Family Vacation 2019 - Bear Lake/Yellowstone

(Picture Overload)
Traveling with three kids where the oldest is only four isn't an easy feat but I'm so glad we did it. They did awesome this past week and we returned with new memories, sea shells, and lots of unwanted sand.

A year ago my parents planned a Rueckert family vacation at Bear Lake and we all got pretty excited about it. With a year's notice most of my siblings made arrangements to be there including my sister Melanie who lives in Pennsylvania and we don't get to see often. My parents rented out a huge cabin that comfortably slept forty people. Danny and I were given a good sized room where all five of us fit in perfectly. We spent four days in Bear Lake with my side of the family and it was a lot of fun. The kids especially loved the giant house and the sandbox that came with the backyard. It was hard to get them to leave the sand because they loved it so much. We got to the cabin on Monday and spent the next four days there until we checked out on Thursday.
Day 1: Getting settled in the cabin and exploring our surroundings.

Day 2: Family picture day. We then got the famous raspberry shakes that Bear Lake is known for and spent some time at Garden City Pond.

Day 3: Lake day.

I think it's obvious Grant does not get his tan skin from me.

This sandbox was Hudson's favorite place to be at the cabin.

Day 4: Saying goodbye. Animal wildlife refuge and Bear World with Giovanna.

 

I had decided to continue this vacation with our own little family and include Yellowstone into this trip. Danny had never been there and I really wanted him to experience it. I'm glad we did it. It was a lot of driving but the kids did so good. We made sure to break up the drive as often as we could to keep the kids entertained. On the drive to West Yellowstone, Montana we stopped at an animal refuge just outside of Bear Lake Idaho and also spent close to three hours in Bear World which the kids really loved. Addie loved all of the rides except one. She was tall enough to go on their little roller coaster and asked to ride it. I went on the ride with her because I was unsure how she would like it once she was on it. It turns out that she's not a fan of fast roller coasters. She was pretty scared and said she never wanted to try that again. I was still proud of her for trying something new and told her how brave she was for getting on it. 

Hudson was more interested in the petting zoo behind this board.

This was by far Hudson's favorite ride. They probably rode on these cars at least five different times.

We finally made it to Yellowstone and I loved it. The first thing we saw when entering the park was a wild bison walking along the road. Danny didn't like the traffic that one buffalo caused but I felt like seeing one so fast was the start to a perfect day. We headed straight to Old Faithful because I feel like you can't go to Yellowstone and not see it erupt. We arrived soon after it had just gone off so we stayed and had lunch before the next eruption. We had an amazing view of it and I hope it met Danny's expectations. It met mine. We spent the rest of the day seeing some geysers and enjoying some quiet time at Yellowstone Lake. This was my third time at Yellowstone and I had never spent any time at the lake but it was perfect for my family. We also went to the valley where there were so many bison everywhere. We even parked the car and just enjoyed watching them all. I had also never gone down to the valley in Yellowstone before. I've learned that even though this was my third time there was still so much to see and do that you can't possibly do it all in one trip. We plan on coming back again when the kids are a little older and I would love to show them more geysers and see more wildlife but overall I'm very very happy with how this vacation went.

Dragon's Mouth

 

Not the best quality picture but there are two bald eagles in this tall tree.

We stayed at the Travelor's Lodge and I would definitely use this same place for when we come back. It's nothing fancy but it is reasonably priced and only feet away from the West Entrance. It was perfect for our family.

On our way home we broke up the trip by stopping in Idaho Falls. The view of the temple was beautiful and our kids liked stretching out their legs by these little waterfalls.

We can now cross off Idaho, Montana and Wyoming off our family bucket list. We're trying to do all fifty states and as of right now the plan is for New Mexico, Oregon or Washington to be next. This plan however will have to wait two years because next summer Danny and I will be going on a couple's trip and I'm already making plans and preparations for it. :)