Yellowstone National Park Lapbook--FREE!

This past fall we spent two weeks in our RV touring Yellowstone, The Tetons and Utah. You can read out our trip here. Before we headed out, I searched for a Yellowstone lapbook that we could incorporate into our homeschool while traveling. I couldn't find one. So, I made one and I am sharing it with you for free below.

The kids also participated in the Jr. Ranger Program and earned their badges by the end of the week. You can purchase Yellowstone wildlife stickers at most of the visitor centers. My kids loved these of course!

We gave the kids our old digital camera to share during the trip. They took all of their own pictures--whatever they found interesting. I purchased a picture book from the Dollar Store and the kids each picked 12 of their favorite pictures to include in the book. Rather than include the entire picture book (which would be too thick) I used a razor and cut off just enough picture sleeves. I then stapled them together and used packing tape to adhere to the book.

The yellow cardstock was taped to the top and then flipped up so that we could include more elements. The one side was a resting place for a paragraph each child had to write. I had my kids write about their favorite memories at Yellowstone. Under several of the wildlife stickers they wrote the names of the animals.

During our trip we collected interesting leaves that we do not have where we live. We used contact paper to press them and then adhered them with clear adhesive.

I would love to hear if you use this lapbook on your trip to Yellowstone! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD YELLOWSTONE LAPBOOK HERE

rv adventures: yellowstone--tetons--salt lake city: (part 2)

If you missed PART 1 of our trip, go here.

While in Salt Lake City, we stayed at the very clean Pony Express RV Resort. It was 10 minutes from downtown. Wi-fi and full hookups included. We loved our time in Salt Lake City--there is SO MUCH to do there for families! We crammed as much as we could into the two days that we had. 

Our favorite activity was going to This is the Place Heritage Park. The cost: adults $10; kids $7. We spent five hours here. It was so worth the money and the perfect complement to our American history studies this year. 

This watermill still works--though they didn't have it running for us today.

This train picks you up at several train stops within the park and takes you to the next stop. 

Seth was thrilled.

Panning for gold. We loved this authentic setting which included a miner's tent and gear nearby. The kids each came away with a small bag of Fool's Gold. They loved this!

A real blacksmith in action. This was amazing to see!

A trip to the barber shop. Faith got to be "shaved." Shaving cream and toilet water included. This guy was great. He taught the kids all about the history of barbers and the other duties they were responsible for--including tooth extraction and bloodletting.

Highland Cattle. A Scottish breed. I had no idea cows could be hairy.

The cabinet maker shop. This shop also sold coffins. 

The sign reads, "FOR SALE. Only Slightly Used."

The pantry.

The drug store office.

Our kids learned about the "Dunce" punishment. Horrible!

Plowing the field was hard work!

"Mom, did they wash all of their clothes this way?"

Little children learned how to milk a cow using this bear game. To get the bear to the top of the ropes you had to quickly move your hands one quick jerk at a time.

We made designs in leather at the saddle shop.

We played many fun old-fashioned games. No Monopoly here!

The above three pictures are just a few of the views from the Salt Lake City Public Library. I'd read about this library online before we left on our trip. It's five stories high, has a rooftop that you can run around on and check out some incredible views, has a cafe, store and some amazing children's play areas. From the library, we were able to ride the TRAM for FREE to the Planetarium. This was pretty close to a train ride, so Seth was excited--again.

We are glad we took the time to tour Temple Square. Our kids had a lot of questions after they saw multiple paintings of Bible stories on the walls and wondered how the Mormon religion differed from Christianity. Tim and I do not know everything about the Mormon faith, but we took this opportunity to get educated together. A friend of mine that grew up in the Mormon faith sent me a Facebook message while we were on our trip. (My friend is a former Mormon) She told me about this place:

Utah Lighthouse Ministry

Utah Lighthouse Ministry was founded by Sandra Tanner--who happens to be the great-great-grandaughter of Brigham Young. While in her teens, she began investigating the Mormon faith and eventually left the Mormon church. Her testimony is very interesting and can be found HERE.

We went to the Lighthouse Ministry and were able to talk with one of Sandra's colleagues for quite some time. She was able to share with our kids in simple terms the differences between Christianity and Mormonism. We picked up some literature and an amazing DVD that compares/contrasts Joseph Smith to Jesus Christ. It was very eye opening.

I have several friends who are Mormon and I love them. Mormons have done an amazing job of putting families first and creating strong bonds. They are some of the most generous people that I know.

We visited the Clark Planetarium which is FREE! They make their money by showing IMAX films. Since we'd done the IMAX thing in West Yellowstone, we opted to save our money this time. The kids got to walk on Mars and the Moon for a fun picture.

This play-by-play of our trip would not be complete without a little RV action. Several forts were built during our down time--leaving Tim and I no easy way to prepare dinner and walk around. 

In the mornings, Seth and Paige cuddled up over a heater vent to get warm.

