Ok, less than 11 days until lift off now, after planning this trip with various approaches for two years, and I am watching possibilities closely - as well as worrying about what I may have missed. This trip would have been easier & cheaper if we'd planned on flying to & from Idaho Falls, but the kids really wanted to add Mount Rushmore - a 10 hour drive from there, so we're doing the open-jaw flight. I know it's a massive carving to behold, and it's the only time any of us will be in that part of the nation so yeah - gotta include it, but I expect the kids to be bored with it after an hour there. We'll see...
Delayed or canceled flights: Always a risk. We've had to change flight plans twice when they moved our outbound up to before dawn, then canceled our original return from Bozeman, but those changes both worked in our favor. There are no backup flights that work for our plan tho, so got to hope these planes fly and on time.
Van rental agency failing to deliver - sending us to $2,000 competitors: It's amazing how much some of these agencies charge to pickup in South Dakota and drop in another state over 600 miles away. A SUV would have worked for 4 of us but not 5 (did that once, and it was hell!), and while I do have a van reserved at under $800 - that agency is really not obligated to have it for me. I keep watching for price breaks as we get closer, but they keep going up. Current view on a new booking is $2,896!
Hotels canceling on arrival: Buildings have problems. I will be phoning each property the morning of our arrival dates as I have saved the day many times doing so, but we can only hope we don't find ourselves begging for comfortable quarters at a planned stop.
Food poisoning: That happened to me once with the kids. It hit right after we checked out of the hotel so I couldn't ask for a late checkout while the kids visited the park. I had to rush to the lobby restroom several times, then make an emergency stop at a convenience store on the way. Once at the park, the kids went to explore the caves that were once living spaces, but I was afraid to get far from the visitor center.
Bears & wolves: Actually bison cause more injuries than any other animals at Yellowstone when people try to pet them, as they are accustomed to people getting close - but they are not tame. My granddaughter has no fears so we'll have to work at the distance rules. We're not doing any back country hikes, so not carrying bear spray.
White water rapids & horseback riding: They decided to add those one day. I can only hope.
Hiking by cliffs & posing for photos: So how can I inspire safety in my granddaughter? She continues to scare me, like when we went out on a rough lava bed at Death Valley - in flip flops!
Scalding hot springs & geysers: I do hope I can keep them on the boardwalks.
Traffic jams on E-day: I had originally hoped to watch the eclipse from the center line in Grand Teton, but that narrow park road will be a zoo I bet. We're leaving the Old Faithful cabins before sunup, plan to pickup breakfast & box lunches in West Yellowstone when we top off the gas tank at 7am, then hope the road to the airport is not crowded. I really want to watch from the center line near Thornton ID on the way - approximately where the construction icon is on the map below, but I may chicken out and hurry to the airport to watch it from there. We absolutely have to be on the 5:35pm plane out that day, and there are no backup flights for two days! I keep checking Idaho Falls news for eclipse mania, hoping there won't be a horde in the way.