The Great American Road Trip: Reflections, RV tips & Rushmore-to-Yellowstone pics
Head out on the highway…
As I mentioned last week, I’m with my family on our first ever RV trip. (Thanks to readers and e-mailers for sharing your wonderful travel memories.) Internet and phone access on my trek have been quite spotty – blissfully so. Doug Powers will continue to hold down the fort here on the blog, along with La Shawn Barber and Val Prieto, as I head back home in coming days. Please be sure to thank them for their terrific work.
Some notes on the journey:
Over the past seven days, we’ve hit Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, Cody WY, and Yellowstone. The scenery is cinematic; the frontier history is larger-than-life. And the RV community is full of friendly, independent, and amazingly resourceful people.
If you ever need your faith in our country’s resilience and beauty renewed, a Great American Road Trip does a body and soul good.
RV’ing is also a budget-friendly way to travel. Yes, fuel costs are hefty. But you can save a lot on meals by planning ahead and cooking on the road. We rented a 31-foot RV with a stove top, oven, microwave, and ample freezer/fridge with a small crisper for veggies and enough room for a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and several days’ worth of drinks and other perishables. Added bonus: No airline headaches, no TSA intrusions, no cramped seating, no crappy plane food!
KOA fees (even for deluxe hook-ups) are extremely reasonable — especially given the full range of amenities (showers, pancake tents, bike rentals, tourist shuttles, horseback riding, pools, showers, jumping pillows, chuckwagon dinners, firepits/firewood, ATV rentals) that the campgrounds provide. The Hill City SD KOA was top-notch (both staff and facilities exceeded my expectations) and I’d highly recommend it to fellow parents with young kids.
RV’ing is not everyone’s cup of tea, of course. If you’re high maintenance and need a hot bath every day, forget about it. If you can’t bear to be unplugged from the world, don’t bother. And if you are unwilling to jump feet first into the great unknown, go ahead and make boring, conventional flight and hotel reservations instead. Yes, the prospect of barreling across the highway in gusty winds and on wet treacherous mountain roads in a 10,000-pound home on wheels left me a little queasy. But if you make sure to pack some RV must-haves — sense of humor, spirit of adventure, industrial-strength rubber gloves, duct tape, extension cords, wrench, multi-tool, Petzl headlamps, tarp, S’mores ingredients, marshmallow roasting sticks, walkie-talkies, and Dramamine — you can live the RV dream. Experienced friends recommended we watch the movie “RV” before we started our trip. Aside from a few p.c. tirades against big corporations, it’s definitely good prep viewing.
RV rule of thumb: Things will go wrong. We tried to use the RV generator while off-site and somehow ended up setting off the propane gas detector, causing significant newbie panic. Also: One of the holding tank hoses got stuck during our first attempt to de-camp (which taught us the hard way to have a wrench at the ready). But as I said, RVers are immensely friendly and willing to lend a hand, tool, or tip. Attention to detail is key. Getting into a checklist routine before departing and upon arrival at your RV site will save a lot of grief.
As with everything, there’s an iPhone app for that. We used this one.
Our first major stop was Mount Rushmore. Yes, we all know Teddy Roosevelt doesn’t belong there (fun fact: a ranger at the sculptor’s studio explained to us how TR greased the wheels to earn himself a spot on the monument). But don’t let that dissuade you from appreciating this amazing engineering landmark and learning about the brash, ambitious, visionary sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who spearheaded the project and possessed an uncommon reverence of the Founding Fathers despite his crony weakness for TR.
Taken from a little cave on the Presidential Trail:
This was taken from inside Borglum’s studio with the model in the foreground, looking out onto the monument (look in the top window and you can see Washington):
The ranger at the studio gave a fascinating talk about how the workers would hang from ledges strapped in bosun chairs with massive jackhammers. They would work full days for pennies — and many would then head to grueling second jobs in the mines of the Black Hills. Borglum gets the glory, but American brawn, guts, ingenuity, and dynamite turned a mountain into a monument — in just 14 years.
A few miles down the road, work continues on the Crazy Horse memorial. I knew nothing about the monument other than the fact that the planned 562-foot carving has taken decades and decades to complete. I assumed it was a government-subsidized project. Boy, was I wrong. The history behind this 100 percent, privately-funded monument is an amazing American story in and of itself. Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was a self-taught “storyteller in stone” who refused to take a dime in federal funding. He was a fervent believer in the free market and individual initiative — and he and his wife instilled those values in their 10 homeschooled children. The orphan son of Polish immigrants was a WWII hero who was wounded at Omaha Beach. He worked briefly with Borglum at Mount Rushmore before agreeing to work on Crazy Horse in 1948 at the behest of Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear (who admired Ziolkowksi’s award-winning bronze portrait of Polish composer Ignace Jan Paderewski). Ziolkowski worked on the memorial every day until his death in 1982. He is entombed at its base and his widow Ruth and 7 of his children continue his work to this day. (On the day we visited, there was a dynamite blast as workers chip away at the horse’s head.)
