Rapid City, Casper, WY area info? - Montana Owners Club

boylanag · 02-05-2009, 02:54 PM

Carol is recovering nicely from her knee replacement surgery and so we will be mobile again from mid-April or so. We are going to be traveling from Michigan through Indianapolis, St Louis, Omaha to Rapid City, SD and Casper, WY area for a month or so. We are interested in any ideas of places to see, things to do, places to eat, etc. We will be staying at Rushmore Shadows for a couple of weeks in May and want to see as much of this area as possible. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

jpkelpe · 02-06-2009, 01:31 PM

there are lots of things to see in the Omaha area, especially if you like history. One of our favorite parks is Mahoney State Park, you may be able to get reservations but they also have first come, first serve spots and if you get there on Tues or wed there is usually no problem finding a spot. Next to it is the big Airforce Museum (SAC). We also have a world class zoo and next to Mahoney is a wildlife drive thru park. Also Union Pacific Museum and Morman Cemetary and visitor center to mention just a few places. PM me if you want more detatails--call if and when you get to Omaha and maybe we can meet up

boylanag · 02-06-2009, 02:37 PM

Thanks. We heard there was a great zoo in Omaha with an indoor rainforest and desert that we want to see. We'll let you know.

Driftwoodgal · 02-08-2009, 12:14 PM

For Rapid City be sure to get a travel booklet from the state line when you enter. We found great information from the book and found that we didn't have time to see everything while we were there for seven days.

Here are a few things to do.

Mt Rushmore.....day and night be sure to not miss the museum near the amphitheater
The Air Force Base, sorry can't remember the name, has a outside plane museum, plus the Titan missle silos. The museum is free, you do have to pay to go down into the silo.
The Gemology/Dinosaur Museum this is at the university
Custer ( I think) National Park, it is an incredible drive, tons of burros and buffalo, you drive through a tree in one of the loops through the park. There are several different loops you can take, some great photo ops of Mt Rushmore from a distance.
Bear Country
Corn Museum in Mitchell SD
Sturgis
Deadwood... Adams Home/small fee...Adams Museum free, Wild Bill Hickcock buried in a cemetary there. You do have to pay money to get in, we skipped that. They also do a live shoot out on one of the streets. We missed that, it was in that booklet that we got at the state line.
Gutson Borglum museum before you go to Mt Rushmore
Crazy Horse
1880's Train.....get fun
Berlin Wall
Rapid City Muesum

Gosh, I can't remember everything.

Hope this helps

Colleen

jimcol · 02-08-2009, 12:37 PM

Colleen hit most of the high points. A couple to add to your listis "The Needles Highway" & a drive through Little Spearfish Canyon" Spearfish City Park is the best kept secret campground in the Black Hills.

ronstan · 02-08-2009, 02:25 PM

Jim Go to the state websites and sign up for their tourist books. They will send them to you. I have the SD one now and the Montana and Wyoming ones are coming in the next few weeks. We are figuring on going to that area in June for about 3-4 weeks.

Driftwoodgal · 02-08-2009, 03:32 PM

We didn't make it to them, but I think there are some tar pits in the area too, or was it salt pits.... anyway another day of interest that we didn't make it to.

Again, don't forget to see Mt Rushmore at night, it is awesome and completely different from the day. Also, if you were a member of the armed services they do something special.

Colleen

boylanag · 02-09-2009, 02:28 AM

You folks are great! Thanks for the information. This is a great feature of the MOC family - sharing your experiences so that we can also enjoy them. We had planned on two weeks at Rapid City but may have to extend our time in the area.

deadeye · 02-09-2009, 04:08 AM

In the Omaha/ Council Bluffs area, there are Casinos/ Dog Track if you are interested in that. The Air Force base is SAC (Strategic Air Command) headquarters, Offit, AFB. Then you have your choice of going west on I-80 at Omaha or going on north up along the Missouri River. If you go west, there is another AF base that is closed at Lincoln, Forbes Field. Before you get there, you could visit Boys Town. A home for boys. Never been there, but heard of it. On out west in Nebraska there is Harold Warp Pioneer Village at Minden, Nebraska. Takes a day to go through if you looked at everything. Traveling I-80 is pretty flat across the prairies of Neb. If you go on North out of Omaha up along the Iowa side on I-29, there is a museum near the river that is a Federaral Reserve or Park that has a salvaged river boat in it that had sank on the Missouri River carrying supplies up to Montana for the trappers. That is real interesting as they saved about everything. I don't see that anyone mentioned Wall Drug in Wall, S.D. on I-90. You can stop and rest there before continueing on to Rapid City or going a little south through Badlands National Park. Wall is a lot of souvenir shops. I have been to most all of these places and there are many more that are not mentioned. They are all good, depending on a persons interest. Have a good safe trip...JB

boylanag · 02-09-2009, 04:28 AM

Thanks, Jack. Because of the time of year, we will probably go west from Omaha to Casper, where my son now lives, and from there on to Rapid City. We are hoping not to run into snow but know that it is possible.

