# Yellowstone - From Seattle



## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Well, we're back. Rolled in to Kent last night at a little after 7pm after leaving Spokane at 11:30am. Took EIGHT hours to do 270 miles. All of the delay was due to traffic - stop and go from Cle Elum to HWY 18 and then a little better roll from there to Kent.

The whole trip was all I had hoped it would be and we only blew the budget by 30%







. Kids enjoyed their first experience with Yellowstone and Caroline and I enjoyed the 'new' park (most of it looks like a Christmas tree farm on steroids). We were sad to see how much the fires of 1988 affected the park but also appreciated being able to see some features of the park that were hidden by forests before. This was probably the best trip to Yellowstone I've ever had (of the 8 or 9 I've taken). Not the same Yellowstone as when I was a kid but then, I'm not the same either.

We met one Outback family pulling a 21RS with an Explorer (V-6!!). They said it was an OK pull for them (they were very light - just the couple not a large family - but still...). They got better gas mileage (10+) than I did (8 even).

We filled up with gas on Thursday night in West Yellowstone (before hooking up for the transit to Spokane) and paid $2.45 per gallon. The next morning, every gas station in town was selling it for $2.77! Couldn't believe it, had to get out my receipt and check to make sure I was remembering correctly. More than a 30 cent hike overnight!

I'm going to pull together some of my experience on our website and talk about some of the things I thought about during the trip - I'll let everyone know when it is loaded on the web. Here are some of the topics I want to prepare some information to share with the forum folks:

Thoughts on using a TT or fiver on this kind of trip (is it camping?)
Reviews of the campgrounds we used
Modifications I want to do as a result of living in the Outback for 9 days
Lessons on taking teenagers on an extended trip (they were really great in fact)
Hills, horsepower, truckers, trailer weight, gas mileage
Museum of the Rockies at Bozeman Montana
Pictures

A lot to prepare so I doubt I'll get it all done in a week but as I get more I'll put something in this thread.

One last comment; using your Outback to travel and sightsee is much, much different than using your Outback to camp. This might be the most significant lesson I learned. It is actually making me look at my setup (TV and TT) and ask myself if it is the right one. (Outback - yes, 23RS - ??, Expedition - nope!).

Well, back to work I go!

Brian


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

All good information, Brian...thanks. Your point about camping vs traveling in your Outback is well taken. For us, camping in a 26 RS is just right. Living in it for a week+ maybe not. For that I would prefer something like the Keystone Everest 366i. For camping the Yukon XL 1500 is fine. For traveling? No, I would want a diesel 3/4 minimum.

Randy


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Welcome home Brian and Clan!

Glad you guys had such a good trip. A long haul like that can be a real strain, on people as well as machinery. Glad to hear you all survived!

I will look forward to your forthcoming ramblings.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Glad to hear you had a good time BBB.
One thing did the couple know about Outbackers.com?

Don


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Don,
They did not - they do now! They were pretty excited to hear about a resource available specificaly for their trailer type. I'm not sure they will find the information on towing as reassuring. We all tend to be a conservative group when it comes to towing, their success with a setup that most on this forum would class as unacceptible is interesting. They followed some pretty rough routes too (they were from Connecticut and were returning from a trip to Seattle).

Randy,
Definitely a 3/4 or even 1 ton. And at least an Outback fiver. Not sure I'm ready for the leap to an Everest.

BBB


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

BBB, I'll be watching for your info. We're trying to plan a big trip next summer, possibly 2 weeks. We're still undecided on our destination for sure. We're talking about maybe Yellowstone or possibly staying more south and going to The Grand Canyon.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

I'm already trying to get Caroline interested in a trip to the Grand Canyon in 06. I think I'm going to have to work on it though. A week and a half with my 14 year old son in a small space has left her shell-shocked. I'm still hoping somehow to tie it to a National (National-West?) Outbacker Rally. HINT!

BBB


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

LOL Brian you know after towing and trying to park the USS Raptor it had me thinking of a Class-C and enclosed trailer! I'm curious to hear your comments on the Expy though as well as the rest of your thoughts, I think next year we may try to take a larger/longer trip, but I still think our youngest is about 1-2 years away from really appreciating it.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Steve,
We saw a lot of motorhomes with enclosed trailers. Some of the contents of the trailers were downright scary! Some of the trailers and motorhomes were scary too (I have a picture that will blow your mind). Most were class C and the trailers were a mix with HaulMark leading the pack.

I can't imagine what backing the USS Raptor must be like. The rear end is how many hundred yards away again? Do the new 12 mile range walky-talkys work or do you just use cell phones and put up with the long distance charges?









Know what you mean on waiting a few years. If we waited that long on Ben we'd have to wait until he graduated college (if then). The kid read three full novels while on the road (Clive Cussler novels - about 1800 pages worth!) We finally took his books away (and I missed one of course - found him reading by flashlight at 2am!) I don't know if he'll remember Yellowstone but I'm sure he'll remember the adventures of Dirk Pitt.









I wouldn't mind doing the canyons next year if we can get Colette to come - a few more years wait if it is just us and Ben (he's really not that bad - it just seems like it). Believe it or not but the kid knew the boiling point of water at 7200 ft. altitude (199 degrees) - blew me away. However, he couldn't remember the name of the town we were staying in (West Yellowstone - how hard could that be?). He's quirky but I love the kid.

