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 Ampherion |
Going to Mount Rushmore in July |
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Posts: 1937 (06/20/09 09:18:16) Shadowy |
Hey guys, I thought I would solicit your ideas of good places to visit for my week long tip (actually 9 days) to mount rushmore from colorado. I am planning
on going to Devil's Tower (Wyoming), The Badlands, Rushmore, maybe Crazy Horse (South Dakota), and then hit a few spots on the way back in colorado. My
focus is national parks, but it can be anything cool, stuff like adults like, kids like, and both.
Any ideas?
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Ashanderai |
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Posts: 2369 (06/20/09 17:15:06) Jade Mandarin |
I just went several weeks back. I recommend Crazy Horse. It is just around the corner from Mt. Rushmore (about 20 minutes away or so, I think) and it has lots
of Native American artifacts at the cultural center there. It is more than just the mountain; which is a good thing. We couldn't get close to the mountain
on the day we went, but it was still neat to see it.
Also, I didn't have the opportunity when I went to Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore, but I think Deadwood is right there along with some historical sites pertinent to Wild Bill; no idea if they are worth the visit or not, but it might be cool. At least, I seem to remember driving through Deadwood when I rode the bus to those two sites.
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Tarondor |
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Posts: 2053 (06/21/09 03:17:32) The Old Assassin |
I went to Rushmore about five years ago. Crazy Horse is a must-see, especially since it's so close. Devil's Tower is only a short morning's drive
away, and is far more fascinating and huge than I would have thought. You really shouldn't miss it. Bring binoculars. Because there's nothing on the
horizon to give scale, I failed to comprehend its immensity at first. Then I zoomed in and saw people climbing it, and realized that what I thought was just
"big" was in fact incredibly huge.
A lesser known but amazingly worthwhile trip in the Black Hills is "Jewel Cave". The map of this place alone is a D&D treasure. This vast cave system (about 200 miles have been mapped out, and scientists estimate that it represents only 2% of the system's total volume) has plenty to see, even if the tour is just of a tiny portion of the total mapped. It is beautiful, and so is the drive to it. The Badlands were really neat (purple rocks, alien landscapes - I dare you not to envision it with monsters). Again, good binoculars are a must!
Last Edited By: Tarondor
06/21/09 03:21:23.
Edited 1 times.
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PaladinTodd |
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Posts: 837 (06/21/09 06:28:25) Just showed up |
In the city of Custer there's a purple building on the main drag, 'Pie Palace' I think. Ummmm, pie. Very good.
Jewell cave is a massive cave complex but kind of a normal cave if you've done very many of them. Worth only if you really like caves or you have never been in one. Wind Cave is also in the area - it has a unique formation called Boxite which is cool to see. We did a candle-light only tour of that cave which was also cool. Cave tours fill up quickly, you'll need to book a day in advance or be prepared to wait around a couple hours before your tour. There's a huge (100+ miles if I remember right) train-route converted to bike-path in that area as well. We rode a little out and back section of that in Custer. |
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Ampherion |
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Posts: 1938 (06/21/09 07:45:52) Shadowy |
After researching (and talking to my mom who has gone), This is what I have on the list. I have to prioritize, just in case. I'm adding what you guys have
also suggested.
Mount Rushmore Crazy Horse Devils Tower Jewel Cave (even though Carlsbad caverns is later, probably early august) Mammoth Digs Deadwood Badlands Wind Cave Custer (Not the one in Montana  )
I have to check for more smaller stops in Colorado and Wyoming, that isn't too far off the path, and doesn't take more than a few hours.
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Finniss |
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Posts: 1392 (06/21/09 10:18:08) Cryptic |
They only blast at crazy horse about once a week (at least that was the case a couple years ago), so if you want to see the boom, you'll have to schedule
for that.
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JoeyJoeJoeJunShabadoo |
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Posts: 1630 (06/23/09 08:06:41) That's the woist name I ever hoird |
I recommend you stay in a campground called Bedrock in Custer, SD (not Montana). It's themed after
the Flintstones. The facilities look like the stone houses, there's a train ride through a bunch of Flintstones themed stuff. Kinda corny, but I thought
it was cool when I was 14. Fun for the kids, if you have any. And if you're into the campground thing, that is.
Other than that, I also recommend the other stuff that's been listed here. When I saw the Crazy Horse monument it had just gotten underway and I'm excited to see it now. I might be mixing this up with Yellowstone, but IIRC there's a buffalo preserve in Custer State Park. It's worth seeing just how freakishly huge those animals are and wondering at how Native Americans were able to bring one down with just bows and arrows.
Don't hate the playa, hate the GaMe!
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PaladinTodd |
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Posts: 840 (06/24/09 06:32:34) Just showed up |
Wind Cave National Park has free-roaming buffalo as well. Kind of an interesting thought when you're camping there and biking around the place. We had to
walk our bikes past a massive male who was eating at the side of the road.
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Ampherion |
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Posts: 1943 (06/26/09 14:22:31) Shadowy |
Here is my final plan. I ended up excluding Rapid City and Deadwood because I couldn't justify the extra time, because we are also going to do Yellowstone
and the Grand Teton.
Day 1 (July 11) - Hotel in Hot Springs, SD - Mammoth Site Day 2 (July 12) - Hotel in Custer, SD - Wind Cave - Jewel Cave Day 3 (July 13) - Hotel in Custer, SD - Mt Rushmore - Crazy Horse Day 4 (July 14) - Hotel in Custer, SD - Badlands Day 5 (July 15) - Hotel in Buffalo, SD - Devil's Tower Day 6 (July 16) - Hotel in Cody, WY - Bighorn National forest Day 7 (July 17) - Hotel in Jackson Hole, WY - Yellowstone - Grand Teton Day 8 (July 18) - Hotel in Laramie, WY - Fort Laramie Day 9 (July 19) - Home Anyone think its too agressive? I don't want to cut anything out of I can keep it. Anything I definitely have missed? As it is, about $1200 all considered.
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Finniss |
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Posts: 1393 (06/26/09 15:11:22) Cryptic |
I haven't been to most of those places so I can't speak for them, but I do think that one day in yellowstone (probably less than a day with travel), is
too little. After a day you'll probably see enough to know that you'll want to go back for longer. I spent two weeks there and went to a few different
sites in the park each day and when I left there were still some things I wanted to see.
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Ampherion |
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Posts: 1944 (06/26/09 16:05:36) Shadowy |
I am considering cutting Bighorn and Badlands down some, but, its quite the drive from Devils Tower to Yellowstone, so we will have to see how I can adjust.
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Tarondor |
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Posts: 2057 (06/27/09 04:30:18) The Old Assassin |
You can see the Badlands in a single morning, but you should allow two days for Yellowstone! It's huge and well worth it.
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PaladinTodd |
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Posts: 842 (06/27/09 05:32:36) Just showed up |
You'll have a tough time doing Wind and Jewell cave in the same day. They're not exactly close together, the cave tours only go out at certain times,
and you'll probably won't be able to get into the tour that leaves when you get there.
Last Edited By: PaladinTodd
06/27/09 05:35:06.
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