Instead of Italy next summer, we are going to spend time here in the US. It's time to show Casey some of his country.
We will be in Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. We're just now beginning the planning and would appreciate any insights people can share. Deborah, I read your 2005 thread.
At this point, I really would like lodging suggestions--can be hotels, cabins, condos, etc. We want this to be fun for a 12 year old who has never been in the "real outdoors" but has always wanted to be. What he really would like is for us to rent a camper but I don't think we will do that so maybe cabins would be good.
We went to Yellowstone for our daughter's HS grad gift in early June 2005. We loved it so much we are returning in late Sept this year when she finishes her "summer" job at a cafe outside Glacier NP. We found we were drawn more to the wildlife sightings, although the geology is certainly fascinating. YMMV. For our purposes the Western cabin at Canyon Village (in the park) worked very well. The cabin is, I think, one step up from the most basic model, and was fine for us. Two double beds, sink in an alcove outside bathroom with toilet and tub/shower over. Coffee maker, wall heater, both of which we used!
Canyon had at least 3 dining options at that time of year. We quickly found the counter in the General Store for quick breakfasts, and tried both the cafeteria and restaurant for dinners. Food is not a highlight of national park facilities, but was basically fine. Servers from around the US and the world, so always interesting to talk with them. We bought a cheap styrofoam cooler and lunch supplies outside the park. While touring the park, restaurants for lunch can seem few and far between, so picnics worked very well for us. The General Store at Canyon also carried some food and drinks in a small grocery section.
Old Faithful area was quite crowded on the one day we were there. We spent more of our time with binoculars in the Hayden and Lamar valleys, with sightings of bison, bears, coyotes, wolves, etc. This time we bought a scope to bring along, altho others were always very willing to let us have a look through theirs. We did at least one ranger-led hike near Canyon and Alice did one trail ride from the Mammoth area.
I think that's a great plan, Jane. It's been quite a while since we visited that area, but I have great memories of our stay at Teton Tree House B&B just outside Jackson Hole.
Jane, there were a couple of places that looked really interesting to us, but we didn't stay there. They are: Jenny Lake Lodge, Togwotee Mountain Lodge, & Jackson Lake Lodge. When I did a web search I found this link to a booking company: http://www.nationalparkreserva...s.com/grandteton.htm As it happens, they are the first three hotels in their listing.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5590 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Thanks, Con, Roz and Deborah for your good thoughts. Cam,I love the web cam and the other resource link--they will both be used a lot as we plan. Can't wait to show Casey the webcam and pictures to get him excited. I am looking into the cabins as I think that would be good.
Deborah, did you look at the price of Jenny Lake????? I'll check out the others.
Roz, the tree house looks wonderful. The problem is that I won a free week in Jackson Hole--which is what got us going that direction. So I am most interested in Yellowstone places. Ideas for there?
We took our kids to both places about 15 years ago, repeating a trip Hubbie and I took when we first met, 19 years earlier! We went to both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons and both kids were roughly pre-teen and teenagers. Yellowstone- we found the small motel units next to the Roosevelt Lodge to be excellent. Not quite camping but still not over the top hotel-y meaning that the kids could get out and roam and watch the wild creatures cross the fields around them. Even better, in the Grand Tetons, we did get to stay in their tent cabins which were wonderful, definitely a version of camping only without all the set-up work. Have a wonderful time!
Posts: 488 | Location: Massachusetts | Registered: 11 April 2006
Their website is a little clunky, but I believe they do have sample photos of most lodgings. We were too early for Roosevelt, but I read good things about the wagon/cookout excursions from there. Xanterra was very helpful in any phone contact we had.
Posts: 98 | Location: Delaware | Registered: 20 November 2005
The problem is that I won a free week in Jackson Hole--which is what got us going that direction. So I am most interested in Yellowstone places. Ideas for there?
How did you win that great prize, Jane? We visited Yellowstone from Jackson Hole, so I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations for staying in the park.
You are planning to take a rafting trip, aren't you? They have some along the Snake River near the Tetons that are mostly flat water and just beautiful. Of course, I guess you can find whitewater if you want it, but we were not up for that! We also enjoyed canoeing and horseback riding in the park.
We, especially the kids, loved it so much we went back the next year again. Yellowstone is a fantastic place!
Both times we stayed just outside of the west gate in West Yellowstone, Montana. We found this very convenient for day trips....first day take a left to do the north loop, second day, take a right to do the south loop (Old Faithful). Third and fourth day...go straight and do the loops the opposite direction....you would be surprised at the different things you notice going the opposite way! Each part of the park is incredibly different, so much too see!
