Yellowstone Road Trip

Yellowstone Road Trip 

Day 1 Sioux Falls, SD

Today we left the house around the crack of dawn and made our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We stopped for a breakfast in Springfield, Mo. After our picnic breakfast of fruit and muffins, we played at a local park. After a long time in the car, we finally arrived in Sioux Falls.
 We made a quick stop to see the waterfall before heading to our hotel that the girls picked out.  The falls were breathtaking. The girls loved climbing the rocks and chasing the geese. We spent the night at Dakotah Lodge (3200 West Russell Street, Exit 81 off I-29, Sioux Falls, SD 57107 (Formerly Brimark Inn) It has a big water slide and other indoor pool activities. We ate supper in our room and relaxed in the pool area for the night. It was good to blow off energy after being in a car all day! It also had free WiFi and breakfast. 

Day 2 Keystone, SD

We left Sioux Falls right after breakfast and headed to Mitchell, SD to see the corn palace. Mitchell is an hour and 15 minutes away from Sioux Falls.  We were a little disappointed because it was a remodeling year and the palace wasn't in its normal glory. After snapping a quick picture, we were off to see bandit country, also known as Badlands, which was 3 hours away. We meandered down the Badlands loop 240 to Wall, SD.  The girls loved climbing and jumping. They were also on the constant look out for wildlife. Wall Drug closes at 5:00. We ate a late lunch at Wall Drug around 1:00.  Our girls had earned $15.00 to spend for souvenirs at Wall Drug. They loved going on a hunt looking for the perfect memento from this trip. 

 

After exploring Wall Drug, we headed to Keystone, SD for the night. It is 1 1/2 hours to  Keystone, SD, so we arrived around suppertime. We saw Mount Rushmore, hiked the Presidential Trail, and took the scenic loop with tunnels. Since we didn't do the tunnel road until dusk, wildlife was out and about grazing or hunting for supper. The girls loved all of the wildlife  and this was really the first place that was saturated with it. We stayed at Rushmore Express Inn and Family Suites. It didn't have a pool, but it was in a good location with a big bed and bunk beds for the girls. There was enough room for us to spread out and relax for the night. 

Day 3 Black Hills 

  

We will sleep in, ate breakfast, and got out the door around 9:00. We continued our discovery of the Black Hills. We visited Black Hills Institute Museum in Hill City.  It was about 25 minutes away and cost $23.00, but it was worth it.  It opens at 9:30. We ate lunch and left about 12:00 heading to Devils Tower, WY. Yes, it is 2 hours away, but it is on my bucket list, so we are going!  We left from Devil Tower around 3:00 and started making tracks toward Cody, WY. It was 5 1/2 hours away so we had a long drive. We  spent the night somewhere in Cody.  Irma's is one of my favorite restaurants for history.  My husband and I had a buffalo burger while the girls had chicken strips. 

Day 4 Yellowstone

We  got up early, ate breakfast in our hotel, then headed to Yellowstone, which is 1 hour away.  Today we saw Old Faithful, Paint Pots, and some other geothermal features before heading to our hotel for check in. After supper we will head back out to try to spot night wildlife. There are a couple of apps that can tell you timetable for Old Faithful. Remember to arrive early enough before eruption time to allow for parking. There are also good bathrooms on the grounds of Old Faithful Inn, so use it while you can.

 

Day 5 More Yellowstone 

Let's face it, Yellowstone is about spotting wildlife, hiking to waterfalls, and just enjoying the outdoors. Today we plan on doing just that by waking up early and heading out to spot wildlife. Today we will also go see waterfalls, wildfire burn spots, and drop by Yellowstone West to see the wolf/bear habitat museum.

Once the day was done a little reflection, 1st we saw the most wildlife along the road going toward the North Entrance. We even happened onto a bear jam. Lamar Valley was stunning. People were set up all along the road trying to catch a glimpse of grizzly bears.  We mainly saw Buffalo, Elk, and Prong Horn.  

While on a bathroom break, the girls spotted birds nesting on the side of the building. They were so excited! Wildlife is all around,  even in the most unexpected places. This park has my number one vote for best park to see wildlife for any level of enthusiast! 

We packed a picnic lunch and just meandered around until we found a spot.  The girls favorite thing today was taking pictures and hiking. There was lots of beautiful flowers along the trails. 

There hasn't been one day since we got here that we haven't seen a buffalo. On the way, the girls couldn't wait to see one, every cow we passed, they would ask the question  "is it a buffalo?" Now that we are here, they are like "yeah, yeah another buffalo. " This is a trip they will always remember for the buffalo. 

Day 6 Last Day at Yellowstone

We got up this morning and had breakfast at Running Bear Pancake House, it was packed full of visitors just like us. We were able to walk to it from our hotel, which was StageCoach Inn. It was kind of a walk, but we didn't mind. On the way back, my oldest girl spotted a marmot just waking up for his breakfast too. We liked our hotel, it had a beautiful wooden staircase with animal mounts on display in the lobby.  It was in a good location for getting in and out of the park. There was a gas station nearby as well which was important.  

We went to see some more thermal features on our last day. One thing that was unexpected by the girls was the rotten egg smell. It was fun to see their faces, smelling the sulphur for the first time. All of the internet research in the world didn't prepare them for the smell. It was something they had experience on their own.

My final thoughts are: Yellowstone is a must see. It's a unique habitat that allows its visitors to experience a wide variety of activities within a fairly drivable or hikeable area. My advice is to make sure you pack a cooler and have snacks ready. There was so much to see and do, we really didn't want to waste our time driving back and forth for a meal. Check for road construction before you leave. With heavy snow in the winter, summer road construction can be intense at times. Bring your own music. I was surprised that most of the time we couldn't pick up a radio station. We don't have satellite radio and I got tired of hearing the kids CD.  Bring sunscreen and sunglasses for you and the kids. There aren't much shade around the thermal features, and with the beautiful sun shining bright, you will need them.