Pictured above, Anderson Design Group (ADG) founder Joel Anderson and wife/ADG bookkeeper Patty Anderson pose next to a welcome sign in Yellowstone National Park.
Sixteen years ago, the artists of Anderson Design Group (ADG), led by Creative Director and Founder Joel Anderson, began creating original artwork of America’s National Parks.
This year, the National Park Service, which manages the parks, celebrated its 110th birthday! Coincidentally, this year is also Joel and Patty Anderson’s 40th wedding anniversary.
What better way to celebrate marriage and the couple’s love for the parks than by traveling to America's first National Park; Yellowstone?
Pictured below: Joel and Patty arrive at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Read on for a day-by-day itinerary of how to make the most of a trip to Yellowstone National Park, followed by a Q&A with Joel and Patty about what they liked most, what surprised them, and advice they have for other travelers.
But first, check out this fun video reel featuring snippets of Joel and Patty's first three days in Yellowstone. Part #2 coming soon!
Day-by-Day Itinerary
According to the Andersons, Yellowstone National Park is best experienced on a 4-5 day itinerary, perhaps even six days. Three or four days is doable, but on that timeline, you’ll have to cut out opportunities to see and experience a few sections of the park. (Attractions and interests are spread far and wide throughout Yellowstone, so it’s best to give yourself plenty of time and to have a planned itinerary in place!)
Pictured below: A trip to Yellowstone National Park is not complete without a visit to nearby Grand Teton National Park.
Day #1: The first day was a travel day, but that didn’t stop Joel and Patty from getting off the airplane in Jackson, Wyoming, connecting with their friends and guides, Dan and Lydia Pierce, and immediately heading into nearby Grand Teton National Park. Once there, the group hiked, explored lakes and canyons, and finished the day with a dinner of elk and bison at the Gun Barrel Restaurant.
Pictured below: Day #1 hike in grand Teton National Park, and dinner at the Gun Barrel.
Day #2: The second day focused on waterfalls, with our group of adventurers visiting Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls and Tower Falls. Thanks to a heads-up from another explorer, the group learned they could catch a rainbow at the bottom of Lower Falls if they arrived between 9:30 and 10:15 am. The group finished the day with a picnic on Yellowstone Lake and a beautiful sunset looking over the Lake.
Pictured below: Day #2 waterfalls.
Day #3: The team spent the day exploring the park’s many geysers and geothermal features near Old Faithful. They had breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn, toured the historic inn, visited Old Faithful and Castle Geyser, and explored several geothermal pools via convenient boardwalks. Castle Geyser only erupts once per day, and as luck would have it, the group was there when it happened!
Pictured below: Day #3 Castle Geyser erupting, Morning Glory hot spring, and Joel striking a majestic pose in front of Old Faithful.
Day #4: Today the team visited more thermal activity at Norris and Mammoth. They also toured Lamar Valley, which provided a great opportunity to view big-game wildlife. The group explored Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser. They also visited Geyser Basin, which is a unique field of multiple geothermal features clumped together. At this location, geothermal activity is so intense that plants and trees cannot grow in the basin, giving the basin an eerie but spectacular aura.
Pictured below: Day #4 at Norris Geyser Basin.
Day #5: This day was a bit of a “rest” day, with much of the day spent at Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs. The team relaxed at Chico Hot Springs.
Pictured below: Day #5 at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Day #6: On the last day of the adventure, the team explored the Yellowstone Loop starting at West Thumb. They also visited Old Faithful, took a picnic lunch on the Gibbon River, visited the brink of the Upper Yellowstone Falls, and enjoyed an unexpected rainbow. Then they went to Mud Volcano, had a grilled cheese picnic on Yellowstone Lake, and then watched the sunset over the Lake. It was quite the final day!
Pictured below: Day #6 sunset.
Q&A with Patty and Joel
ADG: What were some of your initial impressions of the park that others should know about, particularly for those who have never been there?
Joel: It is a very, very large park, and the speed limit is basically always 35mph, so you have to slow down, take your time, and be ok with wildlife traffic jams. You can’t plan your schedule to the exact hour or minute, because you’re going to find things you want to explore along the way, and wildlife is probably going to cross the road in front of you (like they own the place). Slow down and let yourself experience Yellowstone on the timeline that the park offers you.
Patty: Agreed. To help with that, there are lots of pullouts and parking areas, and the roads are very well maintained. It’s easy to soak it all in and enjoy it because the park infrastructure is designed for exactly that.
ADG: What were some areas of the park you recommend as “must-sees?”
Patty: Grand Prismatic Spring, absolutely. And see it from multiple angles! Approach from the boardwalk and circle it, but also take a nearby trail up high above the spring so you can look down on it.
Joel: There are many must-sees, which is why you really need a minimum of four days to explore the park, ideally five or six. There's just so much to see and do. The Mammoth Area. Hayden Valley. Lamar Valley. Norris Geyser Basin. Dragon’s Mouth Spring. The Canyon Village. The Old Faithful Inn. Jenny Lake nearby in Grand Teton. They are all worth your time.
ADG: What was your absolute favorite moment?
