Natural High's long haul out West

Discussion in 'Long Haul' started by rockytopsc, Oct 4, 2013.

  1. rockytopsc

    rockytopsc Novice

























































    August 28, 2013, we left Anderson, SC and travelled to Murfreesboro, TN to stay with my Sister and family.

    August 29, 2013, we left Murfreesboro, TN and travelled to East St. Louis, Illinois and camped at the Casino Queen Campground. We toured the Gateway Arch, Union Station and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.

    August 30, 2013, we left East St. Louis, Illinois and travelled to Sioux Falls, SD and camped at the Sioux Falls KOA. While getting ready to leave and checking the lights, we discovered a taillight out on the trailer. Spent some time trying to locate one and found one at a truck stop. From St. Louis, we headed for Corder, MO. Why you ask? Well it’s our last name. I found out about the town about 30 years ago and finally got to visit. We then made our way to South Dakota making quick turn arounds in Kansas and Nebraska, just to cross them off the list. I get to experience plenty of Kansas later in the trip.

    August 31, 2013, we left Sioux Falls, SD and travelled to Hill City, SD and camped at Rafter J-Bar Ranch. Once again since we were close to Minnesota, we made a quick trip across the state line to check another state off the list. We then made our way to the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, SD. After arriving we decided to just view the homestead area as opposed to touring the grounds. We did drive out to the De Smet Cemetery where Laura’s parents, sisters and a son are buried. We left De Smet and headed to Mitchell, SD to visit the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace was very interesting with all of it’s murals made of corn and other items. We didn’t realize it was an arena as well until we saw all the volley ball players. We made our way to the interstate and headed West to Hill City, SD for a few days.

    September 1, 2013, we toured Custer State Park and drove the Iron Mountain Road, Wildlife Loop Road and Needles Highway. We drove up to the Mount Coolidge Firetower to take in the panoramic views. This was a very scenic park and drive although we did get caught in a Buffalo Jam (finally) for about 10 minutes. Bonnie thought she would help them move along by barking so we rolled the windows up so as to not disturb them too much.

    September 2, 2013, we toured Badlands National Park, Minute Man National Historical Park and Wall Drug. We only toured the small visitor center at Minute Man since they only give out a few passes to tour the silo they manage. We then spent several hours in the Badlands viewing the scenery and understand now why they are called Badlands. We saw Big Horn Sheep, turkeys, coyote, antelope, bison and more prairie dogs. Bonnie barked from the safety of the FJ at the bison again today but I’m sure if she could run loose, she’d rather chase the prairie dogs! We then headed to Wall, SD to check out Wall Drug. We spent some time just walking around the complex and ended the day at the Badlands Bar across the street for supper.

    September 3, 2013, we toured Deadwood & Sturgis, SD, Sundance, WY, Devils Tower National Monument and drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. We drove the byway in search of the “Dances with Wolves” film site and found it before the sunset.

    September 4, 2013, we toured Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial. We’ll never forget our experience at Crazy Horse. As we were leaving the visitor center it starting raining, which then turned to hail. We were lucky to only suffer body damage to the tow vehicle, since the trailer was about 8 miles away at the campground. We saw at least a dozen vehicles with their windows shattered. The storm lasted about 20 minutes and most of the hail was golf ball sized. When we finally were able to leave we were concerned about the trailer but upon arrival it appeared it had barely rained at this location.

    September 5, 2013, we left Hill City, SD and travelled to Hardin, MT and camped at the Hardin KOA. We stopped in Belle Fourche, SD to view the Geographic Center of the Nation Monument. We left Belle Fourche headed for Montana via Hwy 212. This was the only part of the trip where I almost thought I would be walking for gas. I should have topped off in Belle Fourche or stopped along the way but we made it to Crow Agency, MT and fueled up before entering, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We toured some of the battlefield and Visitor Center before leaving. Had one of our Camp Inn sitings at the battlefield.

    September 6, 2013, we left Hardin, MT and travelled to West Yellowstone, MT and camped at the West Yellowstone KOA. Before heading to Yellowstone we drove the Little Bighorn Battlefield loop. We stopped in Billings, MT, at Cabela’s for a few supplies and to exchange a chair.

