OPINION: A second chance

In 2011, my family took a roadtrip to Yellowstone. On the way there, we stopped at Mount Rushmore and Cody, Wyoming, had a picnic on a mountain and took old-timey photos. I think I read the entire Harry Potter series on that trip.

When we finally got to the park, we stayed at various hotels and cabins, checking out what felt like each and every corner of Yellowstone. I remember seeing waterfalls, hot springs and geysers.

In summer 2011, I was 10 years old and my little sister was 6 years old. While I remember thoroughly enjoying the trip, our little legs weren’t able to carry us as far as I’m sure my parents would have wanted. They have far too many stories from that trip of us having to turn around at certain points or being passed by the elderly on a hike.

The last few years, both my parents have made comments about wanting to go back. Originally this was meant as just the two of them, but my sister and I immediately commented about wanting to go again as well. Now that we’re both adults and can do more than one mile hikes, we want to check out more of what the national park has to offer.

Once we added our desire to go, my parents decided to make it our next family vacation. Later this summer, the four of us will be driving west for another Yellowstone trip, a second chance to fully enjoy the beauty of this part of the country.

Of course, with us being adults and all, that means my dad said we could do some of the planning. Don’t get me wrong, I love to plan trips, but those trips are normally in cities. Do you need someone to figure out the best food, museums and cultural tours in a new city? Or maybe someone who feels comfortable walking in unknown territory and utilizing the local public transit? I’m happy to step in!

For some reason, I’m not as confident on the nature side of trip planning. I feel like when I go on various trail sites that talk about difficulty levels and time lengths, each person says something completely different. And then there’s the difficulty of distances between attractions. I know how long it takes me to walk a half mile between museums and approximately how long I’ll take at each spot.

However, driving from one trail to another when there’s two lanes of traffic and the variable of different animals that could be in the road? Or knowing how long a hike may take trying to counter in elevation and what plants or animals might make me stop to watch? I get lost trying to make an itinerary.

While we did end up with loose plans, I think this year’s trip is going to be more of a go-with-the-flow vacation. We know specific trails or natural wonders we want to see and where they are, there’s just not a minute-by-minute play-by of the entire trip. (Yes, I’m a little extra and will usually plan a trip by 15 minute increments.)

We’ll see how I fair not having a strict schedule on vacation this August. And unlike last time, I won’t be able to read through the driving - this girl get’s car sick now. Wish me luck!