What I learned from my trip to Yellowstone National Park with the Carful of Kids

The carful of kids left Central Texas to explore the Rocky Mountains; we stopped by the Black Hills of South Dakota and Glacier National Park. We headed across the Canadian Border to wander through Banff and Jasper national parks with a stop to explore a glacier. The last leg of our trip, we spent about a week taking the Grand Tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone was the first national park in the world when it was created in 1872; an idea that other countries would adopt to protect the special places in their country. Yellowstone, a name derived from the descriptive French and Native American name for the area, has the highest concentration of geysers in the world and half of the world's geothermal features. All thanks to the Yellowstone Caldera, an active supervolcano.

My 12-year-old daughter loved the pools of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is my favorite national park in North America for so many reasons. You should make every attempt to visit and experience the wonder and majestic beauty for yourself. It is a must outdoor enthusiasts.

For your First Trip to Yellowstone

I delayed the trek up to Yellowstone so my eight-year-old would be old enough to remember the trip. This trip is best for school-age kids. Yellowstone requires a fair amount of walking and the sights are more interesting to older kids.

My eight-year-old son enjoyed looking for animals, like this bison.

For your first trip to Yellowstone with your family, I suggest the Grand Tour, the circular tour that the first visitors took over 100 years ago. You can map your own Grand Tour starting from any of the five different entrances--though the West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Entrances are the most crowded.

I suggest that you spend at least four days in Yellowstone National Park. There is so much ground to cover and each area is unique. If you are visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone in the same trip, I found you can see the majority of Grand Teton in one day.

The carful of kids played games on the mezzanine of the Old Faithful Inn.

On your first trip, stay in several different locations. My first trip to YNP, we camped in the Canyon Campground and drove from there. I have to say, that was too much driving. Stay inside the boundaries of YNP; the park is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. You will spend a lot of your time getting into and out of the park if you stay outside of YNP.

On my first trip to Yellowstone NP we didn't plan ahead and make reservations. MAKE RESERVATIONS as soon as you decide to visit YNP. To get a room in the Old Faithful Inn during the high season (July and August) will require reservations more than six months in advance.

The two nights at the Old Faithful Inn were a highlight for everyone. 

When the carful of kids decided to visit Yellowstone, it was January. I started researching and reserving rooms and found the majority of rooms were booked already. Remember, you can reserve lodging in YNP 13 months in advance. I checked for cancellations religiously through the website and was able to reserve the places I wanted.

I will tell you the brutal truth, the older I get, the less I like to tent camp. In Yellowstone, I found the camping crowded and cramped. Showers were not included. Depending on the fire danger, you might not be able cook outside with a flame. The RV sites are also very limited.

The Best Areas in Yellowstone for Kids

No trip to Yellowstone is complete without visiting Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Geyser that erupts every 35 to 120 minutes with a certain amount of predictability. The geyser basin is great for kids and should be explored; spend at least a day in this area, more time if you have it.

Some rooms don't have attached bathrooms but this is one of the Tub Rooms.

I reserved two nights in the original section of Old Faithful Inn, it might be one of my favorite hotels ever. There are cabins in the Old Faithful area as well.

I really liked the Roosevelt Lodge, up at the Tower-Roosevelt Junction in the Northeast corner of YNP. The cabins are great for families and the Old West Cookout should not be missed. Reservations area must for this excursion.

The kids loved the stove in the cabin at Roosevelt Lodge.

Mammoth Hot Springs is a great area for families since the kids enjoyed climbing the terraces to see the travertine towers. The elk in this area will grab your kids attention too. The Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins are a great choice for families, like all the cabins in Yellowstone NP.

Animals of Yellowstone

The animal viewing in Yellowstone is better than any of the other national parks that I have visited. It is really hard not to see animals, they are everywhere. For the best opportunity to see bears or wolves spend some time in Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley at dusk or dawn.

Bison and Elk are fairly easy to see in Yellowstone National Park.

Getting to Yellowstone

Most visitors drive up through the southern entrance at Jackson Hole, I did the first time. This time we drove south into the park from Bozeman after picking up Dad at the airport.

If you are flying in and renting a car, I recommend Bozeman. It is less expensive to fly and stay overnight in Bozeman instead of Jackson, Wyoming. The shopping is plentiful with all the grocery stores and outdoor outfitters located within a few miles of each other. You will not find touristy attractions in Bozeman however.

The Antler Arches of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are a great photo op.

For that reason, you might prefer Jackson, Wyoming, it has plenty of souvenir shopping and the antler arches at the Jackson Hole Town Square is a photo op that should not be missed.