    September 7, 2013, we spent the morning after breakfast doing some chores (dishes & laundry) and relaxing. Left the campground about noon headed for Yellowstone to spend the remainder of the day touring around the park with our final destination of Old Faithful. We took a side road and viewed Firehole Falls. We then stopped along the way to have our picnic lunch along a stream. Bonnie stood guard for approaching critters that might come our way. After lunch we stopped at a few of the many geysers/hot springs in the park. The vibrant colors of the pools were spectacular. Then we made our way to Old Faithful to view the show. We waited about 45 minutes in anticipation while a storm approached. Old Faithful put on a nice show with a few rain drops falling. We toured the visitor center and the Old Faithful Lodge. We then caught a second showing of Old Faithful before heading back to camp.

    September 8, 2013 we spent another day in Yellowstone with our final destination, the North entrance. We stopped and viewed Gibbon Falls, which was very impressive. We next made our way to Norris Geyser Basin and walked the trails through the basin. We had lunch next to Sheepeater Cliff and the rock formations were very unique, kinda like Devils Tower formation. We left there headed for Mammoth Hot Springs and the name doesn’t lie. We made it to the North entrance crossing the 45th Parallel for the second time. The last time we crossed we were in Michigan last year. After driving a short distance we noticed a nice herd of Elk crossing a ridge near the road and stopped to view them. We finally got to hear an Elk bugle while watching. When we arrived back at camp we saw our second Camp Inn of the trip parked a few sights over from our site. The weather for the day was rainy and cool but upon arrival at camp we saw a nice rainbow.

    September 9, 2013 we headed back into Yellowstone with our destination the Northeast Entrance. We stopped first at the National Museum of the Park Ranger. While driving to our next stop we saw a Grizzly Bear and a pair of Trumpeter Swans. The bear siting was an unexpected treat as we thought we would never see. We then detoured to the Black Tail Trail which was a 6 mile gravel road with great views of the mountain ranges. Bonnie got in the front seat for a better view and enjoyed the bumpy ride. We next viewed a petrified tree. We travelled a bit further to stop for lunch near the Barronette Peak, elevation 10,404. We passed through the Northeast Entrance toward Silver Gate, Montana and turned around headed for Canyon Village. We saw probably 200 Buffalo and about a dozen Pronghorn Antelope along the way. We made our final stop at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to view the Upper and Lower Falls.

    September 10, 2013 we headed back into Yellowstone to view the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone for a second look. While there we viewed another Osprey from a better vantage point. We then headed to Mount Washburn (elevation 10,243) to see some panoramic views of the park. We left there headed again back to Canyon Village for lunch and to view the falls from Artist Point. Bonnie guarded the picnic table from a Common Raven who was trying to get some food. We left the falls and viewed Mud Volcano and Dragon’s Mouth Spring. We then proceeded to Fishing Bridge and on the way viewed another Grizzly Bear and Coyote from the road side. While at Fishing Bridge we walked out to the beach at Yellowstone Lake. We left Fishing Bridge and headed to Grant Village. After leaving Grant Village headed for camp we crossed the Continental Divide (elevations 8,391 & 8,262) twice.

    September 11, 2013 we left camp headed to Grand Tetons National Park for the day. We traveled through the South Entrance of Yellowstone, crossing the Continental Divide three times today. We have been trying to see a Moose for the last two years and finally today it happened. We continued traveling in awe of the Tetons to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. We saw two Black Bears very close to the road here and one was eating some berries. We left the Preserve looking for a place to have our lunch and decided to eat at the Mormon Road area of the park. After lunch we viewed the old homesteads and barns. In the distance we could see rain falling and made a quick trip to the Snake River Overlook to see the area where Ansel Adams took his picture of the river and Tetons. We left the park and passed through Jackson Hole which was very crowded and it took us awhile to maneuver through the traffic on our way back to camp. We travelled a few miles up and down some steep grades and crossed into Idaho. We travelled through several small towns and beautiful farmland. As the sun was setting we crossed into Montana and encouraged four mule deer off the highway and back on the side of the road.