BBB


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## Roloaddict (Oct 29, 2004)

Welcome back,
After completeing a 3400 mile jaunt in 11 days this summer (8 states), I am interested in comparing notes on the concept of travel vs camping. Not all in the crew were as gung-ho about the drive at the end. I wanted to do a slight detour so we could add Nebraska to the list. There was a decided lack of enthusiasum for that idea. 
And by the way what is it about Cle Elum anyway? I made it all the way to there, with nice friendly drivers who grasped the concept that a TV and Trailer may be a bit slower and more cumbersome on the road. Then Cle Elum and the drive around the bottom of the sound (Puget Sound), every loony with a bad haircut in a plastic car has to give the family the finger. I kinda missed Wyoming at that point.

Look forward to your posts,

JT


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Rolo,
Those road miles do get tiresome after awhile don't they. I was missing the folks from Montana and Wyoming too by the time I got home. The land of the pickup truck had its charm. Even the bikers with all the thumpers were curtious and well mannered (if a bit loud). Never ran into a discourtious driver til I got back to Washington State. Still wasn't too bad until we got to western Washington and the weekend out-of-town for the weekend crowd. I'm glad we only had 60 miles of that crap.

The whole time we were in Montana the subject of building a log home and retiring early came up over and over. When we got back to Cle Elum, it came up again!

Now I'm back at work and reality is settling in.









I did some work on the webpages last night. I'll work on them a little more tonight - I still have to wash and clean the Outback and get caught up on around-the-house chores.

The GREAT news is that my new reef tank survived our absence and all of the water conditions remained perfect while we were gone! For those not into saltwater fish tanks (especially reef tanks), leaving for extended vacations is a significant worry. Things can go haywire very quickly and most neighborhood cat-sitters can't handle the needs of a reef tank. We were very glad to see the tank had stablized (only 10 weeks old).

BBB


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## rdowns (Oct 20, 2004)

We, too, have noticed a significant difference in traveling and "camping". We mostly travel. That is why a camper that didn't need to be "set up" to get to everything is really important to us. We are thinking of going to a toy hauler since Shawn just bought me a 4 wheeler and trying to find one that doesn't give up the creature comforts-isn't 100 feet long and doesn't cost more than my house is proving to be a challenge. Since I am so enamored of my Outback that also complicates things. It has been trouble free, hinking of a new unit is rather terrifying to say the least.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

WELCOME HOME!

Can't wait to read about your travels more in depth. Let us know.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

I'm interested to hear more on everyones ideas and perspective about travelling and camping.

I brought it up last night at dinner and we all felt the two kind of go together, for us anyway. Would be nice to have a bigger truck and trailer, but what we have works and we have a great time. That may change as the girls get older, but we are making the most of it now and are already batting around ideas for vacation next year. It's a good way to see a lot of the country.

I got just the opposite reaction Rolo got when I suggested another slightly longer route home from South Dakota. The thought of adding more states to the map on the side of the outback was for some reason exciting to the girls







.

Getting there is half the fun









Mike


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Well,
I finished most of what I wanted to put on our website for you to see. It's always a risk putting your opinion out there into the wide world and wagging it for everyone to see.







Hopefully, everyone will read it in the spirit it was given - my thoughts and experiences and right or wrong, there they are.

At the bottom of each page is a set of links to the other pages.

Hope it is helpful.









Our Yellowstone Adventure


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## jodynbarry (Aug 22, 2005)

BigBadBrain said:


> Well,
> I finished most of what I wanted to put on our website for you to see. ...
> Our Yellowstone Adventure
> [snapback]51544[/snapback]​


I very much enjoyed reading about your family's trip. Having raised 5 teens I think it sounds like it was astoundingly successful! I hope to make a trip to Yellowstone one day so I appreciate the campground reviews, as it is so hard to judge campgrounds in advance without getting opinons from those who have been there. 
One of the most important things to me when we bought our Outback was that the weight was in the PUBLISHED limits for our truck. You can't believe how many salesmen said, oh you can pull more than what is listed NO PROBLEM! 
Jody in Eugene Oregon


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

To tell the truth Jody, I think there is something wrong with my truck. I'm going to take it in to the dealer this week. The Expedition has a 7300 GVWR (per the door sticker) and even loaded I don't think the Outback comes close.

Brian


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## jodynbarry (Aug 22, 2005)

Door sticker - duh - I didn't know it was there....being a computer type I instantly went to the Chevy website! LOL Going to look at sticker tonight....
Jody


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

I added a couple of pictures tot eh picture page. Some of them are still mind boggling. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone pictures are really nice - a rainy day and all the colors of the rock come out and the sun doesn't wash everything out colorwise.

Anyway...


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

BBB,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!









First, we have been talking about doing this trip either this Fall or next Spring. Lots of good info and ideas.

Secondly, your thoughts on camping with teenagers, making memories and keeping them engaged were right on. Your web site will be a great resource as we plan our trip.

Thanks Again!!! action


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Nice review, great insight and pics. Glad you had a good time.

PS...Grand Cayon of the Yellowstone is my favorite spot. We hiked many miles of trails into the backcountry there. Can't wait to get back!


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