera down, and they all went “Aww”. So he brought it back up and filmed them, which made them happy!
I was totally thinking of you guys because of that! Glad you got to go before!
Hey, you do know we live in IF, right??! I know Wadsworth’s cannot stop once they get going somewhere (21 yrs experience….) but sometime you need to let us know when you’re coming through. We’ll run to the freeway and wave at you while you drive by. 🙂
On our way back home as we were driving through IF, Mr. FR asked, “Hey, isn’t this where J&J live?” (using your full names of course). We felt bad when we realized it. I reminded him we’d be doing this again next year if Semisweet gets accepted to BYU-I. Unless you move before then we are totally planning on stopping at your place! And now you can remind me when the time draws near next year. 🙂
If you’ve ever slept in the WalMart parking lot….you might be a redneck. I’m just sayin’
Glad the trip was wonderful. I have two more years before I send my oldest baby off to college. Right now, I am counting days until he has a driver’s license and can carpool all these other ones around.