Time to Fish, Hike & Bike!
Closed November- April
Gone Skiing!
Time to Fish, Hike & Bike!
Time to Fish, Hike & Bike!
As we finished putting all of the lawn furniture away, soft, fluffy snow blessed our last task for the 2013 season.
Moments later, sunshine broke through and everything glistened.
It is difficult to describe how special this year has been for us here at The Rankin. The cabins were booked for most of the season and our international guests were delightful! They fell in love with our beautiful Yellowstone, The Tetons and Mesa Falls. Fishermen from Scotland were particularly delightful to visit with- Scottish brogue and fun stories sitting around the fire pit! FUN TIMES!
We have to share the “rainbow moment” with you in this post too! So many storms passed through this summer ending with sudden bursts of sunshine. One incredible rainbow arched over our property. The color faded so quickly but we managed to capture this much of it!
A journey is a special thing and we are privileged to share in so many lives as people travel. Offering a clean, comfortable place to rest is a pretty special thing to offer people these days. We’ve been at it since 1924! The cabins are still here!
We look forward to our 90th year of hospitality in 2014! Call us at (208) 232-8496 (our off-season phone number) or use our webpage contact form (rankinmotel.com) and let us know when you need a great place to stay next summer!
It has been a wonderful summer for us here at The Rankin! Our cozy cabins were booked solid for most of the summer! We love to share these special circa 1936 cottages my grandfather built. Quilts, old pictures along wtih a few pieces of original furniture make them special places to relax on your journey.
Our current “labor of love” is the exterior restoration of these special cabins. Replacing wood panels, thresholds and caulking is a big part of the process as well.
Restoration work includes installing cedar panels along the bottom edges of the 2 oldest cabins we use for linens and storage. The weather is holding so the stucco cabins are getting new paint as well. We’re hoping to get them up and ready to offer guest lodging next summer. Clawfoot bathtubs will be a challenge to work around!
We are blessed with wonderful online reviews. And Robert and I do appreciate the reviews that tell us how we can make your stay more comfortable. We want you to know that the low water pressure will be improved by installing new pressure valves on our pump this fall. And our bedding inventory will make sure to replace all “flat pillows”.
We appreciated the suggestion of hanging an extra mirror in each cabin from the group of ladies who didn’t mind sharing the single bathroom, but just needed another mirror for makeup and hair-doing. THANK YOU!
We’re welcoming hunters, fisherman and a few travelers to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks since they have reopened for a few more weeks. Do take time to travel through the beautiful Ashton country and enjoy the fall colors! Give us a call (208) 652-3570 and we’ll have a warm room or cabin ready for you! We’ll be open a few more weeks before it’s time to hibernate! Travel Safely, and Enjoy the Journey!
A third dish is installed and The Rankin officially has wi-fi! The snowball “bush” and peonies burst into bloom earlier this month. The cooler temps are keeping everything green. Bob won’t have to install air-conditioners in the cabins for another week.
Even bigger news is that we’ve got a 4th generation learning the biz this summer! Niece Jenny, great-granddaughter of D.K.Rankin, is keeping the grounds beautiful, getting some touch-up painting done and greeting guests with genuine hospitality, Texas style! Grandad was born in Virginia, and I still remember his gentle, southern drawl. As her picture shows, when Jenny gets her chores done, she hits the river! We’ve enjoyed some pretty tasty trout lately!
Daffodils and tulips have faded away and columbine, snapdragons and pansies are on center stage in the back lawn flower bed now. New lawn furniture, along with the fire pit and grills are ready for you! Give us a call (208) 652-3570 and let Bob or Jenny know when you’ll be coming! We’ll have the accommodations you need, awesome grounds to enjoy, embers in a fire-pit to roast a marshmallow over and perhaps a fish-story or two from Jenny!
Travel Safely!
And we’re not talkin’ about your mom’s Lenox! The new satellite dishes are installed and we’re getting the new televisions hooked up. Flat screen technology at The Rankin! It hasn’t been that long since we got everything to work with a remote control! We’ve had a trip to the past getting all of the televisions switched from cable to Dish network. 
Remember these? About 40 years ago, El Genes Appliances in Rexburg, Idaho sold mom and dad 10 zenith televisions for the motel rooms and cabins. And 40 years later, they are doing it again. The owner remembered my mom and was so pleased to learn our family is still running it! Such a blessing to find local service providers to keep us going.
Dan’s Plumbing got the water turned on yesterday and the new water heaters in the rooms are awesome. The cleaning crew is busy getting everything cleaned today and tomorrow. I’m sewing a few more curtain panels for cabins 3, 4 and 6. I managed to finish re-covering cushions and the chair in cabin 6 looks good as new.
The tulips are coming up and a few brave pansies bask in the cool spring air. We’ve heard from so many friends and travelers and can’t wait to see you! Get your travel plans together and give us a call!
(208) 652-3570 Business phone
(208) 851-8646 Robert’s cell
We’re ready to make your journey a little more special when you rest and relax with us!