    September 12, 2013 we left West Yellowstone, MT via the East Gate and travelled to Loveland, CO and camped at Boyd Lake State Park. We crossed the Continental Divide twice with the camper, spent a little time in Cody, WY and made our way to the interstate passing through Thermopolis, WY and Casper, WY. By the time we made it to Cheyenne, WY it was raining and rained till we arrived at 10:30 pm in Loveland, CO. We set up quickly and started to turn in for the night when the ranger arrived to inform me I hadn’t paid the day use fee.

    September 13, 2013 we left camp and tried to make it to the New Belgium Brewery tour but finally realized it was a lost cause since all the roads we tried to drive were blocked due to the flooding. I later found out the tours had been cancelled. We then spent about three hours trying to make our way make to camp. Again, all the roads the GPS sent us on were blocked and since we left camp the interstate had been closed. We finally found a frontage road that would take us toward camp and we spent the remainder of the day relaxing.

    September 14, 2013 we left camp and made our way to Denver to do some walking around downtown. We ate again at the Hard Rock Cafe, so Angie could mark this one off her list of Cafe’s visited. I think she has now been to 20 of the cafe’s. We made the best of stay in Colorado even with not being able to visit the Rockies, so we will have to visit the park some other time.

    September 15, 2013 we left Loveland, CO and travelled to Denver International Airport. We dropped Angie off for her flight back to South Carolina. Me and Bonnie made it to Wellington, KS and camped at the KOA. This part of Kansas almost put me to sleep with the straight roads and monotonous topography. The winds were blowing pretty good all day and I think this is what kept me awake.

    September 16, 2013 left Wellington, KS and traveled to Sardis, MS and camped at John W. State Park. Me and Bonnie passed through Oklahoma and Arkansas on our way to Sardis. We left the interstate between Little Rock, AR and Memphis, TN and headed cross country toward Helena, AR to cross the Mississippi River at that location. We saw a lot of soybeans being harvested near the river and trucks carrying the soybeans headed to deposit them on Arkansas side of the river.

    September 17, 2013 left Sardis, MS and traveled to Anderson, SC. Left Sardis headed for Tupelo, MS for brief visit at the Elvis Presley birthplace. Left Tupelo and headed home. If I’d have known it would be a typical trip through Atlanta, I would have spent more time in Tupelo. Me and Bonnie arrived in Atlanta at rush hour with a couple of wrecks making the situation even worse. It took us about an 1.5 hours to get through Atlanta but we made it through.

    We all had a great trip and are looking forward to the next excursion.

    Nights camping: 19
    Total Miles Travelled: 6,823
    Towing Miles: 4,886
     
  2. KathyBob

    KathyBob Junior Ranger

    Great write-up! Please PM me with your address and I'll send the long-haul pin.

    Kathy Piggott (KathyBob)
     
  3. Evan

    Evan Administrator Donating Member

    I wondered how that worked out for you with the flooding in Colorado. We were stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the night when you passed through on your way into Colorado. In the morning we couldn't follow you because the bridges were gone. I'm glad to hear you were fine! :)
     
  4. Dahava

    Dahava Novice

    Sounds like a great trip, and thanks for posting the pics!
     
  5. AnnaSteve

    AnnaSteve Novice

    rockytopsc great story of your long haul we are putting ours together now.
     
  6. Ken & Peggy

    Ken & Peggy Moderator Staff Member Donating Member

    What a great trip! We landed in Denver on the 14th and found I-70 closed heading West, so there was a lot of detouring to deal with. Sounds like you got lucky with your travels through the flooding areas.
    Great pictures of some iconic spots - including the Mormon Barns - very nice.
     
  7. 1Door

    1Door Novice

    Thank you for the photos and I am SO HAPPY that your "Natural High" didn't get hammered! (With the hailstorm, that is).
     
  8. pat walsh

    pat walsh Junior Ranger

    I enjoyed your pictures and story thanks.
     
  9. rockytopsc

    rockytopsc Novice

    Thanks for the comments for the long haul. We had a great time even with Mother Nature throwing curve balls. The first full day in Colorado was trying and frustrating trying to navigate around the flooding just to get back to camp. The FJ will start part of the rehab next week with the paintless dent removal. The rest of the work may have to be scheduled after Thanksgiving when our travels for the year are over. Right now the estimate is over $7k. Just thankful we got to continue the trip and the CampInn was not damaged.
     
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