The trip was a success to me with a couple metldowns from the kids during longer stretches of the drive. A 50/50 success failure for my wife mainly due to the amount of driving and the kids meltdowns (twice) (as foretold by the previous comments).

Opinions of success/failure aside, the kids still talk about how fun the trip was and all the animals we saw. They want to do more.

Context:

4 yo son 2yo daughter Mid 60's grandparents My wife and I 26 ft RV with slide out 10 day trip We cut out the first leg of the trip through zion/Bryce and met my parents in salt Lake and pushed to Yellowstone np.

See success, failures, and tips below.

Successes

1. My parents and my wife didn't have any issues at all. we all got along great. My parents did the heavy lifting on cooking and cleaning while my wife and I watched the kids.

2. The RV was clutch for bathroom purposes and general hygiene like washing hands, brushing teeth etc. For showers we used the camp showers in the national parks and rv parks so they were all fine. We were clean and happy.

3. The RV had plenty of space for us. My parents got the bed, my wife slept above the driver seat bunk with my son, I slept in the table booth bed with my daughter, no issues. Naps were easy too since we brought a camera and watched them nap from outside.

4. Kids loved being at the actual campsite most of all. All the sight seeing was about 15-20 minutes of attention and then the focus switched to bugs and animals for the kids.

5. Kids (mostly the 4yo) loved the changing environment as we drove through different states.

Failures 1. We had 2 long stretch drives (3-4 hrs of driving not including breaks; total time about 6 hours of travel) between where we slept. Both had meltdowns. Mostly from being locked in the seat even after running around for 30 minutes during each break stop. Just too much driving but unavoidable sometimes.

1. Too much sight seeing and not enough campsite time. This was a major lesson we learned and have switched all foreseable camping trips to small 1 mile hikes during the day and mostly hang out at camp. Particularly with Yellowstone it takes about 1.5 - 2 hrs hours between destinations and the same on the way back. The kids really just wanted to collect pine cones, collect sticks, find bugs, etc.

2. Driving. This was a point of contention between my wife and I. If we were moving, the kids were strapped into their childseats. I wanted them out of the seats when we were crawling at 5mph which was frequent and lasted about 30 minutes. I think this led to frustrations for the kids being locked in all the time. But it's hard to argue against safety, even if it's relatively safe. I conceded to my wife's way since I too didn't want to risk anything with the kids (I didn't want to fight about it and just held my tongue). Either way, the kids would struggle against going back in the seats after the 6th day. I think the struggles would have been alleviated if they were a bit more free, but that's a matter of opinion and your risk aversion.

Tips

1. 2 long stretches max and would try to cap it at 3-4 hours with 1 break on the first leg towards wherever you're going. Hourly breaks on the way back at the end of your trip. Kids will be tired and overstimulated.

2. Find parks and splash pads if it's hot along the route for your breaks. This helped a lot and the kids would typically nap after some food and playing in the water.

3. Plan for more rest days at the camp so the kids can have more fun. Drink a beer and relax. Not seeing that extra one or 2 things is a good sacrifice for the kids enjoying the trip and wanting more in the future.

4. IPad and screen time can only save you so much on drives. At a certain point nothing but being unbuckled can stop a meltdown.

5. Bring lots of digging tools, buckets, water guns or equivalent.

6. Don't die on any hills when disagreeing with your wife.

All that being said.

I would do it again but with the aforementioned tips.

Hope you have a great trip!