Mt. Rushmore Trip
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4844
Printed Date: 08 May 2025 at 12:19pm
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Topic: Mt. Rushmore Trip
Posted By: LotusBlossom
Subject: Mt. Rushmore Trip
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2014 at 1:09pm
Now that school is out for the kids, I am so excited to be headed to Mt. Rushmore in just under two weeks. We are coming across the state from South East Michigan, down around the Southern tip of Lake Michigan, and then across I-90. Along the way, we will be spending one night in Iowa and another at a KOA in South Dakota before arriving at Custer State Park on the third day. We are going to explore, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the badlands and whatever else we can fit in! On the way home, we are going to head North and go up through Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and then head back down. As we only got our R-pod last year, this will be our longest trip in it yet. So happy that we can make these wonderful memories with our children before they are too old to want to go!  Happy Podding! ------------- 2009 Chevy Trailblazer 2013 RP 176 2 kids and a dog |
Replies:
Posted By: retireclose
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2014 at 2:40pm
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We took this trip a few years ago from Michigan. I suggest to take I-80 to I39 to I90. This way you avoid Chicago and toll roads. Have a fun trip. ------------- Gary and Jill Winters Bella Golden Retriever 2014 Silverado 1500 2015 R-Pod 179 -(SOLD) 
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Posted By: Kickstart
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2014 at 3:52pm
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Hey LotusBlossom, we did the Rushmore trip many years ago. The highlight of this trip for us was the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs, SD. You might want to Bing it and check it out. To me, it was just fantastic! I took a lot of pics and info home to use in my classroom. In any case, this will be a wonderful trip for your kids. There's just so much to see and do. ------------- '10 RP 175-Replaced by 2014 Kodiak 173 QBSL '12 Toyota Tundra '05 Sportster (half a Harley) Retired-We're on Beach Time! |
Posted By: fwunder
Date Posted: 15 Jun 2014 at 5:02pm
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We got this site in Custer reserved for a few nights on our way home from Kalaloch in Olympic National Park. http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Custer-State-Park/photos/Blue-Bell-020 - http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Custer-State-Park/photos/Blue-Bell-020 Looks very nice! fred
------------- 2014 RPod 178 => https://goo.gl/CV446f - MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 16 Jun 2014 at 8:49am
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We'll be in that area around July 23rd, I'll be interested to read your trip report. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: THEDragonTJH
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2014 at 9:26am
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We're headed up there next week! We are going to Chimney Rock and Carhenge along the way and then to the My Rushmore KOA for a few days, then back down to Omaha by way of Rapid City and making a few tourist stops as we go. Reptile Garden, Storybook Island and Wall Drug are on the list. All told we will tow the R-Pod about 1200 miles that week! ------------- JeepeR-Pod '14 R-Pod 172 Jared & Jenny Teagan, Ruby (Kids), Ozzie, Louie and Stella (Dogs) |
Posted By: Kokopod
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2014 at 9:46am
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Don't miss Devil's Tower - it's the highlight of the area - just amazing and made-by-nature! ------------- 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24k 2013 Premier 19FBPR Formerly-2013 R-pod 177HRE 2011 Dodge Durango Love a good road trip |
Posted By: THEDragonTJH
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2014 at 1:41pm
Where is that located in relation to Rushmore? ------------- JeepeR-Pod '14 R-Pod 172 Jared & Jenny Teagan, Ruby (Kids), Ozzie, Louie and Stella (Dogs) |
Posted By: RPodWeGo
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2014 at 1:33am
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Look into Jewel Caves. I recall stopping there years ago as we were in the general area you are describing. ------------- RPodWeGo RPod 177 04 v8 Toyota 4Runner |
Posted By: Kokopod
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2014 at 11:17am
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Devil's Tower is located in northeastern Wyoming near the town of Hulette. It is 128 miles to the northwest of Mt. Rushmore. It's a national memorial and on sacred Native American grounds. It has a beautiful walking trail all the way around it that takes about 1 1/2 hours to walk. It is enormous and awe-inspiring to see. If you're old enough to have seen Close Encounters of a Third Kind, that's it. To get to it from Mt. Rushmore, you will travel through the Black Hills, which is a beautiful area of South Dakota. You won't regret the extra time, if you have it. ------------- 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24k 2013 Premier 19FBPR Formerly-2013 R-pod 177HRE 2011 Dodge Durango Love a good road trip |
