Looking for advice on taming The Wild, Wild West!

[m1noel]

Southern Idaho is not Northern Idaho, but still lots to see. Mesa Falls in Island Park (just out of Yellowstone), Shoshone falls near Twin Falls, Thousand Springs, Craters of the Moon, Anywhere along the Salmon River, Bear Lake, Snake River Canyon, Hell's Canyon (best seen from Jet boat or raft), just to name a few. Northern Idaho would take another page or so.
If you know where you would like to stay, I can probably suggest a park or two.
Mike

[Judge]

We've done the west the last two years. We love it out there....

I store the coach in PA so we leave Florida to see family, pickup the coach and leave our trips from there. I have my routes and stops in Roadtrippers so I will include the links at the bottom.


I could talk to you about it for an hour over the phone. There is too much to post here but were were some our highlights......

- Teddy Roosevelt National Park (stay in / near Medora, ND). It is a real hidden gem in the badlands and there is a north and south section. Medora is a quaint old west town and get tickets for the musical.

- Glacier NP (stayed at the KOA in St Mary). Do the Going to the Sun Road (it is timed entry). It is our favorite national park.

- Flathead Lake in Polson is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi at 200 square miles. Rent a boat for the day.

- Yellowstone (stay in West Yellowstone). I have ridden snowmobiles in Yellowstone in the winter and RV'ed there in the late summer. I tell people if you are only going to see Yellowstone once in your life..... see it in the winter. It is breath taking. Seeing it in the late summer was a letdown after first seeing it in the winter.

- Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole

- Heady to Cody, WY but go through the east entrance of Yellowstone. The drive though Sylvan Pass and Wapiti is fantastic.

- Cody, WY - A great old west town. See the Buffalo Bill Museum and the rodeo. Stop at the Irma for a drink or two. Take the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge. Another very scenic drive.

- Stop at Devils Tower on the way to Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore and the evening ceremony is very moving and gives you the true sense of patriotism. Every legal US citizen... and anyone wanting to get there citizenship..... should be required to go there once on their life.

- Utah National Parks: Arches, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Cedar Breaks

- Sedona, Flagstaff and the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon

- The Petrified Natural Forest National Park is pretty cool and worth a day.

- The annual Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque in early October is a very cool spectacle. Take a ride in a hot air balloon. Take a ride to Old Albuquerque and Sante Fe

I could go on and one..... if you have questions or want to hear more, let me know and I'l give you my phone number. If you were a little closer my wife and I would meet you for a cocktail and show you pictures and tell you more.

https://maps.roadtrippers.com/?a4=t!...copy&z=4.26814


https://maps.roadtrippers.com/?a4=t!...copy&z=4.21131

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by ador

Zion and Bryce are 2 of my favorite places to visit from Las Vegas. If you pick either of the NP to camp, you can drive to the other in about an hour or so (each way). You can just do a day trip going to the other NP. There is a full hook up CG right by the gate of Zion NP. It is called Zion Campground. There are few spots that are back-in, and have access to the river. https://zioncamp.com/zion-canyon-campground/

If you decide to go to Bryce, we camp outside the gate. Full Hook-Up, called Ruby's Inn RVCampground https://www.brycecanyoncampgrounds.com/

Of course there are CG inside the parks. But mostly No Hook Up.

Have fun with your trip.

We stay at Ruby's and visit the State Parks close by as well as Bryce

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by Dan-sr@perra-us.net

Just remember to check your distance between overnight stops. For example, Texas will take at least 2 - 3 days to cross from El Paso, TX to Marshall, TX. The adds that say everything is bigger in Texas is TRUTH. the other issue with Texas is that there are few campgrounds between El Paso and San Antonio along I 10. Other long-distance states are the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas. Add Colorado and Wyoming to that list as well not only for the distance but also for the Long Uphill climbs getting over the continual divide in both directions and the twisty roads leading up to the passes in Colorado.

I spent enough time in Lackland, Wichita Falls and San Antonio to never need to go back. My route avoids Texas. But good advice everywhere else...especially going from an 80 gallon tank on previous coach with huge tanks to a 29 gallon tank with limited gray and black.

[happy]

Gritz, you say you enjoy seeing firearms so I recommend the J.M. Davis Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma. It is by the Will Rogers museum and is considered one of the largest collections anywhere.

[Jimbo56]

Gritz- sounds like we’ll be just ahead of you going same direction. Happy travels!

