Right click on the picture and left click on “Save Link As…” to download to your computer. Once downloaded, you can open it and print our traveler’s prayer Betty Grover placed in all the rooms and cabins called “To Our Guests”.
Time to Fish, Hike & Bike!
Closed November- April
Gone Skiing!
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!
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!
What a busy past few weeks for the Rankin crew! Family reunions, visitors to Yellowstone and travelers on special trips have enjoyed our comfortable rooms and beautiful grounds. We are privileged to hear about their journeys, meet their kids and tell them about my grandfather and the auto court days! And it’s especially nice to see old friends who have stayed with us before requesting their favorite room or cabin. Cabin no.5 is a favorite of our fishermen.
It has rained off and on the past week and everything is green. Time to start mowing the lawns again. It’s also time for our 85-year-old cottonwood trees to shed their seeds covered in fluffy, cotton-candy sticky, white fuzz.
They are all over the place!
Travel safely! We’ll see you soon!
Robins have been spotted! And in news up north, Yellowstone Park Service reports bear tracks have been spotted in the Park The Bears are waking up from their winter naps and looking for breakfast! Hikers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers are advised to be careful. We’re also hearing from our friends and Yellowstone travelers as they make reservations to stay with us this summer!
It’s been a quiet winter for us and like the bears of Yellowstone waking up, we are preparing for another busy season of welcoming all who travel our way. I have been doing more research into the early Yellowstone Park days and how our business evolved with it.
What a thrill to find pictures of the bears begging for food from the early tourists to Yellowstone. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been to have something with teeth like that breathing on me! This picture is from The Roadside History of Yellowstone Park by Winfred Blevins. I have collected some other amazing books on the history of the area as well. We have recovered more pictures and brochures to share with you all. We are so ready for the warm sunshine and can’t wait to see how my flower beds wintered!
February 2, just up the hill from us in Ashton, the temperature in Island Park was -36 degrees. But not to worry! Warmer weather is ahead and we’re taking reservations for the coming summer! As you can see there is a little bit of snow to melt before then!
Yellowstone Park’s Bechler Ranger Station will be 100 years old this summer. Check out this beautiful part of the Park by clicking on the link on our webpage. Robert attened the Ashton Chamber of Commerce meeting last Thursday. They will elect new board members this coming month. The Ashton Dog Derby is this weekend. Mom remembered the fun time when Grandad took the family to town for the races and hot chocolate!
I’ll end this post with another snow picture. We are thinking spring as we sip our warm drinks next to a warm fireplace.
Imagine my delight as I came across the 1924 issues of the Idaho Department of Public Works magazine, Idaho Highways and Public Works. They are fragile and yellowed with time. My grandfather built the little cabins and set up his auto court in 1924 when automobile travel was a new adventure for people, and places to stay on the road (such as they were) didn’t exist. What a journey to the past to see the ads of the day, the commentary and pictures of the classic cars. We have some great pictures of these cars sitting in front of our cabins from that time period. Something to add to our website in the future! So much has changed in the lodging industry from that time. My research continues into this rich past. 2 important resources I have located are Idaho’s Highway History, 1863-1976, and Americans on the Road, From Autocamp to Motel, 1910-1945. So many social changes came about with the popularity of the auto. I have located a picture of Model Ts being brought over the Jackson Hole Pass on wagons pulled by horses with 5 foot snow banks on each side. What an endeavor!
I spent today working in the flower beds, cutting back perennials and planting tulip bulbs. The Tetons are looking quite white and the clouds looked like they were going to dump snow any second. It is time to hibernate!
It is a typical autumn day in Idaho, overcast and cool. The clouds promise snow. We closed the cabins and motel units last Thursday. Everything is winterized. What an awesome season 2010 turned out to be! So many wonderful people stayed with us on their journeys. Today Robert and I took a thermos of hot coffee, loaded the dogs and headed back up to Ashton to pick up a few more supplies and tools from the house. I also took tulip and daffodil bulbs. The planters in front of the cabins still have petunias blooming and I carefully worked around them planting the bulbs in clusters of 3. The dirt was soft, springy and cool. The brave little bulbs will wait out the winter for the sunshine of spring. The larger flower gardens haven’t frozen down yet either and I worked another hour in the front bed where the little welcome bear had stood most of the summer. He is hibernating now in no. 1. The sunsets this time of year are beautiful and set the golden trees ablaze.
