Having Fun in Yellowstone

As many of you know, I am planning a trip to Yellowstone for this summer.  It is going to be a really long road trip for my family, but we plan on breaking it up and stopping at some other sites along the way.  We are traveling from Indiana, so we decided to stop along the way at the Dakotas so we can see Mt. Rushmore and Badlands National Park.  We are also going to be stopping at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Devil’s Tower.  From there, we will head to Yellowstone and we are planning a visit to the Grand Tetons and to Glacier National Park.

 Well, life is interesting sometimes, as I was just contacted today by a man named Allan Wright.  Allan told me about his company, which is named Zephyr Adventures and, interestingly enough, will be providing adventure-based family trips to Yellowstone and to Glacier this year.  I can’t personally say much about the service, but Allan tells me that they have been in business for 11 years and I think it is worth checking out what they have to offer.  If I see Allan while in the area, I will be sure to tell you all about him and his tours! 

Family Travel Roadtrip Tips – Keep Them Entertained

Perhaps the single most important family travel roadtrip tip is to keep the kids entertained while on the road. By  breaking up the trip and stopping every couple of hours, you will automatically help stave off boredom.  Nonetheless, you will need to take other steps to prevent boredom as well.

The most obvious thing you can do to help keep the kids from getting bored is to install a DVD system in your vehicle.  Watching movies along the way to your family vacation destination will certainly keep the children entertained as long as the movies remain available.

Of course, not everyone has a DVD player in their vehicle.  If this is the case, music can help prevent boredom from setting in as well – particularly if everyone joins in with the merriment.

Another roadtrip game you can play is to challenge the children to look for certain items along the way.  For example, you can challenge them to look for license plates for all 50 states. If you create a list ahead of time, they can simply check off the states as they find them.  You can use this states.doc with your kids while on your trip.

Another roadtrip game is to look for every letter of the alphabet on the signs along the road.  To make the game even more challenging, go in alphabetical order and only count the first letter of the words you see on the signs.  You might have to cheat a little on X, though we usually find a semi-trailer with Xtra on it at some point or another.  Q can be a challenge as well – just hope you come across a Dairy Queen once you reac that letter!

You can also look for different colored vehicles, such as challenging the children to be the first to spot a red vehicle or any other color you select.

With a little imagination, you can make your family travel experience enjoyable while on the road.