SD/ND/MT/WY Wednesday June 19, 2019

We checked out of our cabin this morning and drove over to the Laurence Rockefeller Preserve. 

It had a tiny parking lot so we had to wait to park until people left.  The weather was perfect so it wasn’t a big deal to wait 20 or so minutes.  Around 11 we parked and hiked a 3-mile round trip hike back to Phelps Lake.  We let the kids go ahead of us and they enjoyed that a lot.  The little lake was stunning too.  On the way back, we let the kids go ahead again but they apparently hid at a turnout and let us go ahead, then they stayed behind us the whole time in silence, communicating with each other with hand signals.  I love it!  they were trying to make us think they’d gotten lost.  I really do love the creativity.  

The preserve has a small and beautiful museum that we walked through.  I loved it.

From there we drove into Jackson and ate lunch at Roadhouse Brew House and Pub.  We strolled into some stores and of course, bought more stuff.  Jackson is a great town.

We drove back north, into the park and checked into the Jackson Lake Lodge (I’d originally booked the Colter Bay cabin for four nights but I then received a call from someone who works for the NPS, telling me the cabin was only available the first two nights so she booked us in a Jackson Lake cottage for tonight and tomorrow night for the low, low price of $380 per night.  

The cottages are great and the Lodge is amazing – it was built by Rockfeller many years ago so that people could enjoy the park.  After all, he basically donated all the land that comprises the park. 

We at dinner at the 50’s style diner in the lodge, Pioneer Grill.  We just sat at a diner counter, had a quick bit then got into our car and drove around again looking for wildlife.  

While we were in Jackson, Nick bought binoculars so we could spot animals.  Sadly, we only saw some elk. 

Now we’re back in our cabin and the kids are doing this (see picture below) while I’m blogging. 

It’s a little bit after 9 pm and I think we’re going to bed soon.  The plan is to go on a 6-mile hike tomorrow, our last day in the park.  

SD/ND/MT/WY Tuesday June 18, 2019

This morning we had breakfast in the room.  Nick got us coffee from the restaurant because our cabin has no fridge, microwave, coffee maker, blow dryer or anything.  The coffee was great.  Then we hit the road for a long hike around Jenny Lake.  

Nick had read to go counterclockwise.  It was a beautiful hike and about half way around we came upon a full-grown moose 20 feet away just minding his own business and eating bushes.  It was spectacular – the highlight of the trip.  

We hiked around to hidden falls – they were beautiful, then up a very steep little spot to Inspiration Point where we had a trail lunch and a beautiful view.  

We got back to our parking spot about four hours and 8.2 miles later.  It was a great hike and Jenny Lake is very pretty.

 

We drove back up towards our cabin and stopped at the Signal Mountain Lodge for some snacks and a drink on the outdoor patio of the restaurant in the lodge and it was so beautiful.  We had a fun time.  Ryan and I each got hats in the gift shop – Ryan a beanie and I a ball cap. 

Then we drove back to Colter’s Bay (where our cabin is) and went into the Visitor Center/Ranger Station and went on a free-for-all since it was our 40^th national park.  

Ryan got a stuffed moose and Grant got a stuffed fox (which made no sense to me whatsoever) and we got a Christmas ornament of a moose. 

We swung back into the general store to get a few things for dinner then Ry and I went over to the adjoining gift shop and Grant headed to the car.  As we approached, he showed me a picture of a fox he’d just seen running down the middle of the parking lot.  He told me that we he saw it, all he was thinking was, “Holy S.  That’s a fox and Mom’s going down for giving me grief about buying a stuffed fox.”  So he named it Karma.  Ryan named her Moose Nose. 

We went back to the room and went into the adjoining lounge and the kids played on their phones while I researched hikes.  An old lady was giving a talk about the park and we learned that our cabin had been built in the 1930s and had been the dining room on a ranch down the road.

We ate dinner in the room then went on a long drive to see if we could spot any wildlife.  The first thing we saw was a marmot/gopher.  Not exactly sure but I think it was a Marmot. 

Then we drove onto a dirt road and spotted a black bear cub.  I got a pretty crappy picture of him because he ran off but we could at least check it off our list.  WE SAW A BEAR.

Now it’s time for bed. 

SD/ND/MT/WY Monday June 17, 2019

Today has been LONG.  We got up at 5:30, ate a very good breakfast at the lodge then got in the car a little after 6:30 for the 1.75 hour drive to Old Faithful.  We got to the Old Faithful Lodge around 8:30 and took front row spots to watch her erupt at a little bit after 9:00 am and only a few minutes past when she was predicted to erupt which is basically every 90 minutes.

From there we drove clockwise back to see the Grand Prismatic Spring via the Fairy Falls trailhead, a little trick I read about on the internet the night before.  You get a high vantage point to see the pool rather than walking directly up to it.

We continue north and took a right to drive Firehole Lake Drive where we saw Great Fountain Geyser.  It wasn’t erupting or anything but it was cool. 

Then we stopped by the Firehole River picnic area so that we could put our hand in the river to see if it was hot – which it was not. 