Basic Information 

Yellowstone National Park is open every day and the 7-day admission is $30 for a private vehicle or you can purchase an annual America the Beautiful Pass for $80 to gain entry into the majority of the national parks and monuments. There are seasonal road closures in the majority of the park except for the North and Northeast Entrance that are open year-round to vehicle traffic. There can be a wait to get into the park at the entrances.

Up Next: Headed Home.

Geyser Gawking in Yellowstone National Park

A Rainbow that Ends at the Old Faithful Geyser!

The carful of kids are in Yellowstone National Park for a week, after road tripping our way from Central Texas to Jasper National Park and back. As luck or persistant planning would have it, I got two consecutive nights in the Old House section of the Old Faithful Inn.

You need to do this. As a collector of genuine experiences, this is a great one. Staying at the Old Faithful Inn will be one of the memories your family will recall for a lifetime.

The carful of kids enjoy game night at the Old Faithful Inn

Watching the Old Faithful Geyser from the balcony, listening to the fiddler play from the mezzanine, eating in the OFI Dining Room are all part of the experience. The most important of all is spending time as a family, unplugged from our screens but dialed into each other.

The carful of kids explored the area around Old Faithful Geyser yesterday by hiking to Morning Glory Pool and taking a vintage bus tour of Firehole Lake Drive. We're venturing farther by exploring more geysers and trails up to Madison Junction.

Dress in Layers, bonus points if you coordinate your outfits to match Morning Glory Pool!

The carful of kids lace up our hiking boots and head downstairs for breakfast in the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room ( Breakfast hours 6:00 to 10:30 a. m. ) for the breakfast buffet that features all the standard breakfast fare ( $ 13.25 /adults and $ 6.75/ kids ). We are able to get in and out quickly and there isn't a wait to be seated.

The Tour starts with the Doors of the Old Faithful Inn

Up first is the Old Faithful Inn Tour that starts at 9:30 a.m., it's free and you don't have to reserve a spot in advance though the crowd gets larger at the later tours. Tours start in the lobby next to the fireplace at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The Old Faithful Inn was an innovation when it was built over the winter of 1903-1904 with electric lights, steam heat and indoor plumbing under the direction of 29 year-old architect, Robert Reamer. The majority of the materials were sourced within miles of the building site, dragged by a horse team.

Robert Reamer, the OFI architect, hiked throughout the forest looking for trees like this.

As we walk around taking in the details on our tour, I am particularily drawn to the staircases and railings. They are works of art. On the tour, I see a small sign hanging from the ceiling, Tub Room--interesting, need to check that out later.

After the Old Faithful Inn Tour, the carful of kids pack into the SUV for more geyser gawking starting at the Black Sand Basin with Opalescent Pool and Emerald Pool, with names like that I have to investigate; they are across the way from Old Faithful. I am a sucker for blue-green water so I am in love with the pools of Yellowstone.

We can't get enough of the geysers.

After the Black Sand Basin, the carful of kids continue north and stop off at Biscuit Basin to view the Sapphire Pool and Jewel Geyser; both of these are within a short hike of Old Faithful Inn if you would prefer to walk. Continuing north, we pull into Midway Geyser Basin for the largest hot spring in the U.S., Grand Prismatic Spring.

Some of the trash that Park Rangers pick up around the pools and geysers.

Grand Prismatic Spring is a marvel and a must-see with its rainbow colors formed by the microbes in the mineral water. This area is very popular and parking can be a problem, visit early or late in the day.

Grand Prismatic with the carful of kids.

We continue on to the Lower Geyer Basin where we pass the Fountain Paint Pot and meet our first bison. He makes his home next to a steam vent and this area is a favorite with bison, who overwinter here because of the heat.

Now is a good time to remind the kids that bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than an adult. It is best to leave 25 yards in-between you and the bison but when they sit next to the boardwalk that's nearly impossible. Yellowstone Park Rangers are on duty in this area patrolling and monitoring the human-animal interface.

Bison watching visitors.

After bison-watching and geyser-gawking, the carful of kids are ready for lunch. We park at the Madison Junction area where I find the nicest public restrooms in the park and have a picnic. Remember to keep your picnic site manned at all times, chipmunks can ransack your table in a flash.

After lunch, the carful of kids check in at the Junior Ranger Station, the only one in the park and located at Madison Junction, to speak with the Park Rangers about activities that kids will enjoy. The Ranger Station has animal hides for the kids to touch and a bookstore dedicated to Junior Rangers.

My Girl Scout getting her NPS-Girl Scout Patch

This area also hosts Evening Ranger Programs just for Junior Rangers; check the park newspaper for current offerings. This is also where my Girl Scout received her patch for National Park Stewardship after she completed 10 hours of service--there is a similar award for Boy Scouts.

