quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Our crews stay at the Snow King. Regular rates seem to be around $300-$400 per night. Good rooms, lots of western ambiance. There are hiking trails right from the hotel up the mountain, and the ski area is right there. Walking to the main square in town takes about 10 minutes.

That sounds like where they put our Flight Attendants. It is VERY rare for them to be in the same hotel as the pilots…costs too much money.

If you've never been, there is an upper tour and a lower tour. I recommend taking both of them. Each takes a day. I suggest scheduling this in the first few days of your vacation to give you an idea of where you would want to return to for a longer linger.

I was just there 2 weeks ago. I rode shotgun with my son who was moving to Seattle so we took a southern scenic route. It was an amazing 3 day drive from the Twin Cities.

At the very least make a few hours available for the Badlands if you haven’t seen that. We hit it late in the afternoon and through dusk which is when the animals came out. Amazing scenery you will not see anywhere else. Take the hikes, even the shorter ones for an immersion.

We stayed in Hulett WY just up the road from Devils tower. This was the Wednesday before Sturgis so there were a lot of bikes at Devils Tower too, a little more crowded than usual but not that bad. Everybody has seen pictures of Devils Tower but there is nothing like the experience of the first time you see it coming around the corner. Same to be said for up close. The short 1.3 mile hike around the base will have you looking for familiar scenes from Close Encounters. A must see.
BRL Jr. posing.


Highway 14 through the Bighorns is outstanding as far as scenery and will lead you to Cody. We ended up in Cody and just looked on the map for roads with lots of switchbacks. Originally I’d have liked to go to Red Lodge and onto Beartooth Hwy but we just didn’t have the time, we’d have liked to spend a full day there. Not to mention my maps app said it was closed. I found out later it was because of the tremendous flooding we all saw on the news earlier this year. So going north out of Cody a few miles we turned Westward on Chief Joseph Highway that takes you through Shoshone Nat’l Forest, very beautiful. The picture below was from that road. Turns out that road dumped us out on the Beartooth Hey a little better than 1/2 way down the hwy from Red Lodge. We turned towards Red Lodge and even though we hit it a little later than we wanted at dusk, we were there in time to get the views from the very top at 10,974’ and ran across a heard of mountain goats grazing on the shoulder. We didn’t see a single car on that road in about an hour of travel. Beartooth Highway should be a bucket list item for everyone. I wish it had been lighter for good pictures. I’ll be taking Mrs BRL there at some time.

photohost

Mrs. BRL and I are hoping we can be on your visit schedule when you and Pam are passing through.

quote:

Originally posted by BRL:
Mrs. BRL and I are hoping we can be on your visit schedule when you and Pam are passing through.

You guys are on the agenda. Have a stop in upper WI with a friend of Pam's, then you and T and on to MN to meet up with Pyker and his wife. More forum folks in SD if we can make it all click.

I booked 4 nights at Old Faithful Lodge (could only get 1 night in the historic portion) for next September and also 2 nights in Jackson, WY. That should give us plenty of time to explore both parks.

quote:

Originally posted by BRL:

We stayed in Hulett WY just up the road from Devils tower. This was the Wednesday before Sturgis so there were a lot of bikes at Devils Tower too, a little more crowded than usual but not that bad. Everybody has seen pictures of Devils Tower but there is nothing like the experience of the first time you see it coming around the corner. Same to be said for up close. The short 1.3 mile hike around the base will have you looking for familiar scenes from Close Encounters. A must see.
BRL Jr. posing.

In my younger days (quite a while ago!), I had the opportunity to climb Devil's Tower. I did the Soler route, it was a blast. Standing on top of it is quite the experience.

Agree with BRL. The area around here is so ripe with attractions be they wildlife, geologic, historic, or just fun that even I and friends who have lived here for 2 decades or more haven't seen everything. From Devils Tower in the west to Badlands in the east. From Bell Fourche and Spearfish down to Hot Springs. Mt Rushmore to Custer State Park. Little Big Horn to Deadwood's Wild Bill Hickcock and Calamity Jane. Pactola and Angastora Reservoirs; Sheridan, and Sylvan Lakes among others. All amazing!

And yes, hope to meet Brad and Pam next year when they are in my area.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1
And yes, hope to meet Brad and Pam next year when they are in my area.

Looking forward to it. Stops planned to visit with Pyker, Bald1 and BRL

If you are in the path of destruction, we will try to arrange a meet up, We will be traversing WI, MN, ND, MT, WY UT (SLC area) and SD. Let me know if you want to meet up for coffee