Well, we're loading the final few items before we leave tomorrow for South Dakota. We've had this on our bucket list for years. We finally decided that it's the top priority. Woooooohooooo. We are both so looking forward to this new adventure.We have a month to spend. Devils Tower.Spearfish.Fall colors in general.Deadwood.The metropolis of Lead to tour the gold mine.Mount Rushmore.Crazy Horse.Custer State Park.Sturgis. Wind Caves NP.The Needles Highway.Bison, antelope, prairie dogs, burros,and other assorted critters.Custer's Battlefield. The Mammoth museum in Hot Springs.The Museum in Rapid City.The Museum in Bozeman (Dinosaurs, LOVE dinosaurs).Wall Drugs in downtown Wall.The Badlands.I've read every post on this forum regarding South Dakota. We will post photos as we travel.

Great. We plan on going to the same area in the spring. We look forward to hearing and seeing your trip.

Have a great time! We absolutely loved that area last year. Did most of the things you have planned. Classic American Road Trip, and for good reason.If you have time at Badlands, check out the Minuteman Missile National Hstoric Site. Their new visitor center may be open. Pretty amazing to go down 30 feet in a tiny elevator and see the keys that, if turned, would have launched nuclear weapons.

We have seen many of those sites, some more than once. We loved the badlands and wished we had more time explore. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is terrific and my boys ask to visit every time we drive through. Sturgis without the motorcycle run was pretty boring, and although Mt. Rushmore is nice and certainly a good item on your bucket list, it only needs a couple hours to get the experience. There are places on your list we still want to visit. Have a terrific and safe trip!

Custers Battlefield is Little Big Horn Nat'l Battlefield in Montana.

We stopped in Rapid City at Chapel in the Hills. Beautiful looking chapel. Have a great trip!

Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Black Hills, finally!

Jq1953
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Great. We plan on going to the same area in the spring. We look forward to hearing and seeing your trip.
NCWriter
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Have a great time! We absolutely loved that area last year. Did most of the things you have planned. Classic American Road Trip, and for good reason.

If you have time at Badlands, check out the Minuteman Missile National Hstoric Site. Their new visitor center may be open. Pretty amazing to go down 30 feet in a tiny elevator and see the keys that, if turned, would have launched nuclear weapons.
Army11Bravo
Explorer II
Oct 01, 2014
We have seen many of those sites, some more than once. We loved the badlands and wished we had more time explore. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is terrific and my boys ask to visit every time we drive through. Sturgis without the motorcycle run was pretty boring, and although Mt. Rushmore is nice and certainly a good item on your bucket list, it only needs a couple hours to get the experience. There are places on your list we still want to visit. Have a terrific and safe trip!
SDcampowneroper
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Custers Battlefield is Little Big Horn Nat'l Battlefield in Montana.
Uppercrust
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
We stopped in Rapid City at Chapel in the Hills. Beautiful looking chapel. Have a great trip!
Dick_B
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
Search this Forum for each of those locations for previous posts.
ryanw821
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
Wife and I just got back from there, it was fantastic, be prepared for snow, we weren't, lol
dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2014
Be aware that Wind Cave NP is more than the cave. We camp there every fall to listen to the elk bugle. You can see as much wildlife here as at Yellowstone, except for the wolves, bear and moose. We used to go to Yellowstone every fall, but we were seeing more elk at Wind Cave NP than Yellowstone NP. The bison here are also pure bison, as in no cattle dna in them. Just across the fence in Custer SP, the bison have cattle dna, so they take keeping them separate very seriously.

Oh yeah, the gold mine in Lead is now an underground science lab, but the tour won't get you underground. Just so you know, the visitor center is under construction.
pawatt
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
Some campgrounds and attractions are already closed, Snow predicted for Friday.
pjsky
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
This time of the year, don't forget winter clothes and a snow shovel.