Travel Safely!
There is beauty in the sunset of winter and in the land where the foliage has died back. I noticed a lot of milkweed along highway 20 last fall and discovered a patch in the fields in the back of the house. Their strange beauty never ceases to intrigue me.
Mother was always on the hunt for these beautiful pods to add to her fall bouquets of dried flowers. We took every back road between Idaho Falls and Ashton looking for these dumb things- we kids had better things to do for sure. Now, what a treat to find them in our own back fields.
We have sad news about our black lab Tipper. She passed away last week after a long battle with cancer. She was 12 years old and loved welcoming guests to the Rankin. Especially if those guests remembered her with a doggie treat! She was our fence-jumper in her younger days. Her sister Lady is a little lost. We all are.
We’re getting your reservations lined up for this summer! Make plans to visit our Yellowstone and Teton country this year, give us a call and we’ll have a room ready for you! Travel Safely!
I managed to get all of the curtains back up after the new windows were installed in the cabins. We talkin’ about 24 sets of valances, panels and inserts. Some of which I need to re-fashion as the windows open much more easily to let in the cool evening breezes.
As I re-hung curtains, I took inventory of the hardware. Most of the rods and hardware are in good shape; especially the older sets in cabin no.5. I believe Grandmother Rankin hung her curtains on these rods and brackets. I can’t imagine how many different sets of curtains have hung from this sturdy hardware. Mom used to buy 2 or 3 extra bedspreads for the cabins and always used them to make matching curtain sets. Flash back to the 70’s and think burnt orange corded bedspreads from Sears. I sew curtains as well and delight using vintage fabrics, old quilts and pillowshams to create new looks for our cottages.
Grandmother’s tiger lilies still bloom every summer and watch me troop back and forth, in and out of the rooms to hang pictures and curtains, change quilt sets and switch lamps around for the perfect look. Or, at least a look that will bring a room to life for a guest to enjoy and relax in!
More reservations are coming in every day for the coming 2013 season. We’ve heard from friends in Canada, Vienna, London and all over the United States. And it will be our 89th year of operation! We are still family owned and operated since Grandad started up the Rankin Auto Court in 1924. We are proud to offer the cleanest, most comfortable and affordable accomadations you will find on the way to Yellowstone and Teton National Parks.
Give us a call and let us know when we can have a room or cabin ready for you this summer! Travel Safely!
Cozy corner breakfast nook
We stayed open through Thanksgiving this year to get new windows (24 of them!) in all the cabins. And are they nice! This is cabin no.3. The fun part now is re-designing some of the curtain treatments! Of all accessories, the drape of a fun fabric, the splash of color and texture is what makes every one of our cabins come alive with their own personality! My sewing machine is up and ready! Picking out the fabrics and color combinations is the hard part.
We took advantage of the extended time open and the beautiful, mild weather of November to paint the motel room doors. What a fresh, new look! I want to use this same color (Martha Stewart Holly Berry) on the shower house this summer.
Already the 2013 season is upon us! Bob has his reservation book set up and getting rooms lined up for you. So far July is looking very busy! Let us know when we can have a room or cabin ready for you! Travel Safely!
Just to let you know, The Rankin is still open! We’re waiting for new window installation for the cabins. It’s been a mild and Beautiful November so far (except for the snowfall 2 weeks ago). But the snow is gone and days are getting up to 50 degrees. That gives Robert a few more days to get the leaves off the lawns!
Most of the leaves are off the trees but a few cottonwoods are hanging on to a few of them. Hunters stopped in last night and were thrilled to find we were still open. A hiker also checked in and will explore the area a bit more as long as the weather holds. And some of the Ashton Dam workers are staying with us for a few more days. They’ve enjoyed the rooms and the gas grill as they relax after the long day at the job site.
Robert, Roxie and Jenny
Reserve a room today and enjoy the Ashton countryside. The grills are still out!
The ash tree on the farm has turned gold. It is officially fall here at the Rankin in Ashton, Idaho. Evenings are cool and we gather around the fire pit as the sun sets. Guests seek out the warmth of the fire and we visit into the evening.
It is always interesting to observe the trees turn and shed their leaves. Weeping birch, ash, cottonwood and the sugar maple take the stage at different times to show off their gold.
Ash trees at the front of the property are just starting to turn.
I’ve replaced the front cabin petunias with fall mums. We’ve had the heat on in the cabins and rooms to keep them cozy for you!
Fall is the perfect time to plan a trip to the Yellowstone country. The summer crowds are gone. The fall colors are gorgeous against the blue sky. There has been so much smoke and harvest haze the last several months that it’s good to see the Tetons again. Temperatures are dropping at night. Little nips of frost glisten in the morning sun. It’s also time to plant a few tulip and daffodil bulbs, mend linens and hang heavier curtains.
So pack your warm gear and head to autumn in the Ashton and Yellowstone areas! We’ll have a room ready for you!
