I will be making a cross country trip from the southwest corner of Michigan to Spokane, Washington with my son who will be graduating from college. We are leaving on Saturday, May 16th and hope to reach my older son%26#39;s place in Spokane sometime before dark on the Thursday, the 21st. I realize this is a quick trip but we have a mission to drive a car out and thought we should see something along the way.
Anyway, my plan so far goes like this. We%26#39;ll leave early, early on Saturday and take turns driving, hoping to get halfway across South Dakota by 10 p.m. or so. We%26#39;ll be traveling on I-90 (I did this drive two years aga with older son) and don%26#39;t need fancy accommodations. Do you think I should make a reservation at a Super 8 somewhere in SD for Saturday? I%26#39;d like to get up the next morning and take a short drive through the Badlands, see Mt. Rushmore and maybe a drive through Custer State Park. I%26#39;m not interested in caves or tunnels. Would maybe think about Crazy Horse. I realize I%26#39;m off topic here, but any suggestions there? I would like to just spend one day in that area and get back out to I-90 heading west by the end of the day. Reservations necessary? It will be Sunday night.
So then on to Yellowstone. I originally thought I%26#39;d like to drive the Beartooth Highway, but now I%26#39;m thinking it won%26#39;t be open yet. What do you think? Who do you call to find out? If we don%26#39;t do that I%26#39;m thinking a shorter route would be to come in the east side through Cody.
So here%26#39;s the heart of my question I guess. I was in Yellowstone last October early with with oldest son. We stayed at Mammoth Cabins and liked the area a lot because the elk were in rut. It was truly an amazing sight. I know people aren%26#39;t too crazy about that area though. Do you think in the spring there will be elk around with their young in that area? In any event I would like to drive Lamar Valley and see what we can see out there. And last fall we took a drive by Lake Yellowstone Hotel but that area was already closed. It did look beautiful though. In the spring will there be wildlife in that area? Anyway, we will have two days at most in the park.
I would like to spend one night at the Lake or Mammoth. We can only afford the annex at the Lake. Is it okay? I don%26#39;t care about amenities, just the area. It seems beautiful, but as I say we loved Mammoth in the fall. So that%26#39;s my dilemma. Where to stay the first night. We have a reservation for the 2nd night at Old Faithful Inn in the old part of the hotel. I really liked it there. So where should we stay?
While we%26#39;re there I%26#39;d like to visit Norris Geyser, Lamar Valley, see the falls and of course Old Faithful. If we have time I%26#39;d drive both loops. We%26#39;d love to see as much wildlife as possible but don%26#39;t have scopes and all that, won%26#39;t be getting up at 5 to drive the valleys.
What%26#39;s special about the park in the spring? What are the pros and cons of the two areas at that time of year? I was thinking about a hike to Mt. Washburn. It was snowing when we were there last year and I suppose it could be snowing in mid May as well so that%26#39;s probably out? Maybe a shorter hike? Will the pass be open then?
So I%26#39;m thinking Saturday night halfway across South Dakota (I know that will be a really long driving day) Sunday night just the west side of Rapid City. Then my dilemma also is do I try to get to Yellowstone from there by the next night, Monday, and spend my time in the park on Tuesday and Wednesday? Then we%26#39;d have the drive to Spokane and could stop somewhere overnight if we felt tired, maybe Butte or Missoula. I think it%26#39;s all beautiful country from there. Anything else we should see there?
I know this is long and I%26#39;m rambling and there are lots of questions, but I want to get my plans in place a little better. See, I can%26#39;t even wing a road trip :) So should it be the Lake Annex or Mammoth Lodge?
Tripadviser is great. Thanks for all your help.
Cindy
No comments:
Post a Comment