Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Trip Out West

I am always delighted to serve as tour guide to the Browning and/or Hill AFB museums, if you'd like to see those. Figure half a day total, including lunch.

Meet this man.

You won't regret it.

One vital tip: I see SC in your screen name. If you are coming here from near sea level, do NOT plan on doing any hiking or strenuous activity. We're a mile higher and the air here is not what you are used to. One flight of stairs may leave you wheezing. And bring lots of sun block and skin lotion.

I'm guessing you'll have a rental car, you will appreciate it on the dirt road up to Green River lakes. Washboardy sumbich, but the veiw is worth it!

Nah Jim, just trying to revel in the old glory. Can’t find a lot of those places around.
Kidding of course.

Osky

Haha!

Gotta take what you can get.

There probably aren't any famous Eskimo battle grounds.

what Rocky said

Along with......supply your group with a tube of Chapstick each

The 10% humidity will kick your butt

You'll be 'lickin your lips & pickin your nose'

If it were me, I’d start with a day in Salt Lake. I’d go see the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints Temple Square. Lots of cool history about the pioneers and the west and interactive displays, etc

maybe lunch at the spaghetti factory in trolley Square and then out to see the great Salt Lake may be going out to antelope Island if you’re going to swiim so you can see what its like to float in that much salt water, plan on getting a shower at the hotel soon after

North to Ogden and the Browning museum and then just head up I15. Turning on the highway 20 in Idaho Falls. Heading towards West Yellowsto if your family likes to fly fish, Island Park has some good fishing and then Mesa Falls scenic loop is beautiful

you could head into Yellowstone at the town of West Yellowstone, but in July the parks are all ridiculously crowded. Rather than fight for parking etc. it really might be worth it to just get on a guided bus trip

After you are back to a rental car, having seen the hot pots, the Grand Canyon of the Park, etc. you could travel east through the park and come out at Cody for the great Museum, and from there head out to see the Tetons

Glacier Park is also really, really crowded. I would highly advise getting on the free tour bus at the park hotel and letting them drive you to all the sites.

If you end up going to the Custer battlefield, you’ll be going through the bitterroot valley. Dozens of good hiking trails in the Bitterroot.

A wide brimmed hat protects the tops of the ears. Check your meds for “increased sensitivity to the sun”…. I got toasted in less than half an hour at Yellowstone years ago.

Yes ^^^^^^^^^^^

High elevation sunshine can be brutal

One thing to consider is that most of these locations are a long distance from each other. Yellowstone to Glacier is approx. 450 miles.

I have not driven from Yellowstone to the Black Hills for a while but it must be approx. 400 miles.

lots of driving time from place to place..

The mid west will be fun, sounds like you have a plan.

Yellowstone is cool with unique features, I equally liked Glacier even when sticking close to the road, going out of the park and back in to Many, then taking a day trip into Canada.
Saw a fool try to take a fifth wheel up the posted Sun road, a few curves and stuck. The citation and tow trucks were like $12,000 while we all waited on the slope. Betting he didn't brag about that at home.
Not enough time to type all the errors people made while I was there including several deaths.
I will go again to enjoy the high elevation cool nights and especially like that showers are available as the parks were created intentionally with none.

Are you kidding Jim, nearly every day was a battle just to keep from freezing or starving to death up in that country. Who had time to fight each other?

Osky

Not to mention the smog in SLC.

I'll second or third the guys writing about the distances out there. It was pretty funny when I rode my Harley out west and the wife asked what will I do if I have trouble? I'll just walk to the nearest farm house I remember saying! Wrong. You can near see the curvature of the earth before you will see the next farm house out there. Anyway, if you get to "The Park", what the locals call Glacier, if you are a flat lander who isn't use to mountains and heights, I'd recommend that you buy a ticket to those red Going To The Sun Highway busses. I was breaking a nervous sweat just riding the bus! Driving it I'd have had a death grip on the wheel and wouldn't have taken my eyes off the road.

Enjoy your trip and take all of those memories home with you. It certainly will be a lot more memorable than just driving around the east coast areas. I still recall my first trip to Montana in 1969. Our Explorer Post, went to Glacier and hiked 190 some miles in Glacier and then over into Watertown I.P.P. in Alberta.

One of my most remember-able summers of my youth. Got back home to Virginia and the Shenandoah's looked like Kansas to us who went on the trip.

What ipopem states above is spot on.

It’s big country out west. Very expansive. Heck, it is a 10 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Glacier National Park. And there is a lot of scenery and places to see between the two.

Glacier is awesome. Yellowstone is pretty good, but the crowds make it a little less enjoyable.

Butte, Missoula, are always a favorite.

I’d pick a few places to see and not try to see it all unless you want a 2 week driving tour with little time out of the car. It will bring the “Are we there yet?” to a whole new level.

I’ve lived out west my whole life, been about everywhere, but I still ain’t seen it all.

To add a little more to what I wrote above, the County I live in is bigger than 6 of the States - combined. Can you imagine seeing 6 of the States in a two week trip?

It’s a big place out west, so don’t try to see it all in a short trip. Focus on some places and really experience and enjoy those places would be my recommendation.