Johnny & Kai D road trip advice for the Northern Great Plains???

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Hello Everyone!

I haven't been terribly active on the Zone lately, so I can understand it people aren't too enthusiastic about helping Kai and me out (not to mention that I didn't finish our Winter road trip summary).


BUT...I wanted to share that Kai and I will be heading out in a couple of weeks from Berkeley, via I-80 (and I-70?), to the National Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio.  That's our primary objective, then we're hoping to check out Fort Knox (if the museum is open).  Other points of interest are a number of military museums in the general area (a mine-layer in Omaha, NE; missile silos in SD, a landing craft in IL, and a few spots in IN/IL - Kai knows more about this stuff than I do).

 

We're hoping to take a northerly route back to CA through Mt Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Badlands NP, Theodore NP, Wind Cave NP, then WAY UP to Glacier National Park.

 

Kai's also expressed interest in Effigy Mounds, Hagerman Fossil Beds, Jewel Cave, and Little Bighorn Battlefield.

 

Hoping to do a lot of camping this time around, though we'll probably do a few hotels here-and-there (especially near the museums in OH, KY, IN, etc).

 

We're planning to be out and about for 2 1/2 weeks.

 

If you have any advice or fun stories to share, we'd love to hear from you.

 

Thanks and enjoy your summer,

Johnny D and Kai  laugh

That's quite a bit of ground to cover.   In between Devil's Tower and Little Bighorn Battlefield (which is nicely preserved and has a good interpretive center) are the Big Horn Mountains, which would be a cool place to camp.   While you are up there, you can check out the mysterious Medicine Wheel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Wheel/Medicine_Mountain_National_...

 

Drove a Pennske straight truck from OR back East,  I-90 through Idaho Panhandle to Rapid City,  South Dakota and so on.

Idaho Panhandle is some of the most gorgeous country in the USA.  If you can manage to goof off and camp out there a night or two,  try it.  Maybe buy a week of fishing license.

Regretfully I did not detour North to Glacier,  as I had a gigantic 30-foot truck,  unwieldy and a big diesel slurper.

My friends in Rapid City put me up a few nights.  We did a day-trip to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument.  Actually did not pay to go in to Rushmore and do the all-day tourist thang...  free State Park adjacent,  you can see the President-face carvings just fine.  The local rocky boulders are soft layers of granite (?) and Mica (?) that layered, shiny stuff which you can carve with a nail file.

Crazy Horse Monument is probably worth at least a half-day;  we showed up a bit before Sunset to gaze at its (not quite complete) Awesomeness.  Gate fellow came up and told us "Just drive right on in,  don't worry about the ten bucks..."

There's also the small building which was a set in "Dances With Wolves" film,  and a few old-timey Chuck Wagon shows where you get dinner and a Musical.  

That's my recollection of the Badlands.  Fill up on gas when you can.  Lot of open space before the next station. 

Also,  there is the Ginormous Biker convention in Sturgis.

http://www.sturgis.com

Pals who(m) have attended said the majority are heavily-armed;  guns, knives, 'gunnives', everything.

Probably a good spot to grab some rare Harley parts.

Hey, thanks guys!

 

Some good advice.  I remember as a kid seeing Mt. Rushmore and thinking that it was smaller than I imagined it would be.  Looks like Crazy Horse may be a bit larger (haven't seen that yet).

 

Ken, how's the road up to Medicine Wheel?  That looks really cool.  Of course, we'll be driving our Prius, which will get us about 550 miles per 11 gallon tankful, BUT has that low clearance.

 

BTW: Our plan is to drive 24 hours over the first two days to go to a place called Freedom Park, in Omaha, NE (the ship there is actually a mine sweeper).  Will probably stop somewhere near Salt Lake City (or beyond) for our first night.

 

Starting to get excited...

i live in dayton.  the air force museum is pretty cool.  just opened up the newly rehabbed enola gay.

traveling east on interstates with california plates is a welcome sign for state patrol to pull you over and search your vehicle.  travel discretely, maintain assured clear distance, wear seat belts, always use turn signals, and keep it within 5 mph of the speed limit.  you definitely want to adhere to those rules when you cross the indiana/ohio border on interstate 70.  you have been warned.

 

^Whoa!  Thanks for the heads up.  Both the good (Enola Gay and I heard that the Memphis Belle has recently been rehabbed there as well) and the scary (getting searched).


Earlier this year, Kai and I were pulled over at the Border Patrol checkpoint out of Big Bend NP, because their dog told them that we had illegal substances (I had to trust their interpretation of "dog" language).  They searched and couldn't find anything - it was nice, though, that they pulled me to the side to talk about this away from the kid, just in case I had some embarrassing info to share.

 

Fortunately, we have no bumper stickers on this car to label us a "Berkeleys."

there's a nice little lake & campground about a mile or so on the highway behind Mt Rushmore

I was there for a night back in 2002 after Phil @ Red Rocks -  great spot

No I did not see these two running around

 

cary grant.jpg

Cedar Pointe, Sandusky, Ohio. you may want to camp on South Bass island, but it has been a while. This could blow the cobwebs out after the long drive and all that nature.

