|
|
08-24-2021, 10:41 AM
|
#1
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Judge's 7-Week Midwest, Plains and National Park Trip Blog
We are starting our 7-week, ~5500 mile trip with our ’20 Magnitude SV34 with Jeep Wrangler in tow and headed to the Midwest, Northern Plains an several National Parks so I thought I would post some pictures and information throughout our trip for anyone interested for their own trips in then future.
We started planning this trip about 18 months ago and booked most of the campgrounds and activities in January this year.
Our trip will include stops in Nashville, Bismarck and Medora ND, Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP, the Tetons, Cody WY, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands.
I used Road Trippers to plot our general route and then a combination of Waze and a Garmin RV770 during the trip to help with real-time traffic / construction / accidents and other problem areas while on the road.
Here is what our trip looks like on the map after several iterations during our planning.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 10:46 AM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
We left the Pittsburgh, PA area on Friday (8/20/21) and headed to Nashville, TN for a ~580 mile / 10-hour driving day. Nashville wasn't originally on the route when we started planning our trip…. but the DW wanted to see a PBR (Professional Bull Riding) Event while we were out west. Neither of us had been to one and we caught a few minutes on TV over the years. I was a little ambivalent about seeing one live but the DW had it on her long bucket list so…….
All of the PBR events were being held before we would be getting to the various cities we would pass along the way. Back in June, I happen to find a PBR Championship event for 8/21 and 8/22 right at the start of our trip so we made some minor changes to the route and schedule to catch the Championship Round on Sunday in Nashville. We had already been to Nashville but we didn’t mind heading back there… even though it was somewhat out of the way of our original route.
We booked the KOA Nashville Resort near the Gaylord. It was a bit pricey but looked very nice so I booked a premium patio spot…. and I’m glad I did because it had an asphalt pad and concrete patio with nice furniture and fire pit. The weather was very hot and humid and we had quite a bit of rain on Saturday so a plain gravel and grass site would have been a mess. There was serious flooding about 60 miles west of Nashville where places got 17” of rain. A small town was wiped out and many people sadly lost their lives.
The trip out to Nashville was fairly uneventful. Waze did save me from a brutal construction traffic backup on I-71 south of Columbus. We got to the campground about 7:00PM on Friday evening…. setup camp and just had some fire food and relaxed.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 10:57 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Saturday morning was very rainy but we decided to jump in the Wrangler with our dog and take a drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway even though the site seeing would be hampered by rain, clouds and some fog.
The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historic forest trail, which extends roughly 440 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers.
The trail was created and used by the Native Americans and was later used by early European and American explorers, traders, and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. European Americans founded inns along the Trace to serve food and lodging to travelers.
Today, the path is commemorated by the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the Trace as well as the related Natchez Trace Trail. Parts of the original trail are still accessible, and some segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We did see some wild life along the way... including a turkey trying to keep here two little babies dry during the rain. We also saw some historic sites as well and I learned something about Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame. His death and burial site was on the Nachez Trace Trail. The cabin picture is where he was living at the time and where he also died at 35 from gunshots due to suicide or murder…. which his manner of death is still being disputed today.
After a couple hour drive we made it back to camp and the rain had stopped. After having lunch and relaxing a bit we took a shuttle from the KOA to downtown for the evening. For $10 a person they would pick you up as the top of every hour and then drop you off on Broadway at the Country Music Hall of Fame and then pick you back up there at the bottom of every hour. It was an easy way to get to town and not have to worry about parking, traffic, etc.
I can say Nashville is alive and well….. the bars and restaurants on Music Row were packed. You would never know there was a pandemic…. other than a few people wearing masks here and there. We hung out on a roof top bar and listened to some music and people watched for a couple hours. We were going to find a place for dinner when a tornado warning was issued for Dickson, TN. I pulled up the radar and it looked pretty nasty northwest of Nashville and that it could be heading our way. We decided to head back to catch the next shuttle before the storms hit….. and just in time as it started raining as we were waiting for the shuttle. Fortunately, most of the heavy weather missed us to the west….. that is where the terrible flooding happened in Tennessee.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 11:02 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Sunday brought better weather. The PBR Event was 1:45PM so we went to Edley’s BBQ for lunch first, which was a very popular place at 11:30AM on a Sunday! The food was pretty good overall.