Posted By: THEDragonTJH
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2014 at 11:43am
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Thanks for the info Kokopod, we'll see if we can fit that in! ------------- JeepeR-Pod '14 R-Pod 172 Jared & Jenny Teagan, Ruby (Kids), Ozzie, Louie and Stella (Dogs) |
Posted By: Seanl
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2014 at 9:17am
Hey I remember this form Close Encounters of the Third Kind and it is not made of mashed potatoes.  Picture stolen from the internet.  ------------- Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition 
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Posted By: Budward
Date Posted: 01 Jul 2014 at 5:25am
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I too was impressed by Devil's Tower. One thing to note- when I went (20 years ago or so) there was not room at the parking area for vehicles with trailers, one had to drop your trailer elsewhere nearby and then drive just your tow vehicle to the "normal" parking area. Don't know if that is still the case. ------------- 2014 179 Towed by a 2015 Ford Transit Diesel Supervised by a German/Aussie mix and a Labradoodle! |
Posted By: LotusBlossom
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2014 at 1:49pm
We had a fantastic trip and made it home yesterday. I wish we had more time but it's back to work tomorrow  . We will definitely go again to try to fit in all that we weren't able to this trip.1st night - Wildcat Den State Park Iowa. This is a small rustic campground. There are some amazing rock formations in the area with a hiking trail and an old grist mill. It was a nice stop-over for one night. 2nd night - KOA in Mitchell South Dakota. After the rustic campground it was lovely to have a bath house and a pool for the kids. Very quiet campground and we enjoyed our stay here. It's super windy here but they say that it is always windy in this area. 3rd - 6th nights - Custer State Park Game Lodge campground. This was fantastic and we would definitely stay here again. Our site was across the road from a stream and very peaceful. A bison heard ended up right by the campground in the evening one night until the park rangers decided they needed to move along (they were blocking the road). Also right by the campground, there is a Wildlife Loop road that you can drive and we saw bison, elk, pronghorn, prairie dogs, deer and lots of birds. While in South Dakota, we did Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, drove the Needles highway, hiked by Sylvan Lake, went horseback riding in a canyon and soaked in all the beauty of the area. We didn't have time to drive to Devils Tower or to the caves (next time for sure!) 7th night - Myre-Big Island State Park Minnesota. LOTS of mosquitos. So many that we couldn't be outside even with bug spray. They apparently have had a lot of rain lately so maybe that is why. If it wasn't so buggy, I could see this place would be nice. After leaving here we took the kids to the Mall of America in Minnesota where they got to ride roller coasters. It was a spur of the moment decision and I could see how we could have made a day of it for sure. I had never put much thought into this place before so didn't know what to expect. We stayed only a couple of hours as we were in route to our next destination. It was a fun couple of hours though! 8th -9th nights - Lake Gogebic State Park Michigan. This is in the upper West corner of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by the Porcupine Mountains. There are numerous waterfalls in this area and we hiked to three before the kids got tired. We then drove around the mountains and ended up at Lake Superior where we dipped our toes. Lake Superior is always very cold and after just a few minutes my legs were tingly. In the summer you can get black flies that bite but we didn't have a problem. There were some small ones that would try to get you sometimes but not the big black ones people talk about. 10th night - Hartwick Pines State Park Michigan. I spend many days and nights here as a child as it was a favorite camping spot of my parents. It has changed since then as they have installed concrete camping pads but we actually prefer that with the pod. We had a wonderful time here and wish we had more days. There were no mosquitoes, which is a big deal for Michigan in the summer. There is a old growth forest trail that you can hike, some old logging things, etc. Since we've done that many times we decided to just chill out at camp and relax on our last day. We had a great trip and made wonderful memories with our girls. We can't wait to get West again. I had never been West of Chicago until this trip. I think that I live in the wrong state, the West is calling my name ------------- 2009 Chevy Trailblazer 2013 RP 176 2 kids and a dog |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2014 at 12:14am
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Definitely some pretty areas west of the Mississippi! ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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