Yellowstone,Solvang

[Icc5]

Good morning all,
My wife and I are heading to Solvang for a week starting July 13 and in August we will be going to Yellowstone with my 18 year old son and another couple. Besides my son the rest of us are around 55 or so.
Any suggestions for things to do in either place? We know in Yellowstone or the surrounding area we plan to horseback ride, river raft, hike and hopefully do some other things that you suggest. All suggestions are welcome and while you are at it if you know of good places to eat since that is a hobby I love to partake in.
Thanks,
Bart

 

[swift]

Have you looked through this yet? http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=495673&postcount=1

 

[Makai Guy]

Not exactly what you're asking about, but there's always my Yellowstone page from several years ago. http://members.toast.net/fdw/ynp/

 

[Steve]

There aren't a lot of fine dining establishments in the Yellowstone area. Within the park itself, I think the nicest restaurant is the dining room at the Lake Hotel. Good food and a beautiful view. Reservations are essential for dinner. You can often walk in for lunch.

Another fun choice in the park is the dining room at the historic Old Faithful Inn. I don't think it's quite as good as the Lake Hotel, but it's in the wonderful old lodge and it's a fun experience. Reservations are also a very good idea here.

In West Yellowstone, my favorite place to eat is the Three Bears Restaurant. It's not fancy, but it's decent. West Yellowstone is a very small town and most of the eateries leave a bit to be desired.

If you make it to Jackson Hole, then you will have lots of great options. Jackson has some truly great places to eat in a variety of price ranges.

As for activities, you won't want to miss the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, the IMAX theatre, and the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum. In fact, all of these attractions are within walking distance of the WorldMark resort. There is also the Playmill Theatre if you like small town, summer stock theatre. Mesa Falls, in nearby Idaho, is very beautiful. Within Yellowstone, be sure to take the Firehole River Scenic Drive. It's easily overlooked but shouldn't be. There's even an old fashioned swimming hole (hot springs keep the water from being too cold) along this route if you are so inclined. I'm sure you are aware of all of the main attractions, so I won't mention those here.

Have fun!

Steve

 

[Kauai Kid]

Don't know how it is this year but last year we saw more animals on the stretch of road from west Yellowstone to the junction with the loop highway.

The 500 buffalo and their calves grazing were an incredible sight I'll always remember.

Remember, 2000 # Buffalo have the right of way and they can outrun any human sprinter. More people have been injured and killed by Buffalo than any other critter.

Back in the steam train age Buffalo derailed a steam engine when the engineer shot one that was blocking the track.

Sterling

 

[Icc5]

Good suggestions

Thank you for the suggestions. If you think of anymore let me know.
I have the feeling that I will end up our tour guide.
Bart

 

[short]

Solvang

Lots of Cheese Danish
Pismo Beach(North of Solvang)
Sideways driving tour(or winery tour)
Check out concert or gambling at Chumash Casino
Santa Barbara(shopping on State Street, beach, Zoo, etc.)

 

[Passepartout]

Bart, It's been a few years since we wandered through Solvang. I remember it as being kind of 'cutesy' German- or is it Swiss. Whatever, there's Pea Soup Anderson's, and after you have someone take your picture with your faces in the cutouts of 'Hap Pea and Sweet Pea' what to do? Depending on how much driving you want to do, there's Santa Barbara with it's mission. And a bit over 100 mi. North is Wm. Randolph Hearst's San Simeon. I don't know how much the younger folks would enjoy it, but I've enjoyed every stop there. They do several different tours of the property and have an I-MAX movie to give an overview. It might be a long day for a day trip.

You don't mention where in the Yellowstone area you are staying. It's a large area, and you'll run out of time long before you run out of things to do. We were there the week before Memorial day at Jackson and day-tripped into Yellowstone. Some roads were still closed, and the picnic areas had 5-feet of snow on the tables, though it was near 80 degrees! Lunch at Old Faithful Inn was great. The Inn, more than the lunch. We saw hundreds of elk, bison, eagles, possibly wolves, and darn few people, though there will be lots of those when you are there. It was wonderful, as usual, but it's sort of in our back yard about 5 hours away.

If you are so inclined, get fishing licenses and try your luck. Steve's suggestions are a good guide. If you need internet access in West- (Yellowstone) as the locals call it, there's a cafe, just about the closest building to the park entrance. We had to stop there for a latte and check in with the world on our day-trip during business hours.

You'll have a great time, and don't worry, even if you are the tour guide, millions have done it and they were all hero's to the guided.

Jim Ricks

 

[Lawlar]

Solvang

Solvang? Really? [Just kidding – but it is a very slow place, good for a half-day visit. But a week?]

Ok try some of this:

Solvang Theaterfest: it is an outdoor theatre in the middle of Solvang. I’ve seen some wonderful musicals and plays there. On a warm summer night the place is magical. Here is their website: solvangtheaterfest.org Buy tickets now so you know you will be able to attend.

Santa Barbara (my home) is one of the most beautiful cities in California. You can see most of the town in one day. State Street at the pier is a good place to start. The electric bus (25 cent fare) from there will take you along the beach (from the Harbor at one end to the zoo at the other - park at the Harbor for $5 for the day) and up and down State Street. The highlights are the pier and harbor (eat at Brophy’s at the Harbor – the food on the pier is awful), the Mission, Botanical Gardens (skip the zoo – its nice but small – unless you have young children or you really love zoos). There are lots of great restaurants in Santa Barbara. Driving suggestion: Take the 101 Freeway one way (fastest route to Santa Barbara – a nice drive along the Pacific Coast) and the 154 the other way (more scenic and goes past the Chumash Casino and Lake Cachuma).

Hearst Castle: A bit of a drive North, but well worth it. Make reservations for the tours in advance. Tour 1 of the pools and the main house is the best tour. Stop at the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obisbo for breakfast or lunch on the way – its very gaudy, in a nice way, and the food is good.

Dinning suggestions: The Scandanavian Inn in Solvang (but when we ate there you needed reservations and you could only get in if you were a hotel guest – gee – but the food was great so check it out), Mattei’s Tavern in Solvang, and the Willows Steak House at Chumash Casino (pricey but good – the cheap buffet at the casino would be my choice, instead of Willows).

Skip Andersen’s Pea Soup! We ate there a few weeks ago. Andersen’s use to be the place where travelers stopped for a break while traveling the 101 Freeway – but that was in the 60s. The food and service were really poor when we were there recently and the place was practically deserted even though it was a holiday.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Rose Pink]

Lotusland

Is near Santa Barbara.
http://www.lotusland.org/welcome.htm

 

[swift]

Where are you staying in Yellowstone? If you will be in Big Sky and you are looking for a good western steak meal we went here and thought is was very good. http://www.corralbar.com/

 

[Icc5]

West Yellowstone

We will be staying at the Worldmark which is right there at the West entrance.
Bart

 

[swift]

Okay, well the Corral-bar is about 20 min from the West gate toward Big Sky. If you are going horseback riding out in that direction you might be near it. We went horseback riding also while we were there but I can not remember who we went through now.