MUST LIST HAPPY TRAILS One woman recounts her travels through National Park and Yellowstone National Park with a toddler and an Airstream trailer in tow.

BY KELLY DINARDO Photo by Kelly DiNardo. Kelly by Photo

ATXWOMAN.COM | 43 MUST LIST DISCOVER The shuddering gasps for air slowed. The stream of tears quite-2-year-old son, we need to move at their pace. dried. His eyes grew heavy, heavier and finally closed. We started to fall into an easy routine that mimicked Oliver’s schedule Relieved our son was finally asleep, my husband, JP, and I at home: We got up early, snuggled in bed with a few books, had breakfast acknowledged this was our fault. We had broken one of the and hustled out the door. But instead of racing to school and work, we golden rules of travel: Go at the slowest person’s pace. hiked to the top of waterfalls, scrambled around mountainous lakes and wandered boardwalks surrounded by steaming hot The day before, the three of us springs. After lunch, we would either head back to had taken off on an early morning the trailer or take a long enough car ride for Oliver flight to Montana, picked up a rental THE BEST DAY HIKE IN to get a proper nap in before heading back out for Airstream trailer and drove to our YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK another adventure. first campground on a weeklong tour With a little planning, we organized our explora- of Grand Teton and Yellowstone na- Uncle Tom’s Trail to the Lower Falls includes tions so everyone was happy. In Grand Teton, we tional parks. Our 20-month-old son, 328 steps down—and then back up—a hiked to the , and the promised Oliver, snagged a too-short nap, but vertigo-inducing metal staircase, but the views are worth the climb. The trail is less boat ride back across kept Oliver happy. kept up with our jam-packed travel than a mile long, but other paths connect to The half hour we spent skipping and throwing stones day with good cheer. it, allowing visitors to make a longer trek. at the rocky beach along Lakeshore Trail helped Oli- We were not as lucky on our second ver burn off some steam after being contained in the day. After another too-short nap in the hiking pack. I snapped photos along Mormon Row, car seat, we had a toddler in powder- a picturesque array of historic homesteads, while keg form. The inevitable explosion of Oliver and JP raced around the iconic barn. tears, exhaustion and frustration—a In Yellowstone, the 308-foot Lower Falls—more mercifully small one, easily extin- than twice the height of Niagara Falls—and the guished—was the warning shot we rainbow of colors and misty clouds from the Grand needed. This was Oliver’s vacation Prismatic Spring were so tremendous, even Oliver was too, and no one would have fun if we content to watch from the confines of the hiking pack. traveled at our usual blistering speed. We quickly felt confident enough to stretch the And that was when we established schedule a bit. In the dark, pre-dawn hours, we our golden rule of travel: Whether we scooped Oliver up and into the car, drove across are with 84-year-old Nana or our not- Lower Falls Yellowstone and met up with a wildlife guide. The

Sunrise at Mammoth Hot Springs Yellowstone Lower Falls photo courtesy of Jim Peaco and the National Park Service. Sunrise photo by Neal Herbert. Herbert. Neal by photo Sunrise Service. Park National the and Peaco Jim of courtesy photo Falls Lower Yellowstone

44 | AUSTIN WOMAN | NOVEMBER 2017 four of us joined a band of wolf watchers and squinted through a scope at the dark figure almost a half mile away. We watched a herd of bison graze across the road and quickly hopped back into the car when they meandered into the parking lot. During the course of the day, we spotted elk, river otter, osprey and, on our drive back to the trailer, a black bear and her cub. Having a steady home base made everything easier. The fact that home was a gleaming, silver Airstream seriously upped the cool factor. We had rented the fully equipped camper and the Chevy Tahoe needed to pull it from Airstream2Go. The company tricks out Air- streams with modern-day comforts like flat-screen TVs and solar-powered lights for retractable awnings. We essentially rolled a luxury apartment into each campsite. The company’s tour-operator partner, Off the Beaten Path, arranged most of the remaining logistics, making campsite reservations, connecting us with our wildlife guide and suggesting hikes and activities. Towing this shiny, curved behemoth also slowed our usual pace. On highways, pulling the 28-foot Air- stream any faster than 55 mph led to an unsteadying sway, and navigating mountain passes with stomach- in-the-throat declines meant we typically crawled along at less than 25 mph. When we gave into it, to the slower pace dictated by a toddler and a house on wheels, we found there was magic in the unhurried, deliberateness of it all. Yes, we wondered at the dramatic beauty of waterfalls and wildlife, but we had time to notice the understated charms too: the billowy clouds floating over craggy spires, the sizzle and pop of a campfire. Traveling at the slowest person’s pace soon transformed from an imperative task to a blessing.

THE BEST DAY HIKE IN GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK Cascade Canyon Trail to Inspiration Point is a short hike with a bit of a climb and great views at the end. It was a good post-nap hike, offering the benefit of not too much time for our toddler in the hiking carrier, and the boat ride back (One-way tickets Cascade Canyon start at $6.) was a nice reward.

Inspiration Point Yellowstone’s mountain goats

HIKING WITH A TODDLER CHECKLIST 3 water and snacks 3 sunscreen 3 diapers or spare underwear and wipes 3 stash of cars or small toys to keep the little one entertained in the hiking pack Grand Teton Inspiration Point photo courtesy of the National Park Service. Cascade Canyon photo courtesy of Danielle Lehle and the National Park Service. Mountain goats photo by Diane Renkin. by photo Mountain goats Service. Park and the National of Danielle Lehle courtesy photo Cascade Canyon Service. Park of the National courtesy photo Point Inspiration Teton Grand Yellowstone Lower Falls photo courtesy of Jim Peaco and the National Park Service. Sunrise photo by Neal Herbert. Herbert. Neal by photo Sunrise Service. Park National the and Peaco Jim of courtesy photo Falls Lower Yellowstone

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