"Griswald" vacation 2004 edition - I need some advice.

[Dayton Dave]

We are thinking about planning a cross country trip to the Yellowstone area for our vacation this year.  My oldest is running out of time to be with us during the summer and we want to make the western trip while we have the chance.

I would love to have some advice on campgrounds and places to visit.  I want to make reservations as soon as possible to lock in sites so we don't have to do any last minute scrambling for places to stay.

We are putting on our list the following stops.

1) Yellowstone
2) Bill Cody museum
3) Mt. Rushmore
4) Badlands
5) Devils Tower
6) Grand Tetons
7) Great Salt Lake
Grand Canyon (north rim, on the way back)

There is so much to see and so little time.  

It looks like the Mother-in-Law wants to go too.  I know she feels that if she doesn't she will never get the chance again.  I have real mixed feeling about this.  The last couple of times that she went with us for a weekend trip it ended up terribly.  Her health is not good and she just makes herself even sicker with her feelings of old age issues....   Travel will be slower and the stops more frequent.  Also means bringing a wheelchair to help out on the longer walks.  I was even thinking about renting a, forgive me, big RV coach to make things easier on us all if she goes.  But that would probably be out of the cost picture so far that I really should not consider it.


Anyway, I am looking for suggestions and ideas.  I know some of you have done this list of things and more so any extra thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[griffsmom]

You may want to PM or e-mail gsm x2, aka Scott.  I think that he and his wife (g-whiz, aka Georgeanne, or "Georgia," if subscribe to PUT mag;) ) went on an extended trip thru Yellowstone and S. Dakota back in 2001 and he may have some helpful info.

[chasd60]

I went out west from Maine last summer with a tent and my then 9 year old daughter and 10 year old nephew . Stayed in the National Park CG's at Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and Lake Meade Rec area at Hoover Dam. If you are going to Salt Lake it would be too bad if you do not to go to Bonneville Salt Flats, we stayed at a KOA in Wendover NV when we did the salt flats. My truck drove very smoothly on the flats.
 
Don't forget "The Wild" in Ohio!!! That is a pretty nice place to see giraffes and rhinoceros.

[MommaMia]

If your mother-in-law ends up being part of the group, give her "chores" to do.  Things that keep her occupied and feeling prductive and useful, as well as helping you out a bit. Even simple things like looking through flyers for good deals on roadside dinner discounts, and attraction discounts.  Once at the campsites, give her a specific task or two that she is responsible for each time. Even if it's getting the kids settled with a fun project as you set up camp.

I used to cringe at the words "mother-in =law" but once I found out how to read her right, I started to figure out how to make the realtionship run smoother.  I now know the things she is good at (which  I have used to my best advantage in the past) and the things that she does that give mother-in-law a bad name, so I steer her away from anything involving those things.  Be creative!  I am sure it will make a world of difference!

[tlhdoc]

It looks like the Mother-in-Law wants to go too.  I know she feels that if she doesn't she will never get the chance again.  I have real mixed feeling about this.  The last couple of times that she went with us for a weekend trip it ended up terribly.  Her health is not good and she just makes herself even sicker with her feelings of old age issues....   Travel will be slower and the stops more frequent.

My DM goes on a few trips with her each year.  I do have to make more stops and at times is stresses me out, but I am glad she can go with us.  She also has some heath issues.  My DM always takes books with us on trips.  She knows that she can't do everything that we do.  If we need to "dump" her she either sits and reads or finds someone to talk to.  Sometimes she stays back at our campsite to have more time to rest.  Maybe your wife could talk to her DM and let her know that you will be doing somethings that she wouldn't be able to do and that this will be a trip with constant action.  She probably is right about not having another chance for a trip like this.

