Perennial Summer

We’ve had beautiful August weather to share with our guests this year.  The days are hot (into the high 80s) but evenings cool down delightfully so you can enjoy your favorite fleece jacket!

Numerous tour groups, fishermen and families have stayed with us the last few weeks.  Many have reserved blocks of time for their rooms while others enjoyed their accomdations so much they extended their stays.  Yellowstone Park, Bear World, Harriman Park, Mesa Falls, Cave Falls, Warm River and Fall River are such fun day-trips.  You can look forward to a relaxing evening when you return to The Rankin!  We’ll have the grills fired up and the fire pit ready to roast a marshmellow!

Now we take this opportunity to showcase some of the beauty our property has to offer!

Enjoy your morning coffee sitting in the early light of the day!

Relax as the evening pours the cooler colors of the day over the lawns.

Enjoy the shy pansy garden as it nestles in the shadows of the rugged cottonwood trees my grandfather planted so many years ago.

And wander to The Heritage Bed where flowers grow in and around the sleeping farm equipment that once farmed the Rankin homestead.  This is the first flower bed we put together the summer of 2008.  It has become more beautiful every passing year.

The Mesa Falls Marathon IS COMING!  Saturday August 27th! Stay tuned!  Travel Safely!

Welcome THINGS!

The 2011 VW Thing Rallye rolled into The Rankin on Saturday afternoon, July 17.  What a rainbow of colors as the fun cars pulled into our driveway!  It took a few minutes to get everyone checked-in and settled into their rooms and cabins, but then the fun began!  The grills were ready, picnic tables in place, and the the volleyball net set up.  The fire pit had coals just ready for toasting marshmallows and making s’mores.  We enjoyed visiting with everyone and making sure they had a relaxing evening after their long day of driving.  When I asked if I could take a few pictures of the cars in front of the rooms and cabins, they were so gracious and offered to line them up anywhere I wanted them for a morning photo shoot before they left in the morning!

So, EARLY Sunday morning everyone was up and ready to start their trek to Yellowstone.  Robert and I were up and ready to get a few pictures of the group as they lined up for take off.  The slide show gives you an idea of the excitement, the noise and controlled chaos.  I’ve never seen a more organized group of travelers who enjoyed each other’s company more.  We wished them well and watched them head north to Yellowstone country in the cool morning air.

The rest of the day was very quiet and I contemplated the gifts of friendship we are so fortunate to nurture with our business.  We hope to see you soon!  Travel Safely!

Happy 4th of July 2011 !

Happy 4th to everyone!  We’ve welcomed so many guests the last month!  People are enjoying their Yellowstone and Teton adventures and return to relax with us on our shady lawns.  The fire pit is a favorite gathering spot in the evenings.  And this evening the fire works are beautiful and full of the spirit we as Americans cherish.

My flower gardens are in the poppy season, and the other perennials are ready to burst open.  The pansies are seeking shade as the summer heat is finally here while the petunias are loving the sun.  The tulip season lasted almost through the end of June this year.  I don’t remember them ever being so beautiful!

And of course the farm fields to the back of us are alive with this year’s crops.

Our recent entertainment has been a pair of crows trying to push their young one out of the nest.  The fledgling is reluctant to fend for himself and boy is he ugly! He is scrawny necked with few feathers and awkward with his flying attempts.

Continue to travel safely everyone!  We’ll see you soon!

Apologies to my blog fans. So much happening and keeping up with flower gardens, the business book-work and redecorating rooms and cabins keeps me from my writing.  Family from Texas were here visiting too.  What fun we  had decorating for the 4th together!  Love you guys!

Daffodils and Tulips

The day after we opened Thursday, April 28, we woke up to snow!  But we bundled up, cleaned the rooms, turned on the heat and welcomed our first guests of the 2011 season Friday evening.  2 weeks later, daffodils and tulips surround Welcome Bear Fred, and the grounds are green with the grace of spring!

