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  • Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

    Alright, my family is planning a camping trip to the above parks/monuments in mid-August. Any advice? We're bringing our 9 year old daughter, so keep that in mind. Thanks in advance for anything you can think of!
    Current NCAA D-I rinks I've been to:

    AHA:
    B1G: UMich, MSU, UMinn, Notre Dame, OSU, UWisc
    CCHA: BSU, BG, FSU, LSSU, MSU, MTU, NMU
    ECAC:
    HEA: UMass
    NCHC: Miami, UMD, UND, SCSU, WMU
    Independant: ASU


    Inactive: UAH, ASU, BSU, UMD, UND, NMU, Notre Dame

  • #2
    Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

    Don't feed the bears....
    It's never too early to start the Pre-game festivities

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    • #3
      Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

      Originally posted by moose97 View Post
      Alright, my family is planning a camping trip to the above parks/monuments in mid-August. Any advice? We're bringing our 9 year old daughter, so keep that in mind. Thanks in advance for anything you can think of!
      Try to get in touch with winger - she worked there, I believe.

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      • #4
        Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

        Originally posted by moose97 View Post
        We're bringing our 9 year old daughter, so keep that in mind.
        Originally posted by RaceBoarder View Post
        Don't feed the bears....

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        • #5
          Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

          Originally posted by RaceBoarder View Post
          Don't feed the bears....
          Feeding Baers, however, is fine.
          sigpic

          Let's Go 'Tute!

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          • #6
            Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

            Originally posted by Ralph Baer View Post
            Feeding Baers, however, is fine.
            It's encouraged!

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            • #7
              Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

              There's a really cool drive thru zoo between Rushmore and Rapd City. It was pricey, but to have bears and deer walk up to your vehicle was a cool experience.

              Set aside an entire day for the Badlands. It's mind-blowing to see it in person. There's areas you can walk into it/on it.

              Wall Drug is a complete waste of time-tourist trap (as I thought it would be).

              Yellowstone...on the way to Cody WY where we stayed as a base camp for the Yellowstone excursion, we drove through/over the Bighorn Mountains. These are real freaking mountians. Don't take them lightly. Don't ride your brakes on the way down the backside, downshift and let the engine itself slow you down. I didn't fry my brakes, but I was sweating bullets worrying about them. The views on all the switchbacks are just awesome. There's a lot of places to pull over to soak it in/rest the vehicle.

              Cell phones don't work in Yellowstone itself, so if your van breaks down , you have to rely on strangers to help you out. That's a story for another time.
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              • #8
                Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                Originally posted by moose97 View Post
                Alright, my family is planning a camping trip to the above parks/monuments in mid-August. Any advice? We're bringing our 9 year old daughter, so keep that in mind. Thanks in advance for anything you can think of!
                A couple of things. One, check the dates of the motorcycle rally in Sturgis and make sure you go to Rushmore after it's over. It will be less crowded that way. (not that bikers camp anywhere near Rushmore, but is a very popular day trip while at the rally) Two, make sure to bring some warm clothes. Normally it's fairly hot out there in August, but the year we went we had frost warnings two of the nights. I don't think I wore shorts the entire week I was in South Dakota.

                I second the idea of trying to get a hold of Winger. She is the board expert.
                Orginally Posted by Sloe Gin - Legal is the Queen of the board.

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                Originally posted by UMDbulldogs#1
                I must say that I was impressed by the amount of alcohol she coud handle.

                Originally posted by Markt
                That almost lifts the sadness of realizing just how far out of my league Legal is. Almost.

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                • #9
                  Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                  Mt. Rushmore is great. Lot's of park activities that merit checking out the website. Don't miss the movies in the vistor center and don't miss the sculptor's studio.

                  Don't bother paying the big bucks to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. You can see most of it from outside the gates.

                  Deadwood is a cool Old West town that is worth seeing. Don't miss Boot Hill Cemetary.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                    I went there a few years ago on a weekday in spring. I got there right when it opened and with the exception of a photographer I was the only one there looking up at Mt Rushmore. It was an inspiring experience.

                    Within about 90 minutes the place was packed with busloads of kids so you might want to get there first thing when it opens.