[farmer]

Dave
When I was about about 10 and my sister 7 my family rented a 23' motorhome and travelled the country for about one month.  We hit all the stops you listed, except for the Bill Cody Museum, and many others.  My father had done the same trip with his parents as a child with his siblings in a small tow behind trailer.  As a young kid I loved Yellowstone and also Zion Nat'l Park:D   Zion has great views in the early or late day sun and, if I remember correctly a long tunnel to drive through.  The tunnel may be a wrong memory:confused: but I have always had great thoughts about our trip esapecially Yellowstone wildlife and Zion's colors:D   I look forward to a similar trip when my girls get older.  Good luck and happy travels !
ex-farmer

We are thinking about planning a cross country trip to the Yellowstone area for our vacation this year. My oldest is running out of time to be with us during the summer and we want to make the western trip while we have the chance.
 
I would love to have some advice on campgrounds and places to visit. I want to make reservations as soon as possible to lock in sites so we don't have to do any last minute scrambling for places to stay.
 
We are putting on our list the following stops.
 
1) Yellowstone
2) Bill Cody museum
3) Mt. Rushmore
4) Badlands
5) Devils Tower
6) Grand Tetons
7) Great Salt Lake
Grand Canyon (north rim, on the way back)
 
There is so much to see and so little time.
 
It looks like the Mother-in-Law wants to go too. I know she feels that if she doesn't she will never get the chance again. I have real mixed feeling about this. The last couple of times that she went with us for a weekend trip it ended up terribly. Her health is not good and she just makes herself even sicker with her feelings of old age issues.... Travel will be slower and the stops more frequent. Also means bringing a wheelchair to help out on the longer walks. I was even thinking about renting a, forgive me, big RV coach to make things easier on us all if she goes. But that would probably be out of the cost picture so far that I really should not consider it.
 
 
Anyway, I am looking for suggestions and ideas. I know some of you have done this list of things and more so any extra thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[2manytoyz]

Be prepared for cold weather!  We stayed at the Mt. Rushmore KOA in June a few years ago.  They had a major snow storm.  It was melting when we arrived.  Didn't get down to freezing, but close enough.  We had just enough heat to be comfortable.  Very few other people camping, no popups:

http://2manytoyz.com/camp/camp2/snow.jpg


At Yellowstone, we stayed at the West Yellowstone KOA.  Nice enough.  If I remember correctly, it tended to be a very open type of campground, with little or no privacy between campsites.  However, if you're heading to Yellowstone, this is a good location, and the campground won't be memorable compared to the park!   http://www.koa.com/where/wy/26122.htm   Yellowstone will RUIN you future camping trips.  If you haven't been before, take lots of film or memory for a digital camera.  Every direction will have something you'll want a picture of.

Have fun!  We will go again when our boys are a little older.  FWIW, you have a short trip there.  We live on the East coast of central FL.  L-O-N-G way from here.

[Kelly]

Dave ~

I've been to a few of those places ... and I've done the Road Trip thing with 4 kids (twice so far) in a pop-up.   A couple of the places I've been to when the kids were real little ~ comparable to taking MIL along, I'd think.

Just a few thoughts ...  

Both Mt Rushmore and Devil's Tower have viewing areas that allow you to see a lot of the attraction without actually having to hike far.  They both also have hikes that get you closer.  If someone would stay with MIL ~ others in the group could enjoy the hikes.

I LOVED the North Rim of the Grand Canyon ~ that's where my avatar was taken.  One thing I was surprised by was the change in temperature.  We were there in August and it was beastly hot during the day and we ran the furnace at night!  I would think it would be much cooler in the day in June ....

Camping near the North Rim ~ if you aren't planning to stay in the park, I'd recommend Kaibab Camper Village.  We had a beautiful site among the Ponderosa Pines.  Only downside was the pay showers ....

Hope this helps.  I'll add more if I think of anything.  Also, feel free to email me ~ I'd be happy to help out.

IMHO Road Tripping is a great thing for kids to experience!
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[DiW]

I would be interested in seeing an intinerary for this trip so I can try to convince my DH to go this summer. Our kids are about the same ages as yours, so I know what you mean about time running out. Actually, my oldest is considering a summer pgm for high schoolers at Carnegie Mellon but that would be just part of the summer. Also, $ will be tight since my DH just got laid off so she may not be able to go anyway.

