Yellowstone, '16

Planning something very similar, albeit with a bit less kid weight (6 & 3). May see you folks on the road. Subscribed for info!

BBF

We spent 3 nights in the park (hotel) and saw most everything. Then headed south for more. Stop everywhere, take your time, and don't look over the edge of the.......road. Oh yeah, and make sure your brakes are up to the trip, pads and new fluid.

There's two KOA campgrounds near West Yellowstone. I stayed at the one closer to the town of West Yellowstone, which is a much nicer of the two. http://yellowstonekoa.com/

Warning though, the KOA isn't cheap during prime tourist season.

Reservations are surely required there, or any of the in-park campgrounds that offer reservations. I've heard that the non reservation campgrounds in the park fill up by 9am.

There's a few other campgrounds in the town of West Yellowstone, but I didn't investigate them when I was there in September.

West Yellowstone makes a nice base camp because when it comes time to restock on groceries, there's a few stores in town.

I know there is gathering in Glacier National Park next August. Maybe you could visit both if you have the time.

http://forms.natcoa.net/MTRally2016.php

I'll be making a trip farther east...

Yellowstone was a blast for us. We stayed at Canyon Village. Everything to the south of us was bubbling hot water. Gotta see Old Faithful though. North was all the animals. Favorite spot was the Lamar Valley. Whatever you do, get out of your rig. Read somewhere that 90% of people never go more than 100 yards off the road. Lots of stuff to see with short 1/2 mile walks. Above Old Faithful is a ton of stuff to see. Geyser goes off and everyone leaves. Maybe 50 people walk around. Pm me and I will give you my number and we can talk

Yellowstone is a huge park. If you stay at a single campground you will really limit how much you can see because you will constantly be backtracking. I recommend mapping a route through the park, staying at a different campground inside the park each night. Make sure you visit the Grand Tetons and spend a night in Jackson hole. Have a good time and enjoy.

One tip about Old Faithful geyser, stand up wind, if you are down wind all you will see is the steam. We grew up in MT and have been to the park many times. We made the mistake of being down wind one time, was very disappointing. And as Bedlam said, if you can, go through Glacier National Park either on the way out or the way back, granted it may be out of you way, but even just driving through on the Going to the Sun Highway is worthwhile. And I think 9 days it is very doable. Neither park should take more than 3 days to see. Just do not be in a hurry and stop often.

One final note, bears are very populated in both areas so be wise and keep track of your surroundings. Bears will normally run away, but get between a sow and her cubs or accidentally corner a bear and you will have a fight on your hands.

We too found that 3 days was a good plan and including Glacier NP, if possible, also is a grand plan. We have lots of maps and reading stuff about the areas we visit to keep our Grandkids busy and interested. Also Cody, WY with the Buffalo Bill Museum was a great spot for an overnight.

We've been there twice both times with large trailers. Our favorite campground is Bridge Bay. Anything on the bottom loop is easy access for there. About 10 minutes north is a huge valley great for wildlife watching.

With the TC, you can stay up in Tower Fall allowing easy drive to anything in the north east corner. Restaurant in Theodore Roosevelt to give the DW a break from cooking.

Check for ages, but believe the boys are old enough to take a horse back ride in the area, if not do a chuck wagon event.

If the temps are decent, check on Firehole Canyon. The water is usually at the right temperature for swimming but depends on water flow if the rangers deem it safe. Not an official swimming area, but last time I was there they did allow it and plenty of parking.

Time wise, if you can go before the weekend prior to July 4. That is the weekend crowds really pick up. Weather is usually pretty nice but you could just as well see a little snow.

Both times we have been there, we've stayed 5 nights in the park and wish we had a few more. Next trip I should have 2 weeks, be in a TC, and can hardly wait.

Last piece of advice, check into the issues with having dogs. They will keep you off a lot of trails and make close up watching of wildlife a bit harder. Just leaving them in the camper may not be a good thing or allowed either.

Good luck and have fun.

Yep, second the concern about dogs. Oregon is dog nirvana, but it seems that many parts of the country, especially National Parks, can be very, very limiting. So do some specific reading about each location about that, and make plans accordingly.