5775 miles and 15 Days. That's how long our drive was from Charlotte, NC to Yellowstone and back, with various stops along the way to and back from that glorious national park.
We went from Charlotte to Meramec Caverns outside of St. Louis, MO. Next, we went to Estes Park, CO to stay in the hotel that inspired the "Shining", the Stanley. Naturally, we took pictures of our creepy twins at the end of the long hallways to recreate the scene from Jack Nicholson's "Shining" movie. Then on to Cheyenne for the Daddy of 'em All rodeo during Cheyenne's Frontier Days. From there, we went to Grand Tetons National Park so that we could take a raft down the Snake River. Then, Yellowstone. There's NOTHING like this park anywhere. Between the wildlife, geysers and other natural hydrothermal features, you really need to allot a couple of days at this park...at the very least.
After Yellowstone, we followed Beartooth Scenic Byway into Montana and sought out Little Bighorn, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and saw the Medora Musical. Next, we were off the Black Hills of South Dakota to see Deadwood, ride horses in Lead, see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and stay the night in a cabin in Custer State Park. Between all of these stops, it is virtually impossible not to get some great wildlife viewing! On to Badlands National Park with a stop by Wall Drug, of course. Badlands was amazing, like stepping into another world. From there, we began the the journey home, stopping in Kansas City, MO for some barbecue and the WWI Museum and St. Joseph to look through Patee House, the headquarters of the Pony Express and Jesse James' house beside that. Then we dropped down to the Ozarks to stay in the "most haunted hotel in the US", the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR. Next, we stopped in the small town owned by Loretta Lynn, Hurricane Mills, TN, and toured her grounds and house. Our last stop, before our non-stop drive home, was Nashville where we toured the old Ryman Theater.
