[Deacon]

My family and I went on vacation from the deep south to Yellowstone on the E. There are 5 of us, but before I get this :evil: reaction, I had installed a lap belt in the middle of the rear seat about 3 years ago, and it has worked out great(my kids are young)...I go the lap belt at my local speed shop.

Anyhoo, I had used the installation instructions for a CB radio from EOC (thanks to all of those who posted the pictorials), and it worked out great.

I did notice that when I was headed up a grade that the tranny (in the D position) would not shift allow the rpm's to increase above a certain point, no matter how much throttle I gave it. It would get to about 3K rpm and wouldn't go above until I shifted into D2. I was a bit surprised that the tranny wouldn't downshift automatically and give more power...is this normal?

I do think if I did that sort of mt pass driving, a MT would be the choice...

I did see a number of E's on the road, including one Ecamper. Pretty cool...

 

[Deacon]

 

[buttermilk]

My wife has been wanting to go to Yellowstone. Was it an enjoyable trip?

 

[Deacon]

Unbelievably. It is one of the most amazing places on earth.

A couple of points, though.....

Either camp in the park (just remember there are real, live, wild bears there) or stay in one of the govt owned hotels(decent places, but the most convenient) inside the park if possible(availability is sometimes an issue). If not, West Yellowstone is the closest place to stay. We stayed in Victor, ID at the Teton Springs Inn and Spa
http://www.tetonspringslodge.com/index.php, a totally cool place, but it was an hr and a half minumum commute one way into the park. My wife landed a great deal that included a suite, incredible breakfasts, and nightly dinner at the clubhouse...Call them to get a better deal than you will get on the net.

And please do yourself the favor of going thru Cody, Wy and checking out the local flavor (nightly rodeo, museums, etc) and stay at the Irma Hotel...it will blow your socks off. http://www.irmahotel.com/

 

[cmpbx]

Nice! We'll be camping in yellowstone in the first two weeks of august- can't wait!

Did you try hitting the overdrive button on the side of the shifter? I've found that it give a little bit more kick and seems to help the tranny on long steep uphill grades (but don't quote me, I'm not a mechanical guy). The button keeps it in D3 and doesnt let it into overdrive.

 

[Deacon]

Nope, I bet that is exactly what I should have done....Thanks, I will keep that in mind.


FTR, the road from Norris to Madison is closed between 10pm and 8am...plan accordingly or you will have a long way to go around...Learned from experience the hard way...:lol:

 

[Rick92040]

I feel sorry for the kid in the middle. That's a long way. You should buy another car with the proper seats.

 

[BreE]

That is a gorgeous shot of your Element in Yellowstone! I've always wanted to go camping there, and luckily my family is only 4 people (boys 8 and 12 years old), so we might be able to do it next summer!

How did it look inside after all that driving with 3 kids??? I remember road-trips up and down the ALCAN highway when I was growing up (I have 4 siblings) and the inside of our full size van would be... DESTROYED after 3 days of driving!!

 

[Deacon]

Actually, the Element has been on several long roadies...

I live in coastal Alabama, and we have driven it to Williamsburg, VA; Washington, DC; Branson, MO; Tampa, FL; Sedona, AZ; and now to Yellowstone.

The kids do great...the middle seat, oddly enough, is the favorite seat in the back (leaves me scratching my head, but kids have weird ideas sometimes...) :-D. Secondly, I'm a bit of a throwback- the ideas that kiddo comfort has been pushed way too much, and the experience of Yellowstone for them is MUCH greater than the miniscule discomfort they may have....Call it deep south upbringing, or what have ya...:-D. I weeded gardens and whatnot in the middle of the day in the deep south...they don't get that pleasure, so mayhap a bit of discomfort (maybe) should be part of their life experience...

As far as the interior is concerned, we are somewhat militant about keeping it straightened up so that nothing falls out at stops, and with the long roadies in the past, the kids are troopers.

The picture is somewhat deceiving...it looks like Yellowstone, but it was actually made in the Badlands, SD.

 

[Deacon]

Another observation...

I averaged about 21 mpg for the trip.


In the Mts it was about 18mpg, and on the high prairie, about 22-23mpg. The best was one tank that I got 26 mpg.

 

[TangoBill]

We were vacationing in Yellowstone when 9/11 happened. It cast a very somber mood over our vacation but we contnued with our plans. Our flight was cancelled on the return trip and we ended up driving home to PA from CO. We put 4200 miles on the rental car in 10 days.

Yellowstone is such a fantastic place. I was there in 1967 and had always wanted to go back. We stayed at a B & B between Cody and Yellowstone in a town (if you can call it that :razz: named Wapiti). When we got there, all the locals told us not to miss the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody. We were there more for the outdoor touring and wildlife, and thought we didn't want to go to a museum. Due to some weather and a police issue inside the park, we couldn't get into Yellowstone one day so we went to the museum.

All I can say is WOW! What a great museum and it's huge. It is well worth a visit.

 

[Deacon]

We will go the next trip thru to the museum as well as hit the rodeo, too. We covered all of Yellowstone except a 17 mile portion from Old Faithful back up to the West Yellowstone exit, so it consumed almost all of our time that way.

Next trip we will spend 2 days in Cody, 2-3 in Yellowstone, 2 in Jackson. It is truly amazing...this land we call home, for all of the warts that we have and carry publically, is simply magnificient.