www.campjellystone.com
I have officially reached the age where my body has decided that it does not like to camp. No questions about it. No more back-aching sleepless nights on the ground for me. And absolutely NO tip-toeing into the darkness when nature calls.
Buuuuut, if you want to call "sleeping in a motorhome with running water, A/C, and a cushy bed" CAMPING...then I'm all in!
So, a few weeks ago, my kiddos and I got the treat of spending two nights at Jellystone Park with my mom and stepdad in their motorhome. It was all the joys of camping...without really camping.
Our humble abode for two nights.
Inside...
...and out.
Inside...
WHAT IS YOGI BEAR'S JELLYSTONE PARK?
It is a franchise network of campgrounds with approx. 75 locations throughout the US. Check out all of their locations HERE. Their goal is to provide great family vacations for all ages while offering comfortable accommodations and lots of fun activities, all the while being easy on the wallet. Score! What I think is really great is that Jellystone isn't solely for RV enthusiasts or crazy tent-camping folks, but also offers cabins if that's a little more your style.
Considering this was my very first time on a trip in the motorhome, I can't really compare this park to any others. But what I can do, is tell you all about the fun we had at Jellystone (because frankly, they're website stinks and doesn't tell you about all the fun stuff so I told them about it and they even agreed).
HOW WE PASSED THE TIME AT JELLYSTONE PARK:
While grandpa was hooking up the motorhome after our arrival, we simply went on a little tour of the property to see what all they had to offer. OK, basically I was trying to keep my kids out of his hair so that he made sure not to mix up the sewage line with the fresh water line (if that's even possible but I didn't want to take any chances). And, my planned worked great! He set it all up perfectly and we were able to get a couple of fun photos in and even stopped in at the arcade. The arcade was a cool place to beat the heat but a little disappointing as several of the games were out of order. My kids came out of there though with 6 bouncy balls and a pocket full of candy for 3 bucks a piece so it was awesome in their eyes.
My mother photo-bombed her own grandchildren!
Can you see her in Yogi's armpit?
Every morning at 9am Yogi Bear arrived at the flagpole to say the pledge of allegiance with his fellow campers. Of course the pledge only lasts a few short seconds but it was a great way to get my kids up-and-at-'em in the morning.
My oldest even got Yogi's signature.
(She must still be scarred from Disney when we didn't get one character signature.)
After visiting Yogi, when the Texas sun hadn't quite hit scorching temps, it was a great time to play a little mini-golf. The course was surprisingly well-maintained and included some fun obstacles. We played both mornings and we all left with our teeth intact despite my 4 year old wielding a bone-crushing iron club for 18 holes.
She was pretty serious about her game, but allowed me to take this one picture.
Next up was the train ride. It was brightly colored and choo-chooed and I'm sure all the toddlers loved it, but it was just a tour of the park for us. And even though I nearly fell asleep, I am glad I took a ride because I was able to see just how big this park really is. After that I realized why so many folks had rented golf carts from the park in order to get around. Thankfully we had picked our site to be right in the heart of the action so there was no need for transportation. Next time though, I'll be sure to pack my kiddos bikes as there was ample room to cruise around.
Another fun activity that my kids enjoyed was this awesome climbing structure. It's kind-of like an McDonalds playground, but way better.
Although that looks like my dad at the door, it's not.
And those are someone else's bratty kids delightful children.
Zipline!
Hanging rings!
Super slide!
When the weather just didn't allow for us to be outside any longer, we took advantage of the activity center. Here we found free coloring pages, board games to play, and crafts for sale. Although there may have been more, the crafts we saw were ceramics to be painted and t-shirts to be colored. While we were there, the new and improved activity center was under construction and it looked to be nearly twice as big. Gonna be some good (crafty) times going on in there real soon!
With quite a selection, they had a hard time making a decision on which bear to paint.
But once they did, they were happy little painters!
So what do you think?! There's some fun things to do at Jellystone park, right? And I haven't even listed them all. Check out just a few of the other things I wasn't able to snap a picture of...
-karaoke (kids were on stage singing their hearts out and my ear drums were about ready to POP out)
-ice cream social
-fishing pond
-basketball court
-outdoor movie every night (don't forget your popcorn!)
-water park
HOLD THE PHONE! Did I just say WATERPARK?!! You can bet your little bikini I just did. Buuuuut, this post has gotten so long that I am going to tell you all about it in another post. You can check out that post right HERE.
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Overall experience: The kids and I (and I believe I can speak for the senior citizens too that were with us) had a really great time. We definitely want to go back, but maybe during a month that isn't quite as hot as July. We've heard October is a ton of fun as this park loves Halloween.
Before arriving, I had read a few reviews where people stated this park was dirty. Let's remember, this is "camping". It's not a Hilton resort so there will be dirt, the bathrooms won't be spotless, and a popsicle wrapper may occasionally be floating in the pool. And even though we experienced all of those things, it didn't bother us one bit and we'll be sure to return real soon.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO A YOGI BEAR PARK?
TELL US YOUR FAVORITE PART!
This post has been linked up to the Best of the USA blog hop.
