Snow has always blanketed the cabins in the winter.  This is a picture of them in the late 1930s.  While I’m not sure who is posing with the black lab, the cabins we know and love are buried in white fluffy stuff in the background!

Another winter picture.  This is one of my favorite pictures of D.K. (granddad) just back from the hunt.  Cooked goose for dinner and delicious homemade bread from the oven.  I use that same bread recipe and it’s still delicious.

Photography was one of mother’s favorite hobbies.  And winter provided a quieter time and season to pursue this love.  She captured simple, beautiful “winter moments” as she skied and hiked the snowy hills and fields with her pal Margaret.

I found this picture in a Christmas card mother had sent several years ago.

Margaret continues to ski and shared this picture in her Christmas card this year.

Robert is busy taking reservations for the coming summer.  We’re excited to have 3 families from Fiji and several groups from France coming in July.  Get your Travel Game Plan ON and let us know when you’re coming this summer!   And as always, travel safely!

full of things that have never been.       

Ranier Maria Rilke

New Year’s Eve, 2011.  What a great year for us at The Rankin!  A year full of family, and friends new and old.  We welcomed all to the gorgeous country of the Tetons, Yellowstone, Harriman Park, and Bechler Meadows.  We thank everyone who made us their “base camp” as they ventured into the hills to hike and fish.  Shaded lawns, gas grills, tables and comfortable chairs were waiting at the end of their day trips!

Summer mornings were cool.

The highlight of our summer was the 2011 Thing Rallye.  We hosted this fun group as they gathered from all over the country to travel through Yellowstone on to Mount Rushmore.

We were up at the crack of dawn as they lined up for us to take pictures!

And the best pictures for last:

My efforts in the flower beds was worth it as I battled slugs, ants, and earwigs!

Do plan on staying with us here at The Rankin Motel this summer 2012 as you travel through the paradise that surrounds Ashton, Idaho!  We have comfortable rooms and cabins to relax in and beautiful grounds to enjoy.  All of our rooms and cabins have coffee makers, refrigerators, microwaves and air conditioners.  Dave’s market/gas station is next door to us and features an awesome bakery and deli for your convenience.

We look forward “to things that have never been.”  Adventure waits!  Travel safely!

Today there is a gentle autumn breeze.  The leaves flutter past my window.  The lawns are covered with gold.

The sugar maple is the last to put on it’s golden garb.

This is our last weekend of the season.  Temperatures are in the low teens at night so it is time to get Dan’s Plumbing crew here to have everything drained.  They will come this Thursday.

We just finished getting new flooring in the rooms and cabin no. 5.  The new carpet smell is wonderful and the rooms are beautiful!

There is new flooring in the sink and bathroom areas as well.

Cabin no. 5 is the coziest ever!

Thank you Bingham & Sons of Rexburg for your quality flooring selection and the awesome work!

Robert will finish putting away the lawn furniture and the Rankin bench this afternoon.  I am finishing a few last sewing projects- a curtain panel and perhaps a pillow for no. 4 to match the new curtain panels I just put up.  I’ll also get a few more pictures of the cabins for the Cabin Showcase blog entries coming up.

We’re looking forward to the upcoming 2012 summer season.  Reservations are coming in so book your room or cabin with us as you plan on traveling the Yellowstone and Teton areas next summer!  We look forward to seeing you!  And as always, travel safely!

Early morning sunshine pours in.  There is a corner breakfast nook and a new quilt on the bed.  New curtain panels and valances add extra color to this room now.

A radio (yes it still works!) sits in the corner ready to tune into “Prairie Home Companion”.

Through the door you can see the other room of the cabin.

Here are comfortable chairs, books and a sewing cabinet for a night stand.  And an old, re-finished trunk sits at the end of this bed.

The leather straps are the old horse harnesses used to pull the wagons and plows in the fields.

More Cabin Showcases in the coming blog entries!

We had special guests stay with us last month.  They were the first to rent one of the new motel rooms my mother and father added in 1970.  The travelers remembered my folks and said they paid $24 for the best night’s sleep they had ever had!

We harvested our barley and flax-seed crops a few weeks ago.  The weather was beautiful!

Now travel back a few years to 1922.

This is a picture of Great Aunt Margaret to the forefront, with my grandfather and grandmother, D.K. and Eva.

The golden wheat of 1922.

And another picture of working in the fields.

What a legacy of labor.  A few pictures have survived.  A few moments are frozen in time. Women posing in the fields. My grandfather standing tall and proud in that field of wheat up to his chest.  He is wearing a suit and proud of his crop.    The other pictures are of horses and men, guiding and pulling machines to gather the crops.  What hard work.  I remember the stories of how much food had to be ready to feed the men working the harvests.  Loaves of bread, biscuits, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pies and cookies.  Work for the farm women in the kitchen was no easier.

I keep this legacy alive in my heart and have created a flower garden I have named “The Heritage Garden”.  It showcases the few remaining pieces of wagons and wheels we brought from the fields in 2008.  It becomes more beautiful every passing year.

The flowers are about finished blooming now though the black-eyed susans are beautiful and bright.  The days are shorter and traffic lighter.  A few workers on local projects and spud harvest crews are staying with us.  We have our rooms cozy and warm for everyone traveling our way this October!  Travel Safely!

A quiet, relective Sunday in Ashton at The Rankin.  Our flag at half-mast to remember and honor those who were killed by the violence of the 9/11/01 attacks.  The war on terror continues.  Our son has completed 2 tours to Iraq.  We are proud he is serving his country.  He was a junior in high school when the attack occured.  That moment defined his future.

A memoir my family members published is titled ”We Remember”  The stories are those of homesteading, the depression, WWI and WWII.  Cousins Beth and Lois each owned a single dress.  They planned dates carefully so as to have a different dress available for a date.  And woe to the person who spilled anything on the garment!  Cousin Winn flew over what remained of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped.  He was overwhelmed with the destruction and evil that thing had unleashed.  His life would never be the same.

I worked steadily all afternoon in my pansy garden bed.  It is a small area around an old cottonwood stump, shady and protected.  A huge bumble bee was suddenly crawling on the stump in front of me.  As it flew off, I saw a bird taking a bath in the water fountain 4 feet away from me.  The bird splashed furiously and sent beads of water into the air and sunshine.

I worked several more hours into the afternoon and another bee!  Could it be the same one?  I had my camera this time.  He circled in the air several times again before leaving.  The beauty of everything surrounding me was overwhelming.  He had come back to make sure I was appreciating it all.

We welcomed guests later in the evening.  Travelers from Germany were eager to see Yellowstone and wanted to know all of the good places to see.  They especially appreciated the mileage / estimated travel time map we had.  It’s an easy guide to help you navigate the park.  Of course if you come across a buffalo standing in the road, you aren’t going anywhere!  And we always point out the Mesa Falls scenic drive- Robert shows them the road on the map to take, and I show them the picture of the falls we keep on the end table.   All of our other reservations made it safely.

We dedicate this post to our dog Rocky.  We remember.

The Mesa Falls Marathon has been run and our guests all finished in good shape!   The beautiful scenery of the trails impressed the newbies and many said they would be back to stay with us next year!  Late check-outs were very much appreciated as our sweaty runners finished the race with the temps in the mid 80s.  That is pretty hot given a very bright sun, few clouds and an altitude of about a mile before you head up the hill!

Labor Day weekend, the last big holiday of the season was so busy!  Mornings now have a cool edge to them.  The hot days of August are gone and autumn is here.  The lawns and flower beds survived the heat thanks to Robert’s diligent irrigation efforts.  The perennial gardens are now showing off the black-eyed susans,

cone flowers,

with a few last Shasta daisies.

Harvesting is gearing up as well.  The back fields of grain are golden and the apple tree branches hang low with fruit.  We’ve picked the last batch of raspberries from Uncle Dave’s patch.  Monday evening, a road-tired family stopped to stay with us.  The kids, a young lady of about 11 and her young 3-year-old brother were anxious to run around a bit before bedtime and were having fun on the lawns.  As I worked in my pansy flower bed, she noticed how many apples were on the tree and offered to help pick them.  Not being one to turn down help, I grabbed the buckets and we managed to gather about 2 buckets full before it was time for her to go to bed.  We selected the best ones for her family and said goodnight.  I peeled about half of the rest of the apples that evening and filled the house with the wonderful smell of cooked apples and cinnamon.

Besides a hot cup of coffee, there is nothing like homemade applesauce for breakfast on a cool September morning.  Our ancient cottonwood trees are beginning to shed a few leaves.  Our guests this time of year enjoy a quieter season in Yellowstone.  No summer crowds and hot weather.  The beauty of fall colors surrounds us.  Travel safely!  We’ll see you soon!

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!

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!

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!