We started our Yellowstone Adventure at the Yellowstone Bear World. I know it’s not quite in the Yellowstone borders but it was close and very relevant. We wanted to try to see live moose, buffalo, deer, elk and bears so we didn’t have any pressure to see them in the wild naturally.  Mr Grizzly the Bear did not need to give us the courtesy of visiting us in the middle of the night! We could tell him we already saw his cousin George at Yellowstone Bear World. We got to drive thru the park and see the animals from the comforts of our car as many times as we wanted. We decided to do 3 loops. The first loop we were in total amazement and spent most of the loop searching for the animals and took tons of pictures. The second loop we weren’t so gob struck and enjoyed watching the animal but still took some pictures that were too good to miss. 

The last loop we put our phones down and just enjoyed all of the creatures chilling out, caring for their young and enjoying the day. We spent about an hour there before we left and continued on our journey. 

It was especially entertaining to watch this bear circle the RV in front of us and angling for food. What we didn’t realize until later is that there was a tour that people could do that allowed you to go in a white truck (similar in size and shape to the RV) that allowed passengers to throw food to the bears. I think the Bear just got confused about the type of vehicle it was. 

We stopped at Frostees, which was a drive -in restaurant. It was a fun novelty, especially since it was so hot. The food was ok but their milkshakes were amazing. Glad we stopped because it was a fun experience. 


We got to Yellowstone Park around 3:30pm and were able to use the parks 4th Grade pass which saved us $50. This is an amazing program and it is valuable to ensure today’s youth are exposed to nature and wildlife at a young age. 

We still had 2 hours of driving to get to our campsite but the drive was breathtaking and every turn brought on something different and beautiful. 
Funny story: Cat was tired and laying back in her chair and I said to her, “Babe, you should sit up and look for animals because this is the kind of area we are most likely to see live ones.” As if on que or that I had psychic power, we saw a huge buffalo grazing 30 seconds later. 30 SECONDS!!! It was funny and creepy all in one! The buffalo is such a majestic animal and it definitely woke us up and had is searching for animals the rest of the journey! 

We got to camp and got checked in. They confirmed that we were sleeping in our car because tents weren’t allowed in this particular campground. Apparently it was part of the bear migration towards the lake. 

Megan and her family had already arrived and we’re making dinner. Cat was excited to have Haylee and Max to play with and it gave me a chance to get organized and settle in. Everyone was happy. 

After dinner we went to the 9:30pm presentation at the camp amphitheater. We all needed some exercise and the kids had a lot of sugar energy so we thought it would be a great idea to walk. It was about 1/2 a mile. Haylee and Haylee rode their bikes and Cat rode her scooter and the adults walked. We had a lovely stroll over and enjoyed the presentation about the history of Yellowstone and some of its old buildings. The rangers final words were, “Be sure to be alert when you are walking to your cars because there are a lot of  bears and elk out. Make sure to make a lot of noise and use your lights.” My first thought was, wait, what on our walk to our car. We have a 1/2 mile to get to our camp!! We were grateful to have to push Haylee’s bike for all the noise it made! There was a lot of nervous laughter on our way back to camp and several pranks as well but we made it safe and sound and all was good. The stars were blocked by clouds so we called it an early night and slept like babies!  

This was the view of the lake next to the amphitheater at 9:30pm.