3-4 week trip west... A little nervous!

We returned 3 days ago from a 3600 mile 23 day trip from north Alabama to NM and Colorado. Did Utah last year.

Catch as many of the NP's as you can, especially in Utah. They are all spectacular. Monument valley is not to be missed, and the Gouldings campground there has the best setting of any CG we have used.

In Colorado we stayed a week in Montrose (black canyon of the Gunnison, jeep ride in Ouray) and Manitou Springs (Pikes Peak, Mountain Zoo, Garden of the Gods, AF Chapel). Best thing about Colorado this year was it was COOL - we even ran the heat a couple of nights. High 40/s or low 50/s on the mountain peaks and plenty of snow to play in. Virtually no humidity in the valleys, and pretty much constant breeze.

We pulled a 4 ton TT over Monarch Pass with a naturally aspirated Tundra. As others here assured us, it wasn't bad at 10 miles of 7% up, and another 10 miles of 7% down. It actually took us longer to come down than go up. A naturally aspirated engine losses 3% power for every 1000 feet above sea level, but I found the engine computer and transmission compensated for this very well.

Before making these 2 trips, I bought both the mountain guides - they publish one for the east and one for the west. I have lived in TN/AL all my life, so I used the eastern guide to find roads/hills I was familiar with and relate them to % grade. This "calibration" helped me better understand the grades on the roads out west.

As to I-40 condition, Oklahoma was consistently the worst ride. West Arkansas has a few isolated pockets, but OK rough across the whole state. Looks like they have finished most of the construction in west Ark.

On the return trip, we got out of the TV at OK city Saturday night to make camp and got hit with the wall of humidity, and now wish we were back in Colorado!

Travel safe.

hackalar wrote:
Is there really anything to do or see other than mountains on the east side of Yellowstone?

Yes.

But I think you are on a schedule. Might sort of strict to it.

OR

Three great websites with more info than you can digest -
Stan = Photo's
Matt = more than most can imagine
Family = It can be done

These three links (within the link) will give you the info that come from others like you who have done it and shared it.

Hope this is of some help.

BOL,

added;Mpond

Mpond-Yellowstone

Mpond-Colorado

Is there really anything to do or see other than mountains on the east side of Yellowstone?

You can certainly take your 40' through Yellowstone on the roads. There is no boondocking in Yellowstone. There are some non-reservable campgrounds with no hookups. Mammoth is our favorite but you need to be there early morning when folks are leaving to get a spot.

If you drive through the park and exit either north of Mammoth or to West Yellowstone, there are plenty of nice forest campgrounds and state parks. Baker's Hole national forest c.g. at West Yellowstone is excellent but again, they don't accept reservations and you need to get there early morning. They have a few sites with electric and quite a few sites overall that a 40' motorhome would fit. We enjoyed it there.

Hello from the road!!

So we left Nashville Tennessee on June 9th around 5 PM. drove till midnight or so, reached south Dakota on the second night and made the KOA on mount rushmore the 3rd day around noon.
Stayed there for 3 days leaving early sunday morning. We took 90 to Buffalo then got on 16 through the big horn mountains, Beautiful!!!!! Arrived in Cody last night (sunday 14th) around 8 pm. long day!

Today we spent the day in cosy just sightseeing.

Now here's my question.. We have a site in Cody and its small and of course crowded. We really want to head into yellowstone with the dynasty and boon dock somewhere pretty and private. Is There such a place? Can we ever get the 40th rv into Yellowstone from Cody? we drove about half way there today in tahoe and didnt see anything that would stop us. There are a couple tunnels at the dam but feel we can get through them.

Should we take another route from cody to the park and stay on public land at another entrance? suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or should we try to from a camp ground in yellowstone that is primitive?

From cody we are 3 hours 1 way to old faithful? thats crazy!!

Thanks for any advice!

hackalar wrote:
I have logged over 100k miles in class a motorhomes. Currently have a 40ft dynasty diesel pulling a full size Chevy truck.

We (me, wife, and 2 sons, 8 and 14) are leaving June 6th from Panama City Florida to Tennessee for a couple days. From there we are heading west!

I was thinking of hitting Colorado first but now I think we are going to go for the bad lands first then to Yellowstone. From Yellowstone to Utah to explore. That's as far as I've gotten. Lol my 8 year is a dinosaur nut and I want him to see some of the things I've read about in Utah.

My concerns.. How hard is the mountain driving going to be? How will I know what roads to avoid.
We have no reservations and don't mind boondocking but would like hook ups from time to time.
Any suggestions for the above or anything else I'm missing pleaseeee advise.
We are free for 3-4 weeks and change plans as they are not solid. Once we leave Tennessee we are free to enjoy a trip of a lifetime! What to do?

Bobby Beard

We are making the same trip, same stops (except Tennessee) and at the same time lol. You may be a few days ahead of me though. If you find a spot in Grand Teton NP area (most are first come first served) save me a spot! My almost 8 year old has to see the dinosaurs too (Mammoth Site and Rapid City).