The PBR event was very cool. I'm glad the DW talked me into going. It was quite an entertaining production. Even with several top riders from South America it was nice to attend an event that still appeared to be genuinely American and patriotic at its roots.
I have to say those young kids have some big stones! Some of those bulls are pretty damn mean! There were several of them that got hurt and couple pretty seriously injured. If you've never seen one and have the opportunity, it is worth doing it once in my opinion if you like to try and experience new things and something different.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 11:14 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
On Monday we decided to visit the Belle Meade Plantation…. which really isn’t a plantation but the birthplace of Thoroughbred horse racing stud farms and built in 1819 by the Harding family.
In June of 1871, William Giles Harding and his son, John Harding Jr., traveled to Glen Flora Farm in Illinois and purchased a stallion named Bonnie Scotland for $450. Foaled in England in 1853, the bay horse was by Iago and the great broodmare Queen Mary. Bonnie Scotland was the greatest sire to ever stand at Belle Meade and his descendants represent more than two-thirds of all Kentucky Derby winners to date, including 11 Triple Crown Winners..... hard to believe all of those winners can be traced back to one horse.
What’s interesting is that gambling was eventually strictly outlawed in Tennessee after the civil war and that is why Kentucky has become the epicenter for horse breeding, racing and the Kentucky Derby.
We took a 45-minute guided tour of the main home, which was beautiful. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the home but it was interesting to see how they lived back then.... and it was clear the Harding family was very wealthy. I’m still amazed at the structures they built back in the 1800’s without the equipment and technology of today’s world.
We then walked the grounds to see the various buildings, including the stables and cabins where the slaves lived who maintained the farm. Many of them stayed on after slavery was abolished because they had nowhere else to go. There is also a wintery onsite and a wine tasting was included in the tour.... we ended up walking out with a couple bottles of their wine. It was 90 degrees so pretty hot for walking the grounds but they did add air conditioning to the house so the tour was very comfortable.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 11:20 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Today we hit the road to make our way to Bismarck. We will be driving about 10 hours a day and ~600 miles today and then again tomorrow. Our plan is to stop in Wisconsin Dells tonight and then likely boondock at a Cracker Barrel there or possibly a place I found on Boondockers Welcome. We are looking forward to come cooler weather. It was awfully hot camping weather the past three days. Looks like we will be in for much better temps for outdoor activities over the rest of the trip.
Hopefully the next two days of travel will be uneventful. The first four days of the driving legs of our trip are the longest planned with the rest of the drives being much shorter the rest of the way.
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 12:02 PM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Miramar 37.1
State: California
Posts: 2,460
THOR #12698
|
Looks like a great trip ahead. You sparked some interest of places to visit in the future for me.
Paul
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 02:47 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Renegade Valencia 38RB
State: California
Posts: 3,496
THOR #3156
|
Wow Judge great write up. Please keep us up to date on all your adventures.
Suggestion for Cody do the river rafting with Wyoming River Trips. Good people and fun trip.
Jerry
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 03:23 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 31L
State: Florida
Posts: 2,063
THOR #12189
|
If you can make your way to the Teton NF and willing to take the jeep on a little lite off roading, you can expect to see the below pics in person. It's absolutely gorgeous. I promise you won't regret it. If you take the sevrice road I'm thinking about, you'll crest the hill and the rest is schock and awe. The first words out my mouth were "oh my God".
The last pic would be the sign you're looking for. Take that service road all the way to the top, bearing right along the way. The left also has spectacular views and some boondocking spots. If you have levelers, you may not have enough clearance to get your rig up there. Scout it with the jeep first. I only included the truck pic to show it is VERY doable. The tuck is 2wd, 5spd so I know the jeep is more than up to it.
The service road if off the same road as all the Teton pull outs. You just have to keep driving. If you come from the Jackson Hole side, keep driving and pay attention to the right hand side.
It's too bad you didn't have some time to stop off at the Hungry Horse Reservoir while visiting Glacier NP. It's a really nice place. If you find yourself getting tired, you can boon dock most anywhere in Columbia Falls. If I remember correctly, Hungry Horse is south on RT2 going towards Kallispell, not far from the KAO. You can scout that in the jeep if you feel like it. Montana is EXTREMELY RV friendly.
