Yellowstone, Medora, Badlands, Mt Rushmore May, 2018: Day Two

Tuesday May 1, 2018 Idaho Falls to Mammoth Hot Springs

Weather was off and on today – rain showers, snow, a little sun, temperature in the 30s and 40s. The hotel in Idaho Falls is really weird. The “tower” is a Quality Inn while the low slung building next door is an old Roadway. Its really old – they should either rehab it or tear it down. However, the room was fine. But overall not recommended.

From IF we headed north on Rt 20 to West Yellowstone. Every time I make that trip I can’t help but notice that from Pocatello to about Ashton (and that’s a long way) its one big, long junk yard…..not pretty. Once you pass Ashton you get into the Henry’s Lake area which is very rural and great fishing country.

West Yellowstone, even though we’re in the shoulder season, was looking good! This place is really hoppin’ in the summer. Here, we had a choice to make – head north to Bozeman (a route we had not taken before) or take the shorter route through the park. Since the weather was crappy, we opted for the longer route. Turned out to be a good choice! We came across Big Sky, totally unknown to us, but apparently well known to people with lots of money! This resort own reminds one of Ketchum, Sun Valley. Everything is new and there’s lot of new construction; condos, 5 star hotel, etc. It’s the home of Lone Mountain Ski Resort and Golf Club. Very ritzy! Lunch at the Hungry Moose Deli – very good! (Big Sky was the dream of famous newscaster Chet Huntley in the early '70s. He never lived to see it)

From Big Sky, we continued north to Bozeman. Now there’s a good looking city! Lots of new stuff in the ‘burbs and the downtown appears to be vibrant - didn’t notice any empty storefronts. From Bozeman, went east on the interstate for 20 miles or so to Livingston, then turned south to Gardiner. Rt 89 is a beautiful stretch of road. All the cattle and horse ranches appeared to be quite prosperous – no junk here.

We arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs round 5:00. Then it started to snow! It snowed quite heavily for the next couple of hours, sticking to the grass. After we got settled in our room, we went down to the lounge for a drink, enjoying a talented guy at the piano. Then across the street to the dining room for an excellent meal – bison burger and chicken thighs!

We’ll have two full days to explore the park. Not all of it is open yet but we can go to Lamar Valley in one direction and Old Faithful in the other. We’ll see what the weather brings in the morning - its supposed to improve!