There are many places to stay in West Yellowstone, but I would definitely make a reservation somewhere. We stayed in an old 50's style "motel" that was huge, with a nice little kitchenette to pack our lunches and have breakfast in each day. It was really nice and clean....if you are interested I'll see if I can find the name of it...it was 10+ years ago that we stayed there, but we liked it so much we stayed there the 2nd time too.
I agree that Jackson Hole is a must. Kind of a kitchtie (sp) touristy place, but fun nonetheless. We also did a whitewater rafting trip on the Snake River from there, which the kids really enjoyed.
We didn't stay in the Teton's, but had lunch at the Jennie Lake Lodge...moose, many moose just wandering by.
I would go back in a heartbeat! Depending on how many days you want to spend in the park, I would get a guide book...sorry can't recommend any (we used the AAA book, which was only OK). We also rented some of the videos of Yellowstone from the library, which got everyone even more interested!
Have a great time planning, I think Casey would really enjoy this trip...our kids were around the same age.
We stayed at Roosevelt Lodge on the east side of Yellowstone and loved it. Our cabin was pretty basic--I think it had sink and toilet but you had to go to a communal shower. The lodge has a big front porch with rockers where people sit in the evening after hiking and a big dining room where I think they served meals family style. It had a much nicer feel to us than the more crowded and touristy west side of the park.
No Jane, we didn't pay any attention to the prices at the time. But, zoweee
I don't know how you feel about being a little further east than the parks, but if you decide you want to venture toward Cody, let me know. My aunt has one of her vacation houses there and she has it listed on VRBO. I'll give you the listing number if you're interested.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5590 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
I've been busy checking out all the recommendations and reading of your great times. I am getting excited and thinking maybe a year without Europe will be just fine.
Now it will be difficult to pick places. Question: How much time do you think would be good in the Teton/Yellowstone area?
We are thinking also about including Glacier National Park. Have you been there? Maybe I should start another thread on that.
There have been other threads on Yellowstone and Glacier here. You might want to do a search for them and see if there's anything useful for your planning.
Thanks Chris. I had done a search but only come up with one thread so just searched again with different words and got a lot more--including your good info to Ellen. Just printed it off.
We stayed at http://www.moosecreekcabin.com/index.html In West Yellowstone. We were there in the winter. It was fun as you drove your snowmobile around to do everything! Didn't touch the car the whole time we were there. Of course this was before you had to have a tour guide to go into Yellowstone. I don't think i have ever been so close up and personal with such large animals. It was wonderful. Have not been there in summer but winter was majical.
I think Bozeman is the best place to fly into if you can. Close to Yellowstone, and I never got used to how spectacular it is to land at that airport. (Can you tell I grew up that part of Montana and returned at once every year since?)
I visited both Glacier and Yellowstone in July. It was wonderful. We were in Yellowstone 4 nights and, although there is always more to see and do, that was enough time to touch on all the areas of the park along the loop road and even take a couple of short hikes.
We also stayed in a cabin in Canyon Village. Very nice, basic, clean with two beds and a bathroom with shower. Deer grazed outside the window most evenings, a bison wandered past one afternoon and the elk in the village parking lot caused a stir.
We didn't make it into Teton. We had hoped to make it down, but it really would have been a long day trip. 35 mph speed limit and the fairly regular backups, usually caused by wildlife on or near the road, make for leisurely drives. So we decided to save that for a return visit. I'm sure there will be one.
From Yellowstone to Glacier would be a long one day drive. We went from Glacier to Missoula and then drove from Missoula to Yellowstone. Both those drives were roughly 6 hours. I definitely recommend going to Glacier also. It's spectacular. We were two nights at Lake McDonald Lodge on the west side of the park, then two nights at Many Glacier Hotel on the east side.
You have motivated me to try to write a trip report or, at the very least, post photos. We had a wonderful trip. I know you all will enjoy it.
Cathy
Posts: 140 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 01 August 2006
Cathy, you stayed four nights at Glacier Lake. Do you recommend that many nights or would 3 be enough (knowing that the real answer is months over years). If you were to stay at just one of the two places you stayed at which would it be? Many Glaciers or Lake McDonald Lodge?
We have made reservations at Old Faithful Inn for two nights and then two nights at Canyon Village. We'll then stop in Missoula on way to Glacier. Should we make advance reservations there?
I really want to take Casey to Cody but it seems that might really be out of the way. Did you go there?
Chris, if you're reading this--I saw your advice to Ellen about getting from Yellowstone to Glacier which was not via Missoula. How much longer would that route be---about We could then return via Missoula--a long drive back to So.Cal.
