Wow, you folks are good! We have to use two cars. My wife’s cousin, her husband and their two boys are rather large people and we would be squashed trying to fit 8 people and our luggage into one vehicle. Not to mention the fact that her husband produces enough methane to make a herd of longhorn jealous.
Yes, I’d go for the canyon route myself. Zion is absolutely gorgeous. And the Grand Canyon is unreal, it looks like a giant matte painting, but it’s real. Way cool.
Just keep the little ones away from the edge!
Old Faithful isn’t worth the trouble, and hasn’t been for at least 30 years. Nice gift shop, if you’re into that sort of thing. However, as of July 2005, the rest of Yellowstone most certainly is.
Traffic jams become cool when they’re caused by a Mama Griz and her 3 cubs.
What’s that stupid credit card commercial? Watching baby elk spring up out of nowhere in an “empty” meadow when their mothers have returned. Causing a traffic jam because Mr Coyote has an itchy ear. Having an 8-year old burst into tears because that one buffalo is limping. Having that same 8 year old inform (correctly) another kid that “those aren’t mooses! Those are elks” and getting into a discussion about the difference. Making a “wrong” turn, and seeing a wolf pack stopping at a water hole instead of finding Old Faithful’s parking lot. Those are all “priceless” and make the crowds less painful.
I’m antisocial, and mildly agoraphobic, but the crowds in Yellowstone aren’t that bad. Having lived within daytrip distance, with a large family and many inlaws, I’ve been to Yellowstone many times, and every trip, I’m amazed and awed.
I remember going to Mt. Rushmore as a 7 year old kid in 1969. It was really cool - especially because my dad sprung for the helicopter ride.
We did a LOT in that trip to the west coast & back. Other than Mt. Rushmore, I remember watching Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon (on a TV in the middle of the boy scout jamboree in Idaho), going up in the Space Needle in Seattle, going out on the glacier in Glacier National Park, seeing Old Faithful (it was much more than a bubble back then), going to Deadwood, seeing Lake Louise, the vast “nothingness” of Saskatchewan. I don’t remember much of the long driving days, but I am sure there were some. I know we did not have air conditioning in the car & I vaguely remember it being hot. I do remember the accident we were in about 100 miles from home that completely destroyed the travel trailer we were pulling.
I am not sure if this rambling helps much, but maybe it gives you an idea of what is important to a 7 year old as viewed from the perspective of nearly 38 years later.
Precisely. Now that is a national treasure. I’ve never been anywhere so cool, I don’t think, and I’ve been a lot of places. (Well, the Grand Canyon, but duh.)
2 cents of my own…
Mt. Rushmore is a disappointment - a lot of driving and you’re pretty much done with it in 30 minutes. Watch North by Northwest instead. If you do it, though, Devil’s Tower National Monument is nearby and worth a stop for the “Close Encounters” nostalgia if nothing else.
Yellowstone is where I spent this summer (August). It rained every freakin’ day and half the nights. Plan raingear and/or umbrellas. If you’re camping, a $25 plastic canopy is well worth it. I think Yellostone is the most amazing piece of land in the entire country and planning a week there isn’t out of line. Old Faithful, IMO, does live up to the hype but ever more interesting is the rest of the active valley it’s in. (Old Faithful isn’t the largest or most interesting gyser, it’s just very, umm, faithful.)
Take your time, break the park up into sections. Yellostone is a freakin’ huge national park, you’ll spend a lot of time traveling. Mammoth Hot Springs on the north of the park used to be spectacular but when I was last there, it was mostly inactive and looks like dull, crumbled gypsum hills now. Be sure to drop south and see the Grand Tetons, your admission price to the Yellowstone includes that. Stop near the lake. Supposed to be lots of moose there but they seemed to evade us.
Plan extra time going through the Yellowstone river valley because the buffalo everywhere slow the tourists. Watch out for bears, if you plan to leave your vehicle, keep your distance. Pepper spray is effective against them. A professional nature photographer I met there had a big canister on his belt.
The Grand Canyon, IMO, is good for two days tops unless you’re planning on hiking down into it. South rim, one day, North rim, one day. The trip to the north rim is longer than the map suggests. Get gas before you go. South of GC is Sunset Crater, a volcanic Cinder cone that my kids remember well. Very otherworldly.
Look up the Eagle pass on the NPS website (nps.gov), it’s good for a year and will allow access to all national parks for a flat fee. It’ll pay for itself with just two or three parks, usually. You can buy it at the entrance to any park.
If you go to the Grand Canyon, consider a day or two in the Sedonna Valley to the south - very, very interesting scenery. Be sure to take the small road (AZ-89) through Oak Creek starting just south of Flagstaff rather than the interstate.
Sedonna is a very expensive town to eat and shop in but the town is an artists’ community and the stores can be very interesting.
To shorten your drive just a bit, you might look at Moab as a destination. The “awe factor” in that area is easily comparable to The Grand Canyon, with the added feature of access to the Colorado itself. Just for starters, you’ve got Arches, two districts of The Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point. You can rent mountain bikes, go on a jeep tour, take a rafting trip, check out The Hole in The Rock, there are even waterslides in town. (I think they’re still open). On the way, you can stop at Glenwood Springs and hit the gigantic pool there, maybe check out Doc Holliday’s grave, or go to Glenwood Caverns.