National Parks Tidbits

The Badlands, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton...I did trip recaps on all of them, which you can read by clicking on the word, but there are some little tidbits left as well as some things I'd like to call attention to that might have been lost in the long ass re-cap posts.

1. Lodging varies. How's that for vague? If you need five star, there are few options for you, but if you need five star I don't really see you on a National Parks trip anyway. We had wifi in our room in the Badlands and in Grand Teton, but the strength was weak in most places throughout the trip. All of the rooms we stayed in in the parks were clean, and that's all I was expecting going into this. If you're there to really get the full experience, you are in the room to sleep and use the bathroom and that's about it. My favorite place to stay was Cedar Pass Lodge in the Badlands (I actually wish we spent more than one night there) and Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton. The place I liked the least was Lake Hotel in Yellowstone, and that was the fanciest. Go figure.

2. Huckleberry is everything. I had no idea what it was until I got to Yellowstone. One day I had huckleberry ice cream twice in one day. I also had huckleberry pie, huckleberry candy, and huckleberry pancakes on this trip. And came home with huckleberry chapstick and huckleberry jam, which we ate like ravenous dogs at home. Do not pass up the opportunity to have the huckleberry ice cream if you get it.

3. Speaking of food, the food wasn't bad. It was pricey, but not bad. The pie and ice cream everywhere were freaking amazing.

4. Depending on when you go, you have to be prepared for all kinds of weather in Yellowstone. The afternoon this was taken, I was sweating in capris and a short sleeve shirt. On the whole, it was much warmer in Yellowstone than we thought it would be.

5. People do really stupid shit on the roads in National Parks. I had read about it a lot on Trip Advisor, but when I saw it with my own eyes I was all WTF. Take your time, pull over and let chains of douches on CB radios chasing wolves pass you, and you'll be fine.

6. They're very big on the gathering in the common spaces. There's no TV in the rooms and no wifi hardly anywhere, but there are a lot of places to sit in front of a fire and read a book or play some cards, and a lot of outdoor spaces to enjoy in a central area with others.

7. I was happy with 15 minutes at Mt. Rushmore. Really. See the faces, marvel at them, look at all the flags, walk through the gift shop, go to the bathroom, be on my merry way.

8. I wish we saw Crazy Horse from the road instead of paying to go in. The view is pretty much the same and even the people working there seemed sort of sheepish to be taking the $22 we paid to get in.

9. If I knew how cool the area surrounding Devil's Tower was, I would've skipped that weird town and gone right there instead. Not to mention I would've liked to just sit at the base of the tower a little longer, It was a spiritual place.

10. I still can't believe some of the stuff we saw and the animals we were in close proximity to. The other day we were talking about our upcoming trip to Africa, and MFD said, "I'm still not over the National Parks." Neither am I, and I responded that I hoped I never would be...part of what I love so much about travel is how the experience becomes a part of you.

Linking up for Wanderlust Wednesdays with Kate, Emily, and Kerri