Yellowstone Road Trip 2015

The Trip

If you have ever been interested in taking a camping trip but have been nervous about camping, let the following information put you at ease! Take the plunge and go for it! Below is a little guide to help you get started.

On July 19, 2015, our family hit the road after we hung out with our church people for the morning. We were on our way to Yellowstone! I have been excited for a long time for our kids to experience the childhood memories that I had floating around in my head of this magical place. The pics below give you a small idea of just how creative our God is in his design of this world. There is even beauty in the brokenness of nature. Anyway, our eleven day journey was underway. The first night we stayed in Wall, SD. This is a fun little place that sticks-it-to-you financially because the hotels in Wall are the only hotels for 200 miles. (slight exaggeration) Even though the hotels are a bit over priced, the fresh doughnuts, nickel coffee, and free water in Wall Drug are a must!

The Sights

The second night we made it to our destination, Canyon Village Campground in Yellowstone National Park. This campground is centrally located within the park. I have displayed Canyon Village with a marker on the map below. We spent three nights at Canyon Village and four nights at Bridge Bay which is a little further south on the loop around Yellowstone. To give you an idea for traveling, each loop is roughly a two-hour drive, and all of the pictures you see below were taken right on the figure-eight stretch. 

Staying in Yellowstone affords you the opportunity to really relax and enjoy working your way around the park with both driving and hiking. If you enjoy camping, the price is super economical in Yellowstone (well, tent camping, that is). We found out quickly that our kids really enjoyed the hiking. Even the little guy enjoyed the trails...most of the time. There are tons of small half-mile hikes that are easily found on the park map. For six days, we explored Yellowstone by both driving and hiking. As you can see in the our pictures below, we got to see a lot of different Eco-systems within a very small area. The beautiful variety is due to the fact that Yellowstone sits on a giant super volcano. 

The Food

Each day, we enjoyed a campfire in the morning as we ate breakfast and another campfire in the evening as we had supper. Some meals were cooked over the campfire, and other meals were cooked using a white-gas Coleman stove that my wife picked up at a garage sale for fifteen dollars (a great deal!). Our lunches were always picnics eaten at one of the many very picturesque designated picnic areas along the figure eight loop.  Meals were much easier than we had anticipated.  We kept things very simple.  The biggest question that we've been asked is about the bears of Yellowstone. We felt completely safe! Every campground offers bear boxes or requires that food be stored in the car unless it is being consumed. Everyone in the park does a great job abiding by these rules.  This also made the campgrounds extremely clean!

The Sounds

One of the beautiful things about Yellowstone is the absence of noise.  There is very little cellphone coverage, so we were able to put our devices aside and really enjoy all the amazing sounds of natures (and a few smells of nature, too!).  We heard the sounds of rushing water, birds singing, mud volcanoes bubbling (amazing!),  vents hissing, and even a bison snorting (that made us run!).  It was a lovely time to enjoy our own little family and make awesome memories together.

What to bring

• I started to put together this great packing list but realized it probably already existed. Rei has a nice list that you can add and subtract from here

Check out more of our trip photos in this Facebook Album