Out of this planet: Yellowstone National Park

I wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting Yellowstone. I had seen pictures, but haven’t researched much about it. I trusted my husband’s organisation skills and let him do all the bookings. I wanted to be surprised. And I was. It was the most stunning, unique place I’ve ever been. So different from any other place I had ever seen before.

Yellowstone is like a movie set. Surreal. Beautiful.

We took a 4 hours flight from Canmore AB in Canada, to Salt Lake City, USA.

We were so excited for what was coming: the next morning we all jumped in our super RV. The plan was to drive from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone and camp in the park for 3 nights. I had never done it before, and surely never with 3 children. And maybe would have never done it if I knew it was going to be FREEZING at night, and if I would have known that the electric supply, that powered the heating and microwave, was going to blow up in, literally, the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, part of the plan was to have the children pick up wood sticks, teach them to make a fire, have some nibbles, marshmallows and picnic outside, so we were prepared for a beautiful evening outdoors anyways.

The drive from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone it is full of sightseeing spots. It takes about 6 hours so we had to stop on the way and stop one night in Jackson.

We crossed 3 states. We were totally immersed in the American caravan culture. We stopped to stretch our legs, let the kids run around, make some photos of the Bear Lake and the Gran Teton Mountains, and of course have some bbq ribs and a beer. Ava Maxima even found a boyfriend in a Saloon.

Yellowstone National Park

Ok, now let’s move on and focus on the important stuff, Yellowstone’s uniqueness. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, hot springs and gushing geysers. It's also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope.

The Grand Canyon

As soon as we arrived we went straight to The Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the most breath-taking sight inside the Park.

We got there in the late afternoon. You arrive and you feel you can stay there just admiring for ever. There’s no need for words. Just breathe in that beauty through your eyes.

The rocks have these special pastel colour, yellow, red, white, and pink. I thought it was partly because it was a cloudy day, and partly because of the time of the day, but actually these colours are the result of thousands of years of fluids, exposure to elements and different temperatures altering their colours. The rocks are, in effect, oxidizing; the canyon is rusting. Most of the yellows in the canyon are the result of iron present in the rock rather than sulphur, as many people think.

That first day we also stopped by the mud pots. Although the mud pots are not as picturesque as other hot springs and pools, these turbulent pools of hot, muddy water, and bizarre landscapes are another feature that makes Yellowstone National Park so unique.

Old Faithful

On the second day, we packed up our caravan, and went directly to see the famous Old Faithful. It is not the largest or taller geyser in the park, but it is the most predictable, it has erupted every 44 to 125 minutes since 2000. Eruptions last for about 20 seconds.

When we arrived, we were late for 1 minute, it had JUST erupted, so we decided to stay around and wait. There is a super interesting museum with loads of child level scientific explanations, with interactive devices and different games. There’s also a beautiful walk where you can see other smaller hot springs and geysers. We waited for about an hour.

By the time the Old Faithful was about to erupt again, we were all very excited, seated on first raw, with our iPhones ready, DSLR camera ready, Go Pro ready.... one more minute to go and we were going to Finally see this guy in action, and JUST in that very moment, we realised Clemente was missing .... my husband thought he had come out of the museum with me and I thought he had stayed inside in the museum with him (you know how that is, it is always a miss understanding). There were about 200 people in the crowd, and our oldest 6 years old was missing....for a few seconds my blood froze, but I knew he was going to be fine, there was nowhere to go. We found him 5 minutes later crying inside the building. It wasn’t a big deal, we knew he was safe, but of course we couldn’t enjoy the spectacle freely. This is the best picture I could take in this kind of stressful moment

Grand Prismatic hot spring

Later that afternoon when Clemente was over the "abandonment" we went to the other super famous must see attraction in the park, the Grand Prismatic hot spring. It can be quite packed and the parking slot is very little, so be aware of that when planning.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the third largest hot spring in the world (bigger than a football field), and was named after its crazy bright rainbow ring of colours: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Absolutely stunning. It is the most photographed thermal attraction in the park..

In the end we stayed camping inside the park for 2 nights instead of 3 (my fault, I know, I couldn't handle it). We headed to West Yellowstone and stopped for one night in a cute hotel with indoor hot pools and Jacuzzi. Located right in front of our hotel, there was this awesome educational centre for children. The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Centre. This place is home to a variety of bears and wolves, who for various reasons can not be released into the wild. There are also some bird aviaries too. We all learnt different facts about bears, about the destruction they cause when they are looking for food, why it is so important to be very careful with the rubbish, etc. etc. It’s a great place to let kids have some fun after a many days driving around and exploring Yellowstone National Park.