We played in a snowfield, swam in a crystal-clear river, followed spawning trout upstream, spied a few hundred buffalo, and feasted at a chuck wagon cookout ... and that was just the first day of our Yellowstone vacation. Over the next three days, my family road-tripped through the heart of our country's oldest national park, packing our vacation with all kinds of outdoor adventures. I'll never forget touring Yellowstone by car as a kid with my family. Last June, I was able to bring that experience full circle, taking my own three kids and a friend on this classic trip. And although the park is huge - about the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined - you can drive right to most of its best-known landmarks on well-marked roads, which allowed us to see them all in a long weekend.

On the following pages, you'll find a scrapbook of our trip. Keep in mind that we explored more trails, discovered more picnic spots, and counted more creatures in our four days than we could fit on these pages. So if our photos leave you wanting more, check out the "If You Go" information in this article and consider taking your own family on a quintessential road tour of America's Wild West.

Alan Kesselheim and his adventure-seeking family live in Bozeman, Montana.