"Wyoming area vacation advise" Topic

Wife and I are planning to visit Grand Teton/Yellowstone and then Mt. Rushmore – and I'm not going back there without visiting the Little Bighorn Battlefield and whatever other old west/pony wars sites I can fit in. So, here are specific questions:

From Sheridan to Rosebud and then north and then west to Little Big Horn a worthy and safe drive (314? through Cheyenne Reservation and then through Crow Reservation to LBH)? Any special precautions? Unlikely we'll have a guide so any hints on how to best see Rosebud? Expect to be there early September. How long for Rosebud and how long for LBH – will be a one day event but the main focus of the day, those two places.

Will stop in Cody and check out the museum on our way from Yellowstone to Sheridan. Recommended route from Cody to Sheridan – for scenery and sites of interest (not just old west/pony wars since wife is along)? Currently planning on taking Shell Canyon.

After Sheridan, plan to hit Fetterman, Wagon Box, Ft. Kearny enroute to Custer, South Dakota (and then going to check out Gordon's Stockade just east of Custer if time permits).

Advise for what else to see in that 'grand plan'? Will check out current status of the Crazy Horse statue on way to Rushmore.

Heading home by way of Cheyenne, WY, and then to Park City, UT before the Big Drive back home. (And day one is the other big drive to Ogden, UT and then on up into Jackson Hole for Grand Tetons and Yellowstone following day.)

Right now planning an 11 day trip, 10 nights – might be able to squeak another day in if it is really, really worth it. And, yes, lots of driving, 3,000 plus miles – but here in California 500 miles is not a big deal. And almost half of that 3000 is the first and the last days with those big drives so not so bad on a daily basis.

I'm used to hot and dry so that's not an issue and I'm no stranger to rattle snake country.

Appreciate input from those who know the country and the routes and the sites to see. Not so fond of kitschy stuff. I do enjoy steam railroads – like the Big Boy in Cheyenne. Side drives of a few minutes are okay, side drives of a hundred miles have to be extraordinary and spectacular just to get considered. (Devil's Tower and the Badlands are probably out, alas.)

Thanks!

Edit: Ack. That was supposed to be 19th century! Argh.

I'm in Sheridan. You might want to stay in Sheridan and day trip to Rosebud and LBH. Fetterman and Ft Phil Kearney are good additions. Custer is almost 5 hours from Sheridan (mostly on I-90). Most of the back road are just that. Roads, no services. Even on the interstate services are @ 40+ miles apart, a consideration if you have the family along.

LBH is @ an hour north on I-90, Devil's Tower is worth it and of I-90 on the way to SD.

Get me contact info and I'll do my best Chamber of Commerce impression

Last time I was there, Rosebud was not a developed site like LBH, so find an account with good maps and bring that along. It is mainly see-from-your-car, so perhaps an hour or so.
First time I was at LBH, the Crow's Nest (private property) was open to visitors. The next two times, it wasn't--inquire locally. I did both LBH and Rosebud in one day, and didn't feel rushed.
Cody is actually four museums in one--I've done it twice, and spent two days each time. It has the best Old West bookstore I've ever seen. Museum closes early enough that you have time to run north 20 miles or so to Dead Indian Pass, which is a spectacular sight. It is also on the route of the Nez Perce flight. A gaming store in Cody had a dealers booth at the Denver games convention (Genghis Con) for a few years, but may be gone now.
Sheridan is a good place to work out of--it has restaurants, motels, and grocery stores.
Big Boy-inquire with Union Pacific. I think there is a static display in one of the city parks off Lincoln Way, but UP has a functioning engine and they might be doing something with that.
Big Hole Battlefield is west of Yellowstone, probably too far to include.
Never met a Californian who wasn't at least mildly annoyed by the stretch od I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie.

Grelber

There are tours of Hole in the Wall where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out' if the old west is an interest.

There are tours of Whole in the Wall where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out' if the old west is an interest.

Maybe it will help if I give the preliminary itinerary:

Day one – drive to Ogden, overnight

Day two drive to Jackson Hole, overnight

Day three, Grand Teton – and then drive into Yellowstone, overnight x 2

Day four and five, enjoy Yellowstone and on five drive to Cody and then to Sheridan, overnight x 2

Day six, LBH and Rosebud

Day seven, Fetterman, Wagon Box, Kearny, on to Custer (Gordon's Stockade), overnight x 2

Day eight, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore and back to Custer

Day nine, Custer to Cheyenne

Day ten, Cheyenne to Park City

Day eleven, Park City to home (Sacramento area)

Sounds like if an extra night, make it Cody?

I90 a better route from Cody to Sheridan if planning a full day out of Sheridan for LBH and Rosebud? Adds a fair amount of driving – what else adds besides Devil's Tower and Dead Indian Pass on that route? An extra night in Cody does give more time for Yellowstone – which, along with Rushmore, are my wife's Big Two on the itinerary. She isn't so much into history but she loves to shop! So, Cheyenne might be a big visit for her.

