Trip out West

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Pup

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Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Posts
72
I need help planning my trip this summer. Me and the wife have managed to get 4 weeks off for the trip so I need alot of suggestions . Will be leaving from Western North Carolina and am planning to start with the Dakota's and work southward. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
The biggest help I can give you is not to go too far south in the summer time out west. It gets really hot in the summer. I would go from the Dakotas to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks and that is all. You have almost two weeks of driving to get from NC to the Dakotas and back, that doesn't leave you a lot of time for sightseeing.
 
Forgot to menton dates: Leaving August 11 and have to be home September 7. thanks Sieler
 
They are going to find that the Dakotas, eastern MT and WY are also hot but generally cool down at night.  Good advice on the time for driving and for sightseeing.  I am currently planning a trip to VA for a mid May arrival and am allowing 2 weeks of travel plus additional time to sightsee and visit on the way there so are leaving mid April.  We will be making a side trip on the way back and are allowing a week to get home from TN.  The distances are large when crossing the country.  I am allowing 250 miles per day although some may be more, they will be few as we are too old to push hard very often.
 
Jim Godward said:
They are going to find that the Dakotas, eastern MT and WY are also hot but generally cool down at night.
They do get hot but the heat is nothing compared to the southwest desert in the summertime.
 
SeilerBird said:
They do get hot but the heat is nothing compared to the southwest desert in the summertime.

Having lived in eastern MT, worked in ND and visited the desert in CA and AZ in the summer, there is not much difference in 100? in either place.  Both are dry desert and hot sun hitting the hills and reflecting into the canyons.  I also spent a summer in El Paso and it was just more of the same.  Once it gets past 90? in the shade, it is all the same to  me.

Now 90? with high humidity is a problem!
 
You are right Jim. 100 degrees is 100 degrees. I made my remark because I have been to Montana and the Dakotas in the dead of summer many times and I have never seen it over 80 degrees. However in the southwest it is over 100 just about every day. Look up the averages for both places.

Hey, some people love hot weather. I am not telling him he should not go there, I am just explaining the weather to him so he knows what he is getting into.
 
We leave the Southwestern Desert for cooler weather in the summertime...every chance we get.
 
Regarding the heat, drink plenty of the right liquids to replace those you'll lose. Make sure your A/C is up to the task. I had to run my roof air. Don't bother looking for camping at Devil's Lake. Be prepared to find most of the camp grounds to be sandwiched on a narrow strip between a highway and railroad tracks. Pack earplugs. Federal and state cgs are your best bet. As others have stated, four weeks sounds like plenty of time until you actually have to deal with the enormous distances. I would hop right on an interstate at first and travel west at about a steady 60 mph for a few days, then stay at least two nights to recover, then switch to 100 to 150 mile days until resuming the 60 mph interstate travel to return home. Many will think 60 is too slow, but your fuel mileage will be a lot better and the chances of problems with your rig will greatly decrease if you hold the speed down. Take a 120 v. air compressor and don't fail to check every tire on your rig every morning. If you find a tire leaked, check first that the valve core has not loosened. Make sure you have everything with you to safely change a tire.
 
Oscar Mike said:
We leave the Southwestern Desert for cooler weather in the summertime...every chance we get.

Yep

When the going gets tough in the summer, the tough head for the mountains.  :)
 
Hey Pup!

I just did that exact trip this past summer. This was a first time camping experience in our brand new 20' Conquest trailer. I live in Bluffton, SC so I know exactly what you have in mind. I am planning on a trip to Glacier this coming summer and feel totally confident about the drive times as I drive on my own with my son keeping me entertained, for the most part.  Driving by myself, the average daily drive distance was about about 350 mi/day. I've learned time can be irrelevant as some miles are simply easier to go than others...especially when the scenery is vast. Anyway, it is pretty much the exact same trip, only I've decided this time to head up into ND.