I highly recommend taking an RV vacation! The memories we've made with our kids over the past year will not be forgotten. It's a great way to homeschool! Now if only we could figure out how to do this full-time for a couple of years.

rv adventures: yellowstone--tetons--salt lake city: (part 1)

A year ago my husband was on Craigslist one night and thought he'd look at RV's, ya know, because he had nothing better to do. He loves the challenge of finding a great deal (and is very good at it), and he ended up finding one--so, he bought it. Suddenly the word vacation took on a whole new meaning. It's turned out to be one of the best investments we've made for our family. (Despite living in a microscopic amount of square footage.)

We've taken four 2-week trips over the past year--though this is the first one I've blogged about in detail--per my family's request. So, if you are looking for info on Yellowstone, The Tetons, Jackson Hole or Salt Lake City, this post is for you!

This is the general route we took (we do not live in Reno, but without making public where we live, Reno was on our route). On our return trip, we dropped down a bit so that we could check out Salt Lake City. Let me just tell you that there is nothing interesting in Nevada to see. The only memory we have of Nevada is fierce winds that my husband had to constantly fight and that caused our diesel mileage to drop to 7.5 miles per gallon. Ugh.

Here are a few apps that we have found to be SO helpful in our travels (even without an RV)!

USA Rest Stop Locator 

What we really love about this app is that it tells us what rest stops have a free dump station and free wireless--among many other things. 

Gas Buddy

We use this app in our hometown too. While out on the road, it will tell us where the cheapest gas/diesel is and map it for us. When we knew we were going to need to fill up soon we would check the towns ahead. We literally found 30 cents per gallon differences between towns that were located 15 miles apart--totally worth it to plan your fuel stops!

AllStays Overnight Walmart Parking

Walmart is a great option when you don't know how much driving you'll do in one day or where exactly you will end up. It's nice not to have to search for a camping location when all you plan on doing is stopping and sleeping and then moving on. Not all Wal-marts allow overnight parking, however we have found that the majority of them do. You can't put your slides out, your jacks down or camp for the day, but you can stay overnight. And because we are bound to have forgotten something that we need on our trip, it's nice to be able to make a Wal-mart run in your jammies--and no one looks at you funny for wearing your jammies into Wal-mart.

Did you know that you can find apps for all the National Parks? Yep, you can. They provide must-see spots and plenty of history to go with it!

We stayed at Madison Campground near the West Entrance. It was the only campground still open this late in the season that would handle a 38-foot RV. We loved this campground!

This was our first day checking out some steam. Our kids weren't quite sure if the water really was hot. And being the homeschooling parents that we are, we had to let them investigate. This was about the only safe place we found to do it. Just like all the signs say--it's hot!!!

Seth didn't want any part in testing the "stinky" water, so he stuck with the boardwalk.

   

Norris Geyser Basin

Firehole Falls

Artist Paint Pots. Be sure and take the time to see these! The gurgling of the "paint" is loud! My kids thought this was so funny (and stinky)!

These guys are everywhere! Including in the middle of the road . . .

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is beautiful!

I highly recommend this hike down Uncle Tom's path near the Grand Canyon to see the Falls. It's close to 400 stairs, but it's not as bad as some of the signs say. Our 4-year-old did it on his own and survived. It's a beautiful view!

To say Mammoth is stunning would be an understatement. This was my favorite place in the park. I don't know how anyone cannot believe in God after they see this place--who else could dream up these amazing features!?

The Boiling River was Tim's highlight. You won't find it on a map anywhere. If you visit the Mammoth Visitor Center, they have a little slip of paper with directions they will give to you. The river is about 2 miles north of the visitor center. You park in the lot and have to walk about a third of a mile to the "hot" spot of the river. Only Tim and Faith remembered to bring their suits, but the rest of us stuck our feet in. Such a fun memory!

Jackson Hole, WY is the cutest (expensive) little town! Lots of fun shops, art galleries and restaurants. And a large toy store that our kids had a blast playing in . . . no purchases were made here as everything was marked up by a third of the price. We found a gift shop with a ton of Yellowstone/Teton scrapbooking goodies--I snagged a few. We only ate out twice on our 2-week trip and both times happened to be in this town:

Mountain High Pizza Pie 

I read about this pizza place on a blog somewhere before we left--it was great!

Pica's Mexican Taqueria

We came across this place in the downtown area while we were shopping. We ordered the chicken enchiladas for an afternoon snack (along with plenty of chips)! They had plenty of sauce and were delish! I am a salsa person and their salsa was AMAZING.

Where we stayed:

The Lazy J Corral was essentially a parking lot with full hook-ups. It was 10 miles from Jackson Hole. There were only a couple of RV Resorts within Jackson, but they were twice the price (and also just a parking lot). Since we spent most of our time away from the camper, we didn't mind the parking lot (it was quiet) and didn't mind the 10-minute drive, it was worth saving so much money.

Getting to Mormon Row in the Tetons was quite the challenge after the rain. This truck is not 4-wheel drive and Tim didn't want to get stuck. As a result, he had to floor it through a few puddles to make sure we didn't get stuck. It was a bouncy ride to say the least. This was one of the highlights of our trip for the kids--I wish I had their shrieks and laughter on video--though I don't think I could have held my phone to video it well. 

The Tetons were incredible! We never saw the tippy tops of the mountains due to the clouds, but what we saw was breathtaking. One of our highlights was seeing a moose!

Check out PART 2 of our trip here--Salt Lake City.