I’ve no useful advice but I’m very envious of you !
Except that is the completely opposite direction than the OP wants to go. If the OP wants to visit the Rockies west of Denver, they should do that after they get in Denver, then come back just east of Idaho Springs, head up to Central City (quaint little mountain town) and Black Hawk (if they want to do some gambling). From there take the 119 up to Boulder and then the 36 north along the Front Range (and wave to me, you’ll be passing about 5 miles from my house) to Lyons and from there head up to Estes.
I know I don’t post a lot, but this is absolutely the best thread I’ve ever started here. Thank you to everyone. It will take me a couple of days with a map to get things re-routed.
Raza, in the run-up to this Wyoming trip, you haven’t been building weird flat mounds out of your mashed potatoes, have you?
It’s a SDMB tradition that whenever anyone starts an “advise me on my vacation” thread that the posters must recommend destinations that aren’t anywhere near the place the OP wants to go, or at best involve hundreds of miles of detours. It is especially fun to read when it involves the Western U.S., where even the biggest attractions are hundreds, if not a thousand miles apart.
OP: “I’ve spent the last five years in a mine in Northern Saskatchitoba and I really want to go to Vegas. If I have one more day of solitude I’ll go crazy. Give me glitz and glamour and lights and non-stop fun! Gambling, drinking, strip clubs, slots, bell, whistles, restaurants, dance clubs that don’t open until 11 PM and are frequented by C-list Hollywood celebs! Give me recommendations!”
Random Poster: Vegas, huh? When you’re in the Southwest, you really can’t miss the Grand Canyon. It’s only a six hour one-way drive through the desert to get there. The scenery is amazing! And you won’t believe the wide open spaces without a town or city for hundreds of miles in any direction!"
OP: My family wants to take one more visit to the seaside before winter, and we’ve never been to Maine. We just love the ocean, the salt air, the lighthouses and lobster boats. I know the water isn’t warm even in mid-summer, but we just love the ocean. Recommendations?"
RP: Maine, huh? That’s right near Vermont, and there are great early season deals at Killington. Even if the downhill slopes aren’t open yet, you can get in some awesome snowshoeing or cross-country. I know a great lodge that overlooks the slopes and has a huge fireplace in the lobby! Right outside is a great skating pond! The kids will love it!"
OP: “Uh, OK…”
In defense of my first reply, the OP did not say that the primary destination was Yellowstone.
And in my defense I was not picking on you or anyone else in this thread. It really does happen all the time.
Alrighty then, back to the open road!
If you have an extra hour or so in the Tetons, you can take The Gros Ventre Road up to see the landslide.
ROFLMAO, and add: McMurdo is lovely this time of year.
I think the Rexburg part of the plan is totally nuts. The drive over to Jackson is a very steep windy pass that is a fun drive once, but having to do it every day is going to get old. It’s not too far into Jackson, but then it’s realistically another 2 hours or so into the parts of the park you’d actually want to see. Plus Rexburg itself has no redeeming qualities for non-Mormons.
I’ve always had good luck finding cheap lodging around this time in West Yellowstone, but otherwise if you insist on the long commute, I’d look at someplace like Ennis or Livingston or even Bozeman. These are further from Jackson, but closer to the park time-wise and they are towns you might actually enjoy staying in.
No need to drive it every day.
From Rexburg, the obvious route to YNP is north on Route 20 to West Yellowstone - it’s around 82 miles (figure 1:45), decently scenic and has no daunting pass to cross. Via Jackson to the south entrance of YNP it’s 138 miles (figure 3+ hours), and indeed includes the tolerably fierce road across Teton Pass.
But I do agree that a decent case can be made for staying closer to YNP (e.g. West Yellowstone). The Park has a lot to offer and it takes several days to give it even a light once over.
I absolutely get the “why stay in Rexburg” comments, and I would LOVE to stay in Jackson or somewhere closer to Yellowstone. But as I said in the OP, the hotels at which I can get a discount are not closer than Rexburg, AND hotel prices I’ve seen from various sources (Expedia, Hotels.com, etc) all show prices well north of $150 a night in the Jackson area. Something like $200 for one night won’t kill me, but three nights? A deal killer.
Not trying to get too specific, but I’ll be paying $39/night in Rexburg at a quality, well-known national chain. No, I don’t want a two-hour drive each way to the park, but golly…that’s a big price difference.
Several posters have mentioned additional lodging options by name, and I will explore them to see if we can meet in the middle price-wise.
Raza:
If you are still looking here…bookmark this for your trip.
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/3153/16652/
Canyon-to-Norris is closed or limited travel with Ranger escort only.
No immediate fire danger, but heavy smoke.