We kept driving clockwise until we came to a complete stand still.  No one was moving.  After sitting for a very long while, we finally determined that a herd of bison were blocking the main road so we pulled off at the Gibbon Falls picnic area and made PB&Js for lunch.  By the time we finished up the bison had crossed and the traffic had let up. 

I’d read that we should stop at the Norris Geyser Basin but we didn’t – maybe another day. 

We stopped next at the Canyon area and took the Brink on the Lower Falls Trail to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and see the falls.  It was stunning – the hike was steep coming back up but it was short.  And I think that was the prettiest part of the park. 

We drove north to see the Tower Falls and that was nice but you couldn’t really get close enough to appreciate it.  But the drive was pretty – about 19 miles one way.  Then we stopped in the general store but didn’t really get anything. 

We drove all the way down to the southern entrance, passing by Yellowstone Lake – which is huge, and stopping at the Grant Village Visitor Center to get our passbooks stamped and to buy magnets and hat pins. 

We left the park around 5:15 or so and got pictures in front of the south entrance national park sign.  There were tiny bugs flying all over the place! 

It was a short drive from there to Grand Tetons. 

We checked in around 6 pm (you don’t go through a visitor center or ranger station – you just drive straight in.  We got a cabin at the Colter Bay Village and it’s fun but it’s pretty damn dumpy.  No coffee pot, no blow dryer…nothing.  We drove to the little general store to get some things for the next two mornings’ breakfasts and lunches then we drove over to the pizza restaurant, had dinner and drove back to the cabin. 

Lucky for us, our cabin shares a wall with the “guest lounge” that has wifi so right now we’re all four sitting in the lounge on our electronics.  Not a lot of color commentary today in this post – it was a fun but long day and Yellowstone is somewhat overrated.  But we’re just getting into the Tetons and the drive it was spectacular. 

SD/ND/MT/WY Sunday June 16, 2019

Today was basically a transition day.  We left our motel at 7:30 am and drove most of the day.  Before beginning our journey, Ryan gave Nick a Bob Ross coffee mug for Father’s Day that he loved!  Our course took us through Billings where we stopped for lunch at Taco Bell.  Then we passed through Boseman on our way to Big Sky, Montana where we’re staying at Buck’s T-4 Lodge.  We got here around 3 pm, checked in, then drove into the town of Big Sky to Ousel Falls Park.  We hiked the 1.6-mile Ousel Falls Trail and it was really beautiful – so beautiful that I think I could live here.  

From there we ate dinner in the City Center at Ousel & Spur Pizza Company.  

We were back to our room by 6:30. It was raining so we didn’t venture to the hot tubs or really do anything else.  We just hung in the room and read/watched tv/stared at phones/played video games.  It’s now 9:15 and it’s still very light outside, just as it will be at 4:30 tomorrow morning.  I LOVE it.  We’ll need to wake up early tomorrow to begin phase two of our trip.  We’re about an hour outside of Yellowstone right now and I’m hoping we start off our day at Old Faithful.  Lots to do tomorrow and lots of driving just to make it through the park.  While I LOVE Big Sky, this was definitely the most boring day of the trip.  The next four will hopefully be amazing!

SD/ND/MT/WY Saturday June 15, 2019

This morning we got on the road at 7:30 am and began the drive to North Dakota.  Our course took us back through Rapid City (where we finally found the statues of the presidents on the street corners around Main Street (my mom had mentioned them), through Strurgis, which is a quaint little town.  We arrived at the Southern Unit entrance (in the town of Medora) around 12:00pm.  It’s strange because the national park sign is literally sitting in the town. 

We grabbed hat pins and magnets then drove a very short distance up the road and pulled over in a prairie dog village and made and ate peanut butter sandwiches on the side of the road.  At first we had the windows down but it was VERY windy today and cotton wood was blowing into and settling in the van. 

We decided to go ahead and make the long drive to the north unit because that’s where I had read, and the ranger confirmed, the best hiking existed. We drove about 7 miles or so to the Caprock Coulee trailhead – a 4.1mile loop trail that has spectacular views.  I’d read last night that it was one of the best trails in the park.  We really enjoyed it.  We started around 2:45 and ended around 4:45.

It rained on us just a little bit but nothing major.  I think we’ll be fighting the rain the remainder of the trip.  

From there we drove back into Medora and checked into the AmericInn motel.  It’s nice – certainly does the job at least.  We walked over for dinner at the Farmhouse, which was surprisingly good, then walked past an ice cream store then back to the hotel.

Let’s see:  I think I forgot to mention Ryan’s funny expression.  Yesterday she said something like, “Don’t go Monday night footballing him.”  And she clearly meant “Monday morning quarterbacking” but it was quite funny.

The kids have been pretty decent on the trip.  They haven’t complained much and have only bickered with each other a little bit.  I’ve determined that despite exercising every day, I’m in bad shape – had shoulder surgery almost eight months ago, am in more pain than pre surgery and have unintentionally been scaling back my daily exercise to something that just isn’t cutting it any more.  I need to do more!

That’s all for now.  Tomorrow should be fairly uneventful.  We just drive to Big Sky, MT to get ready for Yellowstone!

