Yellowstone?

[RiverOtter]

We got back last week. It was fantastic. This time of year the only access to yellowstone is a snow coach or snowmobile. If you are thinking august, be warned the traffic will be bumper to bumper, very crowded. If you have any flex in your schedule, coming right after Labor Day would eliminate the traffic and crowds.
I would also recommend staying in Jackson Hole. Beautiful small town with great restaurants and beautiful scenery.

Have a great time!

Thanks so much. What about July?

 

[Mango]

I can get more names of Inns, but this place was recommended - google the Salmon River/ fork. I believe it actually starts in Yellowstone. This particular rafting site is just gorgeous and within quick driving distance to some other attractions, like the Stanley Basin and cool old mining towns that look like movie sets. Keep hitting next on the bottom of the page. You'll see pictures. At night, there are also those lava springs. Good for the muscles at the end of the day.

Area Attractions at May Family Ranch

In July, all the Jellystone access points are open I recall.

 

[Minnie]

Duh, my cough syrup must be stronger than I thought, lol.

Eco Tours does offer Yellowstone tours.

http://www.eactours.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=54

Their itinerary might be a starting place.

 

[scooterbug44]

I've never been to Yellowstone, but heard it is amazing and want to go someday.

We saw Mt Rushmore - it's crazy crowded and about a 20 minute item IMO - but LOVED Custer State park. Buffalo, wild donkeys, good food (trout and buffalo) at the lodge.

We were just passing through the area en route to somewhere else, so no lodging advice aside from the fact that lodging is impossible to find if you are anywhere NEAR Sturgis.

Whatever you can do to avoid summer crowds is good. If rafting Yellowstone is anything like rafting the Grand Canyon, go for it.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Love that place. Old Faithful was cool, but almost seemed like Disney. It is very touristy. We were doing a slow drive through the area and camped under the stars in the valley between Jackson and Yellowstone. We were there in Sept/Oct and the weather was perfect!

Mt Rushmore is okay, but if you really want to see something cool, go see Crazy Horse. It makes Mt Rushmore look trivial.

Being in that area will make you want to read about the native Americans and the US battles against them. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are two with which to start.

 

[GoodWitch58]

I want to travel the route Lewis and Clark took; have done the last part through Oregon to the spot where they first saw the Pacific Ocean...I understand there is a tour offered for the entire journey. Anyone done that?


and I would love to see the monument to Crazy Horse--what a fascinating man he was--
http://www.google.com/images?q=craz...aCsb_lgfWpe3uBA&ved=0CFYQsAQ&biw=1003&bih=596
Love the history of the settling of the American West.

 

[bluecat]

Lewis and Clark left footprints so many places.Smiling Joe, I agree Crazy Horse dwarfs Mt.Rushmore. The parking area at Mt. Rushmore was ill placed.

 

[Susan Horn]

Strongly suggest going after Labor Day if possible (I know it means taking kids out of school....we were homeschooling when we did this off-season trip). Anyway--no crowds but everything's still open, way better than during peak season! It is vast and phenomenal. Just the geological stuff, geysers and mud pots and so on, could occupy me for days.

Moab is great too but a bit of a drive away. So many beautiful otherwordly places to see out west. Have a ball!

 

[RiverOtter]

Strongly suggest going after Labor Day if possible (I know it means taking kids out of school....we were homeschooling when we did this off-season trip). Anyway--no crowds but everything's still open, way better than during peak season! It is vast and phenomenal. Just the geological stuff, geysers and mud pots and so on, could occupy me for days.

Moab is great too but a bit of a drive away. So many beautiful otherwordly places to see out west. Have a ball!

Believe me if we could we would. When my kids miss a day or 2 of school it's Hell for them to catch back up.