Wisconsin to California, detour through Yellowstone & allergy advice

[tommarellofam2]

Hello! Would love advice on places worth stopping with my family (5 kids all elementary aged or younger) on a road trip from Green Bay, WI to Big Bear, CA. We are adjusting the typical route already because we would like to stop at Yellowstone either on the way there or the way back. I've been to Yellowstone so am familiar with it but all of my traveling was pre-kids and pre-Celiac diagnosis.

Anyone have gluten-free suggestions along that route?
Kid-friendly camp sites or hotels?
Real experience with the historical sites this website recommends? We homeschool and would love to make it an educational trip.

We would like to stay out of big cities as much as possible.
We are planning the trip for Summer 2017.

Thanks for any info you can throw my way!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

That's the thing with Road trips, there are no "Typical routes", you have the freedom to go where you want and to go by the way of many different routes. You haven't told us of your interests or how much time you plan to take for your trip so it's tricky to make meaningful suggestions, particularly on a trip of this distance. What I would suggest is using this site as a research tool and use some decent paper maps/atlas to look for places that stand out to you. Once you have a few more dots on the map you can start to join them up and see what there is in between 'A' and 'B'. If it's a round trip then plan for a different route home so you get to see new places. As you continue with your planning and more specific questions crop up just keep asking, but at the moment it's lacking detail to answer questions about hotels and campgrounds etc.

[Lifemagician]

I agree with Dave, it is too early to put specifics together. However, I would like to point out a few places which could be of value for homeschoolers. There is the Beartooth Highway into Yellowstone. The Corn Palace, not just for the pictures, but the history of corn. There are the various historical sites to do with the western expansion of white man. The many Lewis and Clark sites. There is the Medicine Wheel in the Big Horn Forest and its history, and many other significant native historical sites.

As you go over the map you will see so many of them, probably more than you will have time to visit. When you are on the road you will probably see signposts to sites which were not even on the map. Stay flexible enough to make the most of them.

Lifey

[DonnaR57]

Anyone have gluten-free suggestions along that route?

I am not staying gluten-free, but I have found that there are many great websites that help those who are, go to restaurants and such. I have noticed that a number of chains (which I don't always utilize when away from home) will state "gluten free" if something is. Smaller, localized restaurants will often have some great ideas if you just ask.

Kid-friendly camp sites or hotels?

Are you doing a combination of camping and staying in a hotel? With 5 children, you may want to find the places that have suites, as they could be a very good bargain for you. Some of them even have small kitchenettes in them.

Real experience with the historical sites this website recommends? We homeschool and would love to make it an educational trip.

When you are at a national park or monument, your best bet is the Junior Ranger program. These are fun, educational activities that, when completed, earn your child a neat badge, pin, or other collectible souvenir. You might also want to get them a National Park "Passport" book where they can get their books stamped at the various places in the park. These are also nice collectibles. Of course, as a homeschool family, the kids are probably used to keeping a journal? If not, this is a great reason to get started and can be used as writing activities.


Donna