Safe travels and have a great time!
__________________
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 03:49 PM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 24.1 AXISSIXxSIX
State: Arizona
Posts: 6,760
THOR #13932
|
Congratulations on the Waze Decision.
So many on this site want to argue about the benefits of technology.
The 'Paper Map Gang' wouldn't have seen the things you saw on your detour and would have had to sit in traffic due to their decisions.
Dont forget about the iExit app. You'll find amazing museums along the way.
We stopped at a student staffed mammoth/dinosaur themed museum at a college with a big archeological department, and at a dairy/ice cream/meat at a college in SD with a farming program.
It's also the best time to try other nav apps like Trucks and sygic,
Just for fun consider a Harvest Host stopover.
Your rig can handle anything in the way of dirt driveways and such.
|
|
|
08-24-2021, 08:45 PM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: THOR Chateua 35SF
State: Florida
Posts: 5,850
THOR #11130
|
Congratulations on a successful journey!! I saved the map as a guideline for our future and will reference back to the post. I'm sure the F550 pulled like a freight train! The more time we spend in ours, the bigger it seems to get. Thought about downsizing a few months ago but...nahhh...I love the power. Did you get into many situations towing that really cause any concern?
__________________
Now an SOB
Traded Thor for Melbourne Prestige 24NP
2018 THOR Chateau 35SF
Two Labs, Bugsie & Blondie
Blondie passed in 2020 at 5 to Leukemia
|
|
|
08-25-2021, 10:48 PM
|
#12
|
Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 24.1
State: Michigan
Posts: 96
THOR #9701
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judge
Hopefully the next two days of travel will be uneventful. The first four days of the driving legs of our trip are the longest planned with the rest of the drives being much shorter the rest of the way.
|
Looks like a great trip out west, not sure how you do those long all day drives, but please keep checking in with us all. Love to hear about the current conditions out west as we are heading that way soon (we start out of Ludington here in Michigan next Monday)...
Safe Travels
__________________
"Our Dreamcatcher" is a 2018 Vegas 24.1
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 10:55 AM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Just wrapped up two days of relatively uneventful driving. I was surprised the traffic wasn't quite as bad as I was hearing from people.... and part of that I think was the route I took.
On Tuesday we drove 662 miles from the KOA Resort in Nashville to the Cracker Barrel in Wisconsin Dells. Actual drive time was 10 hours with about an hour of stopping for lunch, fuel and dog walks. We left Nashville at 8:00am and got to Wisconsin Dells at 7:00pm. It was a hot drive..... the temp read 94 on the dash for the first 8 hours of the drive until we hit some rain in Wisconsin.
Construction and traffic wasn't too bad on I-24, I-57, I-39 and I-90/94. No long backups at all.... unlike I-80 as we passed over it in Illinois and saw bumper to bumper traffic in a construction zone. The Cracker Barrel was a good and easy quick stop over. There was only one other RV in the parking lot.
The Cracker Barrel opened at 7:00AM so we grabbed breakfast and the DW did some shopping in the country store to make sure we expressed our thanks for the overnight.
We then drove 642 miles to Bismark with about 9 1/2 hour of drive time and 10 1/2 hours total with stops. We left Wisconsin Dells at 8:15am and we got to the KOA in Bismark at 6:45PM. Again, traffic and construction wasn't horrible in terms of sitting in traffic. Construction on I-694 and I-94 outside of St Paul, MN was a little nasty with numerous lane shifts and very tight lanes in spots but traffic flowed. I was surprised how much traffic there was in that area during the middle of the day but it could have been much worse. Actually very little traffic across I-94 in North Dakota.
The KOA in Bismark is a decent campground and the price was right at ~$50/night for full hookups. Gravel pads that are very level with plenty of stone and hook-ups easily assessible. WiFi coverage seems very good so far. The DW had potato soup cooking in the crock pot during the drive so we setup camp, had a quick and easy dinner and then broke out the chairs for an after dinner cocktail to relax and then off to bed.
Woke up to some heavy rain and storms this morning..... but North Dakota needs it.... looked like a dust bowl in many places across I-94. We read the Dakotas are having one of its worse droughts in years. The good news is we finally found cooler temps..... 60's today..... and looks like we should be done with 90's during this trip.