Signing off!

SD/ND/MT/WY Friday June 14, 2019

We got up this morning, had breakfast at the motel, then drove down to Wind Cave National Park.  (We had to stop and take a proper picture of Mount Rushmore National Memorial first since we didn't get one the night before.)

As soon as we passed the entrance sign (we entered off Highway 385), we saw bison and prairie dogs everywhere and up close.  It was amazing.  They were all making little noises, running around and the babies were playing.  A bison kept scratching his back against one of the park signs. 

We arrived at the visitor center around 9:30 and were able to get on the 10:00 am cave tour.  There were a lot of the people on the tour and we’ve seen better caves before but I felt like we couldn’t go to Wind Cave National Park without going into the caves. 

The tour took about 1.25 hours and literally, the moment we got back into our car, it started to POUR – then hail.   The park ranger had recommended we go on a hike at the northern end of the park called the Rankin Ridge Trail but it was raining WAY too hard so we just drove out the northern entrance along highway 87. 

We were trying to make our way back to the town of Custer so that we could check out the Crazy Horse monument on our way back to our motel but my phone directed us down some crazy dirt road and the road was closed where we were supposed to turn (and it was still pouring) – a little nerve wrecking but we finally figured it out and pulled into the town of Custer close to 1pm after passing a herd of buffalo.

After lunch at Dairy Queen we drove back to the hotel.  We saw Crazy Horse on the way home but opted not to stop.  We got back to the room around 2:30 or so then Ryan, Nick and I decided to drive down a back road from our hotel to the town of Hill City to pick up some groceries and wine. The drive was spectacular – beautiful homes with gardens and chickens and deer and land. 

We’re now back in the room – it’s 6:00 and we’re heading out to dinner at Powder House in just a few minutes.  But we’re listening to Cuban music on Spotify with the door to our balcony open.  The sun finally came out so all we hear are the helicopters touring Mt. Rushmore that were grounded all day due to the rain. 

P.S. Dinner was great.  I watched a few episodes of Stranger Things Season 2 then went to bed.

Saturday June 15, 2019

SD/ND/MT/WY Thursday June 13, 2019

This morning we left Dallas at 7am and caught an 8:45 flight to Rapid City, South Dakota.  The flight was on a smaller and older plane but it was smooth and uneventful.  We were able to watch movies on the plane.  Ryan and Grant watched Forrest Gump and I watched the most recent How to Train Your Dragon movie. 

We arrived at 10am (because Rapid City is on Mountain Time), grabbed our Dodge Grand Caravan and drove into Rapid City to find a place to eat an early lunch – the airport is kind of on the outskirts of town. 

We had sandwiches and salads at the Great Harvest Bread Company.  Grant was in a terrible mood because he hates these trips but otherwise, the three of us were having fun and the weather was great.

We then headed towards Badlands National Park.  We drove in on Hwy 44 and it was strange because there was a Northern Unit entrance and a Southern Unit entrance and I had no idea which we were supposed to take but we stayed on the main highway which took us to the Northern Unit entrance (after waiting about 20 minutes for some road construction). 

We pulled into the Ben Reifel Visitor Center around 1:00 and got our stuff then headed a little bit northeast to Notch Trail.  

I’d read it was short but interested and it was.  There’s a 50+ rung wooden ladder you have to climb up at one point then you hike out to an overlook. We all had fun.  It was warm but overall, a very short 1.2-mile round trip hike.

From there we drove the scenic loop 240 out a western entrance of the park and immediately upon exiting the park, pulled the car over to look at buffalo and prairie dogs.  They were everywhere but you had to look closely because at first they just looked like rocks.

Just a few miles past the exit at the intersection of 240 and 90 was the town of Wall.  I’d heard of Wall Drug but not really.  It was like an old western town of gift shops all owned by Wall Drug.  Their claim to fame is they give out free ice water.  We opted for cokes, diet cokes, ice cream and root beer floats.

Then we drove through Rapid City to Keystone where we’re staying for the night.  After checking into the Baymont motel (it’s neat because it’s up on a hill and has a beautiful view including a view of Mount Rushmore) we walked down the steep hill to the main road and had a good dinner at Ruby House – kind of a big old western style house.  Dinner was a lot of fun.  We walked the streets of keystone for a short bit, Nick bought a hat, then we walked back to the motel, got in the car and drove to Mt. Rushmore. 

 It was so cool – no entrance fee – just pay $10 to park.  We arrived around 8:15 and took it all in then walked a loop-ish trail that took us closer to the monument.  Everything was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  We decided to hang around until 9 pm for the lighting ceremony so we hit the gift store, got some magnets and gummy worms then sat on a bench and relaxed.

At 9 pm a ranger came on over the loud speaker and gave a quick history of the four men in the monument then played the national anthem then lit up the monument.  There was big American flag that five random veterans from the crowd held then folded up together.  It was touching.

We drove back to the motel afterwards and it’s not 10:30 local time (11:30 Dallas time) and we’re all heading to bed.

What a great and eventful first day this has been!  36 parks down and 25 to go.