I highly recommend the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Do try to fit it in. We did it as a day trip from Tetons or when moving between Yellowstone and Tetons when camping. It might be better as a day trip from Yellowstone. I loved the Western Art portion but enjoyed all of the museum.
I completely agree with Marta about the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody! It's well worth a side trip.
I think this is the route from Yellowstone to Glacier I must have been thinking about. According to google it's about 6.5 hours as opposed to 5.5 hours on the Interstate from Bozeman to Columbia Falls (All of the north exits from Yellowstone lead you through Bozeman).
There's some beautiful scenery along this alternate route, but the interstate is also beautiful. Are you trying to avoid backtracking over the same route? If your worried about congestion passing through Missoula, don't be. You wouldn't even need to slow down.
Thanks Marta and Chris--I really think we should go to Cody so will convince Ken it is not overly inconvenient.
Christ I wasn't worried about backtracking but was intrigued by your recommendation for Bear Tooth Highway being so beautiful. I'll leave it up to Ken as to what we should do. That is the one and only job he has in trip planning so I surely don't want to take that away from him.
Keep the ideas and recommendations coming. This is the first US trip we have planned in years and I'm getting excited about it.
I was out on the Sunset Magazine website looking for some travel ideas for our upcoming trip to Oahu. I noticed some great slideshows on the National Parks. These might give you some ideas of the places to see in the parks.
Ah, the Beartooth Highway. It is an amazing drive. It doesn't really have any effect on whether or not you pass through Missoula, just on how you get to Bozeman from Yellowstone Park. If you look at this google map, the Beartooth Highway leaves Yellowstone going northeast, up over the very top of the world and down into Red Lodge.
It would probably add a day to your trip from Yellowstone to Glacier, but it would be a day well spent if you like mountain scenery.
Marta, those are great links--I'll spend a lot of time exploring them and sharing with Casey as anticipation builds.
Chris, Ken's question goes something like this. We are planning on taking two days to get to Glacier--stopping for the night somewhere. When you say Beartooth highway takes an extra day, does that mean it would take 3 days to get to Glacier or just the 2 we are already planing on taking?
Thanks again and again Jane
Posts: 5544 | Location: San Diego, CA | Registered: 26 June 2001
I think you could do it easily in two, assuming you're starting from somewhere in the park (not Cody or south of the park or something). Drive to Bozeman via the Beartooth the first day, then on to Glacier the next day. Six or seven hour days each day.
I'm going to second the recommendation about renting an RV and traveling in it. First of all a RV has enough room so that even a rambunctious 12 year old can wander around and do things that wouldn't be possible in a car. Everything from going to the bathroom to playing video games to watching DVDs, to making himself a sandwich.
From San Diego you drive so close to the crown jewels in the national park system.
My advice would be starting in California do a day or two in the Channel Islands, then Yosemite, the Redwoods, up through Oregon to Mt Ranier in Washington, and definitely 2 days to do the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. From Seattle head east to Glacier National Park. You will come into Yellowstone from the west. Bozeman has a wonderful campground and the city has a great hot springs.
Camping in Yellowstone is significantly cheaper and definitely gives you better food than staying in the lodges and eating in restaurants. Exiting Yellowstone head south through Grand Teton National Park to your winning location in Jackson Hole. I'd definitely throw in a trip to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody. The Whitney Museum of Western Art is located on the grounds of the Buffalo Bill Museum. Next to the Gilcrease the largest collection of Russel and Remington paintings in the US.
Coming south from Jackson Hole come through Utah to Arches National Park, Bryce, Zion and on to Mesa Verde. Kids love Mesa Verde because they get to climb the pole ladders and crawl through ancient houses.
After Mesa Verde head south to Monument Valley. Here really the only accomodation is an RV or a 50's motel that tries to style itself as a "resort". ROFL. Take the sunset jeep tour. There is also a 2 or 3 day horseback ride into Monument Valley available at the park entrance. Information on that changes so often that everything I have is hopelessly outdates.
A side trip east and south to Canyon de Chelly is a great introduction to the geology of the southwest. I call Canyon de Chelly the Grand Canyon upside down. You enter from the bottom and walk up to the top versus entering from the top and walking down.
From Canyon de Chelly head through the Painted Desert to Grand Canyon. You will be coming in through Desert View. This is one of the BEST lookouts at the Canyon. The mules are about $60 for the day trip to the bottom of the canyon. Xanterra books the mule rides. Rules are simple - you must be fully clothed (nudiosity scares the mules) you must speak english (no parlez italiano) and you must weigh less than 200 pounds.
