From the road in North DAkota.. south dakota ....

mikelutestanski · August 12, 2009, 06:20:28 PM

Helo and greetings from ND sitting in Hermosa ND east of mount Rushmore.. Going to tour the area next few das before starting back east and touring the badlands next. Then on to st Louis for more train museums.. then back south..
Bus is running well at the moment... no sprint cell service hear but so what else is new...
meteor shower tonite chief crazy horse monument tomorrow..
Regards an happy busssin mike

Melbo · August 12, 2009, 06:29:47 PM

Mike

Sounds like you are having a good trip. Keep us posted and I would like to know what kind of fuel mileage you are getting.

I just ran up to the midwest two weeks ago.

My fuel mileage was all over the board from 4.5 one time to up to almost 8 another. I'm guessing it was from inconsistent fill ups and running the generator -- we never stayed in a campground.

Melbo

bcaddel · August 12, 2009, 06:43:42 PM

Hey Mike
We were in that part of the country last year. We really enjoyed Mt Rushmore but did not do the Chief Crazy Horse monument, while it really looked intriguing from the road, if I remember correctly they wanted to charge us something like $25 each for entry which I felt was ridiculous. I might have misunderstood the person at the gate but I asked him twice and he said yes $50 for the wife and I to drive through the gate.

If you do the tour let me know if it was worth it and/or if maybe I just somehow misunderstood the pricing.

Ed Hackenbruch · August 12, 2009, 06:45:30 PM

Huh! They must have moved it from South Dakota since the last time we were there.

jok · August 12, 2009, 07:30:21 PM

Hi Mike,

We were in that area two weeks ago and it was great. Mount Rushmore had RV/bus parking for $10.00. We also stopped at Bear Country USA. It was a pleasant surprise. Sitting up high we had a great view of their 150+ bears. If you go be sure to see the bear cubs, and the badgers. The Badlands were great, especially at sunset. My wife didn't like the signs warning of Rattlesnakes! Okay, maybe it wasn't the signs. Don't miss Wall Drug. Plenty of free RV/bus parking across the street by the train tracks. It is not for everyone but we enjoyed it. Diesel was about $.25 per gallon higher in Wall than if you went east about 100 miles. Of course we bought fuel in Wall. If you go through Mitchell S.D. you might want to check out The Corn Palace. Its free and so is the parking.

Have fun,
John

Chopper Scott · August 12, 2009, 07:35:33 PM

You're right Ed. It's South Dakota.

gus · August 12, 2009, 10:42:16 PM

John,

Is that $10 for overnight parking or just parking at the monument?

We're heading that direction Monday and plan a side trip to Pierre via US-83. I flew over it once and it looks interesting with all the falls and the river.

Mainly I want to visit the grasslands park after reading a book about the original western grasslands and what happened to them.

We will also return to I-90 via Philip. I've landed quite a few times and stayed overnight there at the only motel in town. Quite an interesting place, very small.

Ed Hackenbruch · August 13, 2009, 05:22:00 AM

We also did Bear Country USA and really enjoyed it. Well worth the cost and we would do it again,

jok · August 13, 2009, 06:58:06 AM

gus,

The $10.00 is just for parking at the monument. We stayed about 4 miles from Mount Rushmore in Keystone at the Holy Smoke Resort/Campground. It was $32.50 plus tax per night (866-530-5696). It was a pull thru with full-hook ups. http://www.blackhills.com/holysmoke/rvpark.html

We drove into the National Grassland park at Buffalo Gap when we took the scenic route into the Badlands. There were some ranches scattered throughout the area. It looks like it would have been a very hard way of life back in the day. Probably still is.

I was hesitant taking the bus towing the Suburban through Bear Country USA but it worked out great. It was worth the money.

John

busshawg · August 13, 2009, 02:02:36 PM

I found parking in Keystone (instead of paying to park right up by the prseidents) and putting the $$ towards the helocopter ride was worth while.

Grant

mikelutestanski · August 13, 2009, 07:59:26 PM

hello staying at a passport park 55 bucks for 3 nites.. hermosa not far from the sights.. drove through a herd of buffalo today some weighed as much as the car... very slowly of course had a good day...
Regards and happy bussin mike

Fredward · August 13, 2009, 08:42:15 PM

As a North Dakota native and land owner, I'm going to take a little offense to you thinking that you're in North Dakota when you're actually in South Dakota. No big deal; we don't get whipped up about that type of thing but c'mon read a highway sign!

Utahclaimjumper · August 14, 2009, 02:54:13 AM

A big difference really, Custer was healthy when he left North Dakota.>>>Dan

Ed Hackenbruch · August 14, 2009, 06:54:35 AM

Yeah, his visit to Montana didn't go too well.

poppi · August 14, 2009, 06:55:14 AM

"Custer was healthy when he left North Dakota"

but he wasn't when he left Montana............can ya hear me now

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