We like to travel during shoulder seasons rather than high tourist season because we want to take our time, enjoy the sights and not contend with too many large crowds. We chose to do this trip by car and decided to leave right before Memorial Day. It turned out to be an excellent choice – the weather was cool-to-middling instead of scorching hot or too cold and we were just ahead of the crowds everywhere we went. The season picks up considerably as children get out of school and families make plans for summer vacation. Truly, this route can be enjoyed all year long, but travel challenges are minimal and weather and crowds cooperate the most in this last week of May/first week of June timeframe.
Where to begin
This trip can be broken down into several mini-trips, starting and stopping at various locations along the way. We will detail out a 13-day trip; but know that you can break this up into a subset of smaller trips and enjoy it equally as well. I’ll include links to some of the best spots we recommend to make it easier for you as you navigate planning your trip.
As I researched where to begin our journey, I found that the major tourist cities on either end of our trip were as much as 10 times more expensive to fly into and for car rental. We chose to start our route in Casper, WY because the flights were a fraction of the cost and we could rent an economy car that was fantastic on gas. For our 13-day road trip, we spent less than $500 on car rental and gas combined!!!
Managing expense
Depending on your budget, you may choose to rent an RV and sleep in it rather than stay in hotels. We chose to rent an economy car and stay in hotels because we felt navigating some of the narrow passes and areas with high wind shear would be difficult in a high-profile vehicle. But certainly, this trip of a lifetime could be done by RV or via camping sites along the way as well.
Paduganan Ohana Adventure: Day 1 – Casper, WY
Flew here because rental cars near the parks started at $7000/wk! Casper rental – $434 for 12 days.
Was due in at 9:30pm, but happened to walk by a gate in Denver going to Casper on an earlier flight at 4:30 and they got us right on the plane, so we arrived four hours early! We were the last ones on the plane before the doors closed!
We picked up our rental car and headed directly to Walmart to pick up food, water, and other provisions, binoculars, and bear spray (the last one in the store), then checked in at our hotel and settled in for a restful night before our big adventure! Unbeknownst to us, Trump was in town for a rally so every hotel room was full – we felt fortunate to get ours and at such a great price!
We ended the day with a beautiful double rainbow, a super comfortable bed in a newly renovated room, and a free bag of Cheetos to enjoy in bed as we plan our road trip to Rapid City, SD tomorrow!
Paduganan Ohana Adventures: Day Two – Casper WY to Rapid City SD
We spent this day driving from Casper WY to Rapid City SD. Such a beautiful area!!
We chose to drive back roads instead of highways so we could get all the local colors. We stopped in Lusk, Wyoming to eat our picnic lunch at this quaint Covered Wagon Inn. They had many original covered wagons from the settlers crossing the plains in this town, but this location had one that was recovered and then used in a Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie called Far and Away. These towns have more Tesla electric car stations for charging than you can shake a stick at and we were enjoying watching the out-of-towners get their charge.
We drove through the National Buffalo Gap Grasslands and had to double-blink. A huge herd of bison was on either side of the road, maybe 50 total, and they had a dozen or so little ‘red dogs’ (that’s what you call a baby bison because they are lighter, kind of orange-red in color when they are small and they almost look like cow calves instead of bison, no hump).
The land and the sky are so expansive – the sky is so blue and the ground is super green with long prairie grasses and absolutely stunning. You see all different kinds of clouds – it’s like God’s artwork in the sky – and spot animals all along the way. I’m so glad we got binoculars so we could see them all close-up and far away! There were many times when we were the only ones on the road in both directions. You can just imagine how it must have felt to Native Americans and settlers.
We crossed over into South Dakota and, on our way to Rapid City, we stopped in Hot Springs to see The Mammoth Site. This place is amazing!!!! They have the world’s largest concentration of woolly mammoth specimens ever found – at least 10-12 super large ones all in one location and they keep finding more. The changes of the earth in this region caused a ginormous sinkhole that was wet and slippery and the mammoths would fall in and couldn’t get out. It is a museum but also an active paleontology and excavation site. They have people come from all over the world to help uncover and catalog the bones and skeletons of all of these creatures and they have so many fossils from different eras. It is truly astounding. Kids can go there for summer camp and participate in hands-on digs. Who knew?
We went on from here to Rapid City and went to dinner for a local buffalo burger. The town is quaint, the people were excited that the weather is warming up and they are super polite, kind, and friendly. Everyone holds the door for each other and greets each other. Such a wonderful place!