There are 2 different 1 day raft trips you can take at Grand Canyon. The first is the smooth water trip out of Page(www.visitlakepowell.com). Takes you from Glenn Canyon dam to Lees Ferry. The other is on the west end at Peach Springs. It is a fast, wet wild one day raft trip. It is run by the Hualapai River Runners and is one of the best introductions to white water around and it supports the original canyon native peoples. Another option is to take the helicopter down into the Canyon at Hualapai. Contact information for the river runners - Diamond Bar Road,P.O. Box 246 Peach Springs, AZ 86434 Tel: 928-769-2219 Fax: 928-769-2637. Be patient, you will be navigating one of the largest cultural gaps in the US.
After Grand Canyon head south to Flagstaff making sure you do the Sunset Crater loop trail stopping off at the Wupatki Indian Ruins. This group of ancient indians had direct ties to the groups at Mesa Verde but also ties south to Mexico. There is an ancient ball court - this is the northernmost ball court from the Inca. Also check out the blow hole. The Anasazi believed that people "ascended" to this earth from holes in the ground (Kiva). The blow hole is a vent from the lava beds Ice Caves. So it blows warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Can you see how this would be sacred ground for ancient peoples? The loop trail at Walnut Canyon takes you into cliff dwellings if you decide against going to Mesa Verde. Problem is that Walnut Canyon is not as well preserved nor are there the ranger guides ala Mesa Verde.
My advice would be to get the smallest RV you can but nothing longer than a 27 or 28 foot vehicle as many of the parks do not allow the larger RVs. I think Zion and Bryce cap entrance to the park at 27 feet. Camp America is the big RV rental company but also check out RV rental by owner (google it - varies from state to state) or check with friends. Many people these days would be thrilled to have you make a couple of payments and take the RV.
If you do take an RV make sure you make campground reservations at www.nps.org. Also many of the parks are located in National forests. Depending on fire postings you can camp for free in most national forests. You would have to go "self contained" with no hook ups but with most RV's today that isn't a hardship.
Somethings that might get Casey interested. The National Geographic special on the Yellowstone fires from 20 years ago (order on Amazon or rent it on netflix or blockbuster). The John Ford move "The Searchers" - mostly shot in Monument Valley. There are lots of Discovery channel programs and National Geographic specials on the western parks. Not to mention Ken Burns documentary is coming up on PBS on the national parks.
There is a Junior Ranger program. They receive a "passport" and get it stamped at all the national parks and national monuments they have been to. If I had kept mine from when I was a kid I would have them all but Alaska and Hawaii!!
As a retiree you can get a lifetime Golden Eagle Passport for $50 that gives you free admission to all the national parks (BTW Monument Valley is NOT a national park).
This is a trip I have done several time most recently in 2006 so feel free to e mail me or post here and I'll dig out whatever else I have.
Hi Mary,that is a rather complete and informative post--all kinds of things to chew on. Thanks for taking the time to share it!
We have thought about renting an RV but don't think we will for two reasons. 1.) We had one while our kids were growing up and loved it; however, we just can't get excited about doing that again. 2.)I really don't want Ken driving one as he scares me enough in the car
Your itinerary is great but more than we want this time. I think instead of one grand tour, I will keep it and do it in segments. This time Zion, Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier will be enough. Of course, we live so close to Yosemite that we can do that by itself. We also want to take the train thing to Grand Canyon so will do that alone also. That is probably next on our agenda.
And then---there is always the week in our friends VRBO in Rome.
Posts: 5544 | Location: San Diego, CA | Registered: 26 June 2001
Jane, If I was only going to stay in one place in Glacier, it would be the west side of the park...Lake McDonald or someplace in West Glacier, just outside the park. There is more there than at Many Glacier...more food options, shops, etc. (More people too, but not uncomfortably crowded.) There is nothing at Many Glacier except the lodge. You go there to hike. Period.
Three nights would be fine. That would be one full day to explore the Lake McDonald area and one day to do the Going to the Sun Road which you definitely want to do, at least as far as Logan Pass. That is easily done in a day, including a hike from Logan Pass to the Hidden Lake Overlook.
If you stay at Lake McDonald, you can take the shuttle bus that the park runs and really enjoy the magnificent views without the driving. The road is, how shall I say it, downright scary in places. With the shuttle you also would not have to worry about parking at Logan Pass which can fill up by mid-day.
We had to be in Missoula. We were there for a week between Glacier and Yellowstone for a choral festival. It is a lovely drive down past Flathead Lake from Glacier to Missoula and the interstate from Missoula to Yellowstone is really a lovely drive also. However, I'm sure there are other options...Chris' suggestion of the Beartooth highway looks spectacular as well. I think you really can't go wrong. Just don't try to do it in one day.
