I've been just a few other times in my life, last time was 13 years ago. This was my wife and kids first time. Her family came with us.

We rented a cabin in Island Park which was very nice. About 30 min to West Yellowstone. The weather was perfect, we even needed a light jacket on Monday!

We didn't make it to Lamar Valley like I'd hoped due to schedules, road closures, and kid issues. But we did see three wolves down in Hayden Valley, along with the plentiful bison and a few very big elk.

Favorite parts of our group were Artist's Point, Grand Prismatic Springs, and the stop at Mud Volcano where two bison were lounging next to the mud hole just inches from our boardwalk path. Watching a buffalo jump 3 feet up onto a boardwalk to cross it was mind-blowing. We also loved walking along the shores of Yellowstone Lake after a picnic near Steamboat Point. The sky was filled with striking clouds and the fields flooded with wildflowers. Made for some really great family pictures!

We also loved going out to Mesa Falls 30 min south of Island Park.

We had a loud thunderstorm with rain and hail provide awesome atmosphere on our last night back in the cabin.

It's no Disneyland, but it was a great time. 😉