Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On LinkedinCheck Our FeedVisit Us On Youtube
  • Travel
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • London
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherlands
      • Portugal
      • Prague
    • USA
      • Georgia
      • Hawaii
      • Ohio
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Homeschool
    • How Do We?
    • Reviews
    • Subjects and Styles
    • Preschool
  • Military
    • PCS
    • Deployment
  • Family
    • Favorite Resources
    • Our Daily Routine
  • Faith
  • Frugal
  • Recipes
  • Health
    • Essential Oils
  • About
    • Recommendations for Bloggers
    • Advertising and Sponsorship
    • Copyright and Terms of Use
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy

© 2019 Jennifer Lambert · Copyright · Disclosure · Privacy · Ad

You are here: Home / Travel / USA / Wyoming / Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure. Check out my suggested resources.
Free Homeschool Resources (Notebooking Pages & More!)

September 8, 2016 By Jennifer Lambert 23 Comments

Since we were stationed in Utah, I couldn’t let up the opportunity to visit Yellowstone pass us by.

It was a little daunting to plan a long road trip with little ones, but they did great!

We all agree it’s our favorite trip in the USA so far.

We visited Yellowstone National Park over several days to see everything.

The park is essentially two big loops and we did a section each day.

Yellowstone National Park Family Trip

We stayed at Colter Bay Cabins in Grand Teton National Park which was awesome and nearby.

We ate a lovely breakfast buffet each morning at The Ranch House Restaurant then drove into Yellowstone Park to see the sites and picnic, but we came back to Colter Bay each evening to grill dinner and play at the rocky beach.

We entered at the South Entrance.

 There were forest fires, and we had to check on road closures each day.

We saw the remains of trees. We learned that forest fires are healthy for the forest since many cones won’t open without the heat. The ash replenishes the soil and new growth is already seen!

It was desolate, but beauty from ashes!

The only stretch we didn’t get to make it to due to the fires were from Canyon Village to the Fishing Bridge.

I splurged and bought Tori and Katie these lovely scavenger hunt cards and notebooks for our car rides.

It was pretty exciting to see the Continental Divide.

Day 1: Old Faithful

There is a ton of stuff to do at the Old Faithful Geyser area.

Educational backpacks for kids to check out with thermometers, drawing tools, and all sorts of fun stuff.

Boardwalks to walk around to view all the other fun geysers and hot pools.

A great little museum where kids can learn and explore and earn a Junior Ranger badge.

We watched Old Faithful about three times. It was so fun and fascinating.

Old Faithful Geyser Sign

The best part?!

Our son had been toilet training and was *this close* to having everything just click right into place. He refused to wear diapers or pullups anymore, so accidents were horrendous and messy and we were traveling and worried about all that. A lot.

When he told me he had to go, I took his hand to lead him to the single toilet bathroom in the visitor’s center. The girls were reading signs in the little museum and Aaron was at the viewing window.

He didn’t want me inside with him, so I waited right at the door.

A few minutes later, he opened the door a crack. He was so proud.

We flushed and washed. I told him to go tell his dad.

My favorite memory of Yellowstone is my son running through the Old Faithful Visitor’s Center towards his dad, yelling, “I pooped! I pooped! I POOPED!” while all the French people and Asians stared at him like he was being abducted.

Bubba

Then we got to see Old Faithful again.

We had a lunch picnic outside the gift shop at Old Faithful.

Picnic at Old Faithful

Then we got some ice cream at the shop and sat on a bench to rest. And watched Old Faithful again.

Day 2: Geysers and Gibbon Falls

Geyser Basin

These elk crossed our paths and were so close we could almost pet them. But we didn’t. We were so good.

We stopped at Madison for a picnic lunch and break.

Madison

Norris was probably our least favorite location. We didn’t even complete the trail before we headed back to the car.

When driving, you have to watch out for the animals!

Elk

This big guy stopped traffic:

Bison

Day 3: Mammoth Hot Springs

Historic Fort Yellowstone is near Mammoth Hot Springs. There’s a little museum and lots of shops and restaurants.

We drove from Mammoth to Canyon. It’s a beautiful landscape.

From the car, we saw lots of deer and antelope.


Deer were frolicking and foraging by the roadside.

Day 4: Canyon Village, Yellowstone Falls, and West Thumb

Liz completed the Junior Ranger program at every center in the park. The hardest one was at Canyon Village.

We saw a baby bear! Lots of stupid people had pulled over and were out of their cars, chasing it with cameras. We slowed down and I snapped this out the window. We left before Mama Bear appeared.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Falls were lovely.

Yellowstone Falls

West Thumb was our last stop at Yellowstone.

 
West Thumb

The geysers, hot springs, and colorful pools are always amazing.

Colorful Hot Spring

Yellowstone tips:

Clothing layers and good walking shoes. The weather changes quickly. It’s cool in mornings and evenings, but warms up during the day. It’s very bright if the sun shines, so sunglasses and hats are good to bring.

We ate picnic lunches every day to save money. And it was easier to have a cooler of healthy foods and snacks with us. We could stop whenever we needed at a picnic site for a break or meal.

Stay on the boardwalks, walking paths, and trails. We didn’t venture away from the safety of these.

Don’t bother animals. Don’t try to touch them or feed them.

Learning about Yellowstone:

  • Mac’s Field Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Birds and Mammals Cards AND Trees and Wildflowers Cards by Craig MacGowan
  • “Hey Ranger!” Kids Ask Questions About Yellowstone National Park by Kim Williams Justesen
  • Yellowstone Trivia by Janet Spencer
  • Yellowstone & Grand Teton Activity Book by Paula Ellis

We loved our trip to Yellowstone. It was educational and fun!

