Summer trip planning - Off to Yellowstone!

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wlewisiii

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So the Boss has decided that our family will be going to Yellowstone this summer. This is, of course, an opportunity for lots of family snapshots and hopefully a few landscapes that are of slightly better than postcard quality. Now, I'll be taking my Kiev 5 and the full stable of lenses that I own (SC 35/2.5, Jupter 8nb, Jupiter 9, and Zeiss 135/4) so that's not a problem. I'll probably pop the extra $$$ for Portra NC and Tri-X for film so I've no real questions there either.

No, what I'm hoping for is suggestions about where to look for non-stereotype (literally!!!! :D ) shots of interest along the route from Wisconsin to Wyoming basically following US14/Interstate 90.

I actually enjoy the family snapshot side of things; I'd just like to get something less typical than the average joe snuffy shot of Mount Rushmore outside of that. So any suggestions will be gleefully tucked away for our July adventure.

Thanks!

William
 
Hi, William -- Yeah, a lot of folks drive up to Mt Rushmore from Rapid City, and as expected there's every kind of tourist trap along the way! I'd suggest you make a stop at Wall Drug, though, at the town of Wall on I-90 east of Rapid. Incredible place, kitchy but charming too, and there's a nice southward loop from there through the Badlands and the small town of Scenic, which is well worth the time.

See if you can dip into the southern Black Hills to Hot Springs (well-named) and then follow 385 north to Custer. Somewhere along in there is a herd of buffalo, or used to be, that you can get pretty close to. Interesting rock formation called The Needles to look for. Getting up to Hill City is into tourist territory again, but you can follow the highway around behind Mt Rushmore to Horse Thief Lake to cool off, and the landscape is interestingly rugged.

Still heading north, 385 takes you past the Pactola Reservoir and brings you to another tourist mecca, Deadwood, but you can take a left and follow the road to the old mining town of Lead. And from there you can join I-90 again at Spearfish, or go over the hills into Wyoming and catch the freeway again at Sundance.

We went west out of Custer on 16 once, and stopped at Jewel Cave. Interesting place just on the SD side of the state line, and it has an elevator to take you down 6-7 stories for a walk through the cave, and a different one coming back up even farther! That highway too will bring you eventually to I-90 again inside WY.

I lived in Rapid City a couple years while I was in the service, and worked part time in the main camera shop downtown, now a jewelry store. I liked that area. Has several similarities to where I am now, but their weather is more severe.

I'm not so familiar with the byroads and off-track scenery of Wyoming. There is lots to see in Yellowstone, of course, and down through Grand Teton to Jackson Hole. I could spend some time, not in a hurry, with a camera on the Idaho side of both parks. And if your trip takes you back toward home through Montana, well, it's too bad it's such a detour to Glacier Park; totally spectacular scenery... But if you happen to find yourself in Bozeman MT, north up the road from West Yellowstone, there's a surprise: a computer museum! Virginia City might be worth a stop; I haven't been there since I was a kid, so no telling how touristy it's become.

I'm also not particularly familiar with eastern Montana or N. Dakota, but I did witness a magnificent lightning display heading south out of Jamestown ND one evening. Had to stop and watch for a while. There might have been some neat pictures, as I did have an Olympus 35RC with me, but was not carrying a tripod on my Honda 750!
 
You have the best boss.

How long of a drive will it be for you? I am doing about 16 hours to get to Kentucky in July.
 
wlewisiii said:
So the Boss has decided that our family will be going to Yellowstone this summer. This is, of course, an opportunity for lots of family snapshots and hopefully a few landscapes that are of slightly better than postcard quality. Now, I'll be taking my Kiev 5 and the full stable of lenses that I own (SC 35/2.5, Jupter 8nb, Jupiter 9, and Zeiss 135/4) so that's not a problem. I'll probably pop the extra $$$ for Portra NC and Tri-X for film so I've no real questions there either.

No, what I'm hoping for is suggestions about where to look for non-stereotype (literally!!!! :D ) shots of interest along the route from Wisconsin to Wyoming basically following US14/Interstate 90.

Thanks!

William
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My only suggestion is that you figure out how much film you think you will need and then take along twice as much.

Dick
 
You know how those kitschy trashy tourist traps try to prey on you? Well I like to turn the tables and focus my camera on them, showing their seedy nature along with those unfortunate tourists who buy into the consumerism of it all.
 
From the SD/WY line on I-90 there are not many choices until you have to exit the interstate to head towards the park (you could get on 14 out of Gillette, but you'll make better time on I-90). Once you do that you are in beautiful country no matter what route you take -- just choices. You may want to come in N and leave S, or something like that to mix it up. You can exit at Buffalo, take 16/20/26 through the Wind River Reservation and enter Jellystone from the South, or stay North past Sheridan and take 343 to Alternate 14 (take that instead of 14 -- a much nicer drive) through Powell and Cody and enter the East side of the park. Or....(can't go wrong once you get off I-90). Have a nice trip! Honk if you see a red BMW with a 12 gallon fuel tank -- I ride over that way frequently. Post again if you decide to venture into Idaho.
 
Thanks all for your suggestions. Rover, it's about 19 hours of driving time. We'll be breaking it out to a couple of days as we'll have a 3 year old and a 13 year old along. Solares, we're going in early July - how're things then? Dick, that's the truth all right.

