Yellowstone National Park

[Imzadi]

There is a new series on PBS that started on Mon & a different episode plays all this week called, National Parks, by Ken Burns. They keep re-airring it at different times. the fist episode was on Yellowstone.

I'm actually kind of pissed that it hadn't airred back in March or April instead - before summer vacations. I was really intrigued by Yellowstone after seeing the first episode. I could have planned a trip there. I had been planning a vacation to Ireland, but with airfares so darn high, I couldn't do it this past summer. Now I'm thinking I could go to Yellowstone or one of our other National Parks instead. Travel would be sooo much cheaper and I'd still get to drive on the same side of the road, whereas Ireland drives on the other side (like in England.)

 

[laurie31]

If you want to go to Yellowstone next summer, it's almost too late. You need reservations NOW.

We booked 12 months in advance, and the rooms that were our first choice were all booked. It's worse than CRT! LOL!

I will echo everyone else -it is a BEAUTIFUL AMAZING place, and we spent 9 days there and loved it so much. We want very much to go back.

 

[Imzadi]

If you want to go to Yellowstone next summer, it's almost too late. You need reservations NOW.

Oh, well, then I guess airring the series in March would have been too late anyway. And since it has airred on Monday, it's probably already too late for next summer. I'm going to have to do some creative thinking here. Whenever I've gone to visit the Grand Canyon (been there 5 times ) I always stayed quite a bit aways. It is sooo much cheaper, no reservation problems and not too hard to get there by car. It just means getting up an hour earlier for the drive over.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Yeah, I was thinking that I'm glad I made our reservations for next year already because after this show it will be 10 times worse than CRT next year

 

[Simba's Mom]

We are going next July. We made our reservations this past June. I REALLY wanted to stay in the OF Inn and REALLY wanted a room with our own bathroom! We are also staying at Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, Signal Mt Lodge in the Tetons, and Trapper Inn in Jackson Hole. DH panicked when I told him how many hotels we will need but once I explained that they are all about an hour apart with different things to see around them, he agreed to the itin. I looked at the sites mentioned above, went to the library and borrowed travel guides, and also bought some travel guides. I did a LOT of reading - for about a month (keep in mind I don't have a lot of time to read!) and studied the maps I got from AAA as if my life depended on it before deciding the itinerary and making any reservations. It was overwhelming at first, but the worst is over. I still need to make airline reservations, which I plan to do soon, and will make the cookout reservations a few months before we go. We may do rafting in the Tetons also. We watched the Yellowstone show on the Travel channel before deciding on the OF Inn and Lake Yellowstone Inn. I forgot to DVR the PBS show. I will have to catch the reruns.

Regarding the Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins, we stayed in them last year, and we loved them! The people next door to us had stayed at cabins at 4 different hotels within Yellowstone, and the ones at Mammoth were their favorite. I could just sit on the porch and enjoy the view for hours.

 

[minkydog]

We've done Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons twice now. It is massive, and like another poster, we changed hotels every few nights to minimize driving time. We stayed at Canyon, Old Faithful, Jackson Lake Lodge (Tetons), and Jackson Hole.

The Tetons were voted #1 park for viewing wildlife by the Travel Channel, and it's true...we saw a greater variety of animals in the Tetons including many moose.

We didn't see ANY moose when we were there in July 2007. The ONLY animal we saw was a CHIPMUNK! Everyone in our reunion party saw moose, some with little mooslings! but we went everywhere in the park and saw NOTHING. Rats. We didn't even see those!

We stayed the Colter Bay cabins. They're old CCC cabins and they are spartan but very clean. They have bathrooms and you can open the windows at night and let the cool night air in.

 

[DisTeach1]

I wish I knew how to do pictures. We also saw a Grizzly very close up in the Tetons, I have very good pictures of it coming out of the meadow, following me back to the car, and one taken right by our car...It was incredible, and probably very dangerous, but I did the long, slow walk back to the car-LOL.

At Tetons, we stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge where many people saw Grizzlies on float trips. Jackson Lake Lodge has an incredible meadow, with huge windows, and we had a view room. We also saw many moose and elk in the meadow every evening.

It really was an incredible vacation, and I find myself craving to go back there, even more so than Disney at times. It just feeds my soul.

 

[minniebeth]

Subscribing, I'm loving hearing of everyone's experiences and look forward to one day plan a trip. I'm loving watching Ken Burns' National Parks series on PBS.

 

[minkydog]

we stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge where many people saw Grizzlies on float trips. I find myself craving to go back there, even more so than Disney at times. It just feeds my soul.

Wow! Grizzlies on float trips? You wouldn't think they could handle a paddle! haha, I know what you mean...

We also crave to go back to Yellowstone. There is nothing like it in the U.S. or anywhere else. We'd love to go back next year, but after Ken Burns' National Parks program we won't be able to get in there with a shoe horn.

 

[laurie31]

I highly recommend the book Yellowstone Treasures by Janel Chapple.

We checked out many guidebooks from the library, bought several, but this one was the one we REALLY used. It was so practical and told us about so many "hidden gems" that we wouldn't have found otherwise.

We stayed 3 nights at Canyon, and 3 nights in the Old Faithful Inn.

I'll try to post some pics! I know there're here someplace...

 

[luvsJack]

Question: Does everyone stay at several different places? Or does anyone stay in one place and drive out everyday to whatever section they plan to go to that day?

I think I am just not getting my head wrapped around the size of the place.

 

[minkydog]

Question: Does everyone stay at several different places? Or does anyone stay in one place and drive out everyday to whatever section they plan to go to that day?

I think I am just not getting my head wrapped around the size of the place.

Yellowstone is enormous. You really can't get a good idea of it just looking at a map. We stayed in West Yellowstone for a few days while we explored the west side of YNP--Madison, Old Faithful, Norris Basin, Mammoth. Then we moved over to the East side and visited Grant, Fishing village, Hadyn valley, Tower, and Roosevelt. You will be driving a LOT. Just know that it will take you longer than you think to get anywhere in teh park. It might say something is 39 miles away on a map, but you will not be going at speed limit*which is no faster than 45mph, anyway* You will be stopping to look a thermals and animals. Or you will be stopping because someone in front of you is stopping because there's a buffalo herd lying in the road. So learn to go with the flow. You won't "see everything" your first time, anymore than you could "see everything" on your first trip to Disney.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We're staying at Mammoth for four nights in Dec and three at Old Faithful Snow Lodge (between Mammoth bookends). You can't drive in the park in Dec/Jan/Feb, so you have to take the snow coach to Old Faithful. The only road open in Dec is the road from Mammoth to Cooke City (and that's the only way in or out of Cooke City in the winter - the Beartooth Mountain Pass closes during the winter).

During the summer months we'll stay a few days here and a few days there. Except when we also went up to Glacier and spent a few days there.

 

[Molly Meow]

My parents just got back from a Yellowstone trip and had a blast!

Just thought I'd mention it since I didn't see it on here, but the Old Faithful Inn is where Disney is "rumored" to have gotten their inspiration for the Wilderness Lodge.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2008/10/discover-old-faithful-inn-inspiration.html

Hope you have a great time!

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

My parents just got back from a Yellowstone trip and had a blast!

Just thought I'd mention it since I didn't see it on here, but the Old Faithful Inn is where Disney is "rumored" to have gotten their inspiration for the Wilderness Lodge.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2008/10/discover-old-faithful-inn-inspiration.html

Hope you have a great time!

It's definitely not a rumour but fact. Those Imagineers know their stuff That's why I insisted we stay there