Montana and Wyoming help

My in a day record, not towing is 1200 mi 18 1/2 hrs twice. From my sons place in Jacksonville Fl. to Muskegon Mi. That was traveling alone, gas and potty stops only. That same son now lives an hour west of Glacier

Another vote here for St. Mary's KOA on the east side. If you stay over there, visit Two Sisters Cafe and get some pie. They're amazing.

Bring your passports with you. You're soooo close to the Canadian border, it's worth driving up there to dip your toe into Canada, just to say you did.

"Canada is like America's attic. We hardly ever go up there, but we're always surprised how much cool stuff is up there." (Kathleen Madigan)

I would look at the route north through Utah instead of Wyoming. The 15 through Utah is so much faster. They say there are two seasons in WY: Winter and highway repair. You can get caught in some crazy delays up there. We took a little detour one time when we were driving from Laramie to Casper. It was a nice dirt road, pretty scenery, well maintained, with a nice man wearing dockers and a wind breaker who waved at us as we turned off the highway. There was another nice woman in slacks with a sidearm at the other end of the road. It turned out we had detoured through Dick Cheney's ranch. Nice spread. Huge mailbox that said Cheney...comically huge, like Bugs Bunny's.

Wyoming is gorgeous, except for the parts that aren't. The drives are deceptively long though. I don't think I'd drive through WY if I were trying to make good time.

Laramie is interesting, but not enough to make it a destination. My kids went to the University there. It's a great school, but not the best college town.

We did the trip to Glacier from our home in So Cal a few years back. On our first day out, I set my record distance for towing. We made it from the L.A. area clear to Pocatello, ID. 850 miles in one day. Never again. The next day was under 500 miles, but just as many hours because the roads were slower.

Glacier is totally worth it, but the trip isn't for the weak.

Our family went white water rafting there for the first time. One of our daughters loved it so much that she went to work as a rafting guide.

(By the way, my wife and I broke that one-day distance record winter before last when we were driving down from Post Falls, Idaho. We were in her Dodge charger and the roads south through the panhandle were too snowy for her car. So we went east into Montana to drop back down the 15. It was snowy though, so we didn't get very far that first day. The next day we made it all the way home from Dillon, MT, to L.A. 1040 miles. I told my wife we had to either make it all the way home that Saturday, or she had to buy me a room in Vegas that night so we could watch the Superbowl the next day. Either way, I was going to see the game.)

Where, mama? Vedauwoo (near Buford) doesn’t make even the top 20 for rock climbing.

See...http://wilderness.org/20-wild-places-outstanding-rock-climbs

I disagree regarding the Terry Bison Ranch restaurant. Good in my opinion and TripAdvisor ratings are overall 4 star. Regarding their RV park, Allstays shows 3 to 4 stars. My opinion too. When did you last eat and stay there, mama?

mama.sylvia wrote:
If you take the suggestion on another thread about the campgrounds on Snowy Range Scenic Byway and don't spend enough time in the park and/or Saratoga hot pool, there are things to do in Laramie itself as well. The University of Wyoming has a very pretty campus and the Territorial Prison is worth a couple of hours if you like history. (That is the only place Butch Cassidy ever served time.)

Don't know what you have already done in Cheyenne but we take visitors on Terry Bison Ranch's railroad. Overprived and touristy but nothing compares to seeing bison up close and feeding them treats. (We ignore the rest of the ranch, especially the indifferent and overpriced restaurant, and I certainly don't recommend their RV park.)

If anyone is into rock climbing, nothing compares to Vedauwoo (near Buford). My family can kill hours there without even trying.

There are 2 very pretty state parks not too far from I-25 between Cheyenne and Casper, Guernsey and Glendo. Both have RV sites with electric available, not sure about full hookups. I'm thinking we need to buy a canoe to keep on top of the RV for when we go there. (Curt Gowdy on WY210 between Cheyenne and Laramie is pretty, too, but the Snowy Range CGs are only a couple of hours further and much prettier IMNSHO.)

Guernsey State Park has some water and electric sites available, and there's a dump station at the entrance. The loop we stayed in had the w/e sites back away from the water and there was no shade. On the water sites were no hookups, and were in the trees. It's a beautiful state park and deceptively large.

In Cheyenne, I recommend making time for the Museum at the State Capital. It's a fascinating bit of history there, and lots of it. Can easily spend several hours there if you're into historical information and dioramas.

If you take the suggestion on another thread about the campgrounds on Snowy Range Scenic Byway and don't spend enough time in the park and/or Saratoga hot pool, there are things to do in Laramie itself as well. The University of Wyoming has a very pretty campus and the Territorial Prison is worth a couple of hours if you like history. (That is the only place Butch Cassidy ever served time.)

Don't know what you have already done in Cheyenne but we take visitors on Terry Bison Ranch's railroad. Overprived and touristy but nothing compares to seeing bison up close and feeding them treats. (We ignore the rest of the ranch, especially the indifferent and overpriced restaurant, and I certainly don't recommend their RV park.)

If anyone is into rock climbing, nothing compares to Vedauwoo (near Buford). My family can kill hours there without even trying.

There are 2 very pretty state parks not too far from I-25 between Cheyenne and Casper, Guernsey and Glendo. Both have RV sites with electric available, not sure about full hookups. I'm thinking we need to buy a canoe to keep on top of the RV for when we go there. (Curt Gowdy on WY210 between Cheyenne and Laramie is pretty, too, but the Snowy Range CGs are only a couple of hours further and much prettier IMNSHO.)

When you get to GNP you should take a side trip to Pole Bridge Mercantile. Best Bear Claws in MT.

Just was in Glacier 2nd week of Sept. Really enjoyed the all day Red Bus tour (DW liked them driving rather than me). Stayed at North American CG on west side, nice. Seeing the area on the west side 2 days plenty,Red Bus 1 day. Unless you are a real hiker three days would be plenty(we can't do difficult hikes anymore). Lots more to see and do in YNP and GTNP ,especially if seeing wildlife is important to you.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking the Havre Underground tour in Havre. It's not a full day activity, of course, but fascinating none the less. It would be great to do with kids (though it's not exclusively aimed at the younger set by any means).

There's also a buffalo jump in Havre that is supposed to be excellent, one of the best preserved ones around in terms of the archeological remains that are left intact. I didn't have time to stop there.

Some Montana attractions near the I90 corridor: Bighorn Battlefield near Crow Agency (7th Cavalry RV Park nearby gets good reviews). Museum of the Rockies at Bozeman includes lots of paleontology, pioneers and a planetarium. Camping about 30-40 miles west at Missouri Headwaters State Park or Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park give you an opportunity to explore Virginia City, Helena or Butte. The World Museum of Mining is a fascinating stop in Butte. The Territorial Prison, a car museum, a toy museum and Grant - Kohrs Ranch NHS are all at Deerlodge. Unless one is seriously into back country hiking, Glacier is the last place I would go in Montana. There are so many more less crowded and scenic places all over the state. While it is beautiful it is being loved to death like so many other of our parks.