Yellowstone and more vacation

[goofy's friends]

We are road -trippin' !!!! We would love any tips for travel, things to do and see, and to save $$!! We are driving from Denver and going to Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Cody, South Dakota Black Hills, then on through SD to midwest U.S. Our kids are 9,7,5. We like nature, but don't enjoy camping out. Love history and unusual experiences. Whatcha got for us????

 

[budbeerlady]

Please post a trip report when you get back. We want to go to yellowstone when dd is older!!!!! Have a good trip!

 

[goofy's friends]

Thanks!! We will let you know!

 

[shrubber]

I am planning a trip this summer and found these websites

flyingpigrafting.com

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/orientation/index.htm

http://www.yellowstoneparknet.com/mammoth_hot_springs/45th_parallel_bridge.php

http://travelyellowstone.com/Roosevelt-Lodge-Dining-Room-&-Old-West-Dinner-Cookout-179.html

http://www.yellowstonepark.com/

 

[goofy's friends]

I've been to 3 of those, but will check out the other one---thanks!!

 

[shrubber]

one more
http://www.montanabuffaloranch.com/cabin.html

 

[goofy's friends]

bumping this in hopes of more ideas!!!!!

 

[Rella Bella]

Oh you're making me home sick!!

I am a Montana native and DH is a Denver native so we've done all of the above many times. My first comment is that you're going to have a great time! There is SOooo much to do all along the way and most of it is very beautiful.

I can't stay on just now but I promise to get back to you with some good stuff!!!

 

[Bbgrizzle]

When you are in Jackson Hole, you MUST go see the Bar J Wranglers chuckwagon dinner show!! These cowboys who own the ranch will serve you up some really tasty grub, and they put on a great show, singing cowboy songs. They are SOOO funny! Get a reservation though, they are packed every night. They are open 7 nights a week, Memorial Day thru Labor Day. My kids (ages 12, 8 and 4) LOVE them. We've seen them about 6 times and we never get tired of them. We bought all their CD's. Amazing singing voices, wonderful harmony. Check out their website:

www.barjchuckwagon.com


Also, I highly recommend Yellowstone Bear World, which is actually located in Rexburg, ID. www.yellowstonebearworld.com You drive your vehicle through and see the bears. But the best is the optional tour where you board big trucks and stand in these cage-type things and you are way up high so you are safe. You buy trays of hostess treats to feed the bears. (YOu are not allowed to feed the bears from your car, in your car you have to keep your window up at all times). The bears will sit up and beg for more doughnuts. It's a really cool experience. Then they also have baby bear cubs and for a fee you can sign up to feed them a bottle. We did it and it was so cool. My kids loved it. They also have cheesy carnival rides there too, if your kids like those (mine do!). This place is expensive, but it is hard to actually see a bear when you are in Yellowstone. This way you are guaranteed to see them.

To me, these are the must-see activities when visiting the area.

Bonnie

 

[Andrea]

you will have a blast we used to live in montana for a few years and did almost everything up in those states. I loved yellowstone, i am hoping when we go back to montana this august we can go to yellowstone one more time

 

[MerryPoppins]

What a fun trip! You'll have a blast. I've been most of those places. What are you wanting to know? Just ideas for cool things to see? Let me think.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I remember my DS loved this place. He was fascinated with mammouths. You might want to check it out. It's been many years since we were there, so maybe someone else has been there.

http://www.mammothsite.com/

 

[izzy]

We did almost this exact same trip last year but in reverse- me (42) and my parents in their 70's. Few into Denver, got a rental car and headed north - did the Black Hills (Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Wall Drug store which was a hoot), Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons/Jackson, and finally the Rocky Mountain National Park just north of Denver. We took 2 full weeks, and it still wasn't enough time for me. I still say it was the best vacation I have ever taken and am planning on going back again next year, but will probably just do the Tetons and Yellowstone. Absolutely ditto on the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner in Jackson. My parents still talk about it.

I have an itinerary from that trip that I will PM to you. (I actually did it for one of my brother's friends in case you're wondering why I've written it the way I have.) It includes hotels we stayed at as well as the prices we paid. I did extensive research on the hotels on Tripadvisor and I was pleased with all of them. We only made one change in our hotel once we got on the road - partly because the Sleep Inn I booked looked nasty and party because we knew we could travel further that day and ended up staying in Laramie, which we really enjoyed.

Have a blast on this trip! Your children will remember it forever!

