AMA's Anything Vegetarian: 12/25/16

Howdy All, It's been a while, time to say adios to 2016 and for AMAs ,Winter break-its usually vacation time but we broke the norm and went on our's this year in summer to Yellow Stone National Park.It is spread across three states Wyoming,Montana and part of Idaho ,located on top of an active volcano causing all the geysers and hot springs to erupt.It is A's and my dream vacation since we heard from one of my colleague way back in 2004 and from another friend in 2008.It required meticulous planning from where to fly,where to stay and other logistics.We read on internet ,usually tourists stay at West,South entrance of the park and the nearest airport is Jackson Hole which is 3 hours drive to the park.When we researched Bozeman Airport in Montana is less expensive and about an hour to the North Entrance .Another reason 'A' was flying from Dallas ,Texas after his official trip .My dad,Me and Kids were flying out of Philadelphia so Bozeman worked better for us.Our flight arrived in the afternoon much ahead and we had over 7 hours of overlap for A's flight and to drive to our hotel in Gardiner city in Montana.I had marked down things to do in Bozeman during the 7 hours ,we took a shuttle through Shuttle to Big Sky&Taxi company ,our guide/driver Tina was just awesome explained us every detail about the park and took us around the city.First we visited Museum of Rockies-not going in detail as information available on the internet.For kids main attraction there , wide range of dinosaur displays ,my older one spent time reading about each ,the little one played and created our dinosaur family .the museum also has a big country style play area ,the kids could spend hours there.Next we visited downtown Bozeman ,the weather was just right to walk around and the city is full of history.We had dinner at one of the local pizza place,arrived back at the airport and it was just time for A's flight ,happy to see my smiling better half on the escalator .We are not one of those folks who could hug and kiss in public .The unique smile from a distance on both of our faces (that comes only when we see each other) will express our love and how we both longed to see each other.We drove to our hotel "Cow Boys Lodge" in Gardiner just about 5 miles from north entrance,soon we realized staying at north entrance was a good choice because less crowded and less traffic to navigate through the park.I heard from friends traffic from those popular entrances is really crazy .We stayed for 7 days ,we covered from north to south entrance Mammoth Hot springs to Grand Teton. Pictures will explain it all and will leave it for pictures to justify. The weather in august was like fall ,we needed a fleece kind of jacket and towards the end- first week of September started to get really cold.Overall a very good one Kids were entertained the entire trip .Wild Life,Mountain ,Geysers,Hot springs -entirely a different experience and kids were thrilled seeing the wild animals and during the drive through the park they would keep watching out to spot one(I assure they would not complain about being bored or reach out for a gadget).We did rafting on the Yellowstone river ,mild currents and enjoyed the scenic route..In our trip we spotted Many Elks,Bison crossing roads in herds just in front of our car,Bald Eagle and Highlight- a Grizzly bear eating a deer.We had to wait an hour on the basin for the famous Old faithful hot geyser to erupt and it sprung out clear hot liquid to about 30 ft high and since the eruption occurs in a timely and reliable manner it is called Old Faithful.On the way to the Old faithful there are many geysers on the lower basin which has wonderful chemical formations and colorful patterns the kids loved it and perfect location for family portraits.The Grand Canyon of Yellow stone has no words to explain its beauty ,We have visited the Grand Canyons in the west the yellow stone one has its own awesomeness.There are many hot springs Norris,Mammoth the kids would love to explore .The Grand Teton mountain beauty- we couldn't spend much time in the Grand Teton park. The park ticket for one car is 35$ I believe for just Yellow Stone park and an additional fee to visit the Grand Teton National park. and is eligible for 7 days. We always started early in the day to explore as it gets dark by 5 pm in the evening. Overall wonderful experience tagged to revisit when we get a chance again.

Food Situation-Around the city of Gardiner there are subways and restaurants available for vegetarians.Inside the park not much food options,snacks available near the gift shops .We packed lunch .

Rest Room Situation- most of the bathrooms inside the park are makeshift ones -the kids denied to use after the first day.We had taken travel toilet bags - very convenient and my kids are used to them and no issues .

Weather-Need a light jacket during summer.

Since ,lot of walking involved we chose to wear sneakers and also advisable since there are chemical formations around the geysers and hot springs to avoid getting in contact accidentally.Enjoy the pictures.