 

https://www.cedarpoint.com/

South East Ohio also has Hocking Hills State Park, one of the best parks in Ohio. 

 

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/hockinghills

>>>>how's the road up to Medicine Wheel? 

Its been a while since I was up there, but there is a good, paved road through the Big Horns that is open in the summer.   Not sure if the pavement extends all the way to the Medicine Wheel, but it should come pretty close. 

Deadwood, South Dakota is a fun throw back to the Wild West but a little on the cheesy side.    

Driving back east is nuts. Best wishes on your journey!

Happy Trails to you and Kai! So good to see the "half  Version of Johnny D" in May.It meant a lot that you attended.

Love,

Be nice

This-is-Spinal-Tap-8.jpg

Will actually be in SD and WY myself this summer with my dad ... going to some of the spots already mentioned, but also planning on traveling the Beartooth Highway through Yellowstone from Red Lodge -> Gardiner.   Have been in the southern / central part of YNP before, but never up north.

Have a good trip!

 Johnny......You never finished your story from last time.

You went to Big bend?

I loved it there.

What was your take?

Hey Friends!

 

Kai and I just returned from our trip, which covered 07/11 - 07/29 (and more than a few thousand miles).

 

Thank you so much for the advice and well wishes.


Benice: you and Bart were with me in mind and spirit during the entirety of our trip.

 

We didn't get to much of what was recommended, but did visit some spots.  And I (almost) always stayed within 5 mph of speed limit and never had any probs with the cops.

 

We arrived to a house in disarray: My wife and daughter decided to start an interior painting project, so I can barely get to my home computer.

 

We had a great time, with many adventures - planned and spontaneous.  I'm hoping to start (and complete)  posting stories and photos of our trip.

 

Tim: Sorry that I never finished the Winter travel story.  That was good fun and I'm hoping to get to that sometime (if it isn't too late).  Big Bend was absolutely fantastic, with friendly animals/birds and a magnificent hike, which I still consider the best of the year.  My only regret is that we didn't spend more time there.

 

One problem I'm having is that we have a new computer at home with "Paint 3-D"  - for some reason, I can't seem to figure out how to resize my photos with this updated version (I had no problem with the old version).  If anyone has advice, please share.  I imagine that I'm overlooking something that is very easy to find.

 

I've been gloriously out of the loop, regarding World Events and Politics, though we encountered quite a bit of smoke in Idaho and Nevada - just found out that there are a bunch of scary fires happening in CA and Washington (and elsewhere?).

 

I hope that all is well with the Zone, and its denizens.

 

More later,

John  smiley

Glad you all had a fun trip!

For foto editing, resizing, etc.  I'm using GIMP 2.8.16.

Actually it does a whole lot more than resize,  and it's free.  

No doubt there is a later version out;  that's the one I happened to install back when.

https://www.gimp.org

>>One problem I'm having is that we have a new computer at home with "Paint 3-D"  - for some reason, I can't seem to figure out how to resize my photos with this updated version (I had no problem with the old version).  If anyone has advice, please share.  I imagine that I'm overlooking something that is very easy to find.

Yeah, I think an Update changed the look / arrangement of the GUI (Graphic User Inteface), but its still there as a major function of-that-app.

If we have the same rev; its still on the top left, but now a low-key small box, click it & it should say "Size"

Glad you two had fun, Johnny ~

Testing....

 

"Before" selfie of me and Kai (Day/Evening One)

GP 0101.jpg

 

OK, so I'll hopefully start a new thread.

 

 Looking forward to seeing and reading about your trip.

Me too. Gonna see you Sat?

 

Modoc County (far NE California) is sparsly populated and has a lot of lava tubes, hot springs, etc.  I randomly stumbled upon Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho once when I lived there.  Not a place to camp, but interesting in a holy fucking shit way.  I was imagining the first poor fucker who stumbled on that with a wagon.  Black Hills in SD are nice, but I have nothing specific. Absorka Mtns in MT are sweet.  I have always wanted to check out Owyhee Canyonlands in SE Oregon.

>>Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho once when I lived there.  Not a place to camp, but interesting in a holy fucking shit way.  I was imagining the first poor fucker who stumbled on that with a wagon.

 

Craters of the Moon is a cool spot. Also in Idaho, City of Rocks. Its one of those head scratchers, "why is this right here?".

Goblin Valley in Central Utah is cool as well. It goes to show, you just have to poke around!

Judit, it'll be fun to share some photos, many of which were taken from a moving car (we did a TON of driving!).

 

Mark: I can't wait for Saturday night!

 

Alias and Utahjim: SPOILER ALERT: Yes, we LOVE Lavabeds National Monument (NE CA) and we did have a chance to visit Craters of the Moon during our recent trip...

 

....And they have camping there!

 

GP 1801.jpg

Hey, you camp where you are when it gets dark.  

Always get a kick out of your travelogues !!

Looking forward to more photos & tales from the road.