While the lack of a job has its downsides, I'm finally going to get my pergo floor installed (as soon as my DH finishes redoing our master bath). He even told me to pick out paint, wallpaper to redo the kitchen and dining room. I may have to keep him unemployed until summer just so I can redo my house. I'm thinking we might be able to do this "once in a lifetime" trip. His view will be "are you crazy? we have no $" I'm envious of everyone that has done (or will be doing) this type of trip. I would love to have these memories with my kids.
Diane

[maromeo]

Dave,
We have made 2 cross country trips in the past two summers. I will help you out any way I can. The first thing I would do is to purchase a National Park Pass, cost $50. It will cost you $20 for any national park you enter. What month during the summer are you planning on going? Do you have A/C and do you want hookups. Most of the South Dakota state parks do not have hookups. Check out website //www.campsd.com  This will let you view the campgrounds in the state parks. We stayed at Custer State Park, we loved it, we got to see a lot of wild life, buffalo, rams and antelope. It was beautiful. Try not to plan your trip to SD after the first week of August.  The Sturgis motortcycle convention is there and it is a zoo. No matter where you go it is crazy. We stayed at Legion Lake campground. It was small only about 16 sites but clean. If you go there try to get a site towards back, around unit 13-15 these are more secluded but farther from the shower house.

Yellowstone- you need to decide if you want to stay inside the park or out. We stayed inside the park at Grant's Village. It is on the south side of the park. Closest to Old Faithful, please beware, Yellowstone has had many fires over the years and so much of it is just sticks left. It is really sad. You are also in bear country so they enforce the rules very heavily, handing out fines all the time. Make sure you allow enough time for driving. The park doesn't look very big but it took us 4 hours from the north enterance to Grant's Village.

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is beautiful- you will be close to Bryce Canyon and not far from Zion National, they are both breathtaking. But you will have the desert heat depending on the time in the summer you will be visiting. I need to run and help out with home projects. Please email me any questions to maromeo58@aol.com I have a lot of brochures I had picked up along the way they may help. I can scan them in and email you back. Let me know if I can help. We too take care of MIL here so I feel and understand you feelings. Hey maybe we can get them together this summer and they can be miserable together. I have to run. Let me know if we can help you out. Take care.
Mary Romeo

[abbear]

You may already have done most of this, but...

Get a new road atlas.  read it. Study it.  Look at different routes. Figure how long you are realistically willing to drive in any given day.  Then see how far you can go for the whole trip based on the total driving days.

Once you have done that, you can really begin plannning where to go and camp.  If you are not a member already join AAA and make extensive use of their maps, tourboooks, and campbooks.  Find out things that MIL is interested in a plan them into trip.

Remember that a lot of folks will be playing Lewis and Clark this summer and plan accordingly.

Get the park pass.  At REI it is only $40.  Pays for itself very quickly.

Remember that fun isn't measured by the number of places you visit.

vacation rule #1 - have fun!
vacation rule #2 - see rule #1

[debbiedee1957]

Forget taking the Mother -in-Law!!!!!!!
Believe me I lived a vacation you are considering!!!
Never again.

We are thinking about planning a cross country trip to the Yellowstone area for our vacation this year.  My oldest is running out of time to be with us during the summer and we want to make the western trip while we have the chance.

I would love to have some advice on campgrounds and places to visit.  I want to make reservations as soon as possible to lock in sites so we don't have to do any last minute scrambling for places to stay.

We are putting on our list the following stops.

1) Yellowstone
2) Bill Cody museum
3) Mt. Rushmore
4) Badlands
5) Devils Tower
6) Grand Tetons
7) Great Salt Lake
Grand Canyon (north rim, on the way back)

There is so much to see and so little time.  