We settled in for a good night’s sleep and rested up for Day Three tomorrow – the Badlands.
Day Three – Rapid City, SD to Keystone, SD
The time of year and the weather are perfect – it has been in the 50s and 60s, so not super hot, but warm enough to get out and do some great hiking. The animals are really active because it is still comfortable out. I was amazed that even though it was Memorial Day, there was hardly any traffic! There were times when we were the only ones at a lookout and long stretches of road where there was no one in either direction. It was exceptional in every way and I would highly recommend you come!
We sadly said goodbye to the Badlands and headed west toward Keystone SD, where we will stay tonight. The Keystone region is home to the Black Hills National Forest. We went from stony spires and prairie grasses to this amazing dark green hilly forest and with dark granite slabs and lots of twists and turns in the roads. Stunningly beautiful and so very unlike the region we just left an hour away!
Keystone has the Laura Ingalls Museum (this is where the Little House on the Prairie writer spent 35 years of her life), lots of gold panning here, amazing chainsaw art, zip lining, the National Presidential Wax Museum, and, of course, the amazing Mt. Rushmore, which we will catalog for you tomorrow.
We ended the day with a bison burger and an elk-huckleberry sausage, along with some local prairie-berry red wine, which is super sweet. A light rain set in, so we are turning in early so we can make it to Mt. Rushmore before the sun comes up tomorrow!!!
Day Four – Keystone, SD to Mt Rushmore
Frank and I got up before sunrise to capture the best view of Mt. Rushmore and get the colors of the sunrise. We were the first entrants to the park and the only ones for the time we were there! It was truly magnificent – to imagine that this man and his workers climbed the top of a steep granite mountain to make 60 ft. sculptures of these presidents so we did not forget the meaning behind their efforts is unthinkable. It took years of his life and they are absolutely perfect! I felt overcome with patriotism and, while Frank was taking pictures, I went to the stage under the sculpture to sing ‘God bless America’. Not another living soul around.
There are flags from every state and territory and I remembered how strange I thought the first five states of the Union – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut – were. It felt like having all the states represented in one place spoke of unity and we prayed for our country to be united.
As we left, we saw two deer immediately to our left and we encountered a whole family of yellow-bellied marmot as we arrived back at our hotel for breakfast.
Next, we did the Custer Wildlife Loop. We packed up and set out on the Iron Mountain drive and to circle the 30-Mile Custer Wildlife Loop — these did not disappoint.
The drive and the view were spectacular – tunnels bored through granite mountains that you could drive through and perfectly framed Mt. Rushmore. We were the only ones on the road so we drove about 10-15 miles an hour and saw countless deer, wild turkey, and pronghorn/antelope just off the roadside. And then we turned on to Custer Wildlife Loop and there were SO many buffalo. They were walking in herds down the road straight toward our car and then veered off right before they got to us. Frank was to capture them right out of the window of the car. Hundreds dotted the hills and many had babies right by their side. It was incredible and majestic!!
We drove on to Custer and stayed the night….tomorrow will be Wind Cave National Park, Sylvan Lake and Cathedral Spires. More to share tomorrow!
Day Five – Custer, SD to Wind Cave, SD
We started the day driving past the Custer State Park into the Wind Cave National Park and saw even more animals than we did the day before! Here the bison were even larger and we saw more deer and antelope, almost at every turn. There were literally thousands of prairie dogs popping out of their holes throughout the park – they make the tasty grass easier for the bison to get to, so they often co-exist in the same place.
In this region of the country, there were more than 20 million – yes, 20 million bison – in the late 1880s and by the time the white settlers arrived, the numbers dwindled to 1,000 in 1900. The national parks have been working to reintroduce bison and now there are about 200,000 roaming free across various parts of the country. What a dramatic change!
We moved on to the Wind Cave National Park and were astounded to find that it is one of the longest and most complex caves in the world! It is a dry cave, so it doesn’t have stalagmites and stalactites, but it has the largest network of boxwork inside seen anywhere on earth. It originally sat on a large piece of land that the Lakota Indians hunted on and they found a natural blow-hole entrance that unveiled the seventh-longest cave in the world and the third-longest cave in the US with more than 154 miles of discovered passageways (and counting!). The barometric pressure changes rapidly in South Dakota and the pressure equalization creates ‘wind’ in the cave. It is really remarkable and very much worth the visit!
