Yellowstone Tips?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Went in June 2010. Entered the park our first afternoon via the Beartooth Highway then drove out to Bozeman. Excellent views, but scary as they had done road construction and didn’t have the lines painted on all parts. Now it will be so much easier to drive. We skipped playing in the snow like the CA license plate car people did.</p>

<p>PAY ATTENTION TO RANGER WARNINGS ABOUT DISTANCE FROM BEARS, BISON, ELK et al. Some stupid ladies were out in a meadow trying for camera shots of momma bear and cubs- if it were me I’d certainly attack anyone I thought was threatening my child. A bunch of cars had stopped along the side of one road in one area and the rangers warned us we all were actually a bit close to a year old bear down a ditch and across a creek but let us look. Good Park Service employees- interested in our safety and not only the “letter of the law”.</p>

<p>There’s an excellent museum at the University in Bozeman, Montana. Worth the trip to see the current information about dinosauers- so much more than the usual displays of skeletons. Probable family life and all sorts of knowledge that modern research tools have given us.</p>

<p>Take a different route into the park each day. Take the small hikes to see different sites marked on the park map- they’re all worth it.</p>

<p>Get books from your library (or buy)- there are some with the history that are good reading before you go.</p>

<p>There’s a cafeteria with a buffet offering 3 different fill your plate priced meals- check out all areas before you choose. We also take peanut butter, jelly and bread for sandwhiches when we travel- buy it locally when we fly.</p>

<p>Be prepared for heat and cold, snow and rain- all in the same day at different elevations. Have clothes et al in the car. Also have food and beverages- the nearest available may be a ways and inconvenient.</p>

<p>There were road closures in the park- for construction and a motor home/car accident when we were there. Be careful driving- watch for stopped cars and wildlife.</p>

<p>Be prepared for huge crowds at some landmarks- we saw Old Faithful later in the afternoon- and had to wait as we just missed it. </p>

<p>Have fun and realize you probably won’t see everything, prioritize areas.</p>

22

<p>We made a point of getting up early to see the popular locations – Old Faithful in particular. If you are out on the road by 7:30 am, you have a good 2-2.5 hours before all the tourist buses arrive. Once the popular sites got busy, we headed to less-traveled areas. We found the recovering forests to be quite interesting and beautiful – one can still see the damage from the huge fires a number of years ago.</p>

<p>After Labor Day, though, it might not be QUITE as crazy. We camped there twice, but were there in August and had made reservations well in advance. Ranger walks are very informative and we got to see things we probably would not have ventured out to do otherwise. The swimming hole is great. </p>

<p>We also did the Jenny Lake boat ride and hike in the Grand Tetons. GT is less crowded and quite beautiful.</p>

<p>Be prepared for cold. When we camped there in mid-August, we broke camp one morning and it was 28.6 degrees (used the digital meat thermometer).</p>