Stock photo of Korczak’s model with the monument behind it:
And here I am in front of the work in progress last Thursday:
Our next stop was Cody, WY. We were too tired to see the night-time rodeo, but hit the five museums all housed at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center downtown. This is a definite must-see if you’re driving from the East on your way to Yellowstone.
You’ll get a taste of the life and times of Buffalo Bill, Native American history, a huge exhibition of rare firearms, towering stuffed bears, a Yellowstone natural history appetizer, and Western art. My horse-loving daughter loved seeing exquisite saddles like this one currently on display at the entrance to the Whitney Gallery of Western Art:
Before I get to Yellowstone, here’s a brief pictorial interlude on building the perfect campfire. If you have kids, you must do S’mores at every opportunity — and you simply cannot do S’mores right with a puny, smoke-choked lame excuse for a roaring fire.
Gather small twigs, newspaper, used paper plates, tween magazine photos of Justin Bieber, etc., for kindling:
Build a little teepee of kindling over the pile. Leave some space for oxygen flow. Stuff one of those firestarter blocks near the front of the pile:
Build a larger teepee with your thick pieces of dry firewood (avoid damp! damp=smoke! smoke=unhappy, teary-eyed children running inside the RV!):
Mission accomplished:
On to Yellowstone. We took the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway. In a hugetastic RV, “scenic” = slooooooow. The views are indeed spectacular:
But the grades are steep and it’s white-knuckle, marital stress-inducing driving right up into Yellowstone.
I promised ranger Emily at the East Entrance that I would post this pic of us. Hi, Emily!
The weather is completely unpredictable here — gloriously sunny when rain is forecast, mild when a cold front is predicted. Ponchos, endless layers of clothing, and good walking shoes are de rigeur. Binoculars are also a must. We have a fancy Nikon camera, but I took all of the photos in this post with my iPhone, including all of these Yellowstone pics.
I can see bison from my window…
Don’t miss the mudpots:
Putting the “yellow” in “Yellowstone” at the Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces:
Buffalo in the mist:
A rainbow over the Chinatown Restaurant in West Yellowstone, MT:
This is truly “America, the Beautiful.” How humbling, how blessed we are to call it home.
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Emily will be very stoked to see this, Michelle. Thanks for posting.
Ranger Emily most certainly does know who Michelle is, no worries on that score. I raised my kid right.
So are we to take it that Emily is Bob’s Grandkid?
She is!
AWESOME! That’s why we love you! Most of your colleagues would never even THINK of taking an RV trip. I hope you and the family continue to have a great time!
Michelle: How is it possible to travel all that way across South Dakota and not have at least one picture from the incomparable Wall Drug? Free ice water. Surely your kids were thirsty, aren’t they always?
MM,
Enjoy the trip but I don’t want to see updates until you are back at work. Turn off the laptop and the cell phones and give your kids a hug.
One of my fathers first jobs after he got out of the Navy after Korea was to write up bear attack reports in Yellowstone. He went on to assist congress in purchasing properties that later became National Parks, National Recreation Areas, National Monuments and National Historic Sites.
As a kid we went camping on properties that had been purchased by congress but had not yet been opened to the public. I remember many a time when a person would come up to my father and tell him we could not camp on private property. My dad would always smile and respond sorry, now it belongs to all of us.
Yea, Wall Drugs is a must stop if you are a souvenir collector. My passion is rulers (the kind you measure stuff with, ~700 at last count.) Found several at Wall Drug.
I am willing to bet a free look at a rather large ball of twine that ranger Emily wanted that picture posted because MM is the FIRST person she has towered over in years!
Enjoy the vacation while you can!
Seems like everyone is vacationing now with all the election action to come later this year.
Wall Drug? Tourist trap. What you need to see in SD is the Corn Palace in Mitchel SD.
“The original Corn Palace, called “The Corn Belt Exposition” was established in 1892. Early settlers displayed the fruits of their harvest on the building exterior in order to prove the fertility of South Dakota soil.”