I promised the carful of kids I'd take it easy and enjoy our stay in Yellowstone so we are heading back to the Old Faithful Inn to spend time on the balcony watching the Old Faithful Geyser and playing games. We have a dinner reservation in the dining room a little later but I have an idea.

My husband and I want to have a dinner by ourselves and since the oldest carful of kid is babysitter certified, we give her a room key and some cash and send them to the cafe next to the dining room. It's a nice break when traveling with a carful of kids.

Dinner at Old Faithful Inn

We visited Yellowstone National Park years ago before we were parents and had dinner in the Old Faithful Inn's Dining Room. Well as luck would have it, we were seated at the same table that we ate at 15 years ago. Funny when your past and present intersect unexpectedly.

Up Next: Lake Hotel and Yellowstone Lake


Know before you go: If you have a limited time in the Old Faithful area, walk through Old Faithful Inn, witness Old Faithful Geyser and stop by Grand Prismatic Spring. Talk with the Park Rangers about seasonal traffic and road construction to prevent driving delays.

Yellowstone National Park is open every day and the 7-day admission is $ 30 for a private vehicle or you can purchase an annual America the Beautiful Pass for $ 80 to gain entry to the majority of the national parks and monuments. There are seasonal road closures in the majority of the park except for the North and Northeast Entrance that are open year-round to vehicle traffic.

I reserved an Old House Room with a shared bath for a reasonable $ 115 a night--yes there isn't a bathroom in this room but the facilities are amazing and right down the hall. A sink with a mirror and vanity is located in the room so you can brush your teeth and wash your face.

There are no televisions or radios in the OFI rooms but there are outlets to plug in your phone, though service is spotty throughout Yellowstone NP.

The lodging reservations within the National Park System is available 13 months in advance so you have to be persistent to get rooms in the more popular locations within Yellowstone NP. I was and got all the properties I wanted--MAKE RESERVATIONS months in advance, even for camping, if you are visiting Yellowstone NP during the high season.

Old Faithful Inn dinner reservations are recommended for the best times. Breakfast and Lunch are open-seating.

To Canada or Not to Canada

This is the 2013 Toyota RAV4 that replaced the stolen 2012 one.

A little over a year ago, I found myself in a what I thought was a fairly secure paid parking lot in Montreal, Canada, on Canada Day with my best friend and my three children, carless. We, the Carful of Kids, had been a victim of international crime from an alleged organized car theft ring that exports stolen cars to Africa. Our Toyota RAV4 and its contents were stolen unnoticed moments after I had locked it. Still hard to believe.

We made it though the moments immediately following the crime amazingly level-headed and fit-free; I managed to get the carful of kids back schedule within eight hours time. Our trip was saved and we didn’t have to return back to the US prematurely even after we discovered my husband’s passport was stolen.

It was a defining moment in my career as a freelance travel writer and former flight attendant—I really considered writing off the blog and curtailing our family road trip adventures, like somehow I was to blame for the theft. When I got back from our summer road trip, my time was dedicated to replacing our stuff and filing insurance claims, I just couldn’t write about the experience yet.

Summer cooled and the kids went back to school, fall was filled with sports and projects before you know it I was staring at this screen trying to piece together our annual Christmas letter. I knew it was time to write about it so I did. It was great to get the story out, at times, it was funny.

After the Christmas decorations were put up, I sat down and somehow managed to piece together enough photos from my iPhone to blog our road trip. Then I started to look forward and think about another adventure--this time out West to show my kids Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.

That was not enough, I wanted to show them Banff National Park in Alberta. Yes, I wanted to cross the border again.

Was I tempting fate? I was told I was a fool and several people shook their heads and laughed at me when I told them I was headed back to Canada to give her another chance.

I just didn't care, I wanted to see more of the country and finish my quest of showing the Caful of Kids the lower 48. So come along as we discover the wonder and beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

Up Next: Getting out of Texas.

Here We Go Again...

The Carful of Kids are always loaded to capacity.

To all of our friends out there, the carful of kids are gearing up to hit the road again. This year we are headed to the heartland.

We have an itinerary packed full of American architectural icons, national parks, a world renowned art museum, several boat rides and one scenic train. Who are we, you may ask if you are not acquainted with us.

We're a pair of school girls that dreamed of seeing the United States together. Well at least that is how we started. We're actually best friends of 30 plus years that get itchy feet and yearn for adventure.

Each July, we load up in my Toyota 4Runner with every road trip snack imaginable, a cooler full of high-end cold cuts and eclectic mix of bottled beverages. Giddy with excitement and girlish giggles, we set out usually singing to Willie Nelson's On the Road Again. OH and did I mention that we are taking my three kids with us.