This was my route to get to the Badlands and Black Hills along with my campground recommendation:

Bluffton, SC > Cartersville, GA (Lake Allatoona Marina Campground - very friendly)
Cartersville, GA > Paducah, KY (Fern Lake Campground was a nice stop)
Paducah, KY > Colombia, MO (Cottonwoods RV Park - very nice campground, all pull through sites)
Colombia, MO > Omaha, NB (Lake Manawa State Park, dry camping w electricity and gorgeous lake - stayed 2 nights and went to the Omaha "Henry Doorly"  Zoo - FANTASTIC!)
Omaha, NB > Oacomo, SD (Oasis Campground - overlooks MO river. Liked it so much we stayed there on the way back!)
Oacomo, SD > Badlands Nat' Park (slim picking for accommodations, but a jewel in the dirt  > Badlands/White River KOA - great for kids, absolutely loved it! Stayed 2 nights - Prairie dogs will steal your hearty and they, along with the Mtn goats, are everywhere!)
Badlands > Hill City, SD (Here, I could go on and on. The Black Hills are simply sumptuously amazing!!! We stayed at the High Country Guest Ranch as my mother had a cabin and they have spots for rvs. They have a huge stage where an Amer Indian troupe perform almost every night, horseback riding and more. Centrally located for 5 days of road trips covering every sightseeing" loop. Fell in love with Custer Nat'l Park where the Bison and Buffalo roam around your cars.)

We allowed for 2 days in Badlands (though y mother was there for 4 and loved it) and 5 days for Black Hills. If you do the Northern Loop to Deadwood, make an early start of it and go on out to Devil's Tower Nat'l Monument in WY - absolutely fascinating!

If you want more recommendations, let me know. I fell in love with SD. So, I am willing to see what ND has to offer on this next trip.

Samantha
 
I am liking all the information so far but don't stop! Need to know the place's to see and stay. Thanks everybody
 
Samantha thats the info I am looking for. My longest trip pulling my camper has been 3 hrs. so I don't know how far I can go in a day yet. I was thinking 300 to 400 on the way out then the shorter days when I get to SD. Another thing I need to know about is places to stay maybe 2 or 3 nights and just sight see from one place. I am thinking on at least 3 or 4 days to see Yellowstone from what i hear.
 
Pup said:
I am thinking on at least 3 or 4 days to see Yellowstone from what i hear.

When we travel we use 50 mph as our calculated average (2-adults, 2-dogs, no children), it works out to be pretty close at the end of the trip.

 
I agree with both Tom and Samantha, having done the 'West' trip last summer but we took 4 months to do which included AZ, NM, UT before we got to MT. It is definitely a long trip from SC and we never saw one day (or night for that matter!) in the South West areas that were less than 107?. I think if I'd heard one more time...yeah, but its a dry heat...I was gonna kill someone! I don't think we cooled off until we got to Montana and I absolutely loved MT. Got to see all the places you mentioned, Samantha in WY, SD, etc on the way home but really never scratched the surface. It's just too big and beautiful to take it all in on one trip. PUP, just think of this trip as a 'taste' to keep the dreams and plans flowing through the winter months in "our necks of the woods."

Linda
 
SeilerBird said:
You are right Jim. 100 degrees is 100 degrees. I made my remark because I have been to Montana and the Dakotas in the dead of summer many times and I have never seen it over 80 degrees. However in the southwest it is over 100 just about every day. Look up the averages for both places.

Hey, some people love hot weather. I am not telling him he should not go there, I am just explaining the weather to him so he knows what he is getting into.

Tom,

The difference is as you stated, daily 100 or more vs days of 100 followed by some more moderate temps.  Hit the wrong days and it hurts.
 
We went to SD and WY the first week of September in 2013 and literally burned up in the heat. It was 96 when we got to Rapid City and was "only" 93 at our home in Mississippi the same day. It did not cool down much at night. We will wait until later in September for our next trip!
 
If you are concerned about frying in the desert SW, avoid that by driving due west to the coast.  The temps are almost always great alongside the Earth's largest air conditioner (the Pacific Ocean).  The coast line on the left coast is SO different than the right coast, you will not get tired of the vistas.  There is so much to see and do on the way down.  Lots of cool beach towns to stop and have a meal.  Drive all the way down to San Diego and you can even cross into Tijuana for lunch and margaritas.  When you are done, you just jump on I-10 and head east.  By September, temperatures should be getting into the bearable range.
 
Thank You everybody for the input it is really helping but please keep it coming. Great idea from Inscop as far as going further West instead of South if it's too hot.
 
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