Papalr · 02-09-2009, 09:45 AM

Visited the Rapid City area about 5 years ago and thoughly enjoyed all the sights. Obviously Mt Rushmore is a must, but also returning for the evening show. That is a definate must. We went to the show 3 times during our week there! Custer state park has a round-about drive that encompasses the entire park allowing you to check out all the buffalo. We stayed at a nice little RV park centrally located near Mt Rushmore and Custer and would stay there again next time we're in the area.
http://www.crookedcreeksd.com/
We also stayed in Deadwood at the KOA - would NOT stay there again. Sites to close, built on the side of a hill, and not easy with a big rig. Easy day trip from crooked creek though if you enjoy casinos and want to see some western history. A tour bus will take you around town and point out all the highlights, including Wild Bill Hickok and Calimity Jane's grave site. Beautiful area to visit!

boylanag · 02-09-2009, 02:29 PM

We have been wondering if the bus tours are worth it.

jpkelpe · 02-10-2009, 03:50 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by boylanag

Thanks, Jack. Because of the time of year, we will probably go west from Omaha to Casper, where my son now lives, and from there on to Rapid City. We are hoping not to run into snow but know that it is possible.

if you go west you will have to stop at Chimney ROck and Scottsbluff National monument(oregon Trail sites) Hiway 26 goes from Ogallala to Scottsbluff. (follows the Oregan trail) Trust me that is a more interesting road than I80.

good camping at several state parks and recreation areas too. North Platte has Buffalo Bill Cody's Ranch and you can watch all of the Union Pacific trains being made up for the whole nation--really neat and they have a neat museum about the canteen there during WWII. 18/85 follows the NE/WYO border and goes into Newcastle and then into the Black Hills is a very good road too.

boylanag · 02-10-2009, 08:17 AM

Thanks again, Jan and Paul. So many things to see and do - our trip is being extended to try to accomodate all.

farmboy · 02-13-2009, 12:17 AM

We lived in Rapid City for 9 years while I was on active duty at Ellsworth AFB. Absolutely loved it. Did not see every thing then, what with growing kids and all. We have been back several times since 1987 when we moved back to Indiana. We are planning a trip trough there in late April, leaving home the last sunday in april. Our final destination is Great falls, Mt. Grandkids you know. We will be on the road for two plus weeks. Park the rig where you want and enjoy all the time you have. It will be fun.

boylanag · 02-13-2009, 05:56 AM

John and Betty, yes it will be fun. We will probably cross trails during this time. Have a great trip.

2 for Him · 02-20-2009, 03:32 PM

Carol and Jim

Glad to hear Carol is recovering well.
If your interested in the Scottsbluff, Chimney Rock area, the Flying-B Ranch (http://www.flyingbee-ranch.com/) is right between them. Fantastic rustic camping, ranch tours on ATV's, wildlife, and sunrises and sunsets. Both museums are very interesting too, wagon trains and Indians were'nt at all like TV portrayed.
While in the Black Hills, check out the Crazy Horse Monument on the western edge,gorgeous and mind boggling. We stayed at one of our favorite campsites of all in Custer State Park, love those babbling brooks.
Check out the Jackalope museum in Douglas, we even saw some does in the wild but sadly no bucks. A couple of blocks away Douglas has a nice free RV park, it's in the State guide I think.
We did this trip in '07 and never began to see it all.
Have fun and enjoy the wide open spaces.

Tom and Georgia

boylanag · 02-21-2009, 02:08 AM

Thanks, Tom and Georgia. Our list of things to see and do just gets better all the time.

**Rondo** · 02-22-2009, 05:32 PM

If you are heading west out of Omaha, stop by the Arch in Kearney, NE. It does cost to go into it but interesting self-guided tour with headphones. Nice RV park just off the interstate in North Platte but can't think of the name right now! Ask if you can get a spot towards the back however if you don't want to hear the interstate traffic all night long! Very reasonable also! As mentioned previously- North Platte has the Union Pacific switching yards and Cody Ranch. Grand Island, NE has the Stuhr Museum with old buildings set up in a town and as stated previously Pioneer Village in Minden is a full day tour in itself. The original Cabella's is out in western Nebraska also and they have RV parking there also for overnighters. Across the interstate from the zoo in Omaha is a great botanical garden also. Lincoln has Mammoth Hall- a great museum and Hastings has a good museum also if you are into that type of entertainment. As Jan and Paul said- if in Omaha drop us a line and maybe we all can get together for a bit. Hope you have a great trip! There is so much to see across this mid-west area and Nebraska is so varied in it's topography-- from rolling hills in the east to flat lands in the central to the Sandhills and vast ranches in the west.
Ron and Mary

boylanag · 02-23-2009, 02:19 AM

Thanks, Ron and Mary. Until we posted this request, we had no idea that there was so much to see and do in this area. Since retirement, we are not as much in the "vacation mode" as we were before and this makes the journey just as interesting and, sometimes, exciting as the destination. I believe that we have had more forgettable destinations than journeys. We look forward to seeing you all when we get to the Omaha area.

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