[MJC62]

If you are traveling on I 90 through South Dakota stop at Al's Oasis. We plan a stay at the Oasis campground it's about halfway across South Dakota (next exit after the visitor center in Chamberlain with the Dignity statue). After settling in we walk up the street to Al's Oasis restaurant for the buffet. In the morning it's a leisurely 2/12 - 3 hour drive to the Badlands National Park. When we stay at the Badlands, we use the Badlands Hotel & Campground in Interior SD, it's a fairly vanilla RV park with FHU's a mile from the gate. If the amenities of a KOA is more to your liking the White River KOA is a couple miles further down the road.
No visit to the Badlands is complete without a stop in Wall to wander through Wall Drug. It's a bit dated but still worth the stop. Plan to lunch at Badlands Saloon & Grill across the street from Wall Drug. Badlands isn't a big National Park but to see it all plan a couple days or if time constrains, come in on the east end and drive the scenic loop through in a couple hours ending up in Wall.
After we leave Badlands, we head over to Custer to visit Custer State Park & the surrounding area including Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway & Iron Mountain Road. We like the Beaver Lake Campground on the west end of Custer it has full hook ups laid out more like a campground than an RV park. While in Custer plan on dinner at Mt Rushmore Breweries Founding Fathers Restaurant and/or while walking around town taking in the shops the Custer Wolf is a good spot for a burger & a beer.
Geez reading this post seems we like to eat !

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by Jimbo56

Gritz- sounds like we’ll be just ahead of you going same direction. Happy travels!

When are you leaving and what route are you slated for? Were leaving on or about 4/22, heading to Memphis to see Elvirus for 2 nights then turning left. Working on somewhat of a schedule now but not much on setting hard dates unless it's those places we have to. April reserves the right to say..."I wanna go....THAT WAY" and I turn off course.

[Dan-sr@perra-us.net]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Durango / Silverton or the Cumbres and Toltec narrow-gauge railroads. There are a lot of campgrounds around Durango or if you are adventurous you can camp in Silverton. A word of warning if you do plan to camp at a high altitude spend a few days at 5000 ft to acclimate to the thinner air before going up to spend the night above 10,000 ft.

If you do plan to ride the Cumbres and Toltec and have a TOAD you can plan to leave the TOAD in Antonito overnight, drive your motorhome to Chama, camp overnight. Then you can ride the train all the way to Antonito and then drive back to Chama in the Toad. Otherwise, your best bang for the buck is to ride from Chama half-way and take the bus ride back to Chama.

Another Gem is Ouray there are several campgrounds including one that is within walking distance to the Ouray Hot springs pool. This one is usually not as crowded as the one in Glenwood springs. Ouray is located in a box canyon valley north of Silverton If you drive in from Silverton or drive up from Ouray there is a spectacular view of the town. Ouray is also very near to Telluride so you can make day trip there as well.

For those who say, "Been there done that don't need to see it again." I say, "Been there done that can't get enough."

[Jimbo56]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

When are you leaving and what route are you slated for? Were leaving on or about 4/22, heading to Memphis to see Elvirus for 2 nights then turning left. Working on somewhat of a schedule now but not much on setting hard dates unless it's those places we have to. April reserves the right to say..."I wanna go....THAT WAY" and I turn off course.

Straight shot across I40 leaving 4/17. Driving 6 hours a day or so. Overnights east of Nashville. West Memphis. My wife has itinerary made. Reservations, entrance passes. Etc. 24 national parks and many more “places” of interest. 12 weeks. No dogs on this trip. Just us pulling a Kia Sorrento on a dolly. This will be the most time we’ve spent together in a 29 ft box. Wife is doing a blog. Hope the ranch is still there when we return.

[ducksface]

I have blink cameras around the ranch.
Battery operated, instant remote view in phone, sound and motion activated.
Last night One of mine captured a bat who was looking into the ir.
I have the greenhouse on smart timers and a camera.
We're out of town(Farmington nm, will probably go to Durango for some equipment) and I have,no worries about the ranch.
I also have $40 automatic valves and govee water leak detectors that tell me if I have a leak.

I used to worry a lot. No worries now.

[Wandering Woods]

We love Ouray. There’s a well maintained dirt/gravel road to Yankee Boy Basin. We took our Altima all the way up until the sign said high clearance four wheel drive required. Got a few stares from the Jeeps, but we weren’t the only ones. There was a Civic in the picnic area just before the sign.

[Judge]

I' through a couple more Colorado ones into the mix....

Glenwood Springs (where Doc Holiday) is buried has some great biking trails. There are also hot springs there as well.

We stayed at a great little KOA along the Colorado River in Silt. They had great back-in sites on the river and we watched an eagle there every day.

Then over to Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction. Very cool scenery..... reminded me a lot of Arches... which makes sense since it is not far from Moab.

I will say that Rocky National National Park was somewhat underwhelming. The drive across I-70 west of Denver was more scenic than the actual park.

