National Park Road Trip: Yellowstone Day 1 (Part 7)

A year of planning. Advanced reservations months ahead of the trip. The day had finally come when we were heading into the big daddy and where the National Park Service first got its start, Yellowstone National Park.

To say we were excited was an understatement. For a family that normally gets excited for a new ride to open at an amusement park, this was a whole different experience. A more relaxed pace and way of seeing parks.

We got up and were on the road for Yellowstone by 6:00 am to get ahead of any potential crowds. This proved to be one of the best tips of the trip, and since we were still accustomed to EST, it was not difficult to be up then.

Another irreplaceable tip is to download the Gypsy app and purchase the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park guides.

For much of the time within the National Parks, and a lot of places out west in general, cell phone coverage is spotty at best. This is why it is critical to pick up paper maps of each of the parks you visit. We had also done tons of map research ahead of the trip, knowing the general direction we were traveling. However, the Gypsy app makes for a fantastic guided tour of the parks!

The app knows where you are on the map using GPS, and even the direction of travel, and then offers customized narration of the journey. Not only does the app provide tons of great historical background on the parks, but also tells you whether stops were worth your time to see or not.

We had planned one whole day for the Yellowstone upper loop, and then another whole day for the lower loop. We were then based at the Canyon Lodge. More details on the Canyon Lodge below.

Mud Volcano & Dragons Mouth Spring

Our first stop of the day in Yellowstone National Park, thanks to the Gypsy app, was Mud Volcano and Dragons Mouth Spring.

The sulfur smell in the air. The boiling ground. This was our family’s first glimpse of natures incredible geological formations at work, live in front of us. Sure we have been to Hawaii and seen active volcano, but this was different. We were up close to these amazing formations. Upon closer thought, we were standing on top one of the earth’s most active volcanic sites on the planet, and even though the threat of it becoming a much more problematic eruption were slim, it very much was a dose of reality.

Dragons Mouth Spring was fascinating to sit and watch, as the underground cavern echoed with exploding water from deep within, causing steam to billow out. It was amazing!

Continuing on Grand Loop Road, our next stop was the Upper and Lower Falls of Yellowstone.

Upper and Lower Falls of Yellowstone

When most people see photos of Yellowstone, they likely see the iconic upper and lower waterfalls, including Artist Point.

There were some great pull-offs with great viewing of the falls that were easy walks for families. This was likely one of those instances where we were very fortunate be out ahead of the crowds, as even though there were people there at roughly 9:00 am, it still was easily manageable to get a good view and some photos.

Norris Geyser Basin

Even though we may have done some research ahead of the trip of the general direction and area of travel while in Yellowstone, we ultimately reserved our stops for the recommended highlights using the Gypsy Yellowstone guide.

Our second major stop he recommended was at the Norris Geyser Basin.

This short and easy hike was absolutely worth the time up to see Emerald Spring and Steamboat Geyser. During our visit, we happen to be within the window of when Steamboat Geyser erupts, so lots of people had been camping out on the boardwalk all night in anticipation. We waited around a little while, but ultimately did not see it blow.

By 10:00 am, this site was pretty bustling and our first real encounter with crowds, though nothing unmanageable.

The kids did not want to hike down into the basin, so we enjoyed it from afar with a full schedule of sites still ahead.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Following the Norris Geyser Basin, we headed north to the Mammoth Hot Springs site, spending about an hour exploring the top and bottom of the structures, and a brief stop into the town of Mammoth.

Following Mammoth, we briefly drove into Montana to see the Roosevelt Arch. At this point in the trip, including our home state of Ohio, we had been to 8 states.

Lamar Valley

One of the areas we hoped we would have enough time to explore was the Lamar Valley, but we were not sure if we would have enough time. Fortunately, since we got a really early start, we had plenty of time to head out before checking into our Lodge.

The Lamar Valley was quite impressive with wildlife.

While there were quite a few buffalo, at one point one was blocking our access to the road, so we had to wait and then slowly drive around it. He grunted in digust.

Canyon Lodge, Yellowstone National Park

When planning on visiting Yellowstone, one of the biggest decisions one needs to make well in advance of the trip is where they want to stay. Those with hard-sided campers have it somewhat easy as they can set up shop at campgrounds within the park, albeit at a premium. For us, we had to make the decision to pay a really high premium and stay at a National Park Lodge or to make the long drive back out of the park, potentially late at night, and possibly deal with traffic.

We ultimately sucked it up and went with the Canyon Lodge and their Western Cabin for one night since it was one of the cheaper options at just shy of $300. This is likely one of the most expensive nights stays we have ever had anywhere in the world, and yet did not earn any reward points, and the facility offers minimal amenities. No pool. No television. No air conditioning.

We were lucky to get two queen beds, and fortunately, it gets cold enough at night (was down to 40° F on our visit) to offer comfortable sleeping arrangements with the windows cracked open.

As a general rule, we found everything to cost about double what it does back home. Gas. Food. Accommodations. Everything.

At the Canyon Lodge, they do have a grocery store, which was really helpful to stock up on supplies to fill our cooler for the day with lunch items, but again realize, it costs about double what you would expect back home.

We also opted to have dinner at the Canyon Lodge Eatery, which I was very delighted to find a vegan friendly BEYOND MEAT™ plant-based Swiss Steak.

After a very long day, it was time to get some rest, as tomorrow promised another full day touring the southern Yellowstone area, including Old Faithful, and then heading out towards the Grand Tetons National Park.

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