William
 
wlewisiii,
We drove to Yellowstone (from WA state) 3 years ago, took two easy days stopping for photo ops.
The last week of June and the first week of July it was very HOT, but the wind was blowing 30mph at Lake Yellowstone, so it cooled off there. Make sure to get reservations early, especially for staying at the popular Yellowstone Lodge. Even if you don't stay there, go inside for a visit, it's really beautifully rustic.
Have FUN ~ ; - )
 
We've got our reservations at the Roosevelt Lodge - very rustic rooms w/out indoor plumbing and wood stoves for heat. But, yeah, I do want to check out the main Yellowstone lodge too as I've heard alot about it over the years.

William
 
when your over in yellowstone...its worth the time to head south into the teton moutain areas...but not really worth it to get pinched with high prices in tourist trap towns like JAckson WY.....
I'm Originally from buffalo and if given time can help you come up with some great places to avoid the tourist attractions and point you toward some beautyful places to shoot.....

if you are in the buffalo/sheridan area on the fourth there is a great place that you can camp in the mountains (all alone without all the RV campers surrounding you" that will give you a view of 4-6 citys and their firewors displays (from overhead 9000ft)
 
wlewisiii said:
So the Boss has decided that our family will be going to Yellowstone this summer
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When I was young, like about 8, we drove out to Yellowstone, and although I was young I remember the trip very well. I don't think route 90 was even there back then. I haven't been back to Yellowstone since, but I have been thru northern Nebraska and southern South Dakota and part of Wyoming recently.

Back then it was the land of Stuckeys, Burma Shave signs, and the ubiquitous Wall Drug. :)

One must-do is the Badlands area in South Dakota. Take the scenic route and you will find many photo ops there. Our family stayed in those tourist cabins by the entrance, and I think they are still open now.

Wall Drug is right at the west (I think) end of the Badlands scenic route. You said you don't want anything stereotypically tourista, so skip it. :) :) :) :)

West of the Badlands area is the Black Hills, a mountainous and incredibly scenic region. I would take the family on some of the minor highways in the Deadwood, Lead (pronounced "Leed"), Custer, and Belle Fourche (pronounced "Bell Foosh") region and look for photo ops. Mount Rushmore is north of Custer, IIRC. One thing I LOVED both back then and recently was the cave (forget the name) by Rushmore.

West of that region is Devils Tower, made famous by Close Encounters. Even if you don't spend much time there, stop and take the very easy walk around it. Many photo ops there.

I don't think there is anything in that area that isn't scenic! :)

We drove down from Yellowstone into Grand Teton park and rented a rowboat and sailed around the lake. That area might be a good non-tourista photo area.

One thing I most remember of Yellowstone was Morning Glory Pool. When I saw it, it was crystal clear and the bottom was brilliant blue, but some friends who went a few years ago said it was now murky and gray. :( That was, as my aunt would say "absolutely gaw-jus", and I hope it's still something like it was.

Hope this gives you some ideas ...
 
More kewl tips! Thank you all. It should be a fun time. I'm beginning to think I'll need to take at least a 100' roll of each Portra NC 400 and Tri-X... :eek: Glad I'm not a chrome kind of person :p

William
 
FrankS said:
You know how those kitschy trashy tourist traps try to prey on you? Well I like to turn the tables and focus my camera on them, showing their seedy nature along with those unfortunate tourists who buy into the consumerism of it all.
Click to expand...

People defensively say that Wall Drug is not a tourist trap, but really, the only thing it's famous for is being famous for those signs all over the US. I wasn't really impressed, and I'm a shopaholic, often with unprintable adjectives prepended. :)

I'm not sure if there are any Stuckeys left, but even as an impressionable 8 year old, I wasn't impressed. (A pecan malted does not really sound any more appetizing to me now than it did then.) My brothers and I dubbed it "Yuckeys", but if there are any left, they may be worth capturing as some Americana that probably won't be around much longer.

The one hardcore tourist trap which we DID visit, after we nagged my parents unto submission was really a glorified amusement park "crazy house" where balls look like they roll uphill and I have a photo of me and my dad where I'm about as tall as he is (at age 8). :) My parents were positively abhorred at the fact that we kids said it was one of the most-liked things of the trip. :) I'm sure it's long gone now.

Seriously, there's a lot of very memorable roadside Americana that's either gone or going going ...
 
Oh, I think the Crazy House or whatever it's called is still there, up the hill toward Mt Rushmore from the Reptile Gardens, both conveniently on the right hand side! :)
 
Doug said:
Oh, I think the Crazy House or whatever it's called is still there, up the hill toward Mt Rushmore from the Reptile Gardens, both conveniently on the right hand side! :)
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LOL! Wow, talk about dusting off fuzzy memory cells! I remember Reptile Gardens now! I remember my brother (about 5 at the time) threw a hissy-fit because we would not stop there! :) :)

Yes, there were, and apparently are, some major tourist traps in that area! :)
 
RichardS said:
My only suggestion is that you figure out how much film you think you will need and then take along twice as much.
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Good advice Dick! I'm off to Europe next month and I thought I had my film all set but I'm going to order some more today. :)
 
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