Off Like a Herd of Turtles: Family Travel Blog

Yellowstone is one of my favorite places on Earth. I have been there numerous times- as a kid, as an adult, and as an adult with kids. Each experience is different and wonderful. Our trip there by RV this year was no exception though it was a bit different than I expected. Z (7) in the Firehole River Around April when we were knee deep in COVID, my husband had the quite excellent idea to purchase a RV so we could still travel. Like many people I know, travel is in my blood. I get antsy without it. It's what motivates me. It's the way I love to spend free time with my kids. And I prefer traveling to wilderness areas. Places where we can play in nature. We thought perhaps during this time where many can't travel, we would have a special opportunity to go to Yellowstone without the crowds. We literally bought an RV in the hopes of being able to get to my favorite (but terribly overcrowded) national park without the crowds. HAHAHAHA Turns out our RV has been wonderful for us wi...

Mammoth Hot Springs is a wonderful destination in itself as well as an excellent place to stay to enjoy the Northern end of the park. If you are following my Yellowstone Overview recommendations, then you will be staying 2-3 nights here, hopefully 3 nights if you are arriving later in the day on night 1. The Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge is a great place to stay with excellent food (though reservations needed for dinner). There are various types of accommodations- lodge rooms with bathrooms or without and cabins. There is a lovely communal room with games to play and books to read. However, I wouldn't spend too much time here because in Yellowstone the action is outside. The Hot Springs themselves have hiking paths surrounding them and are definitely worth pursuing for an hour or two. There is a 5 mile hike called "Beaver Ponds" that takes off right from the lodge which makes it very convenient if you have young nappers and only part of your party wants to stay. I...

Old Faithful and Around Old Faithful I mentioned in the overview post that it doesn't matter which lodging you end up in on the Old Faithful Campus. They all have pros and cons but take whatever rooms you can get knowing you will have front row seats to the most stunning scenery in the world. Things to do around Old Faithful: 1. Get up early. Bison in the Old Faithful Geyser Basin, they are everywhere! I highly recommend you get up and at 'em if you are visiting this area in the summer. The crowds get dense and really detract from the enjoyment. A main perk of staying at the Old Faithful Campus is you can hustle up in the morning and go see the most popular sites on your own terms with some peace and quiet. The two main things I recommend doing early are: 2. See Old Faithful and the surrounding boardwalks. Old Faithful was named due to its predictability. There will be numerous signs advising when Old Faithful is expected to erupt next based on previ...