marthav

Thanks for the responses! We changed our reservations to include a night at Mammoth earlier in the week and had thought about maybe driving to Gardiner. Craters of the Moon is a definite! I think we will take the route BarbAnn suggested but I noticed that Hwy 26 looks like it has more little towns to drive by (or through) - have any of you taken that route instead of Hwy 20?

jayne1973

In Gardiner, check out the Iron Horse restaurant and bar. Great food, funky atmosphere, big deck right on the river. Enjoy dining outside the park while you can! There's also a great little independent grocery store in town if you need snacks, etc.

marthav

Thank you jayne1973! The Iron Horse restaurant sounds great. We're staying at Mammoth our third night in the park and will probably need fresh snacks for the cooler. About how long does it take to drive from Mammoth to Gardiner?

jayne1973

It's about 15 minutes from Mammoth to Gardiner... so convenient. Also somewhere along that road is the parking lot for Boiling River, where you can reportedly swim/soak in water heated by some hot springs. It's a bit of a hike down there, and since we did not have our suits we turned back. But there were lots of people down there and a girl on her way back said some of the water was pretty hot!

marthav

I didn't realize it was so close to Mammoth (we're staying at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel on night 3 of our 5.) I jumped back and forth about staying there or in Gardiner to have a swim in a pool, re-stock our cooler, choice of restaurants, etc. But it seems to be the general consensus that staying inside if you can is the best place to be for a variety of reasons.

jayne1973

Yes it is a better experience to be in the park. Plus, you will be able to just walk over to the beautful features at Mammoth from the hotel. Going into Gardiner will be easy and won't take much time away from seeing the park.

DM08875

Good afternoon,
Your trip sounds wonderful!! I noticed you mentioned you are a Mainer - as am I. A couple of years ago my family, husband, son (12) and Daughter (16) took the ultimate road trip from Maine to San Diego up as far north as Sequoia National Park and then traveled through Utah, a tiny corner of Idaho, Wyoming, etc. Anyway, on our travels through Idaho from Utah to Jackson, WY we happened upon a tiny ghost town called Chesterfield. It was a Mormon community built along the Oregon Trail. It made for a fascinating glimpse into the history of the area and a very nice pit stop to stretch. Warning, us Mainer's typically keep our cows penned up - not so much out there where the open range seems to be more the norm - watch out for livestock in the roadway.

Grand Tetons:
We did the float trip and LOVED it. We booked through the Grand Teton Lodge Company. I can't recall the benefit of booking through them - I think it was because they were the only outfit that could use a particular section of the river which made it less busy - to get that section of river book the earliest time slot. I'm with you - it was my type of rafting - very relaxing.

Yellowstone:
We stayed in Gardiner and it was very convenient. I'll admit we did not stay inside the park but my only concern with Mammoth would be being so close in vicinity to the hot springs and the odor that goes along with it. Perhaps its not an issue at the lodge -- like I said we did not stay there.

We booked a horseback trip in Yellowstone for something different which made for a very unique perspective of the park. The ride we took was 8 hours which was a bit too long unless you are used to being in a saddle (which we are not). They do offer shorter trips - and longer ones. It was very peaceful away from the busy roadways.

Have a great trip! We enjoyed it so much we hope to do it again next summer changing up the route a bit and adding Yosemite and Glacier.

marthav

Hi DM08875!

We booked the float trip from the same company. Ours includes the dinner. I've seen all positive comments about all the float trips and we're looking forward to it! We've booked the Roosevelt BBQ - probably as close to horses as we'll get.

Chesterfield sounds so interesting and we'll definitely stop if it's not too far off our route.

We can't imagine living anyplace else but the coast of Maine, but there are so many other places in this beautiful country to explore! You and your family took quite the road trip! We hope to drive across country one of these years. Next year, we'll fly to San Francisco (first time in CA) to visit extended family and see as many parks as we can in CA before driving to Bend OR.

Thanks for your comments and advice!
P.S. You'll LOVE Glacier!!

jayne1973

Have always wanted to do the cookout from Roosevelt. Hope you will report back on that��.

BarbAnn

Oh, yeah, I have taken Hwy 26 from Prineville to Vale. Not quite as desolate as Hwy 20, but the towns you pass through are very small. Prineville and John Day are the largest. I would still take I-84 to Hwy 97. Much, much nicer drive. I-84 also passes through Pendleton, OR, home to the Pendleton Wool blankets. They offer free tours of the mills.

marthav

jayne1973, Yes - I'll report back on the cookout along with the rest of our trip.

BarbAnn, We're heeding your good advice and taking I-84 to Hwy 97. Our son and daughter-in-law bought a blanket from Pendleton as our daughter's wedding gift. Beautiful! Would love to stop if it's not too late by the time we get there. Thanks!

marthav

I have one more lodging question please... It seems from what I've read lots of people flying into Salt Lake City stop over in West Yellowstone for a night, which is what we've planned to do before driving to Old Faithful Lodge. But, can anyone suggest places to stay overnight maybe an hour south of West Yellowstone?