Robert has mowed most of the lawns (in between the rain storms) and I’ve planted a few more flowers in the planters.  Pansies are a gutsy little flower to brave our eastern Idaho springs.  They are always blooming in the snows of spring.  I repaired our flag as the wind storms had ripped the bottom stripe and the edges.  Robert replaced the solar lights on the pole and it is flying high again!

The 90-year-old cottonwood trees stand at attention.  The homestead farm fields (in the background) are plowed for planting.  Welcome spring! The Rankin is open!  We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

The Season Begins!

Robert journeyed north last Thursday, April 21 for the monthly Ashton Chamber of Commerce meeting.  And since most of the snowbanks are gone, RANKIN2 (Robert’s Ford Explorer) hauled  a new picnic table set, new solar lights, an antique mailbox, along with new bedspreads up!

Dan and his crew (of Dan’s Plumbing & Heating) will meet us early on Thursday April 28th and get the water and electricity turned on for our 2011 season!   Our first guests of the season are arriving the next day and there is so much to get done!  The buildings have wintered fine, but there are water heaters to check, the heating systems to get turned on and the grounds to start cleaning up.  And I’ve had lots of time this winter to think about re-decorating the rooms and cabins with a few new antiques and pictures.  But that will come after the important things are functioning.  (Robert won’t let me have a hammer or paintbrush until the basics are up and running)

This is a tulip from last spring that always blooms in front of the house in the back.  Mom and I spent several falls planting red tulips there and under her snowball bush. They are still coming up.  Last fall after we had closed The Rankin  I went up several more weekends to plant a few more bulbs-  just me, a thermos of coffee and a few snowflakes to keep me company.  I hope the green shoots are at least pushing up through the ground when we go up this week.  It will be another 2-3 weeks before they will bloom.

Robert and I are looking forward to welcoming guests from Europe this summer as well as old friends who consider us their home-away-from-home.  Celebrate Spring and Travel Safely !

Auto Court Moment

From time to time, I want share some of the history of our business and the events of the time my grandparents operated the small Rankin Auto Court in our blog.

This picture is an ad from The Idaho Guest Encyclopedia, 1956-57.

And GOOD NEWS from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on April 15, 2011: Roads into Yellowstone National Park from the north and west reopen for the spring today.

Visitors eager to experience early spring in Yellowstone’s interior will be able to travel by car through the park’s north entrance at Gardiner and west entrance at West Yellowstone to Norris, Madison, Canyon and Old Faithful. In addition, park entrance fees will be waived April 16-24 as part of National Park Week.

We have all waited and watched the last few weeks as budget cuts threatened the opening of our beautiful Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks.  I came across this amazing front page story from 1942 in the local newspaper, The Ashton Herald.  What an instant connection for me.  My grandparents running this same business faced a possible Park closure.  Area businesses feared for the worst as the 1942 summer season approached.   I know what they were feeling.  As it turns out, it was a rumor in 1942 and Yellowstone Park did open that year, as  it has again this year.

I did a little more research.  I was curious about what the visitor statistics looked like for 1942 and found they did drop during WWII:

1941,  581,761

1942,  191,830

1943,  64,144

1944,  85,347

1945,  178,296

1946, 814,907 !  1946 and the war was over, no gas rationing and the country was traveling.  These statistics are from the Total Yellowstone Page  webpage on 4/14/11.  Last year in October 2010, the Park announced there had been a record number of 3.4 million visitors.   Wow!  We are excited for another year and the chance to welcome everyone traveling through our area.  Plan on staying with us to relax while you explore the beautiful Ashton, Yellowstone and Teton areas !

Bike ON!

Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are open to bicyclists to enjoy before they open for motorized vehicles April 15.  Snow geese are flying through our area as well. Camas Wildlife Refuge reports that Tundra and Trumpeter swans are resting on Big Pond.  There is an awesome article in the March 26 issues of the Standard Journal (our local newspaper), about all the bird activity they are seeing.

We’re gearing up (no pun intended!) as well.   We are planning to get rooms and cabins up and running mid-April and look forward to welcoming travelers as they visit our beautiful Ashton-Yellowstone-Teton area!

Many thanks to Fitzgerald’s Bicycles for the use of this beautiful photo from their blog site.  Their business is in Jackson Hole, WY .  Check out their web and blog site!