Joel: I really enjoyed seeing the wildlife up close, like next to our car as we drove by! In Nashville, it’s not like I get the chance to see bison and elk just ten feet away. The elk and the bison are such massive, powerful animals. Combine the wildlife with the landscapes, and there’s something about standing in front of that kind of grandeur and awesomeness that feels nurturing for the soul. As we traveled through the park, I kept thinking, “This is why we have national parks.” That’s why I believe it’s so important that we protect these places and share them with everyone.
Patty: The Grand Prismatic Pool was just amazing. Its colors and sheer size really struck me. I was amazed by the scale of it (pictures don’t do it justice), especially as I walked around and then went up to a higher vantage point to see it from above (that’s when you really comprehend its scale). It was almost surreal to realize that nature could create those kinds of colors and hues. It’s just so wild that something completely natural can produce something that vivid and beautiful. It was truly stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
ADG: Any advice for travelers to Yellowstone or the Tetons?
Patty: I think you need at least four or five days in the park to really appreciate everything it has to offer. The Tetons nearby are also a must-see. Even flying into Jackson Hole Airport is a fabulous experience. It feels like the airport was designed to complement the surrounding landscape. Yellowstone is definitely a popular park, and I can understand why. There’s just so much to see and experience.
Joel: Try to decide what you want to see in advance. If you like animals and nature, plan on going to one area. If you want to see geothermal features, visit another. Lakes and mountains? Another yet. The park has multiple sections and zones where these different aspects are more prominent. Pick the ones you want to see and go there. Try to map out your day trips and excursions ahead of time. Do research in advance, and plan each day. We had the help of our friends, Dan and Lydia Pierce. Dan has been to the park many times before, and he loves playing tour guide. If you can go with someone who knows the terrain, great. If not, do a bunch of research and plan ahead. You'll be thankful you did.
ADG: What surprised you?
Joel: We went after school resumed, so the American crowds were fewer. But there were lots of international visitors. We heard at least 10 languages spoken! Also, be prepared for any weather. We happened to be inside a restaurant when a huge storm came through. So even if it feels like summer, storms and big temperature swings can still happen, and you want to be prepared.
Patty: Yellowstone is an international park now. We came across lots of Europeans when we were there, which makes sense as they take their vacation in August. People were traveling from all over the world to see this uniquely wild paradise which is truly in the middle of nowhere.
ADG: Patty, how many miles did you hike per day?
Patty: Dan said we averaged six to seven miles per day!
ADG: Joel, do you have plans for creating new Yellowstone or Grand Teton art?
Joel: Yes. It was deeply heartwarming to see so much of our art, books, postcards, and gifts in the visitor centers and gift shops. I even ended up signing some of our books that were on display in one of the Yellowstone visitor centers! Now I’m inspired to create at least six new posters for Yellowstone and three for Grand Teton. The focus will be on lesser-known yet no less incredible features of the parks that most folks might not know about, but that they’ll absolutely want to see.
ADG: Amazing! Any final thoughts about the trip? Any other tidbits of advice for visitors?
Patty: Try picnicking! The food is expensive, but grocery stores are available in the gateway communities. Save money and spend more time outside by making your own meals at day-use picnic tables and scenic areas.
Joel: I was really impressed with the effort the park has put into accessibility. We were able to get around incredibly easily. As my Parkinson's Disease progresses, I'll be more interested in parks that make more experiences available to people with mobility constraints. Yellowstone is actually a great park for people with disabilities. It’s in keeping with the National Park Service’s now 110-year commitment to preserving the parks and making them available to all of us.
Pictured below: ADG art of Yellowstone National Park, IN Yellowstone National Park!
Travel Adventures and New Art on the Horizon, Plus a New ADG Website to Celebrate it All
Joel and Patty are kicking around ideas for a trip to Acadia National Park in 2027, but for now, they're resting and recharging at their home in Nashville. And they got back just in time, too, because ADG just launched its new website! The art still has a timeless, vintage-style appeal, but the website is new, streamlined, and much easier to use.
One of the reasons why people love our national park art is that it looks like vintage poster art, the type of artwork that was used to promote the national parks 110 years ago when these beautiful places became protected under the umbrella of the newly formed National Park Service.
“We don’t use AI—everything we create is real art made by real artists for real art & travel lovers,” Joel says. “We hope you can see and feel the quality that goes into our American-made prints, books, and gifts. And we hope you enjoy our original creations as much as we have enjoyed producing them!”
Because the art comes in many formats, you can order any of our over 3,000 original poster designs (including over 400 posters featuring the national parks and dozens more featuring national monuments and memorials) as framed prints, unframed posters, canvases, metal signs, notecards, or postcards. The art also makes great gifts, especially for national park adventurers and travel enthusiasts.
We’ve created original artwork for every national park on the roster, as well as many of the lesser-known-yet-no-less-beautiful National Park Service-managed sites across the country. As Joel and Patty did recently in Yellowstone, we travel to the parks when we’re able, take photos and draw reference sketches, then come back to the studio to hand-render what we saw. Peruse our site and find your perfect art of adventure here.
We’ll keep making art, and we thank you so much for supporting our small family business. We couldn’t do what we love without you.
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