Four Mile Old Town and Custer
We wrapped the day at the Four Mile Old West Town, a truly authentic western ghost town where they used to do all kinds of reenactments until the children all grew up. It is a fascinating place to walk through, but it is not aging very gracefully, so get there soon if you can. We ended our time coming into Custer to enjoy the antler sales and pelt purveyors before heading back to our hotel to spend the evening. A big shout out to the Bavarian Inn…one of our favorite places to stay so far on the trip!
Day Six – Crazy Horse
We started the day at Crazy Horse Memorial, the world’s largest mountain carving in progress. Korczak Ziolkowski, a Polish sculptor who had worked on the team for Mt. Rushmore, was approached by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota chief and founding member of the Society of American Indians, and asked if he would produce a sculpture and memorial to represent a hero for the Native American peoples. The nine tribes that make up the Sioux nation did not believe the land could be owned or taken, so when the government offered them monies to help with a reservation, they did not accept it.
Ziolkowski instead found a piece of land with the right granite size that would support an entire carving of Crazy Horse sitting on his horse and pointing into the distance. Little by little, through the use of private funds, he purchased, borrowed, and traded small plots of land until he had enough privately-owned land to host the memorial for all Native American peoples of North America. It is funded by admissions and donations and has been done very well. There are nine sculptors working on the 641-foot-long by 563-foot-high carving; compare this with Mt. Rushmore, which had 400 workers working on the four- 60-foot-high president sculptures paid for with taxpayer monies. It took 14 years to complete Rushmore; given the smaller number of people working on Crazy Horse, it has been underway for 70 years and, while the progress is impressive and steady, it will be many years before it is complete.
On these same grounds, they have built an amazing Indian Museum of North America and The Native American Educational and Cultural Center and are working on establishing and operating The Indian University of North America; already they have created scholarships for native children who want to go to college. They have drawn into their future plans to host students directly on the grounds so they might have both education and room and board.
I was so very inspired by the work that this group has done – many private citizens investing time, money, talent, and energy to enable the story of the native heroes to be celebrated and provide a place where all tribes can be learned about and their descendants can have support and encouragement to develop in their field. This was one of the most incredible parts of our trip so far and I would encourage you to include this on any itinerary when you are visiting South Dakota/Badlands/Black Hills area – it is truly impressive!
Day Six, Part 2 – Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon
In the afternoon, we headed to Deadwood to see where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane got their start. It is a fun historical town with lots of Wild West lore and many active casinos. It is a popular stop on the Harley-Davidson Sturgis motorcycle ride (Sturgis is just 15 minutes away).
After Deadwood, we made our way to Spearfish Canyon. This area was incredibly beautiful with a gorgeous rushing river that ran through these incredible canyons; part of ‘Dances with Wolves’ was filmed in this place. Our accommodations were my favorite so far…this stunning wood lodge with a companion restaurant across the street…and nothing but miles of nature in every direction. We were surrounded by beauty and enjoyed eating delicious trout and walleye that were caught fresh from the river that day.
South Dakota is so very beautiful and very different than I envisioned it to be. I think all Americans should visit this part of the country at some point in their lives!
Day 7 – Spearfish SD to Cody WY – Devils Tower, Cloud Peak Skyway, and Cody
On this day, we pulled out of South Dakota and began to make our way west through Wyoming. This was one of our long driving days – we spent nine hours total – six driving and three hiking/surveying the places we visited. It was a beautiful day so we took the scenic route to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. We took an hour to hike around the enormous igneous rock formation. It is a sacred Lakota site and there are prayer ties/bundles all throughout the area. The Lakota and Cherokee people tie colorful ribbons around a tree when they make a prayer so the wind might carry it to heaven. They believe that all who come in contact with the ties are blessed by the intentions and the prayers.
We drove on the scenic route to Cody via the Cloud Peak Skyway. This drive through the southern part of the Bighorn Mountains was so unexpectedly beautiful…we couldn’t really pull over, so it wasn’t possible to capture it in pictures, but the rock colors and formations, the unusual bridges, and the waterways were breathtaking!
We landed in Cody for the evening at my second-favorite place on the trip and stayed at the Chamberlin Inn. It is a really quaint inn that has been refurbished and has a garden and a little tavern on the first floor with terrific musicians. They are the entertainment location in town and lots of locals turn out each evening. Cody is known for having the longest-running rodeo in the world. This part of Wyoming is wall-to-wall with expansive cattle ranches.
We had dinner at the Cody Steakhouse and it was the best piece of grass-fed beef I have ever eaten. It simply melted in your mouth!! Had a good night’s sleep in preparation for our first day at Yellowstone tomorrow.
