Planning for a Four-Generation Trip

A couple of months ago, my mother-in-law Betty called to ask my advice on a trip she wanted to take to Yellowstone National Park with my 16-year-old grandniece Lindsay (my husband's brother's granddaughter). 

Destination

Lindsay had never traveled in this part of the country and, although she loves wildlife, had not seen many animals in the wild. Betty had been to Yellowstone on (I believe) two occasions in the past and thought it would be a great bonding opportunity with Lindsay.

It's a huge area; lots of driving

Of course, I offered advice. I mean, when do I turn that opportunity down?

Yellowstone can be fairly arduous and my mother-in-law has difficulty breathing at high altitude. Plus, it's huge and Betty really doesn't handle driving that well.

I offered to act as guide and driver. Offer accepted, I also invited daughter Caty, who is extremely Yellowstone-savvy, to join us. I really love Yellowstone, so there was nothing heroic about my offer!

Once we agreed on the trip, I cautioned Betty that we needed to pick a date soon because accommodations at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, which we would also visit, fill up quickly. She picked July 8-17 and I immediately went to work setting up the trip.

As I suspected, lodging was pretty much gone. So, after checking, checking and checking, we settled on two nights in Grand Teton at Colter Bay, which is in the park, was the ONLY lodging available and was available only at the beginning of the visit ... 

We booked a large cabin

... and three nights in a cabin at the Shoshone Lodge outside the East Entrance of Yellowstone. 

The Lodge is great, but the drive in and out is tough; Photo: Shoshone Lodge

The Shoshone is really nice, but if I can impress anything on anyone going to these National Parks, it is book early so you can stay IN the Parks. The extra time getting to and from the lodging - even with a dramatic drive -- makes for very long days. Had we been in the Park, we could have seen more, rested more and even split up so some of us could have hiked.

It's a big Park with lots of highway

So, the itinerary panned out this way:

Betty and Lindsay would fly in on July 8, arriving in the late afternoon at DIA. I would pick them up and bring them back to Colorado Springs.

On July 9, we would go to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Rescue Center in Divide. Betty had been once before and we generally take all visitors there because of the opportunity for up-close encounters with wolves.

Caty with a Wolf, 2010

We left July 10 open, but did decide to end the day at Caty's house in Fort Collins because it is two hours closer to Grand Teton - reducing the drive to 7 hours or so.

 

July 11 would be spent driving to Grand Teton.

 

Grand Teton National Park

July 12 would be devoted to Grand Teton.

July 13 would be split between Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park

July 14 and 15 would be devoted to Yellowstone.

July 16 would be spent driving back to Caty's.

On July 17, I would take Betty and Lindsay to the airport and then return home.

Four Generations

Beyond that, we didn't make any specific plans.

There were many factors I couldn't anticipate: weather, where the animals would be, road conditions, how much Betty would be able to do, how much Lindsay would want to do. 

After all, we had four generations going: 87, 61, 32 and 16 years old. 

Who knows how well our likes would mesh? 

The weather forecasts looked good (if not too hot), which was a relief since Colorado Springs was enjoying a very wet summer. As it panned out, our weather was good but not great, with a lot more rain than forecast but not enough to really interfere much.

 

Yeah, we had rain; but, we also had rainbows

I sent instructions on how to pack - be prepared for widely varying temperatures, bring good walking shoes, bring multiple layers rather than winter clothes or heavy jackets. Have luggage that can be broken down into smaller pieces to better fit in the car, which had to carry luggage for four, a cooler, our picnic basket and hiking gear.

Trip date: July 8-16, 2014