tragusa3 wrote:
We just did all of these areas this past summer.
Surprises (even though we read it on this forum):
-Yellowstone is far down on our list of favorite parks.
-Things are farther apart than you can imagine.
-Badlands is AWESOME! Get out and do a few of the short hikes. I may have names wrong, but "windows" and "doors" were short and great.
-The Black Hills falls high on our list of favorite parks, even compared to the big boys. We were there 6 days and didn't want to leave.
-Devil's Tower can be passed by IMHO. Great stop if you have time, but may not be worth sacrificing in other places.
Just got back from this same trip 2 weeks ago. Totally agree with Yellowstone, although certainly a beautiful park, we were underwhelmed - to many inconsiderate people made for stressful driving and for visiting the sites. Couldn't imagine visiting there during the summer season. Fishing Bridge RV Park gets a lot of negative reviews but we lucked out and got a wonderful spot in Section "A". We found the town of West Yellowstone nothing but a tourist "rip-off". With over 3 million visitors a year they don't need to be so greedy. We drove up to Earthquake Lake, just west of YS and enjoyed that.
We also really enjoyed Mt Rushmore and The Badlands, we'll definitely go back and spend more time in that area. Enjoyed 2 nights in the little town of Sundance, Wy. Drove up to Devil's Tower, which we're glad we saw - but you only need about a hour
there.
Overall we had a great trip - the American West is simply awesome.
(All of the above is just our opinion of course and not meant to start anything or dissuade one's plans.)
Off topic a bit but its dismaying to see the poor condition of some of the major roads in our country. Why in the hell can't our government make infrastructure repair a higher priority!!!