[RVDeacon]

I only saw a few comments on Mount Rushmore. But there’s so much more to see in South Dakota. First, see Mt. Rushmore’s night ceremony. I’m a veteran and was privileged to get to lower the flange at Rushmore at the end of the day. There are two National Parks there too: Badlands NP and Wind Cave NP. Badlands is a nice 3 hour drive thru and Wind Cave is all underground with a steady temperature of around 68F. Just a few miles from WindCave is Custer State Park with a beautiful circle drive of about 2 hours. I saw more wildlife and buffalo there than I saw in Yellowstone! Then if your heading East on I-80 thru SD you have to stop at Wall Drugs. You will see signs directing you to Wall Drugs every 5 miles when you enter SD go about 180 miles to the middle of the state. It’s a huge shopping area full of cooperative shopping stores. It started out as a small drug store in Wall, SD in about 1900. It expanded by buying out neighboring stores and building on. Now it takes an entire afternoon to go thru. Definitely worth stopping there for gift buying. Skip the Eastern part of Wyoming, too desolate and meh. If your near Cheyenne WY during “Frontier Days” which takes place for the last two weeks of July you might want to stop. There are plenty of rodeo activities to see and many carnivals set up around town.
If heading back to MI, skip the Southern route thru Chicago…too much traffic…and try a Northern route thru Wisconsin to U.P. of Michigan. Enjoy a stop in the touristy areas called the Wisconsin Dells for a ‘Dollywood’ type experience, the. See Mackinaw City and Mackinaw Island between the U.P. and L.P. Of Michigan.

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

April roared when reading this..she said..."that's exactly what we want and exactly how we want to hear it". Thanks for the input!!

What the duck said. Utah is spectacular. Bryce Turns 100 this year. There is a great drive with parking at plenty of observation locations. Especially if you have a toad. Zion is super. There is a restriction going through the park due to a tunnel. Not sure exactly what so check that out. We are heading to Moab in June then up to Yellowstone. Arches and Canyonland. All is eye candy wether walking, biking or driving.

[m1noel]

Originally Posted by HMCSW

What the duck said. Utah is spectacular. Bryce Turns 100 this year. There is a great drive with parking at plenty of observation locations. Especially if you have a toad. Zion is super. There is a restriction going through the park due to a tunnel. Not sure exactly what so check that out. We are heading to Moab in June then up to Yellowstone. Arches and Canyonland. All is eye candy wether walking, biking or driving.

The tunnel is really not problem and kind of fun. Check in with the Rangers, pay a small fee and they shut it down so you can drive the middle of the arched tunnel. It is the shortest route if going from there to Bryce.

[MJC62]

Haven't seen (or I missed it) did anyone mention Glacier National Park? West Glacier has several nice RV parks. The Going to the Sun Road has to be seen at least once in a lifetime. If you can swing it take the Red Bus tour and let them do the driving (and the parking). Or take the park shuttle (free) for the same reason, just know there can be long waits between buses.
If an RV park isn't what you are looking for. We have stayed several times at Glacier Campground in West Glacier. They don't have sewer on the sites, (W&E) but they do have a dump station & a honey dipper truck is available three days a week. This is a private campground surrounded by National Forest with a truly foresty feel. They also have an awesome cafe on site as well! There I go talking food again!

[DogLovers]

I hope you are towing some wheels behind you like a car, golf cart or something. Like many here I have been virtually everywhere and some places twice. Of all the places I have been one absolutely stands out, Monument Valley Arizona. I grew up watching John Wayne ride his horse in one movie or another across the big screen with Monument Vally in the background. Nothing has ever moved me more than standing on the Valley floor at dawn with coffee, memories and the literal awe of being there. I wittnessed a brief rain downpour that flooded the tops of the mesas and caused the water to cascade off the tops like desert waterfalls and it was pure magic. The only rival was the night sky with so many stars I was sure we weren't alone in this vast Universe.

Since you are heading that way and will cross the Arizona Utah border you will be right there. We stayed at Goulding's Resort RV & Campground 2000 Main Street, Oljato-Monument Valley, UT. Incidentially Arizona is literally across the street. Nice clean and has great showers. From there you can drive across the road to the entrance of the Navajo Nations controlled Monument Valley. If I recall it was about $25 for a day pass and you can drive through slow and take your time. We have a Polaris off road RZR 4 seater so we took that in. The roads are passable but they are rocky and its slow going unless you have an all terrain rig. I took a few photos watching a John Wayne movie in the rv then opening the door and seeing the same formations, awesome.

Enjoy

[D-n-LSawyers]

If you choose to ride the Silverton I would recommend that you ride the bus for the return trip. Going downhill on the train is a very jerky ride. We really enjoyed the trip up and loved the views.

[Lt Keefer]

Another vote for Al's Oasis in Chamberlain. The restaurant is pretty good. If you've never had buffalo, they have it on the menu. While there, St Joseph's Indian School has a nice museum. We did a 'rest' day with 2 nights at Al's campground and took in the school museum and the Dignity statue. A good break from driving with a touch of culture thrown in.