Scott Family Road Trip...final thoughts:

On this road trip, our family traveled over 3000 miles.

Evie and I were away from home 19 days. Bryan was away from home 10 days.

We met two newborn babies and visited with over 25 friends and family members across the West.

We went to five states and three national parks.

We saw a multitude of Antelope, Bison, Deer and Elk. We saw a mama Moose and two other Males; A mama Grizzly and a male Grizzly. We saw a couple of bald eagles, include one up close, eating.

Things we now know:

1) They don't play music in fast food restaurants in Montana or Wyoming, so it is VERY quiet, which is unnerving when everyone sees you pull up in the car from California with the liberal bumper stickers (which were quickly removed for safety) and everyone stares at you while you eat.

2) Old Faithful needs some Metamucil.

3) Jackson is much further away from Yellowstone than you might think...especially at night.

4) Both Grand Teton National Parl and Yellowstone are destinations on their own, there is too much to see in both places to try to combine the two...at least not in three days.

5) The best place in Yellowstone for animals is the Northeastern part by the Lamar valley, and the best place to stay is Mammoth (this according to the professional photographers.)

6) The best time to go to both Grand Teton and Yellowstone for animal sighting and crowd avoidance is early spring, late fall.

7) We need to go to the National Parks more often

8) Animals sleep during the day...the best time to see them is in the morning or early evening

9) I want a bigger zoom lens

10) A car DVD player makes traveling with kids much more friendly

11) Always remember to bring socks and a coat...regardless of the forecast or the season

12) The mountains are deceivingly dry....water, water, water.

13) Missoula, Montana is not as advertised in the AAA guide book.

14) SUVs are better than all-wheel drive cars in National parks because they have ground clearance...(see Bryan, I was right)

15) Even though it will be June in 24 hours, there is still six feet of snow on the ground and the high will be in the 40s, low 50s in the mountains, even though www.weatherchannel.com says otherwise when you plan your trip.

16) Every adult says they hate Elmo before they have kids. They swear that when they have kids, Elmo will be verboden. Then they drive 3000 miles with their toddler...soon, Elmo becomes that adult's best friend.

17) Never say never. Especially when it comes to parenting. ESPECIALLY, when it comes to parenting on a road trip.

18) The drive from Spokane to Seattle (specifically from Spokane to Ellensburg) is the longest, most annoying leg of the entire journey.