 

[goofy's friends]

Hi all! Thanks so much for the great tips. I actually had heard about the Bar J from a friend, but wasn't so sure!!!! Now, I am calling them first thing in the morning. Wow!!! Now I'm getting excited.
My DS will love the Mammoth place! It seems like it is way off the beaten track, is it that far out of the way? and is it worth it?
The bear place really interests me too--we weren't planning on going that direction, but I am thinking about it now.
Izzy, Great itenerary!!! Thanks for PM me. Can't wait to look into some of these places.
Planning the trip is 1/2 the fun for me, looks like you feel the same way! DH will be very interested in the devil's tower (loves that movie) --I hadn't heard anything about it. We will be taking a full two weeks also, but it will be during the summer, so I guess we can just expect crowds. Did you do the rodeo in Cody? We thought that sounded like fun maybe You guys are so awesome--I knew I could count on you for ideas that we didn't know about.!!!

 

[mom2boys]

We did a similar trip last year. We only spent one night in Cody but we had a blast in that town. We went to IRMA's for dinner - the original Buffalo Bill hotel. We ordered steak from the menu becuase we were a bit early for the buffet. It was one of two memorable meals we had on an 8000 mile trip.
There is a "shoot-out" in the streets of Cody every evening at 6pm. It is free but you can reserve a folding chair for $1 each.

Take your kids to the Cody Rodeo. It is ranked one of the best in the nation. My kids loved it.
We took the Chief Joseph Hwy from Cody to Yellowstone - it adds a couple of hours to the drive, but the scenery is wonderful.

I found the forums at www.fodors.com extremely helpful.

Are you going to the Badlands in South Dakota? They are cool and totally different from the other landscape in the region.

A great book that helped me plan was National Geographic's National Parks of the West.

Feel free to email/pm me if you have specific questions.

 

[mom2boys]

I second Devil's Tower.

And want to re-emphasize how much my kids LOVED the Cody Rodeo. They wanted to go back even though we had moved on to Yellowstone. My boys were 10 & 11 at the time.

If you head towards the Badlands, there is a Missile site there that you can tour. They only take a handful of people on each tour - you can make ressies in advance.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Oh I guess it is off the beaten path. We live in Oklahoma, so it was on our way home I guess. You're already trying to fit a lot in one vacation. I guess I'd leave it for another time.

We've done a ton of ranger-led activities at Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park. I highly recommend them. My kids always loved being outdoors and learning about animals and such. Ask at the visitor's center for a list. They'll also give you a list of hikes. You might want to choose some easy ones. We did an awesome night hike at RMNP that we're all still talking about. It was around a lake without flashlights - just the light of the moon. The ranger taught us about using all our senses and by the time we finished the stars were all reflected in the water. Ah, it was beautiful.

As far as Yellowstone, it's a big loop. Don't try to do too much in one day. Read about the areas that might interest your family and do one section at a time. In the summer, traffic can be tight. So do one area, and then the next day move on to the next one. Otherwise you are driving too much of the time. It takes several days to see even the high points in my opinion.

My son loved the mud pots and geysers (for a while). At one point we heard him mutter "More mud, more hot water!" Most of these are along boardwalks, so they are easy to get to.

He was fascinated by the wild animals. If you hike - wear bear bells so you don't surprise a bear. And learn safety procedures in case you have a wild animal encounter. We saw bear, moose, deer, and bison among others.

Mount Rushmore is pretty cool, especially at night. I think they also have a show in the evening? Not sure. It's been a while. Watch North by Northwest before you go and you can pick out where part of the movie was filmed in the restaurant.

I'm not as familiar with Jackson Hole, but I think they have a ski lift type ride to the top of a mountain. That might be fun. I've been through there, but have never stopped for a real visit.

 

[goofy's friends]

Merry Poppins,
We live in OKLahoma too!!! Where are you? We were planning on driving most of the way back using that main highway through SD, but did you find a faster and easier way? We may have to do the Mammoth site, even if it is out of the way.

 

[jsmith]

i grew up in Cody and my dad is a professional guide licensed in Yellowstone -with Grubstake Expeditions-www.grubsteaktours.com. and i live in Colorado -definately allow plenty of time for yellowstone-at least three days-and take time to really enjoy it-the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody is worth the time for sure-lots of stuff there-theres tons of stuff in both Jackson and Cody-i cant even begin to cover it all-but you will have an awesome trip-take your time and enjoy a part of the country that is still uncrowded and clean-oh one piece of advice-based on experience-when the opportunity to get gas presents its self-take it -once you get north of Cheyenne there is not something just up the road and it can be 80 or 100 miles between places to stop.

 

[MerryPoppins]

It's been a while. I can't remember the route we took. I'll ask DH if he remembers. I do remember the Black Hills are BLACK at night. When there's no moon you can't see your hand in front of your face.

We're in Norman, by the way. And you?