Monday, September 25, 2006

Yellowstone: Good & Bad


We just spent last week in West Yellowstone for my husbands work conference. I thought I would share a little good and bad from our trip.
Work Conference
Good: Because we went for my husband's work conference his work paid for everything...free family vacation! They also give him so much money for food and travel that we always end up with leftover $$$.
Bad: Since it is a work related conference we go with my husband's fellow employees which means there is a certain level of expectation of having to hang out with them (or their wives). This isn't too bad, but it is annoying if you just want to do your own thing.

Hotel
Good: My husband's work always puts us in nice hotels, and the very best thing is that I don't have to clean it or do the laundry after we leave!
Bad: Sleeping in the same room with our 3 kids. They would not go to sleep unless it was dark and quiet, so I spent a lot of time reading in the bathroom, and sewing in the hallway while they went to sleep.

Sight Seeing
Good: Yellowstone National Park is amazing. I love all the geothermal attractions...the geysers, the hot pots, the boiling mud. It is fantastic!!

Bad: Our kids were often more impressed by the non-attractions. Like this leftover stump on an old statue that they insisted on having their picture taken on.


Smells
Good: I must admit that I kind of like that rotten-egg sulfur smell of Yellowstone (I know, call me weird!).
Bad: There was so much chlorine in our hotel pool that it burnt our mucous membranes.

Wild Animals
Good: We got to see a lot of wild animals like bears, wolves, elk, and buffalo. They kids loved watching them.
Bad: The most ferocious animals I saw were the 8 year old boys fighting with each other at the park.

Eating Out
Good: I love eating out. To save some money we only eat out once a day when we are on a trip, but I always look forward to it.
Bad: Unknown restaurants. Eating out is fun if you know that food is good at a place. We went to a Chinese Food restaurant that was down-right disgusting, dirty, sticky, and just plain filthy. I will not make you gag by telling the whole story.

Long Drive
Good: Getting to see all the scenery along the l-o-n-g drive there was fun. The fall leaves were beautiful.
Bad: Tired, cranky children with way too much energy strapped into hard carseats for 6 hours....use your imagination on that one.

Shopping
Good: I love little tourist town shops. They always have fun interesting things.
Bad: The prices of those little tourist town shops. Luckily we had a lot of time to go shopping and compare prices. We found a hooded Yellowstone sweatshirt in one store for $17.95. We found the exact same sweatshirt in another shop for $30.00. I guess you can figure out which one we bought.

So there is a quick recap of our good and bad vacation. I would do it all again! Posted by Picasa

11 comments:

  1. I love when we can combine our vacations with DH work conferences or trips. It is nice to have some of the costs covered.

    I actually know what tired, cranky kids plus a 6 hour trip equals. I am glad you are still sane enough to write in a logical fashion.

    I'm glad you are home safely.

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  2. did you see any exes in yellowstone?! sounds like a fun trip. i miss the national parks in the wild west.

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  3. I've always wanted to see Yellowstone. Its great that it was covered by the hubby's work. I cannot imagine a long drive with cranky kids!

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  4. Glad you had a fun trip! There always seem to be down sides to every vacation. At least those ferocious 8 yr olds weren't yours!

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  5. Sounds like a love/hate relationship you're having with yourself! Yellowstone is NOT far from where I live, therefore, I NEVER go there! (Sure, I have been there before, but it's such a crowded place! Who knew the woods could be that way?!)
    I LOVE the picture of your girls on the statue stump! That's so funny!

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  6. Sweet! Work vacations would be great!

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  7. What a wonderful vacation for the family. I want to take my kids to Yellowstone so bad, but we don't seem to get to do many family trips. My DH work conference was in Orem and they did not pay for food or holtels. He would have had to ride in a 12 passenger van to go down for the day, but he drove the truck instead so we had to pay for the gas. I would have gone with him but did not know what we would have done down there.

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  8. LOL I think all holidays are the same. We are taking the children to Fiji next month so I hope all goes well.

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  9. Secret Agent Man took me on a business trip to Singapore. It's a beautiful, safe, little country, with great shopping. GOOD!

    I cried the whole week, because I was freaked out about leaving my 3 kids behind and knowing that it would take me a whole 24 hours to get back to them if they needed me. BAD!

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  10. sounds amazing! and how fortunate to get a free vacation thru your hubby's work. nice!

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  11. How fun to go to Yellowstone - the smell is an interesting one - I happened to mention it yesterday in my blog - he he he.

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