This summer around mid or late June we are going out west to the Grand Tetons. Yes we are taken the Cooper S. We are just playing it as we go. No set plans or reservations. 30 days on the road! Sounds like a song doesn't it.
I plan on not getting onto a single interstate highway. Only back roads. More to see and hopefully more turns. We did 2 weeks last year on the road around Alexandra to Niagara, Vermount in Xmas and back. But that was in a SUV. This is going to more miles on a grander scale. I know of the larger points of interest. Do any of you have any first hand knowage of some of the non touristety sites or roads?

 

Oh Man!!!!! The Grand Tetons are awesome!!!

We were there at the end of August 2002. I highly recommend taking State Road US89 which provides excellent scenery along the way and plenty of twists.

That west corner of Wyoming is stunning, I recommend seeing:

* Yellowstone National Park
* Jackson Lodge (Breathtaking views of the Tetons raising all the way to 13,000 FT. Remember that the Teton range has no foothills).
* Jenny Lake (Grand Teton National Park)
* Gros Ventre mountain range
* Little church of the Transfiguration (Grand Teton National Park)
* Jackson Hole (Really cool town, good food, plenty of things to do)
* Grand Teton Village
* Balloon Ride (A must if you want to take awesome pictures of the Tetons and nearby Yellostone area. If interested PM and I'll give you the contact name of the Balloon ride company there in Wyoming).

If there is anything else I am forgetting now, I'll post it later on.

 

>>This summer around mid or late June we are going out west to the Grand Tetons. Yes we are taken the Cooper S.

>>I plan on not getting onto a single interstate highway. Only back roads. More to see and hopefully more turns.

Have you ever visited Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakata, Kansas, eastern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, etc.? I am not saying that I don't admire your plan, but don't think the majority of the above listed states provide quality viewing the majority of the time. I think your plan is a wonderful one, except the no interstate portion of it. There are lots of places that are wonderful places to drive in the west, but in most cases there are miles of corn, and miles of wheat, and miles of tumbleweeds that the interstate enables you to quickly pass. From Indiana to the foothills in Wyoming, mucho over 1000miles, there is very little to see. That doesn't mean that there is nothing, but alot of it will look really familiar after a while. Just remember everything is farther away than things are on the east coast! People in parts of Nebraska have to go for miles to reach a neighbor!

jc

 

OK, OK jc
Maybe I was ahead of myself saying no interstates on this trip. But I do want to take a lot of the back roads when I do get to the mountains. I might just take I-10 out to El Paso then run up the to mountain range to Idaho area and then back down the other side. I have a friend in the Salt Lake area to vist while I am out there. I have skied in the Park City area many years ago and the mountian roads were great. I have 30 days to go any where. No set reservations or set in concrete plans. Maybe we will just hop back and fourth across the mountain range enjoying the sites and turns.

Cooper4us your suggestions sound great thanks. if you have the number for the balloon ride that would be great.

Douginator

 

>>
>>Cooper4us your suggestions sound great thanks. if you have the number for the balloon ride that would be great.
>>
>>Douginator


Doug:

Here is a link to their website:

http://wyomingballoon.com/indexani.html

Talk to Andy Breffeilh, he is the owner of the Wyoming Balloon Company. He was our pilot when we took our ride last August. Very fun, talkative and nice guy. He used to be a practicing lawyer but now he is a licensed FAA pilot.

The 1 1/2 hour ride is worth every penny of it.

Have fun!

 

DPilgrim,

I have spent a LOT of time in the Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, Yellowstone area and would be happy to share some of my favorite secret out of the way spots. Best bet would be to spend a little bit of time in the heavily populated national parks to see the famous sites and then get the heck out of there and then go see the real wild west.

I highly suggest that you get a GPS navigation aid as the non-interstate roads that you will want to be travelling on are much easier to navigate with such a instrument.

Drop me a line and I will be happy to circle some nice secret spots I know of on your map!

hint: if you want to see this area away from the crowds, and are not the camping type, look for good hotels (bed and breakfasts are best for this kind of trip) in places like Lander and Pinedale, as both of these border the Wind River wilderness. There are also some great places in Idaho and Montana that are also very favorable to your style of trip.

_________________
~Yucca Patrol~
I'm just here to have fun, participate, and not make an @$$ of myself!

7 sub 21

 

>>DPilgrim,
>>
>>I have spent a LOT of time in the Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, Yellowstone area and would be happy to share some of my favorite secret out of the way spots. Best bet would be to spend a little bit of time in the heavily populated national parks to see the famous sites and then get the heck out of there and then go see the real wild west.
>>
>>I highly suggest that you get a GPS navigation aid as the non-interstate roads that you will want to be travelling on are much easier to navigate with such a instrument.
>>
>>Drop me a line and I will be happy to circle some nice secret spots I know of on your map!

 

Needless to say, we had a great vacation!

We drove north from Denver to Fort Collins and then took the two-lane road to Laramie, which took us through a high pass. I-80 from Laramie to Rock Springs is very pretty too. From Rock Springs, we went north to Jackson and spent the night.

The Tetons are gorgeous! In Teton Park, stop at Jenny Lake. We got sandwiches in Jackson and ate lunch at the foot of Grand Teton at Jenny Lake!

The drive north from Teton park through Yellowstone and into Montana has the best scenery I have ever seen! Montana is wonderful to drive through. We drove I-90 west to Missoula, then backroads to Helena, then I-90 east to Billings.

After that I-25 into WY again, over to Devil's Tower, and then all the way back to STL. 3600 miles total and the MINI did great! Any of the Interstates in MN, WY, and CO are great to drive on. Pick a few backroads inbetween, and you have a great vacation!

The two highlights of the trip were Teton Park and hitting 120mph in Montana!

 

>>

 

Cooper4us,

This car is made to motor very very very and again very far away. More fun to the mile. I believe this car just loves to travel. It is one of the first cars that I enjoy passing with on the two lane roads.

Douginator