Destination: Sheridan, WY -> Custer, SD (10.5 hours, 575 miles)
Today was our last day in Yellowstone and we packed up the AirBnB to head for a small hike to Wraith Falls and then out the scenic northeast entrance of Yellowstone. It was rainy the entire car road to the trailhead but cleared just before we arrived. So we geared up and started the hike…
About 5 minutes into the hike it started to pour and we were also pretty concerned that we were the only people on the trails and there were numerous signs saying that this specific trail was frequented by grizzly bears. On top of that, Beckett wouldn’t stop screaming to go back to the car. So, we took all of those as signs that it wasn’t meant to be and turned back. We felt a little better when we saw another group start hiking after us only to turn back as well.
Since we didn’t get to hike we needed the kids to burn off some energy so we let them play in the front seats of the car. I think we’d still be there today if we didn’t stop them. Again, an obscure trip highlight for them! After we buckled them back in we headed to the NE entrance via Mammoth Hot Springs (didn’t stop because it’s mostly dried up) and the Lamar Valley.
On our way to the Lamar we witnessed more open land and stunning landscapes (honestly more of what I thought all of Yellowstone would be). We made it to Lamar Valley and it lived up to its reputation of being the best place to see wildlife. We saw more Bison than we can count, including right up next to the car and we saw Pronghorn, which is the fastest land animal in North America, running at a full sprint across the land.
After leaving Yellowstone we stopped in Cooke City for some lunch where no one has functioning bathrooms because of the flood last year (tough way to live!). Brooke went in a rock store and bought a little geode. Jaclyn and I finally got a Bison burger (sorry guys!), Brooke got a hot dog the size of her arm (which rivaled Sausage King) and Beckett bought some ritz cracker cheese sandwiches (remember this).
We all hopped in the car and headed for a Beartooth Highway (which has the best name ever). We were all eating our lunches as we drove since this was Road Tip 101 (don’t stop and eat at restaurants). Unfortunately, this time it backfired. Within 5 minutes of leaving Cooke City, Beckett had managed to crush up every Ritz sandwich and pour the crumbs all over himself along with a bunch of water from his water bottle. So, we ended up pulling over and changing him and cleaning out his car seat.
Once Beckett and the car seat were cleaned there was nothing stopping us from Beartooth Highway. I had looked up this up previously and intentionally chose this route for this part. Jaclyn had no idea what was coming…
Beartooth Highway has been described as the most beautiful drive in America. With that said, it’s probably also the sketchiest/scariest drive in America. It’s 68 miles of incredibly windy highway that ascends and ascends and ascends and ascends higher each time you think you’ve reached the top. Then the same exact thing happens when you descend. The actual top is so vast that you get instant vertigo looking in any direction. Jaclyn loved it so much she told me she wanted to write about it in the blog.
Jaclyn’s Review of Beartooth:
Well, I was excited at first! Most of the time I’m up for an adventure and some adrenaline! And it’s hard to have a bad attitude when you’re looking out the window at incredible views. You can’t help feeling like you’re on top of the world at these elevations. But, after the first few minutes I started thinking about just how dangerous the road was and didn’t feel as comfortable anymore. It just went on and on and on! And the slight feelings of motion sickness and vertigo didn’t help the situation. I honestly couldn’t believe there were not signs at the start of the road to at least give people a fair warning about what it would be like. I definitely would not have felt comfortable driving it alone! At least we lived to tell the tale and I know Jay had fun and that he was driving as safe as possible. Next time, if the name of a highway includes a wild animal, I’ll be sure to look it up first!
After finishing Beartooth Highway we intersected with I-90 and turned off our brains and turned on our cruise control to 80. The fun part was over!
Beckett napped for a while and then we stopped at a random park to let the kids run around. They found a mud puddle and played with it for half an hour just throwing in rocks, building a dam or Beckett repeatedly trying to put leaves in the water only to have them blow away the second he dropped them.
Our original destination was Sheridan, WY and we agreed to stop there and get the kids ready and try to make a big push while they slept. Jaclyn spent a long time trying to find stuff in Sheridan to wear out the kids. Unfortunately, she looked in Sheridan, MT despite me warning her several times to not make this mistake because I had just made it the day before 😆
We arrived in Sheridan and spent close to two hours at a gas station/food rest stop area. Restaurants are tough with kids and they don’t eat anything so you just end up wasting your money and yelling at them to be quiet. So, we decided to be smart for once. Beckett loved watching all the trucks again. At around 6:30 we hit the road and headed for Rapid City, SD.
About an hour into our drive Jaclyn realized that while we were headed in the right direction we’d essentially drive by Mt. Rushmore and all the cool things around Custer. So, at the last moment we detoured to Custer, SD, lured there by Sylvan Lake and Needles Highway (which I had originally planned for us to do but totally spaced it when heading for Rapid City).
We drove across nowhere and could see a cool thunderstorm light up the sky way off into the distance. As we approached Custer we had one last challenge for the night. A mountain pass, at night, the middle of nowhere…with bighorn sheep. Luckily my Beartooth experience made this mountain pass no match for us! Although it was funny because Jaclyn had chose this road after cursing me for choosing Beartooth!
We arrived in Custer, SD and went right to bed. The longest driving day of the trip (with the kids) was over.
-Jay