Wyoming
Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Custer State Park, Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone, Tetons
Day 1: Arrive in the Rapid City (South Dakota) area for this amazing tour through some of the most iconic vistas in the western United States. Spend your first day taking a driving tour on highway 240 through nearby Badlands National Park, where it might be hard to keep your eyes on the road as you wind through the strange barren topography. Stop at as many of the overlooks as you have time for and consider one of the short hikes at the Windows Overlook. Afterwards, return to Rapid City and check into your hotel, where you will stay for two nights. Day 2: In the morning, make a quick visit to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial to get a close up view of the four presidents immortalized in stone and then explore some of the longest caves in the world—Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. Before returning to Rapid City for the night, visit Custer State Park to observe the roaming buffalo herd and the prairie dogs popping up from their underground homes. Day 3: Today is a long drive through some beautiful country with a short detour to see Devil’s Tower (remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind). This is a great place for a picnic lunch and on a good weather day, you can eat as you watch climbers high on the rock face and curious prairie dogs coming out of their holes in the ground. After your break, continue your drive on to Yellowstone National Park, where you will stay for the next three nights. Day 4: On your first day in the first—and some would argue best—national park, concentrate on the Upper Geyser basin, including the venerable Old Faithful. Before heading out, check at the visitor’s center for estimated eruption times for the various geysers in the basin. Walking through this basin will take you through the world’s greatest concentration of geysers and hot springs. Patience is required if you want to see more than a few of the eruptions as the other geysers are not as predictable as Old Faithful. Your patience will be rewarded, however, as many are just as impressive. When you finish with the Upper Geyser Basin, take a short drive to the Midway Geyser Basin for a quick tour on the boardwalk through some less impressive, but usually active geysers, and then end your day at the crowd pleasing Fountain Paint Pots, where colorful mud bubbles up and pops to the delight of spectators. Day 5: After breakfast, pack a lunch and then hit the road stopping briefly to gaze at roaring Gibbon Falls, and then tour the Norris Geyser Basin. Afterwards, drive to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and find a picnic spot. After lunch, visit each of the viewing points (Inspiration, Grandview and Artist) of the spectacular Upper and Lower Falls before returning to your hotel for the night. Day 6: Give a proper farewell to Yellowstone by stopping for a quick visit at the West Thumb Geyser Basin before exiting the South Entrance of the Park on your way to the Grand Teton National Park. Once in Grand Teton National Park, take the North Teton Park Road to Leigh Lake for a short but beautiful hike along the lake. When you have seen enough, return to your car and continue on to Jenny Lake. At Jenny Lake, take a boat ride across the lake to where short walks will take you to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. Take your time to enjoy the beautiful scenery and perhaps some views of the abundant wildlife, but don’t miss the last boat back across the lake. From here, drive on to Jackson, where you will spend the night, but make sure to take your time, stopping at the turnouts for breathtaking views of the classic peaks of the Teton Range. Day 7: It is time to say goodbye to the wonderful state of Wyoming and home to some of the most unique landscapes in the world. As you make your way back home, the memories of the mountains, water, and wildlife will beckon you to return again soon. |