We went on our annual family vacation last weekend. The spot of choice this year was Yellowstone National Park. Our family has always loved going to Yellowstone - we have vacationed there more than any other destination. As kids, my parents once gave my siblings and I the option of either going to Disneyland or Yellowstone, and Yellowstone won - go figure? For me, there is just no competing with the beauties and natural wonders of Yellowstone. Sorry Mickey.
This was the one thing I did not enjoy seeing - a never-ending black hole. Brian threw a rock in, and we never heard it land. Freaky.Vacationing to Yellowstone means that you have to be okay with spending hours and hours driving in the car. Luckily, our kids did extremely well despite being strapped to their car seats for over 1,000 miles. 1,383.5 miles in five days to be exact. Actually, I think the long car rides made Ashlyn and Trent bond. I turned around at one point and saw this:
Too cute! It made my heart melt! Fortunately, the West Yellowstone entrance is only about a 4.5 hour drive. We played the license plate game and saw cars from as far away as Maine - now that would be one long car ride! We counted up a total of 45 states. The only plates we did not see were: Hawaii, Rhode Island, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Delaware.
This was Ashlyn's reaction to seeing Old Faithful for the first time. She gets excited whenever she sees a man-made water feature, so I figured she would be blown away by the infamous geyser, but I was wrong. There was no big smile, no "WOW", no arms flailing. She just kind of stared. Oh well.
The only downside of the trip was that we just did not see as many animals as we have seen in the past. However, we did see two bears! Too bad they were both wooden.
We did see a bald eagle, coyote, elk, chipmunk, deer, moose, muskrat, antelope, and hundreds of buffalo. Or, as Ashlyn called them, "buffaloafs".
Like all good things, our vacation came to an end. But, it was a fantastic weekend and it definitely won't be our last trip to YNP. Knowing this makes everyone smile!
11 comments:
Let's hear it for NON-Disney Vacations! Woo Hoo!!!
That sounds like it was a fantastic trip! I am sorry that Ashlyn was underwhelmed by Old Faithful. But at least she got to ride a (wooden) bear!
Ewwwwwww...that black hole freak me out too! Looks like a blast! Glad you guys had a good time.
I love and miss Yellowstone. Like Bryce Canyon, it's one of those old faithful vacations... did I just make a joke?
Sounds wonderful! We used to take the kids to Bryce Canyon when the kids were young it was a blast.
How fun and what great memories your making for your kids. Glad you all had a great time!
Can you believe I haven't made it to Yellowstone yet? It's on my to do list. What a fun family trip.
I love Yellowstone! Such a great place to go! That is surprising Ash was so underwhelmed. I LOVE that picture of Trent, he is getting so big! Love you guys!
That looks like TONS of fun! We went to Yellowstone 1 year when I was like 8... I begged to go back.. but we always HAD to go to Hawaii for the summer. I guess I didn't have it too bad.
Kamryn always wants to do Disney but it's great to make memories elsewhere.
Andrea
I'm w/Becca-I've never managed to get to Yellowstone, but it's definitely made the list...especially considering your spectacular reviews :)
Yeah, it is surprising to realize my dad has never taken us to YNP, considering all the OTHER parks he took us to growing up!! Your vacation looks great, of courser any vacation with all the family is just great!!
Yellowstone is so beautiful... I want to go so bad. It looks like you guys had a great time. Yippee for family vacations!
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