Our plan today is to head to the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site about an hour north of Bismarck and then we booked a Lewis and Clark Sunset River Boat Cruise for this evening on the Missouri River. This is a quick stop over as we head to Medora, ND tomorrow and Teddy Roosevelt National Park for the weekend.
I'll post some pics of the CG and our travels today a little late.... at least once the rain moves out.
__________________
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 11:49 AM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
And thanks for all of the tips coming in!!!
The DW has already been looking into the the things you fine folks are recommending and adding them to our plans.
Thanks!
__________________
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 01:14 PM
|
#15
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Omni XG32 GONE for good
State: Alabama
Posts: 1,750
THOR #22586
|
Judge so I presume nothing broke yet that had you detouring to a Nexus Ghost dealer??
Edit adding; If it isn't already on your plans, in Cody visit Old Town and there's a dam tour on the lake just west of town.
__________________
2022 Renegade Valencia 35MB
2021 Jeep Gladiator
2019 Harley Davidson FLHTC
2012 PT Crusader 355BHQ
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 01:19 PM
|
#16
|
Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: XG32 Magnitude
State: Alaska
Posts: 73
THOR #21373
|
Judge's lithium batteries update
Just a side note in case anyone missed this wonderful and excellent news:
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=84
Thank you, Judge and Mrs. Judge, for sharing all the info you do...and keeping up with photos and everything else!
__________________
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 01:25 PM
|
#17
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by chunker21
Judge so I presume nothing broke yet that had you detouring to a Nexus Ghost dealer??
Edit adding; If it isn't already on your plans, in Cody visit Old Town and there's a dam tour on the lake just west of town.
|
LOL...... not headed to a Ghost or Europa dealer yet..... I actually had one picked out in western TN in case it gave me fits in Nashville.
Actually..... have had no real issues....other than one of the plastic knobs for openining a window stripping. Unfortunately getting anything quikcly from an Amazon Locker at our planned stops looks to be impossible... so that will get fixed back home. Looks like Amazon has them so I'll be buying some spares after seeing how cheap the plastic is on the knobs.
I am very happy with my LiFePO4 upgrade.... as shi ammi kindly referenced!
Right before the trip I decided to add a water softener to the arsenal of RV gadgets. I have started noticing some white scale build up on my water hoses. I opted for the Camco unit and I can say it does work. The DW has super sense when it comes to smell and taste. She commented in Nashville aboutn how well the water tasted and felt in the shower. I used the test trips to see how well it was working and the unit got the hardness down to 25ppm. Without the softner hooked up the camp water was 125PPM.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
__________________
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 01:32 PM
|
#18
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
|
Judge's 7-Week Midwest, Plains and National Park Trip Blog
Rain stopped so just took the dog for a walk. Here are a couple quick pics from the KOA in Bismarck. Plenty of room and pull-through spots for big rigs and lots of shade. I would recommend this as a stopping point for anyone coming across North Dakota.
I also forgot to mention in response to MichFigs post about the long travel days.... I'm a little south of 60 so still young enough to do it. But the real reason I can do it is the F-550 chassis is good enough to make a 600 - 650 miles day doable without feeling wiped out.
No way I could have put in this type of driving with our old Outlaw 29H... even after my suspension upgrades. The F-550 has plenty of power and the handling is very good. The Sumo Springs I added softened the ride a bit as well.
We only have one long driving day left and that will be on Monday when we head from Medora and Teddy Roosevelt NP to East Glacier. After that the drives are all fairly short. Tomorrrow will be a 2 1/2 hour drive so that one makes up for the last two days!
__________________
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 03:16 PM
|
#19
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: California
Posts: 406
THOR #24260
|
Judge,
Your making me yarn for the road again.
Please keep posting your travels, I’m freeloading in your basement without you knowing….
Terry
__________________
Terry and Geri
2017 Four Winds 35SD
2020 Grand Cherokee Toad
Semper Fi
|
|
|
08-26-2021, 06:34 PM
|
#20
|
Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 31L
State: Florida
Posts: 2,063
THOR #12189
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pillbox
Judge,
Your making me yarn for the road again.
Please keep posting your travels, I’m freeloading in your basement without you knowing….
Terry
|
He knows now.
Wait until you get the bill!
__________________
|
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|