                    Wall Drug and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site are within an hour or so of Mt Rushmore on westbound 90. A 9 year old would love Wall Drug but probably not MMNHS.
                    Wisconsin Badgers: 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2006 NCAA Champs

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                    • #11
                      Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                      Make reservations for Yellowstone NOW, if you still can, even if you are camping. Expect it to be cold - the first time we went, it got down to 28 degrees on June 30th. Check out Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Old Faithful is mandatory. Ask the rangers where there have been grizzly sightings. The Tetons are just south of the park. Go there if you can. We hiked about a mile from the lodge that we stayed at to a lily pad covered lake and watched a mama moose and her baby play in the water for an hour.
                      Believe it. Earn it. Raise it.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                        Originally posted by moose97 View Post
                        Alright, my family is planning a camping trip to the above parks/monuments in mid-August. Any advice? We're bringing our 9 year old daughter, so keep that in mind. Thanks in advance for anything you can think of!
                        What type of camping are you looking to do? I only ask because it could run the gamut of pay site with an electrical hookup to "hardcore" backcountry camping (and I know people who do that with kids younger than nine). Either way, I've been all over that park as well as the Tetons multiple times and I've been to places not many people go along with all the more visited locales. As I've got about 1000 ideas...I'll hold off with any suggestions until I know exactly what style of stuff you're in to
                        I wish I am able to live long enough to do all the things I was attributed to.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                          Originally posted by Siouxfaninseattle View Post
                          Ask the rangers where there have been grizzly sightings.
                          Lamar Valley is almost the sure winner here...especially in August. It also offers a stab at seeing wolves but that's less likely. It's the most ecologically fertile part of Yellowstone and as such has the most prey, and therefore the largest concentration of apex predators.

                          (Aside: I think it was on the Discovery Channel a year or so ago, but there was a two hour program that followed the wolf packs and the ongoing battle for territory that covered about the span of a decade. Bottom line is the strongest pack holds the Lamar Valley year in year out, though it's often a different pack every few years. Fascinating show)

                          Advice: Don't walk a few miles into the valley and camp anywhere unless you want a grizzly sniffing around outside your tent. Yeah, that was interesting.

                          Us: "So with a backcountry permit we can go anywhere we want"
                          Ranger: "Well, it isn't recommended"
                          Us: "But we are allowed to go anywhere we want?"
                          Ranger: "Technically, but it isn't recommended"

                          Yeah, we did anyway.
                          Last edited by XYZ; 05-29-2010, 12:00 AM.
                          I wish I am able to live long enough to do all the things I was attributed to.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                            Originally posted by Puck Swami View Post
                            Mt. Rushmore is great. Lot's of park activities that merit checking out the website. Don't miss the movies in the vistor center and don't miss the sculptor's studio.

                            Don't bother paying the big bucks to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. You can see most of it from outside the gates.

                            Deadwood is a cool Old West town that is worth seeing. Don't miss Boot Hill Cemetary.
                            I remember going to Deadwood before the Casino Invasion (word of mouth on that one). Has it changed that much? Or is it still kinda cool?
                            Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
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                            • #15
                              Re: Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore Advice

                              Originally posted by legal_hit View Post
                              A couple of things. One, check the dates of the motorcycle rally in Sturgis and make sure you go to Rushmore after it's over. It will be less crowded that way. (not that bikers camp anywhere near Rushmore, but is a very popular day trip while at the rally)
                              Yeah - we actually swithched the order of our vacation based on the Sturgis rally. We were going to go to Rushmore first, but once we saw the Sturgis schedule, we are now doing Yellowstone first...
                              Originally posted by XYZ View Post
                              What type of camping are you looking to do? I only ask because it could run the gamut of pay site with an electrical hookup to "hardcore" backcountry camping (and I know people who do that with kids younger than nine). Either way, I've been all over that park as well as the Tetons multiple times and I've been to places not many people go along with all the more visited locales. As I've got about 1000 ideas...I'll hold off with any suggestions until I know exactly what style of stuff you're in to
                              We were looking at camping at the Canyon campground run by Xanterra. Definatly not looking at backcountry camping. We don't necessarly need electrical hook-up, but it would be nice.
                              Current NCAA D-I rinks I've been to:

                              AHA:
                              B1G: UMich, MSU, UMinn, Notre Dame, OSU, UWisc
                              CCHA: BSU, BG, FSU, LSSU, MSU, MTU, NMU
                              ECAC:
                              HEA: UMass
                              NCHC: Miami, UMD, UND, SCSU, WMU
                              Independant: ASU


                              Inactive: UAH, ASU, BSU, UMD, UND, NMU, Notre Dame

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