As a teenager I vehemently protest any attempts whatsoever to get me out of bed before 11:00 A.M., I consider this a longstanding tradition that I have upheld since the age of ten. My parents are the type who always took trips to National Parks rather than Disney World or say, Universal. While I have not always appreciated these trips, one that I have never second guessed is the trip my family and I took to Yellowstone National Park. My vehement protests were rudely neglected when my family and I would wake up at 4:00 A.M. to go look for wildlife, including the rarely spotted wolf packs that inhabit the National Park.
â–º QUARTER FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
While we had previously traveled to Yellowstone National Park, my family had participated in what might be considered the more "touristy" aspects of the park and therefore felt we had to return to experience the more intimate aspects of the park. On our first trip we had learned that during the early years of the park, visitors would tour the park by way of stagecoach and in order to accommodate these visitors, a number of hotels were erected at relatively regular distances along the main trail. My family and I decided to re-enact this pilgrimage of sorts. We traveled from Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to Lake Yellowstone Hotel. The views from the first hotel alone were enough to captivate any visitor. Deer roamed the lawns of Mammoth Springs and a rather large Bison met us at the entrance of Lake Yellowstone Hotel. The mountains surrounding me, which were obviously inanimate objects, were so immense that I felt intimidated by them. Something that I have learned from visiting National Parks is that the nature preserved in them is so much bigger than any human, or anything a human could ever make because they have stood not only the test of time, but also are thoroughly authentic, being created by Mother Nature.
Our adventures proceeded on to the Canyon Lodge and the Old Faithful Inn, while I also briefly stayed at the Roosevelt Lodge Cabins. I found Canyon Lodge rather uninteresting…perhaps it was due to the 13 hour hike I had recently completed. To me it looked as if it had been taken out of the Las Vegas strip in the 70s. I much preferred the Old Faithful Inn and the Roosevelt Lodge Cabins. Talk about intimidating, when I entered the Old Faithful Inn I had to stop for a moment and look up at the over 50 ft. beams that lined the ceiling and the rest of the solely wood structure. Its amazing to consider that craftsmanship and architecture of this sort was done with the technology and tools of the early 20th century. I was lucky to stay in a room that looked directly out onto the famous geyser named Old Faithful for its consistent, timely, eruption. I mean how man places do you find holes in the ground that blow water 120 feet in the air!
It is hard to describe all the nature that I saw as we would drive from lodge to lodge. I saw everything from black bears to wolf packs, and bison roamed everywhere. I received the scare of a lifetime when trying to take a picture of a bison, at first I thought I was accidently zooming in with the camera, but much to my surprise the bison was charging straight for me! I have never run so fast in my life as I did at that moment. The mountains such as El Capitan (named for the way it looks like a man with a cap on) appeared to touch the sky, and waterfalls were immense and appeared to continue on forever. Some waterfalls created rainbows as they fell. Sage plants lined the ground everywhere and bison, although once endangered, roam in herds. There were antelope and deer with full racks.
I doubt that I will ever be able to experience quite like Yellowstone. The natural world that I was exposed to there, and the deep history that it seemed to contain in its rolling hills is truly one of a kind. I have such fond memories of the people I met and the places I stayed at this park. It was this trip that taught me that I was not missing anything by visiting National Parks instead of Theme Parks. I have some advice for anyone who takes the same trip: stay as long as you can and visit as many of the original lodges as possible! It makes for the best, most scenic, and most educational stay. I hope to return to Yellowstone National Park in the near future.
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1 Reply to “Immersion in Nature – Yellowstone National Park!”
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Nice and informative post, thank you such a nice sharing, we can hope find more from you on this thank you.
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Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.
Hello Dr Ramesh,
If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!
Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?
A Great Family Activity and one that will bring the family back together in the future when they all grow up!!
Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.
good article..
thanks for sharing the wonderful and informative details. Love this blog post. Next month coming to san francisco and looking for best hotel.
Dubai is such a nice place to stay and famous for its wonderful sightseeing’s attractions. The best trip is Dubai sightseeing’s tour and desert safari in Dubai. We had great time couple of years ago.
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing
Let me add http://www.babyquip.com to the list.
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YAY THAT’S MY TWIN! So proud of you Tali!
Your blog helped me to plan my family trip to Bangkok and Pattaya. Just made a video blog out if it, https://youtu.be/tok17yOR1W8 please watch ang give feedback.
Ranch Vacation with family is a real fun. Here we spent quality time with each other. Truly said, we eat a lot and on-time as well. Riding is also a fun in ranch vacation, Created a perfect picture.
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We have actually done the ATV tour in Cozumel Mexico, and had an amazing time. We booked with Cozumel Cruise Excursions. Net which is a family business and we had an amazing time. Theres nothing better than going to another country and getting great customer service and amazing people as guides. I would highly recommend checking them out next time your in Cozumel http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net
This sounds like so much fun! From the haunted houses to the different drinks offered. I didn’t know HHN was such a major part for Universal Orlando. Good to know! Thanks for the article!
Hello Annetta,
Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
Safe travels!
Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father
Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for all of these suggestions.
Chicago is a wonderful place to visit.
Excellent very nice! No doubt Dubai is very famous for more activities but desert safari is very unique activity.i love this one…
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Thanks, recommendation cheap hotels is very useful for the preparation of our vacation that will not be soon. Really nice!
Nice article
Nice Travel Tips…
It’s amazing. I hope i can visit it soon T.T
Beautiful article
Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.
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For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ebrydobby.app.plates.free
Great article & very practical. Thanks for all the tips – I’ll be thinking about them for a while as we work on our website redesign.
Great vacation ideas and post too..!!!
There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.
Look like you had a great adventure trip. The ship looks awesome.
Dubai is amazing. I really enjoyed reading your article! 🙂
I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php
St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.
Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.
Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.
I am going to Dubai next month thanks for sharing this information will come in handy
Nice post…
Thank you so much for sharing a great information. I appreciate your time and effort in your work. Keep posting.
Thanks, for posting such and Informatic blog. I had been to Amer Fort in Jaipur and it was an amazing experience.
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A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.
I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty