Travel Tips

[pcmom]

Hello Everyone,
 
We are driving to Minnesota in a few days and would like some travel tips.  Quick trip out :eyecrazy:  but slow coming back.  We plan on returning via Mt. Rushmoore.  
 
A few questions (It will be just the boys and I going out and Steve will meet us there for the return trip)
 
1.  Campground books - which is better - Woodalls or Trailer Life?
 
2.  Via I-80, According to the Flying J website it looks like a diesel shortage in Wyoming - does anyone know this?  Where is the best place to fill up?
 
3.  What's the possibility of finding a hotel in Rock Springs, WY very late at night?  
 
4.  What about hotels in Ames, IA?
 
5.  Is it worth the money to see the Shark Encounter at the Mall of America?
 
6.  Any MUST SEE, things along I-90 for the return trip?  i.e., is it worth going to De Smet, SD to see the "Little House on the Praire"?
 
7.  Besides Mt. Rushmoore, any other recommendations around there? Black Hills, Custer, Badlands?  Where's the best place to camp?
 
8.  Anything else you can think of?
 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.  I'm leaving early Thursday morning.
 
Michelle

[AustinBoston]

Seems strange that you ask what amount to Northern Great Plains questions in a forum dedicated to Northern California campers...

We are driving to Minnesota in a few days and would like some travel tips.

In the greater Minneapolis/St Paul area at rush hour, some interstate on and off ramps are "metered," which means there is a stop light on the on-ramp.  Usually you have to form two lanes (where there is normally room for only one) and the lights alternate between left and right lane.  Follow the light on your side of the ramp.

2.  Via I-80, According to the Flying J website it looks like a diesel shortage in Wyoming - does anyone know this?  Where is the best place to fill up?

Flying J is not the only game in town.  TravelAmerica (T/A) and others also sell diesel.  I don't know what plazas exist in SD, but I will say this - distances in SD and some of the other states you mentioned can be huge, and they run through totally empty land.  The lack of a diesel station may be because there isn't anything there at all.  Plan ahead.

5.  Is it worth the money to see the Shark Encounter at the Mall of America?

Underwater Adventure is certanly worth seeing if you are going to be at the Mall Of America anyway.  I don't know if it's worth going a long way out of your way to see, but most kids will enjoy it.  Make sure you have a decent map of the area before entering MOA; the roads in and out (and how they connect) can be very confusing.
 

6.  Any MUST SEE, things along I-90 for the return trip?  i.e., is it worth going to De Smet, SD to see the "Little House on the Praire"?

If you want to see LHOP sites, you want to visit Walnut Grove, MN (On the Banks of Plumb Creek)  It's a good hour north of I-90, but I think it's the place where Laura Ingalls spent the most time.  There isn't anyhing else to do within 1/2 hour drive of the area.

7.  Besides Mt. Rushmoore, any other recommendations around there? Black Hills, Custer, Badlands?  Where's the best place to camp?

Do not miss the Crazy Horse memorial;  I would recommend Wind Cave NP and/or Jewel Cave NM.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.  I'm leaving early Thursday morning.

Have a safe trip, and be glad you're not flying right now!

Austin

[Calstate361]

When we did the "tourist thing" a few years ago and 9 years before that, for our late honeymoon, we stopped in Montana to visit with some cousins in Bozeman and outside of Billings; then drove over to South Dakota and stopped and looked at the Custer Memorial on the way.  We stayed at the Horse Thief Resort & RV Campground both times and the place was not as crowded as the other places near by.  It is located just outside Hill City, SD.  I found it in the AAA Camping Book.  It was a great place because it was close to a freeway and a short distance from Mr. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.   If you have the time go the the Teddy Rosevelt National Park within the Badlands.   If you want to take a day trip, you can drive to Rapid City and go see where they make the Black Hills Gold at the Landstrom's Factory.   Then there is the city of Deadwood or Dogwood, where a movie Actor (I think Kevin Cossner) ownes the city or part of it anyway.  That place is an old Western town with all the bars, etc.  On the way to Hill City we did see a "Flinstones Park", but I don't remember where it was because we didn't have kids with us so we didn't stop.  The Horse Thief Resort & RV Campground will give you a very nice map of the area and it has all the sites you might want to see and the map makes it very easy to find your way around.   The map showed us that there was a loop of freeway that went up to Rapid City, through Deadwood/Dogwood and came back around back to Hill City.  We passed a wonderful lake that we just pulled off the side of the road to take a picture.  It reminded us of Lake Tahoe.  Anyway, I'll have to try to look on my brochure at home to see what the e-mail address is for the Campground and let you know tomorrow.  There are lots of things to do and keep you busy in that area.   You will need lots of money because when we went to Crazy Horse 9 years ago, it only cost us a couple of dollars to park, then the last time they had remodeled and made the observaton area larger and it cost us $17 just to park!  You will love Mt. Rushmore, pictures do not do it justice.   You have no concept of it until you are at the observation deck looking up at it and how wondeful it is.  

HAVE FUN

Joan

P.S.  The web site for the Campgroud is:  //www.horsethief.com

[AustinBoston]

I just remembered - you do not want to be within 50 miles of Sturgis, SD with small children (maybe not with teenage boys either) during the annual Sturgis Hawg rally.

Anybody know when the Sturgis rally is this year?

Austin

[6Quigs]

Hi Michelle, and Steve,

Sorry I can't give any advice for the trip, other than plenty of DVD's to keep the boys occupied.
Steve had me stupmed with one question he asked me, "Is there anything I dislike about our trailer?" and I have thought a bit more about it, and no, there is nothing we dislike about it. If we were to buy a trailer tomorrow, I would want the same one, as it suits our needs for right now.

Hope you have a safe trip, and good luck with the new trailer.

[cyclone]

Hotels in Ames, Iowa should be no problem - it's been a few years since I have been back there but most of the chain hotels are represented.  It's a great college town!  (not that I'm biased or anything - love those ISU Cyclones!)