“Breathtaking!” – The Mitchel Monitor
“That’s a helluva lotta corn!” Arnold Zieffel
I had completely forgotten about Wall Drug. On my trip from Boston hugging the Oregon Trail, there were signs “only 826 miles to Wall Drug” most of the way. One of those odd bits of Americana. Kind of like the billboards for “America’s largest Corn Palace” in Mitchell SD. You mean there is more than one?
Michelle, pretty much a similar trip that my family and I took as I commented on before you left…so I KNOW you are now very relaxed. Nothing like a trip out there and seeing the sights without a clock to relax.
We missed Cody, WY but managed to go to Devils Tower while out there.
I bet your family had a blast as well.
Michelle, forgot to ask, did you make it to Jewel Cave National Monument south of Crazy Horse?
I wouldn’t be surprised if you missed it. It doesn’t seem like they advertise it’s existence as much as they should.
I too was shocked about Crazy Horse, but knew about it before visiting the site from reading about it in some magazine. I was amazed it was so close to Rushmore, but you hardly ever hear of it.
Nice trip since it’s so close to Rushmore.
Yes, indeed we are blessed to be Americans! We are heading out west as well, driving from Florida to Colorado, leaving on 6/12. I am looking forward to the beauty and rest. Happy summer, everyone.
True that. What is amazing about that place is the many different designs they have had on the outside over the years…all made from different strains of corn…drawn out on chalk on the walls, and the corn wired to the wall.
IIRC, there is a single farm that grows all the different kinds of corn needed, just for the Corn Palace. Also IIRC, the designs are changed every year.
Mitchell is a beautiful little town too.
You must have been upside down. Normally you would go down the coast to Oregon…
That is a beautiful part of the country. Took a similar route in 1998. Hope you caught Wind Cave and Devil’s Tower. Hopefully you’ll make Crater Lake if your headed west south thru the Redwoods. Have a great and safe trip.
I’d forgotten about it too. Nice tourist stop on the way to the Badlands. We caught the 4rth of July in Rosebud. Great people and great celebration.
I’m lucky enough to live within a fairly short drive to the places in SD you’re all talking about. No one’s mentioned the Missouri River reservoirs and surrounding Missouri Breaks landscape, not to be missed.
Also be sure and check out the Mammoth site in Hot Springs. Close to 60 mammoths have been uncovered so far. It’s an amazing natural history lesson in a beautiful little city
SD’s a well governed red state as well. Low taxes, term limits for state legislators, fiscally sound, 4.8% unemployment rate-2nd best in the nation behind only the artic Dakota and its oil-fueled economic boom.
My dad (and new mom) just drove back through Colorado yesterday while returning from their honeymoon. They also did a similar tour, except their goal was to hit Custers Last Stand before turning back to Texas. We used to live in Rapid City so we already have tons of pics from S.D.
Oddly, they didnt invite me to travel with them to have the full family bonding experience. (I see a pattern here) And I’ll have to re-check his 900 photos to see if your guys paths crossed. (yes…. 900. as though he’s never been to these places several times before)
And whats wrong with airline food? I find it almost as exciting as going to Vegas, by betting if I get the Cheese Plate or the repackaged ‘Luxe’ box in First Class.
I had forgotten about Hot Springs…neat place to go through and amazing.
As for ND, having been born and raised there….Shhhhhhh! The cold air keeps the riff-raff out.
Remember that test they gave us in High School to see what you really should be when you grow up?
They said I should have been a Park Ranger… they might have been right after all
What a pleasant read beautiful and pics. Thanks for that.
My parents fell in love with the West when they went out to visit my little bro who was doing an internship at a dinosaur dig in Utah. They’ve gone back to the West every year since.
It was a trip from WI to SC to VA in 2007 that instilled in me how gorgeous the nation is. I look forward to heading West someday.
To me, Yellowstone is a thousand miles EAST.
We took this route to visit my son in Billings. The Indian sculpture is just amazing. Sad to say, I doubt that I’ll be around to see it finished.
The Cody museum was really interesting. Too much to see in one day. Bought an awesome print of Buffalo Bill on his horse for my Dad.
Definitely “God’s country!
Errah, Michelle; for gas visit Flying J, Loves and Sheetz for ease of manuvering the RV and their fuel prices. If you come back through Ohio on the turnpike they have overnight RV spots at their new rest areas which are quite nice. Also some Wal-Marts still allow overnight RV parking.
Who says TR shouldn’t be on Mount Rushmore?
Is he one of the Founding Fathers?
No.