Day 8 – Yellowstone East Entrance – Lake Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Today we entered the East Entrance to Yellowstone and the first thing we saw were four enormous bighorn sheep walking along the steep rocks about ten feet outside our car. It was incredible to see them maneuver these steep rock formations. Please note that the sheep look mangy…they are just now shedding their outer layer of fur because there is still snow on the ground. All of those patches will shed as summer continues. As we drove alongside the large Lake Yellowstone, the water was clear as a mirror…you can see in Frank’s picture the reflection of the sky. We continued on through the Hayden Valley – miles of rugged beautiful landscape and so many animals. We saw over two hundred buffalo (often walking in the road), two dozen elk, a number of deer, three bears, and a moose.
We came to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which features these deep canyons and beautiful Upper and Lower Waterfalls. We visited Roosevelt Lodge (where you can rent cabins inexpensively and charter horses to ride the trails) and stopped in Mammoth Hot Springs for dinner before going on to our hotel in Montana.
Day 9 – Lamar Valley, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin
We started our day on the north side of Yellowstone after staying the night in Gardiner, Montana. We woke very early so we might see the animals in the Lamar Valley first thing in the morning when they love to move around – and we were not disappointed!
As we approached the park, we encountered a dozen elk grazing at the entrance. Literally feet away from our car. Such beautiful animals! We drove slowly through the Lamar Valley region of the park – where we were halfway between the equator and the North Pole – and saw area upon an area filled with bison…bison by the roadside, bison in the road, and even a bison walking straight toward us in our lane. He barely moved to the left of us and rubbed against Frank’s side view mirror as he passed! Literally, Frank could have put his hand out the window and stroked its hair!! Frank also saw a bald eagle in its nest…couldn’t tell if there were babies or not.
We went on to Mammoth Hot Springs to enjoy the upper and lower terrace and the plentiful springs. Amazing hot steam rose everywhere and liquid bubbled up from under the earth. There were elk all around the area and as we walked along the boardwalks and hiked the trails, we could see families of elk nearby.
Day Ten, Part 1 – Lower Geyser Basin and Yellowstone Inn
Today was an incredibly dramatic Montana/Wyoming weather day. It rained all through the night and early morning (which gave me time to take care of some business) and as soon as the rain let up, the sun broke out strong and clear for a few hours. We drove quickly to the Lower Geyser Basin and did a 1.5-mile hike around the Fountain Paint Pots trails to see all the amazing colorful pools.
We checked our parks app to see when the next geyser eruption would be and set our clock to go to Old Faithful. This region has the largest concentration of geysers of any region in the world, so the entire area is chock full of amazing things to see. Yellowstone was the world’s first national park to ever be created, named by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, so that generations could see and appreciate all of the geographic change and the unusual geyser formations. While we were waiting for the next scheduled eruption, we visited The Yellowstone Inn, which was built in 1904 and acts as a hotel and visitor center structure, and is the largest log-style structure in the world. It is beautiful, historic and so much fun to watch families from every tribe, tongue, and nation traipse through.
Day Ten, Part Two – Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful
We set our clock and made our way to the viewing area for the scheduled Old Faithful eruption and it happened exactly at the time they said it would! It erupts around 17 times each day about 60-90 minutes apart. It was about 120-130 feet high and went on for 3.5 minutes!!! We learned that one of the world’s largest active volcanoes lies beneath Yellowstone and that is why there is such regular activity at Old Faithful and all throughout the region.
While the sun was shining, we did a 3.5-mile hike around the geysers and pools…over 100 in the area. Frank captured pictures of some of the most stunning ones – Castle Geyser, Grotto Geyser, and Morning Glory Pool, to name just a few – and we came around the bend as the rain began to fall and Old Faithful erupted again – right on time!
Whipping winds and menacing clouds began to descend, so we left the park and went back to work in town. We missed the Grand Prismatic Spring at the Midway Geyser Basin, so we will capture that tomorrow on our way to our next destination.
Day 11 – West Yellowstone
Note from Frank: Getting ready to start Day 11 here at Yellowstone. Tomorrow we will complete the loop and drive from Jackson, Wy. to Casper, Wy. where we started and catch our flight home. I am blessed to have a seasoned navigator. She has thoroughly compiled information for each leg of the journey and has splendidly journaled this adventure. I am the driver/photographer capturing the spectacular awe and wonder at each event. God has created a great landscape that has truly overwhelmed our senses. It has been a privilege and an honor to have been blessed with such a glorious experience in our life! Ohana Adventures continue…….
