AMERICA OUTDOORS A Taste of the Wild And Woolly West You can see a `shootout,' ride a horse and pan for gold against a backdrop of majestic national parks. SIDEBAR: Touring a Cave, Being Brave - see end of text. See end of text for DETAILS, DETAILS ALL EDITIONS

• Published in: Newsday
• Main Author: By Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Long Island, N.Y Newsday LLC 22.04.1990
• Edition: Combined editions
• Subjects: NEVADA CITY, Mont

For those who thought that bringing the kids to the Wild, Wild West meant heading for a frontier ride at a California amusement park, the hills of Wyoming and Montana hold many opportunities for sampling western life at its earthiest. Just in and around adjoining Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, visitors can watch rough-and-tumble rodeos, pan for gold, join covered wagon trips, rediscover abandoned mines and photograph free-roaming bison and moose. There are also cowboy cookouts, riding trips, cattle drives, guest ranches, old-time participatory melodramas, caves that still haven't been fully explored and a generous supply of geological wonders to spur youngsters' interest in the sciences. This trip wasn't as relaxing as the bake-in-the-sun type family beach vacations we've taken. Of course, we could have approached it differently. Instead of staying within the parks - hiking, riding, exploring caves and geysers - we could have stayed at any of 12 luxurious dude ranches that the region is famous for. But then, perhaps that wouldn't have made for as rip-roarin' a time. DETAILS GETTING THERE The most convenient airport, minutes outside of Grand Teton National Park, is the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming. LODGINGS The best bet for families are camping villages within the parks. Bring your own tent or rent a cabin. Most of the park-run family activities are based at these sites. Family cabins range in price from $16 (very rustic, without bath, in the Roosevelt area of Yellowstone Park), to $46-$59 (with bath at Yellowstone's Grand Canyon and Lake Yellowstone). For information on dude ranch vacations and other activities around Jackson Hole, contact the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Box E, Jackson, Wyo. 83001; phone (307) 733-3316. Multi-day, covered-wagon trips can be reserved with Bar-T-5 Prairie Schooner Holidays in Jackson, (307) 733-5386, and Wagons West in Pinedale, Wyo. (800) 433-1595. Pat Dickerman's Adventure Guides Inc., 36 E. 57th St., New York, N.Y. 10022, (212) 355-6334, handles bookings for cattle drives in several western states. Rates run $270 for three nights at a ranch to $825 for 10 nights on a 75-mile drive, sleeping out. A free newsletter on drives and one on family vacations at ranches in the Rockies are available if you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. ENTERTAINMENT Plan your schedule around the rodeo in Jackson, since it only takes place Wednesdays and Saturdays, Memorial Day through Labor Day. There's no need to make reservations in advance, though. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., but get there early for a choice of seats. Guided tours of Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park in Montana are offered daily May 1-Sept. 30. Phone in season: (406) 287-3541. *** Touring a Cave, Being Brave