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Northbound review from Sept 2010
We did the northbound tour starting in SLC on 9/12/10 (Sunday). We went in early arriving Friday late afternoon. The Hilton Salt Lake City Center was nice and the staff was wonderful. We did not really venture out until Saturday. We checked out the farmers market which is just a few blocks from the hotel. It is an excellent farmers market. There is a Greek church on the way to the market and they were having their annual festival. We went on a tour of the church and into the festival. There was all kinds of food and entertainment as well as merchandise to purchase. We walked the downtown area. There is only 1 drugstore within walking distance and it is about 4 blocks from the hotel. We ate at the Red Rock Brewing Company which is one block from the hotel. The Harvest Wheat was great. They had a nice menu selection and we actually went back again. Sunday am at Temple Square the Mormon Tabernacle Choir does Music and the Spoken Word. It was very good. Temple Square is only a couple blocks away. After that we did a tour of the square which was nice and then we walked around on our own. They have beautiful gardens and I was glad we went there on our own Sunday because you only drive by on the site-seeing portion of the tour.
Our tour director was LeAnne and our driver was Jeff. Both were excellent. LeAnne was full information and had a great sense of humor. We had a full bus but it never felt like it. We had 80’s in Salt Lake City and by the time we got to the Tetons we were in the 70’s maybe but at night it was CHILLY. If you have ANY trouble seeing in the dark make sure you bring a little flashlight with you because if you stay in the cabins like we did you will need to walk up to the lodge for dinner and when you are walking back it will be really dark outside. There are some lights along the path once you get to a certain point but if you have any trouble seeing, a flashlight will work wonders. By the way it is just a couple minute walk. The dress for dinner is anything goes. You can dress up in a pair of capris or a nice pair of slacks and top or a dress or wear jeans. I saw a couple men in sports coats but many had slacks or jeans and a shirt. We ate in the grill for breakfast both days and the food was good and the staff was wonderful. I tried the Elk for dinner and it was EXCELLENT.
When you get to Old Faithful I would suggest you eat at the Snow Lodge whenever possible. We had breakfast and lunch at Old Faithful and it was bad both times. Food was cold, buffet or off the menu, and service was slow, friendly but slow. We had dinner at the Snow lodge and it was very good, the service was excellent.
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody is very nice. We arrived around noon and had until about 3. You can eat lunch there and then look around the center the rest of the time or about half way through you have the option of going into town to do some shopping. We did the center and town. If you want to eat I would suggest you start the museum first and then eat. The line for lunch was LONG and there was only 1 person taking orders (kind of like cafeteria style). Those girls were working their butts off, it was ridiculous. There is a gift shop at the hotel, actually right next door in the parking lot. Do not miss it. I don’t know what the prices were like earlier in the season but we had great prices and there were some very nice things.
The Ucross Ranch was nice. There is a pool if you want to take a dip. There is an old country house which has a large porch (the dining room is in this house). It was really nice being able to sit around and talk to some people I had not had the chance to talk to yet. The weather was beautiful, the bar was open, and the company was wonderful.
We stayed two extra nights in Rapid City and I am so glad we did. I reserved a rental car from Dollar before we arrived. Because we used Dollar we could leave the vehicle at the hotel and they came and picked it up when we were leaving to go home. We went to Wall Drugs which is something to see. Not the highlight by far but something to see. We did the drive through the badlands which was WONDERFUL. Again it was something different than we had seen during the Tauck portion of the trip. There was another nice gift shop towards the end of the park. We left the hotel about 8 am and got back about 6 pm.
The next day we went to Bear USA and it was great. Then we took the scenic drive and into Custer Park on the wildlife loop. We saw more animals and tons more bison. Another beautiful drive. Then up Needles Highway to Deadwood. Needles highway was one of the highlights of the trip. It was beautiful. If you can’t drive on narrow roads and go through one car bridges and tunnels you might want to do another route. By the time we got to Deadwood it was getting late so we toured the Adams house and headed back to the hotel. It looks like a cute town and it would have been nice to spend a few hours there but we were just plain tired.
