There were two places that I had on my ‘must visit” list: Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore. In February I made reservations for 3 nights in West Yellowstone and for a month in Rapid City, which is near Mt Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood, Sturgis, Custer State Park, and the Badlands. I was fortunate to have a friend join me for part of the journey, and all I needed to do was make it to Salt Lake City.
First stop was Missoula, Mt. home to the University of Montana. I secured the last site at a local RV park, then detached and drove into town. I popped into Taramack Brewery for a beer and drove around the town a little just to get a feel for it.
My stay in town was brief. The next day I had a short drive to another Harvest Host in Garrison, MT with the great name of A Creek Runs Through It! Located a just a couple of miles off the Interstate, it was a great place for a restful afternoon. I figured I needed to clean the rig some since company was coming and I could repack things at a leisurely pace. Most importantly, I was able to let Jasper run around off-leash and true to its name – a creek did run through it, which Jasper quickly found.
I booked 3 nights in Arco, ID at Mountain View RV Park and Restaurant. This allowed for an easy trip to Salt Lake City plus it was close to Craters of the Moon National Monument, which was highly recommended for a visit. The drive to SLC was smooth and though it was 250 miles away it took little more than 3 hrs given that the speed limit was 80 most of the way and traffic was light plus I did not have to tow a trailer.
There are many places out west with novel features and Craters of the Moon is one such place.
Sometimes is is great to be lucky. Arco was celebrating Atomic Days! And you know what that means! The rodeo!
We got an early start on Friday morning headed to Yellowstone. My luck was still good as we were able to park the trailer at the campground and enter the Park with the specific goal of seeing Old Faithfull.
My luck changed a little as a goober opened his car door as I pulled into a parking space following the stop at Old Faithful., but since my truck is Ram tough, I sustained minimal damage. Two things stand out about Yellowstone. First, it is immense. There is a lot there! Second is the prevalence of geothermal activity including bubbling pools.
And did anyone say buffalo?
Mineral deposits
And lots of water plus a few falls
West Yellowstone was a quaint little town and was able to continue my streak of enjoying some great hamburgers especially so since it was a short walk into town from the campground.
I needed to find places to stay for two nights as we traveled to Rapid City. My luck held for the first night as we stayed in Reedpoint at a delightful little campground.
On the way to Rapid City I took a brief stop at Litle Big Horn
My friend was not wise to the way of Harvest Hosts, and I neglected to educate her in advance, so that when we pulled into the parking lot of Big Lost Meadery in Gillette, WY she was a bit undone. Parking lot? Downtown? No shower? Fortunately, she recalculated the mater after a few glasses of wine and a good meal we enjoyed an uneventful overnight in Gillette.
The next morning, we stopped at a local bakery for coffee and donuts and then began our trip through Custer State Park to Southern Hills RV Park & Campground in Hermosa, SD
