Over the course of the upcoming week, I will be going on a road trip to visit friends in Salt Lake City. Along the way there and back, I will be visiting various landmarks and tourist sites in ND/SD/MT/WY/UT. When possible, I will update this with daily entries along the way and hopefully post some pictures as well. This is my first road trip in the mountain time zone and I am looking forward to chronicling this adventure.
FINAL PREPARATIONS
GRAND FORKS, ND (7:30am, Friday, 10/19) - Tomorrow I leave for a week long road trip and I still have not finalized my itinerary or packed. The latter is more of a byproduct of doing laundry still, while the former is irritating the crap out of me. I love road trips and I love planning for them - usually weeks in advance - so this is a strange feeling before a road trip. I know where I want to go, and I know when I need to be in Salt Lake City (Tuesday through Thursday), but the order in which I want to see landmarks prior to and after SLC - and thus the direction I travel going and coming - has been continuously revised. Another big factor is the weather forecast. Latest indications on the GFS and ECMWF indicate a deepening trough over the west next week with multiple waves ejecting toward the Rockies and Northern Plains. Of note is the increasing likelihood of snow and colder temperatures by the time I need to make my return trek. This means I need to get to one of my destinations (Yellowstone) as quick as possible, and probably take a more southern route through the mountains on the way back. So I'm currently leaning toward driving as far west as I can tomorrow, in order to get to Yellowstone as soon as possible. My original plan was a short drive on Day 1, then camp where Teddy Roosevelt used to live in the North Dakota Badlands, just north of Medora, ND. I still want to do that, but I may try on the way back and hope the GFS is wrong about colder air arriving. I have looked into several different routes, but rather than spoil my plans (for those of you that don't know), I'll close for now as I have some more work to do.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
FARGO, ND (8:30am, Saturday, 10/20) - Today will provide the best weather of my trip with dry weather and above normal temperatures from here to as far west as I can drive. It should be good camping weather tonight, and although I really want to camp at Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park in western North Dakota, I also want to drive further along than that. So I've decided to drive southwest toward my final destination of Wolf Camp in Keystone, SD - right on the doorsteps of Mt. Rushmore. Along the way, I will make stops in Pierre to see the state capitol, then drive through the Ft. Pierre National Grassland en route to Badlands Nat'l Park. This will clearly be the highlight of my day and plan to really enjoy the views. After my drive through there I will stop for some free water at the tourist trap Wall Drug Store. My final sight to see prior to camping this evening will be at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. That's all for now, time to hit the road.
JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN
KEYSTONE, SD (9:30aam, Sunday 10/21) - Yesterday afternoon/evening I drove the scenic loop through Badlands National Park. That was without a doubt one of the most picturesque landscapes I have ever seen. I was amazed by what I saw throughout the 40 mile loop and took extra time than planned to take it all in. I could have easily spent an entire day there walking along the trails and taking even more pictures than the 100 or so I took. Without a doubt, the Badlands rank in my Top 3 for most beautiful sights I have seen. After completing the loop I ended in Wall, SD - home of the tourist trap Wall Drug. Unfortunately my 6:30pm arrival was a half hour after they close - which seemed strange to me for a Saturday. So no free water or bumper sticker for me. I then progressed to Rapid City for dinner and an evening view of Dinosaur Park in the higher elevations of the city. From there I reached my final destination in Keystone, SD - just 1/4 mile shy of Mt. Rushmore. Regretfully the campground closed their gates at 9pm and once again I was a half hour late due to the extra time spent in the Badlands. So hopefully I will be able to camp tonight - wherever that may be.
I am about to make the short drive to Mt. Rushmore - then from there take a scenic drive through the region. There are several on-lane tunnels and "pig-tail" loops that are fairly unique to this region, which I am excited to see. Depending on time, I will loop around and see the Crazy Horse Memorial before venturing west-northwest toward Devils Tower in Wyoming ,and Little Big Horn and Pompeys Pillar in Montana. That will place me near Billings this evening, and depending on how I feel - I will either stay there or continue driving toward Livingston or Gardiner. So hence, the title - I know what I want to see today, but where I end up will depend on time and tiredness. Should be a fairly cloudy day today with some rain showers becoming possible by the time I reach Billings. Comfortable temperatures though, with highs in the 50s.
KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
GREYCLIFF, MT (11:00pm, Sunday, 10/21) - I am sitting at a rest area in Greycliff, MT which is a little more than halfway between Billings and Livingston. After dinner at Fuddrucker's (WIN!) in Billings, I headed over to the Comfort Inn to use the WiFi they generously provide for guests of their parking lot. ;-) After a brief analysis of model data for Yellowstone tomorrow, it seems snowy conditions should hold off until afternoon. So I made the decision to go for it. My goal is to get as close as possible to Yellowstone tonight, then drive through the North Entrance near Gardiner, MT at the crack of dawn. I figure I've got 4-6 hours to get in and out of Yellowstone and the Tetons before conditions deteriorate. I feel confident I can achieve this. Ahhh...this trip becomes even more adventurous! I love it!
Today's excitement was mainly during the first half of the day. My first stop was just up the road from my living quarters last night, at Mount Rushmore. It looks even more incredible in person, though it is even taller (~500 feet) than I expected. I also had breakfast at Mt. Rushmore, courtesy of the Carver's Cafe. There I purchased the Monumental Special - featuring 2 scrambled eggs, 2 sausage links, home fries, and a biscuit w/ gravy. I found the meal satisfying in both taste and portion size. On the way out I stopped in the Gift Shop and bought souveniers for myself and others. The highlight of my purchase was a Teddy Roosevelt bobble head - which will be an splendid addition to the den in the near future. After leaving there, I took the scenic route along Iron Mountain Road towards Custer, SD. My oh my, that was the best scenic route I have ever been on and I consider it a "must" when visiting Mt. Rushmore. That road was awesome! It featured "pig-tail loops", many scenic overlooks of Mt. Rushmore, one lane natural tunnels, and to further reduce it's footprint on nature - there were a couple of times where the road split in half around a bunch of trees. And the best of all, I saw 3 buffalo roam nearby - success!
4 comments:
Don't get stuck on Teton Pass (the site where I watched a crazed driver nearly run over a female construction worker on the descent into Jackson, WY in August of 1990)!
Teton Pass is currently dry, but I'm not too confident I will be able to cross it tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to, but I will not be surprised if it is snowing by the time I decide whether I take that route or not. I may have to continue southward on US 89 or US 189.
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