I think you will enjoy staying in two places in Yellowstone. We did a lot of backtracking by only staying in Canyon, although it was lovely. We ended up in Canyon because we couldn't get reservations at Old Faithful. You're lucky. They book up fast.
Cathy
Posts: 140 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 01 August 2006
As a retiree you can get a lifetime Golden Eagle Passport for $50 that gives you free admission to all the national parks (BTW Monument Valley is NOT a national park).
It's even better now. There is a lifetime Senior pass, age 62 and over, for $10. Good for the pass holder and all passengers in the car, up to 4 adults, for all national parks. (Children under 16 are free.) It is purchased in person at the entrance gate.
Cathy
Posts: 140 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 01 August 2006
Can't believe I just saw this thread, but I am also going to follow it since we have not been, well, David has, but I have not. It's possible, Jane, that you could be mapping out an itinerary for your family next summer that many of us will follow . Thanks for planning on taking Casey.
As a retiree you can get a lifetime Golden Eagle Passport for $50 that gives you free admission to all the national parks (BTW Monument Valley is NOT a national park).
We already have one of these--just searched for it the other day. This is getting exciting.
Marcia, how nice that this will help you. I'll keep good records. It's even better now. There is a lifetime Senior pass, age 62 and over, for $10. Good for the pass holder and all passengers in the car, up to 4 adults, for all national parks. (Children under 16 are free.) It is purchased in person at the entrance gate.
Originally posted by Jane: We also want to take the train thing to Grand Canyon so will do that alone also. That is probably next on our agenda.
And then---there is always the week in our friends VRBO in Rome.
Two words about the train to Grand Canyon - Don't bother. It is a tourist train through very unexciting high plateau scrub brush. There is a "hold up" and strolling musicians. If you go in the summer the train cars with AC are over $100 per person. In the winter heat costs about the same. I find the drive from Flagstaff much more beautiful than the train.
I know I told you there is a discount for Slow Travelers at my VRBO in Rome.
BTW 89A in Utah is one of the great american highways. You travel beautiful countryside through picture book small towns. Any weekend in the summer you will find a festival of some kind happening at one of these towns.
Two words about the train to Grand Canyon - Don't bother. It is a tourist train through very unexciting high plateau scrub brush. There is a "hold up" and strolling musicians.
If I was picking train trips I'd pick Durango/Silverton versus Williams/Grand Canyon. The Williams train is a diesel locomotive, the Durango coal fired. The Williams train goes through boring countryside Durango through some of the most gorgeous mountain passes in the world.
Cathy, I made our reservations for Lake McDonald--a lg. cabin. Thanks for the input. About the shuttle--can we wait until we are there to arrange it or should we prebook?
We're just about set now with our accommodations--except SLC and Missuola. At this point, I guess we just sit back and wait until closer to the time.
Thanks everyone.I'm sure there will be more questions. And Marcia, hope you are finding this useful info.
Jane, Like Marcia I am enthusiastically following this thread. With both daughters involved with foreign boyfriends I think someday a trip like this with all of them would be great great fun. We live in such a vast and wonderful country that I would like to get to know better myself. Thank you and everyone else that is sharing such good info. I will be following closely now and after your trip. Again, you and Ken are so amazing...always providing an array of wonderful experiences for Casey!
Hi Jane, My daughter and I spent a very fun night at Chico Hot Springs. It is near Pray, Montana and on the road from the Gardiner exit from Yellowstone ending up in Livingston. The pool is terrific and the restaurant is very good. The night we were there Dennis Quad was sitting 2 tables away as he owns a ranch 10 minutes from there. I guess he and other celebs who have ranches in the area eat there a lot. Check it out at http://www.chicohotsprings.com/ Judie
Posts: 245 | Location: Racine, WI | Registered: 20 August 2003
Looks like Barb and I will both be looking forward to itineraries, trip notes, etc.
And me, too. I think we may choose an itinerary in this area next summer also!
Gee, what a burden I now carry!! My son and his lady friend may join us in Yellowstone which is very exciting for us. I have reserved a semi-suite and double room at Old Faithful and two rooms at Canyon Village. You can cancel up to 48 hours before so it seemed wise to sew this up now. I'm afraid, though, that they will bail. I really, really hope not.
The info on the drive from Glacier to Yellowstone is very helpful. Keep ideas coming!! 
We could then return via Missoula--a long drive back to So.Cal.
. Thanks for planning on taking Casey.