If you're going north from Yellowstone and into ID to get to Utah, you'll be fine as far as roads go. If you go south from Yellowstone into Utah(which will save you hours of precious time on your shortish trip) you'll be OK as long as you do not take Teton Pass (10 % grade). Your GPS shouldn't take you that route anyway but just in case....Also if you go south you can hit Jackson, WY. Great food but pricey. You'll also have a chance to camp at Palisades, ID. The road from Jackson goes right to Palisades. I grew up on square ice cream cones in Swan Valley (a little north of Palisades though).

There are not a lot of sites in Yellowstone area that are still available. In fact, I believe some sites near Yellowstone do not open until June 25th. Go to Allstays.com to pick out spots on a map and get the CG info. The open spots are first come first served, have length limits, and boondock. You may have to try finding a campground that is almost $100 to get hookups or even a spot. I've been looking for 2 months and because of length limit it's dang near impossible to get a researvable spot. There are a lot of CG though and that 1 week earlier than me might be all the difference in the world. Seriously, save me a spot lol.

You'll have tons of fun!

Be sure to take warm clothes because early June in the Rockies is going to be chilly. Some high altitude passes could even have snow. We were out there in early June several years back to backpack in Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park and had plenty of snow in the elevations. They've had less snow this past winter though so it may not be a problem in the passes.

Four years ago we went out west and hit Santa Fe, NM first and worked out way north along the Rockies through Colorado, eventually to Grand Tetons Nat'l Park and Yellowstone. That was in July and while the days were fairly warm the evenings got cool.

This will be a great trip for you and your family. Many memories!

This may be old information but when I plan to go into an unfamiliar area I look at it on Google earth and if I have any questions about the road I move the icon and check out the questionable section at road level.

hackalar wrote:


I can drive for 13 plus hours a day easy. i am a road warrior and make lost of trips on midnight runs. i can go all day and all night.
Google maps show its about 20 hours via a car from Nashville Tn to Mount Rushmore. i understand i will add to that considerably due to being in a motorhome. I feel i can make Mt Rushmore in 2 days. From there i need to make plans.

Please keep in mind that driving those kinds of hours are dangerous. Also, it could be very hard on your passengers.

With your limited time, I wouldn't head as far as Glacier. Pick a few choice places, park your rig and explore. You have a big rig which really limits the campsites available in the NFS and NPS systems. Are you amenable to boondocking? If so, let me know and I can help you out with some ideas.

Specifically thinking about your kids and what they would like, I'd suggest some of these places. (Family travel should be 90% about the kids and 10% about the adults!) I'd stick to the CO/UT area, maybe with a trip up to Yellowstone (more on that later).

Recently, someone else from FL with kids 10, 8, and 4 asked the same question. Check out my answer here.

Since your kids are a little older, let be add some things to that post. In CO, for kids I always recommend the area around Salida and Buena Vista. Higher in elevation so cooler. Ghost towns, river rafting, biking, fishing, hiking. The Arkansas River Valley is around 7000' to 8000' or so with 14000' mountains all along the west side. Go as far north as Leadville (at 10,000') rent bikes and ride the Mineral Belt Trail around the town, passing many old mining buildings and relics. Cool mining museum in town too, if you get a passing rainstorm and need a place to hang out for a few hours. Rafting on the Arkansas is some of the best in the state and has something for everybody, from relatively easy to pretty hairy. Spend a afternoon or evening exploring downtown Salida. Interesting shops, array of great restaurants of all types and costs, a river wading right though to town where the kids can wade, and on weekends there's often free music in the park. As for places to camp, most of the NFS CG's are under the reservation system and are full. Even those that aren't under reservations have few places for such a large rig. Do a search here under "Salida" or "Buena Vista" for ideas. I know some like the KOA in Buena Vista.

In the Durango area, your rig will fit in some sites at Mesa Verde NP CG. Not quite dinosaurs, but quite interesting to kids nonetheless. Sign up to take one of the tours where you have to climb some ladders -- that will get the kids talking. In the same area, we often camp at McPhee Reservoir NFS CG. Some sites have electric hookups. Usually doesn't fill. The nearby Heritage Center is worth investigating.. What ever you do, I think a ride on the Durango - Silverton train is worth doing, although you may have trouble getting reservations at this late date (just be flexible when looking for dates -- sometimes there are cancellations). Riding a narrow gauge steam train through amazingly high mountains to a real honest to goodness old mining town is something your kids won't forget (and neither will you).

I didn't mention Dinosaur NM in the previous post. Green River CG in the park does have some first come first served spots that will fit your rig. No hookups, but flush toilets. There area a couple of state parks north of Vernal that have some sites with hookups. Check to see if any are still available. Or head up by Flaming Gorge reservoir and camp in a NFS CG. Much cooler up there. "Commute" down to Vernal to do the dinosaur thing. Besides the NM, don't miss the dinosaur displays at Utah Field House in Vernal. Well worth the time (I'm a geologist -- I wouldn't mislead you!)

Yellowstone -- really tough to do with such a large rig on such short notice. You might find some reservations outside the park at this late date but you should do a search here to see what CG's people recommend and check to see if there are any spots available. It's much easier to find a spot in Grand Teton NP as there are many more sites that are first come, first served that will fit your rig.