A Trip to Yellowstone in 1928

Posted with permission from the author, Paul Massier.

 I remember some of the events of a trip that my parents and family took to Yellowstone National Park from Pocatello in our 1926 Star automobile.  Based on dates written under pictures in the family album, I’m quite certain that it was in the summer of 1928.  I was 5 years old.  Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think that along this route there was no real highway at this time.  Instead, there were simply stretches of dirt and gravel roads between towns with some type of paving in a few towns. 

This trip was taken together with another family in their car so that there were two autos that traveled together.  In case of a breakdown, the two families could render assistance to each other.  The most common breakdowns in those days were caused by flat tires and overheated engines.  My oldest brother, Johnny, drove our car.  Most of the time the two cars kept a considerable distance between them while traveling in order to avoid as much dust as possible, generated by the lead car, from engulfing the follower.  The rear car generated dust also and even this made it uncomfortable for its passengers.  But at times those in the rear car did follow close enough so that one could see nothing but dust through the front window.  I remember sitting in the back seat beside a window.  If the window was rolled up, it would get hot and stuffy inside.  If I rolled it down, the road dust blew inside. 

Whenever we came to a paved surface, I rolled the window down to get some fresh air. 

The maximum safe driving speed on any of these gravel roads was about 35 miles per hour.  Along most stretches, we were able to go at that speed and occasionally my brother pushed it to 40.  The distance from Pocatello to Yellowstone was about 175 miles, a full day’s drive at that time with at least one planned stop for a picnic lunch along the way.  Along some stretches the railroad tracks were within viewing distance and that was a guide in maintaining the proper course to our destination.  I don’t recall noticing whether we had a road map, but we did stop at some service stations to inquire which road to take out-of-town and what the road conditions were like ahead.

Gas stations were real service stations at that time.  The attendant not only put gasoline in the tank, he cleaned the windows, checked the oil level, checked the level of the water in the radiator and added water if necessary.  If asked to do so, he also checked the level of the water in the battery and the air pressure in the tires, all as part of the service.  In addition, he repaired flat tires for a fee.

I think the self-service to fill the gas tank was not even permitted.  Most of the time we didn’t fill the gas tank, but instead, just purchased a certain number of gallons.  Restrooms in most places were outhouses.

Along some stretches of the road where there had been recent rains, ruts several inches deep had been formed by tires of automobiles that had passed there recently when the surface was muddy.  Since these ruts were generally right in the middle of the lane, one or both wheels tended to get “stuck” in them and follow them as they zigzagged around.  It sometimes required a considerable force applied to the steering wheel to maneuver out of them.  The road along some stretches in remote areas were very narrow and whenever we were approaching a “blind” curve, Johnny would honk the horn to warn oncoming cars.  We probably spent a couple of days inside the park before returning home.  The only sights I remember seeing were a few bears, Old Faithful geyser, Morning Glory pool and the Mud Pots.

Mr. Massier’s story was published in the Sunday edition of the Idaho State Journal, November 14, 2010.  I phoned him that morning after I read his essay and asked if I could post it in our blog.  What an awesome account of what it was like to travel when my grandparents were running the family business, our own Rankin Auto Court.  The cabins are still on the property and we’re still welcoming visitors traveling to Yellowstone Park.  I do believe the roads are in a little bit better shape though service stations are truly things of the past.  Thank you Mr. Massier for visiting with me on the phone and for allowing us to post your account!

Summer 2010

pansies

Spring Has Sprung

Spring sprang at the Rankin Motel and we are now open for another wonderful summer. Look at your calendars and put us on the  map. You won’t want to  miss the streams and fish not to mention the scenic views and cool air. We look forward to seeing you this summer. Send us an email, we’d love to hear from you!

Fish Story

Fishing is always a sport. When these girls captured their prizes late one evening, the best way to get a picture was the following morning. Someone failed to take them out of the freezer until photo op. You might note that the fish are not standing on their heads but they are quite stiff. Tell us your fish story! Or come see us and live one!

Fish Prize

Fish Prize