PORTLAND OR en route to South Dakota, and back

We stayed at Larsson's Crooked Creek RV Resort in Hill City SD on the last night of their season last September and it was one of the most expensive stays of our two-month trip. I figured it would be off-off-off-peak pricing, but it was really spendy.

I guess that whole area is very expensive. It's gorgeous, but we probably would have kept moving if we'd known how expensive that area was.

thanks, why do you choose that southern route? how do you get from I80 to Rapid City?

we do have reservations at a private CG in Custer as well as at the Badlands KOA. we are in the area for ten full days.

my wife and I are from the Portland area and lived in Rapid City for four years. We have been back many times. We almost always used I84 to I80. We have done that trip in two days but generally with an RV took three. The Black Hills have changed over the years and has become very commercialized. Lots of touristy stuff now but still an amazing place. Deadwood was ruined by the casinos but Boot Hill is still the same. Crazy Horse is taking shape but expensive to visit. We generally stay at the Ellsworth AFB Fam Camp but there are lots of campgrounds to chose from in all price ranges. If we can't get in we use The Rapid City KOA. Close to stores and eating places. As mentioned the Sturgis Bike rally is in early August and the whole place area turns into a big parking lot. The Badlands and Wall Drug are worth a visit but in the park are more natural things to see and do. Also a cave tour close by. You won't have any problem using your time.

bikendan wrote:

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
Under current conditions, I would not make ANY attempt to do anything to give one nickel, nor to spend any time in Portland Or.
They have every right to live the way they wish to live, I dont begrudge them that. But I would not choose to do anything to assist them nor to put myself, or those that I care about in their sphere of influence.
Others can disagree, but protest is one thing, physical jeopardy is another.
As to your time outside that area, stretch it as long as possible.

I think you did a knee jerk response and didn't read the title correctly nor noticed where the OP is from. They are FROM Portland and are starting their trip from there.:S

Correct, I had just left the "News" sites. But the suggestion on Sturgis and the surrounding area holds. Most summers they are jammed, this will likely be the odd year where rv's can have the run of the region without competing for space.

We stayed at 7th Ranch RV Camp a few years ago and found it to be a nice place with large 50 amp FHU pull-throughs. It is located just south of Garyowen and very close to the Little Bighorn Battlefield NM. During this pandemic I would give them a call to make sure they are open.

There are some pictures of our site there on our blog if you would like to see them. You might check other blog entries before and after that stop to see other places we stopped along I-90.

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
Under current conditions, I would not make ANY attempt to do anything to give one nickel, nor to spend any time in Portland Or.
They have every right to live the way they wish to live, I dont begrudge them that. But I would not choose to do anything to assist them nor to put myself, or those that I care about in their sphere of influence.
Others can disagree, but protest is one thing, physical jeopardy is another.
As to your time outside that area, stretch it as long as possible.

I think you did a knee jerk response and didn't read the title correctly nor noticed where the OP is from. They are FROM Portland and are starting their trip from there.:S

My wife and I took a big trip last fall to all the states in the map in my sig below. One of our favorite stops was outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We have a big 5er (45') and sometimes have trouble finding suitable spaces, but we loved the little county park outside the NP. It was one of the prettiest places we stayed and it only cost $6 for the night.

Buffalo Gap Campground

There's a lot to see in the area, but fuel up before you get there. We had to drive most of the way to the Montana border to fuel up the night before we left.

In addition to visiting the Roosevelt park, we also spent a good part of a day driving the Custer Trail. It's mostly gravel/dirt roads through the countryside and oil land. There are some gorgeous stops along the way though. At the western end of the trail before we made it back to the highway, we stopped at a little municipal golf course and hit a couple buckets of balls as the sun went down. They couldn't have treated us more nicely, even though we only spent about ten bucks on the balls.

From there we drove down to Hill City, SD, which was a gorgeous drive.

The people, the land, and the sights were amazing.

That whole area is heavenly, at least during the part of the year when they don't have snow.

Under current conditions, I would not make ANY attempt to do anything to give one nickel, nor to spend any time in Portland Or.
They have every right to live the way they wish to live, I dont begrudge them that. But I would not choose to do anything to assist them nor to put myself, or those that I care about in their sphere of influence.
Others can disagree, but protest is one thing, physical jeopardy is another.
As to your time outside that area, stretch it as long as possible.

Many venues like Sturgis are normally so crowded they are hard to visit in the summer, this year that may not be the case, so look there first, if not into the bike scene, you may not get another chance like this .