Share4
Tweet
Pin10
Share
14 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Wyoming Tagged With: familytravel, geology, nationalpark, travel, Yellowstone

Little Passports
View on Instagram
Tailwind Visual Marketing Suite

Comments

  1. Liz says

    April 17, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    So many great tips and resources! Thanks for sharing! One thing I love about moving around a lot with the Army is being close to so many cool sites to visit! Blessings!

    Reply
  2. Ann says

    April 17, 2017 at 1:18 pm

    That looks like an amazing and memorable trip! You took so many good photos of the wildlife and nature. Makes me want to take a trip to Yellowstone with my family before my daughters graduate from high school!

    Reply
  3. Gentle Joy Photography says

    April 17, 2017 at 1:50 pm

    What a fun and beautiful trip… and the memories you have made will be precious for a lifetime. We always traveled a lot with our little ones and it was hard many times, but we sure don’t regret it! :)

    Reply
  4. Laura Lane says

    April 17, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    This was inspiring. Pinning!
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/257690409910846500/

    Reply
  5. Maree Dee says

    April 17, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Looks like an amazing trip. I visited a few years ago and love it. We had buffalo that sat on the highway at one point of the trip.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      May 2, 2017 at 2:16 pm

      That’ll stop traffic! haha!

      Reply
  6. Lesley says

    April 17, 2017 at 9:42 pm

    Sounds like a great trip! I love the photos and the story about your son made me smile! Visiting from LMM.

    Reply
  7. Roseann Hampton says

    April 18, 2017 at 1:40 am

    Yellowstone is on my bucket list – thanks for sharing your experiences!

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth says

    April 18, 2017 at 2:07 am

    Looks amazing! Yellowstone is one of those places I’ve a;ways wanted to visit. But with five kiddos, it just isn’t economically feasible to make the trip all the way from Texas. Oh well…here’s to living vicariously!

    Reply
  9. A Narrow-Minded Woman says

    April 18, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    I love Yellowstone! It is a hard fight over Arches National Park for my favorite place on earth. The biggest drawback is the smell. LOL I can’t wait to visit again one day with my husband.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      May 2, 2017 at 2:14 pm

      We still want to go to Arches. Our trip got canceled when we got PCS orders.

      Reply
  10. Meghan E. Weyerbacher says

    April 18, 2017 at 4:17 pm

    Thanks for linking this up. I loved reading this and seeing your photos! I think my favorite is the fog and pine trees.

    Reply
  11. Karen Woodall says

    April 20, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    Beautiful pix! We went from Atlanta out west last summer to Yosemite and now I’m wanting to go to Yellowstone too. My kids are almost grown, but we had a blast before and your pix make me want to start planning right now! Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  12. Sherry says

    April 21, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    Neat you got a glimpse of a bear! Fun times!

    Reply
  13. Donna Reidland says

    April 21, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    What a fun, educational trip this must have been. Great photos!

    Reply
  14. Justyn @ Creative Christian Mama says

    April 21, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    I’m so glad I found this post! We live in western South Dakota and are planning a trip out to Yellowstone, so this is all very helpful. I especially love the books and resources- we homeschool and wanted to include as much educational materials as we could find. Thanks so much for putting this together!
    (Found you at the Grace & Truth link-up)

    Reply
  15. Lyli @lylidunbar.com says

    April 21, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    I’ve always wanted to go! Thanks for giving me a little taste. :)

    Reply
  16. Audrey says

    April 22, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    It’s amazing how silly people get when exposed to wildlife. Getting out of your car to chase a baby bear. SMH!

    Looks like a lovely trip, with plenty of fun and learning.

    Thanks for sharing on #FridayFrivolity

    Reply
  17. Debbie Kitterman says

    April 22, 2017 at 9:58 pm

    Jennifer – LOL I love your favorite memory was of your son and his potty moment! That is what memories and trips with family are all about. We got to do Yellowstone 1 day as we were traveling through Wyoming and I was amazed at the stupidity of people too , getting out of their car to chase buffalo! I mean, come on people, it’s not as if they weren’t wandering all over the road in several places. The one thing we did not see – a moose. My daughter so wanted to see a moose, but we never did, so when we got home we took her to Cabella’s .. hahaha she said later, that’s not the same thing as seeing a live one mom !

    I am so very glad to have you joining the #TuneInThursday community each week thank you!

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      April 23, 2017 at 8:57 am

      Oh, my eldest daughter still complains she didn’t see a moose! We were told by the rangers that we had to get up veeeerrry early and sit quietly near the marshes at Teton or the rivers at Yellowstone and she wasn’t willing to do that.

      Reply
  18. Emily says

    April 25, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    What a great trip! I’d love to see yellowstone someday. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Healthy Living Link Party #110 | Day By Day in Our World says:
    April 27, 2017 at 1:31 am

    […] have a RV and enjoy’camping’ in gorgeous places with it? Yellowstone National Park at Jennifer Lambert covers one of the ‘lower 48’ parks we want to visit with the […]

    Reply
  2. Healthy Living Link Party #111 | Day By Day in Our World says:
    May 4, 2017 at 1:34 am

    […] have a RV and enjoy’camping’ in gorgeous places with it? Yellowstone National Park at Jennifer Lambert covers one of the ‘lower 48’ parks we want to visit with the […]

    Reply
Get .INC today. Best Price on the Market!

Leave a Reply to Karen Woodall Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Suggested Resources
Jennifer Lambert
I'm earning rewards helping other shoppers save money.
— Jennifer Lambert
Join me (it's free)
Dealspotr

Popular Posts

10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils
Natural Remedies for HeadacheNatural Remedies for Headache
10 Natural Remedies You Need10 Natural Remedies You Need
Homemade SunscreenHomemade Sunscreen
Body Pain RemediesBody Pain Remedies

Archives

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Necessary Always Enabled