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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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
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Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]