KOA

On Wednesday we hit the road for the tri-annual (if that's actually a word) Oster Family Reunion set to take place outside Yellowstone National Park in Wapiti, Wyoming. We got a bit of a late start, but still made it to our Day 1 goal destination: Kansas City, Missouri. Warren's mom had been telling us how much they enjoy the KOA campgrounds, so along the way, I visited their website (on my iphone) and made a reservation for a kabin.

How is a kabin different from a cabin, you ask? Well the KOA campsites--er, kampsites--are very family-friendly. That means there's usually a pool and a playground. Sometimes there's even mini golf, a trampoline, or something even more exciting. We were sold.


We pulled in right at dusk and the kids were very excited. Our little kabin was very cute and came equipped with a mini fridge, TV, and grill. We also had a double bed with bunkbeds right next to it. Satchel immediately announced that he was sleeping on the top bunk. This was noteworthy because he has bunkbeds at home and he has only slept in the top bunk once. (Apparently the proximity of the bunkbeds to our bed made it not scary. He asked if I could move our bed into his room when we got home.)

There was only one flaw in our KOA plan. The linens. And the towels. (That's two problems unless towels are actually linens.) I packed sleeping bags but no sheets or pillows. That made for a very uncomfortable night's sleep. The lack of towels made swimming, and more importantly, showering (in the communal bathrooms) impossible. (Or unadvisable at the very least.)

Warren really wanted to get his grill on too, but we had no suitable grill food, grilling utensils, or seasoning.

So yeah. Good idea in theory. We discussed buying some gear at a Target along the way for the rest of our trip, but our aching necks convinced us to splurge on a hotel room for Day 2 of our three day drive.