Day 11, Part 1 – Grand Prismatic Spring and Grand Teton National Park
Wrapping our adventures around business these last few days of the trip, but every minute is worth it in this beauty. We wrapped up our Yellowstone leg with a quick visit to the Midway Geyser Basin and took in Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring. Excelsior is dormant but used to shoot 300 ft in the air and, because it was such a violent eruption, through off the whole system before going dormant. In 1985, it woke up and erupted for 46 hours, but has not erupted since. Grand Prismatic is the most beautiful pool – it has so many rich colors, but the morning we went It was so cold outside that the steam prevented us from getting a really clear view. I’m sure it will be more visible as the temperatures rise later in the summer.
We exited Yellowstone and went on to the Grand Tetons – and I think we truly saved the best for last! The mountains are absolutely majestic – they are a little below 14,000 feet and rise up from this beautiful valley. They are snow-capped and pristine – truly so beautiful. John D. Rockefeller invested a bit in this area and it has been well and naturally preserved. There is a National Elk Reserve adjacent to the Grand Teton National Park and there is wildlife everywhere!
We were blown away by the majesty of the Grand Tetons…nothing prepared us for these beautiful snowcapped mountains jutting up from pristine glacier lakes and multi-colored meadows. We drove around Jackson Lake and stopped at all the turnouts….Mountain View turnout was incredible! We parked at Jenny and String Lake and did a several-mile hike around these crystal clear waters that reflected the mountains and nature in all directions.
Day 11, Part Two – Jackson Hole
One of our favorite spots was the Chapel of the Transfiguration…it is this beautiful log cabin chapel that still has services every Sunday and is open for travelers to come in and pray every day. The window behind the pulpit has a beautiful cross hanging and frames the stunning snowcapped mountains perfectly. I felt overwhelmed by the Spirit just sitting in this chapel.
We drove on to Jackson Hole and had the best stay yet – the Rustic Inn Creekside in Jackson Hole did not disappoint. They have gorgeously appointed log cabins on a creek with firepits and all kinds of fun activities to engage in. We had a delicious dinner and strolled the grounds looking for wildlife – moose, and elk are common here – and swang on the wooden log swing sofas while sipping pinot noir and soaking in all the beauty.
Tomorrow we enjoy the other half of Grand Teton National Park…
Day 12 – Mormon Row, Schwabacher Landing, and Jenny Lake
Because I am traveling with an amazing photographer, we wanted to hit some of the most notable spots for photography. Everything is so natural, pure, and beautiful that there is a perfect picture no matter what direction you turn. This was one of Ansel Adams favorite spots for photography, so you can imagine how inspiring it is. After taking care of business in the morning, we headed out to Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing to capture the beauty and agreed that we needed to come back at sunrise tomorrow morning as we drive to capture our flight in Casper, WY.
We had lunch at the Jackson Lodge, which has an amazing picture window overlooking the stunning Tetons…just perfection. We headed back around to catch Jenny Lake at a different hour of the day and, after a good hike, headed back past the Elk Refuge and into town to end our day with a therapeutic massage and a nice sleep before we take off in the morning.
Tomorrow we drive to Casper and catch our flight home, after sunrise picture taking in the Tetons. This has been my most favorite spot of all and I’m so glad we saved it till the end. We were fully acclimated to the elevations at 8,000 and 9,000 ft. and were able to thoroughly enjoy all the splendor.
Day 13 – Jackson Hole to Casper WY
On our last day, we got up while it was still dark and said goodbye to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, heading back through the Grand Teton National Park and capturing some sunrise pictures at Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing before exiting the park to the east and heading toward Casper. The views continued to be stunning – gorgeous mountains and meadows, elk grazing, special stone outcroppings – all simply breathtaking!
We also encountered a herd of buffalo that began to stampede as we came over a hill and we saw them run as a group across the meadow and begin to jump the fence before crossing the road right in front of us to join hundreds of buffalo on the other side. We’ll post that video last.
We arrived with a few hours to spare in Casper, Wyoming, so we decided to have a big Mexican meal and then head to Ft. Casper Museum. It was an excellent compilation of the Indian and settler interactions, Indian history, business, and industry over the past 150+ years, and a clear explanation of the minerals in the region. We learned a lot about the history of the area which helped bring it all to life. They had restored many of the buildings from the time that the army was present and it was interesting and helpful to see.
A perfect ending to another Ohana Adventure! Now we are headed back to LAX until our next adventure!