No kids, just wife and I.

Appreciate the input so far and look forward to more. Thanks.

edit: opinion of Moorcroft to Newcastle via 16 versus Sundance to Newcastle vis 585? 16 means back tracking from Devil's Monument.

Museum in Cody is worth a full day. US 14a to Sheridan from Lovell will take you past The Medicine Wheel and some great views. Cody to Sheridan is @ 4+ hours, Sheridan to Custer is about the same. Yellowstone is BIG doing the loop is a full day of driving, but LOTS to see.

You won't catch I-90 until just North of Sheridan, then cut off to Newcastle and Custer. Wind and Jewel Caves in the Black hills are worth checking out as well.

A really short drive south from Park City is Heber Utah and they have a working steam locomotive line that takes passengers a very nice scenic ride. Some days they stage a train robbery in period dress. Its called the Heber Creeper. Link is hebervalleyrr.org

We're actually heading to Sheridan and then Montana to visit sites next week. IMO, I wouldn't want to try to do LBH and the Rosebud in 1 day. I guess it depends on how you visit the battlefields, but I spend quite a bit of time and walk them as much as possible. The Rosebud battlefield is untouched, and huge. Make sure you have a good battlefield map to help pick out the key locations.

If the Mangy Moose restaurant is still in business,eat there.
Great food, an AVRO hanging from the ceiling and some ECW ensigns on the wall. Terrific!

Piquet Rules, Early Morning Writer

Drop me a line at mw<my tmpid> at msn dot com

My wife and I did the Yellowstone-LBH-ft Phil Kearny-Mt Rushmore trip 3 years ago, but we entered Wyoming through Cheyenne, then stopped at Ft Laramie early on day 2 and ended that day at Cody. Then spent most of day 3 at the multiple Cody Western museums and arrived at YNP. We spent 3 days in the park (but unless you want to fish) you can see most of it and Grand Teton N.P> in 2 if you hurry. From Yellowstone we went back through Cody and on to Sheridan via Highway 14 (through Greybull); this route takes you right through (and over) the Bighorn Mountains and you get some great viewsand into Sheridan. (I wouldn't advise going over the Bighorns unless you're traveling in June through August or early September.) The next day we took 314 to the Rosebud and Busby, then over to LBH and back to Sheridan via 90. The next day we did Ft Phil Kearny, Fetterman site, Wagon Box fight and that afternoon/evening over to Rapid City,SD via US 90. Then next morning we stopped at Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park, then into NW Nebraska to catch Ft Robinson and on to Cheyenne, before heading home to Albuquerque. In all, 3200 miles in 11 days, but for me, the trip of a lifetime.

If it's open, take the boat across Jenny Lake to the West Shore Boat Dock. From there, you can walk some very gentle, short trails to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. We saw many very tame young deer on our visit in 2006. For a much longer hike, take the Cascade Canyon trail out and back. We saw several moose on our hike. However, the Jenny Lake area is undergoing renovations according to the Park Service website. Might want to call ahead.

link

All great recommendations. Used to make a Harley run to Sturgis through all those places every couple of years before getting a bit long of tooth. Just in case you are a Dino freak, like me, about 80 miles out of Cody is Thermopolis. One of the best dinosaur museums I've seen. I usually stayed 2 nights in Cody and 2 nights in Sheridan. Mind the deer ! :0 <lol>

Did almost the same trip in reverse about 10 years ago, but not as far as Yellowstone.

Two other prospects:

* Devil's Tower
* Rapid City Air Force Base Aircraft Display, Museum, and underground ICBM launch silo. The National Park service was working on opening a different silo at the time. Don't know if it opened or not. Don't know if the museum is still open or not, but you bought the tickets for the ICBM silo there, with bus ride across base.

Sounds like a full trip. Lived in Jackson every summer for the past 30 years. Your wife should like the shopping in Jackson. Stop to see the Cunningham Cabin on the way North from Jackson to Yellowstone. In Jackson, if you can swing the cost, eat at The Gun Barrel. Cody(shopping)will be a nice stop for you. Last I was there – 15 years ago – Rosebud was not developed much at all. We needed a guide and a 4 wheel drive to drive around the battlefield. There are a lot of historical sites you'll drive past in that part of the country. Wolf Mt. Battlefield, Crazy Woman Ford are a couple. It's kind of fun just to do visit Deadwood, because, if you like Westerns, well, it's Deadwood. It is a bit of a Tourist Trap though. That's all I can think of now.

Hey, thanks to all for the wonderful advice. I think we'll just add one day on the road which will give more time in Yellowstone and a bit more time for the museums in Cody. Otherwise, mostly as listed in the itinerary above. Always alert for the small side trip on the way and leave time in for that. And, especially, time to keep the wife happy since it was her desire to go to Mt. Rushmore that justified the whole trip in the first place.

So, Thanks!