The airport in Rapid City is the smallest airport we had ever been in. It was very nice but small and maybe 15 minutes from the hotel. There was a restaurant there if you wanted to eat there instead of the hotel. Tip. If you get to the airport and are flying Delta and there is no one at the counter there will be a buzzer to ring on the counter and someone will arrive. The man who took care of us there was the same man who was at our gate. I was told the airport is going to be expanded so it won’t be small for long.
I would suggest having an extra day in Salt Lake City and two days in Rapid City. If I could only stay extra at one place it would be Rapid City. The Badlands and Custer Park were part of the highlights of our trip, if not the highlight.
Our tour director was LeAnne and our driver was Jeff. Both were excellent. LeAnne was full information and had a great sense of humor. We had a full bus but it never felt like it. We had 80’s in Salt Lake City and by the time we got to the Tetons we were in the 70’s maybe but at night it was CHILLY. If you have ANY trouble seeing in the dark make sure you bring a little flashlight with you because if you stay in the cabins like we did you will need to walk up to the lodge for dinner and when you are walking back it will be really dark outside. There are some lights along the path once you get to a certain point but if you have any trouble seeing, a flashlight will work wonders. By the way it is just a couple minute walk. The dress for dinner is anything goes. You can dress up in a pair of capris or a nice pair of slacks and top or a dress or wear jeans. I saw a couple men in sports coats but many had slacks or jeans and a shirt. We ate in the grill for breakfast both days and the food was good and the staff was wonderful. I tried the Elk for dinner and it was EXCELLENT.
When you get to Old Faithful I would suggest you eat at the Snow Lodge whenever possible. We had breakfast and lunch at Old Faithful and it was bad both times. Food was cold, buffet or off the menu, and service was slow, friendly but slow. We had dinner at the Snow lodge and it was very good, the service was excellent.
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody is very nice. We arrived around noon and had until about 3. You can eat lunch there and then look around the center the rest of the time or about half way through you have the option of going into town to do some shopping. We did the center and town. If you want to eat I would suggest you start the museum first and then eat. The line for lunch was LONG and there was only 1 person taking orders (kind of like cafeteria style). Those girls were working their butts off, it was ridiculous. There is a gift shop at the hotel, actually right next door in the parking lot. Do not miss it. I don’t know what the prices were like earlier in the season but we had great prices and there were some very nice things.
The Ucross Ranch was nice. There is a pool if you want to take a dip. There is an old country house which has a large porch (the dining room is in this house). It was really nice being able to sit around and talk to some people I had not had the chance to talk to yet. The weather was beautiful, the bar was open, and the company was wonderful.
We stayed two extra nights in Rapid City and I am so glad we did. I reserved a rental car from Dollar before we arrived. Because we used Dollar we could leave the vehicle at the hotel and they came and picked it up when we were leaving to go home. We went to Wall Drugs which is something to see. Not the highlight by far but something to see. We did the drive through the badlands which was WONDERFUL. Again it was something different than we had seen during the Tauck portion of the trip. There was another nice gift shop towards the end of the park. We left the hotel about 8 am and got back about 6 pm.
The next day we went to Bear USA and it was great. Then we took the scenic drive and into Custer Park on the wildlife loop. We saw more animals and tons more bison. Another beautiful drive. Then up Needles Highway to Deadwood. Needles highway was one of the highlights of the trip. It was beautiful. If you can’t drive on narrow roads and go through one car bridges and tunnels you might want to do another route. By the time we got to Deadwood it was getting late so we toured the Adams house and headed back to the hotel. It looks like a cute town and it would have been nice to spend a few hours there but we were just plain tired.
The airport in Rapid City is the smallest airport we had ever been in. It was very nice but small and maybe 15 minutes from the hotel. There was a restaurant there if you wanted to eat there instead of the hotel. Tip. If you get to the airport and are flying Delta and there is no one at the counter there will be a buzzer to ring on the counter and someone will arrive. The man who took care of us there was the same man who was at our gate. I was told the airport is going to be expanded so it won’t be small for long.
I would suggest having an extra day in Salt Lake City and two days in Rapid City. If I could only stay extra at one place it would be Rapid City. The Badlands and Custer Park were part of the highlights of our trip, if not the highlight.
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