Then again, neither is Lincoln. The USA was, I believe “4 score and seven years” old by the time Lincoln was President. In fact: Lincoln’s presidency was much closer to Teddy’s than it was to Washington’s.
TR is a giant. Clearly one of the top 10 presidents, and arguably in the Top 5. Perhaps, even, #4 – behind the very same 3 that are shown there with him. Which president has done more for the USA than TR, other than Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson?
Madison, perhaps. Adams was certainly critical. But more than Teddy? Arguable, but certainly not a sure thing.
It is extremely appropriate that the POTUS who essentially began our national parks be enshrined in one of them.
It’s so wonderful to read about your vacation with your family!
Michelle, watch out for the Big Cats.
http://www.montananewsreports.com/HAMILTON-NEWS/Mountain-lion-killed-after-it-attacks-dog
My concern is what face of the current presidents enshrined there can most easily be reworked to become Obama. Lincoln, with his gaunt features, probably most looks like Obama right now. But it may just be easier to take a fuller face right from the beginning, like Jefferson, so you have more material to work with.
chapoutier, you need to wash your hands with boiling water and lye soap after typing that one.
Obama on Mount Rushmore?
Didn’t John identify this as one of the signs of the Apocalypse?
The 20 Hottest Conservative Women In The New Media (2010 Edition)
Michelle Malkin made number 19
I think of myself more as a Libertarian than a Conservative. I know I don’t lean Progressive.
Hannah Giles came in number #5 I am so impressed with Giles after the ACORN stings were made public.
Sarah Palin didn’t make the list even though she is a Fox News Contributor?
Maybe rightwingnews knows something we don’t…They CAN do amazing things with gender reassignment surgery these days.
Dang..I feel like I went on that trip with you and your family Michelle! What a wonderful narrative of your trip and some great photos. Never realized that you were such a petite little thang
. Your guest bloggers are doing great (particular props to Doug Powers who is funny as hell). Enjoy the remainder of family time, because afterall THAT is what it is all about.
100th birthday of the RV this year.
http://www.rv-103.com/?p=637
I’m taking notes about the experiences of RV rental because my wife and I are thinking about renting one for a long weekend this fall or winter. Being an Eagle Scout (Class of 1981) I’ve got plenty of camping experience but never in an RV nor driving one.
Ranger Emily, who is mostly computerless there at the East Gate of Yellowstone, asked me to post this message:
*Great pics Michelle; America the Beautiful indeed; So much to see, so little time, but it’s more important to keep a balance in life, as you do.
*I never have paid much attention, just as to whether they are helpful/informative/funny/pleasant, and for me they have been, whether touring Manassas, the Great Smoky Mountains, or Mammoth Caves.
Me too!
And attended the National Jamboree @ Ft AP Hill in Aug of ’81. Got to see Reagan in DC and as something I will never forget – Reagan had to authorize our 747s to takeoff back home because we were trapped when the controlers strike started that day. They drove our busses right out on the the tarmac to load us.
side note… as a computer geek, I saw my first Apple computer at that National Jamboree. who knew.
And it sounds like Ranger Emily has become famous. Road trip!
She should have been ranked much better.
That’s pretty cool. Did Ranger Emily know that her grandfather was a registered commenter of Michelle’s website?
It’s Ranger Emily’s mum, actually. Ranger Emily’s granddad is, sadly, no longer a part of this mortal coil. He was a conservative, however.
And yeah, she knows. She has a blog, in case anyone beside her family is interested, but given her lack of internet access, it doesn’t get updated as often as Mom would like. I expect it will be when she heads off to England for grad school in the fall, however.
Luv you Michelle, but it sounds like you’re saying anyone who doesn’t want to vacation in an RV is a loser. I go camping, but I don’t look down on people who don’t enjoy it–except those witchy, almost-step-moms in the Parent Trap movies.
Thank you. It’s wonderful, even in words and pictures.
You know…it is such an interesting phenomenon with online interaction like this. It absolutely never occurred to me that you were a woman. Maybe because “Bob” was in your handle, even though it clearly wasn’t your name, my brain just got psychologically locked into that thinking.
Reminds me a bit of the riddle with the man and son in a car accident, the son goes under the knife and the surgeon says “I can’t operate. This is my son.”
What a wonderful posting. What a wonderful trip. It looks like you are having fun. Have a great time, Michelle.
That is an absolutely outstanding photograph of the rainbow.
MM when you’re home and rested, more pics please. It will increase the tourism in those areas 10 fold. Take a vacation and help the economy! Who knew.?