It looks like the Mother-in-Law wants to go too.  I know she feels that if she doesn't she will never get the chance again.  I have real mixed feeling about this.  The last couple of times that she went with us for a weekend trip it ended up terribly.  Her health is not good and she just makes herself even sicker with her feelings of old age issues....   Travel will be slower and the stops more frequent.  Also means bringing a wheelchair to help out on the longer walks.  I was even thinking about renting a, forgive me, big RV coach to make things easier on us all if she goes.  But that would probably be out of the cost picture so far that I really should not consider it.


Anyway, I am looking for suggestions and ideas.  I know some of you have done this list of things and more so any extra thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Dayton Dave]

Anytime a major trip is to be planned it is wonderful to get so many suggestions.  My fear is that there are so many options that the mistake is to try to see them all, and as a result you do not really get to see the details.  

So far our plans include the following, which seems like a good route too;
1) Driving thru the Badlands NP
2) the new Minuteman Missile NHS (hope it is open by June)
3) Mt. Rushmore
4) Devils Tower
5) Little Bighorn Battlefield
6) Buffalo Bill Historical Center (mainly the Cody Firearms Museum)
7) Yellowstone
Grand Tetons
9) Bonneville Salt Flats

And if time allows magically - North Rim and some of the Arches.  Then a mad dash east on I70, skidding to a stop at work on Monday morning.

Ideally, we want to find campgrounds that have full hookups, so that is where the research will be focus in the short run.  

Trying to get good time estimates for stops at each of the major locals is the next planning hurdle.  For instance, there are 5 major museums in Cody.  How can you pick the best ones.  It is like going to the Smithsonian.  You need a full week to get started.

Yellowstone is so large, it really appears to be a place to spend a lifetime, rather than a couple of days.  How can you do it justice?  What are the highlights that are a must see?

I really wish we could take time to make it to the west coast to visit the Monterey Bay area.  This is where the boys were born.  I want to show them Big Sir and San Fran, and of course Yosemite and Sequoia.  

But there just is not enough time to do everything.  We only have two weeks off!!!!

[Kelly]

Anytime a major trip is to be planned it is wonderful to get so many suggestions.  My fear is that there are so many options that the mistake is to try to see them all, and as a result you do not really get to see the details.  

So far our plans include the following, which seems like a good route too;
1) Driving thru the Badlands NP
2) the new Minuteman Missile NHS (hope it is open by June)
3) Mt. Rushmore
4) Devils Tower
5) Little Bighorn Battlefield
6) Buffalo Bill Historical Center (mainly the Cody Firearms Museum)
7) Yellowstone
Grand Tetons
9) Bonneville Salt Flats

Trying to get good time estimates for stops at each of the major locals is the next planning hurdle.  

But there just is not enough time to do everything.  We only have two weeks off!!!!

I agree!!  There are so many places I felt like we missed on all our road trips!  

I have been to Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower and the Little Bighorn Battlefield with kids .... younger than yours, but still kids!  I would allow at least half a day for each of those.  That was plenty of time for my kids ~ yours might enjoy them a little longer.

[aw738]

I could not find where you said how long you have for this trip. I drove from WV to Yellowstone and back in a week three years ago. To enjoy this trip it would take longer. I know I live farther away from Yellowstone than you but not by much. It took us 2 and a half days to get to the park. That is not stoping anywhere on the way except the Corn Palace in Mitchal SD. We left on Saturday and made it a little more than half way across Iowa the first day. The second day we made it to just across the SD/Wyoming state line. We made it into Yellowstone by about 2:00pm, we did gain two hours for the time zones though. I will warn you after you leave I-90 going west towards Cody the roads will eat up a lot of time and we were in a car not pulling a camper. One mountain we crossed was at almost 10,000 ft, but there were two routes but the easier route is longer. We were in Yellowstone for alomst a day total and then we had to start back towards home. On the way back we stopped at Devils Tower, pictures and video do not do it justice. I also stopped at Stugis and bought a t-shirt(had to do that). Then on to Mt Rushmore and The Crazy Horse Monument. The one last place we stopped was Wall Drug east of Rapid City. You have to go there other wise I can't explain it. Other than that all I can say is good luck and happy travels.