2015 - Our Travel Adventures, Western United States
2015 Our Travel Adventures, Western United States
Dates: 2015-04-07 to 2015-05-26
From: North Port, FL To ESPN Wide World of Sports, FL
Estimated Fuel Costs: $2703.54
Total Trip Length: 6906.8 mi
Description:
People are drawn to the rugged beauty of the Badlands. These geologic deposits contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed
cat once roamed amid what is now the park's 244,000 acres. Today you’ll find an expanse of mixed-grass prairie that’s home to bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferret. Surrounding the prairie lands are colorful buttes that consist of sediments first deposited 60 million years ago by the inland sea and shaped by wind erosion over a half million years.
Exhibits in the Ben Reifel Visitors Center at the main entrance highlight all the natural and cultural history. For a good overview, check out the short Land of Stone and Light film, and don’t miss the Fossil Preparation Lab, where you can see paleontologists at work on recent park finds. A bookstore sells a variety of titles related to the park as well as postcards, posters, and other souvenir items. The visitors center is also a good place to find out about the seasonal ranger-led talks and tours and gets information on various trails. If you’d rather drive than a hike, you can follow one of three routes: the Highway 240 Badlands Loop (paved, two-way road); the Sage Creek Rim Road (gravel); the rougher Sheep Mountain Table Road. Also near the main visitors center are the Cedar Pass Lodge, which has hotel rooms and cabins, and the Cedar Pass Campground, which has RV sites with electric hookups as well as tent sites. Both are operated by Forever Resorts, which also manages the Badlands Inn (just outside the park). If you’re planning a visit to Badlands from Rapid City, consider stopping at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, which is off I-90 en route to the park.
Stop #7
Name: Sturgis Largest Bikers Bar
Address: Sturgis, SD
Stop #8
Name: Deadwood
Address: Deadwood, SD
Stop #9
Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Address: 13000 SD Hwy. 244 Keystone, South Dakota 57751
Website: http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
Phone #: (605) 5742523
Description:
“There is not a monument in this country as big as a snuff box,” said sculptor Gutzon Borglum before setting out to give America a grand memorial. In 1927, he began carving the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt into a granite outcropping atop Mount Rushmore. The project took almost a million dollars, 400 workers, 14 years, and loads of dynamite. By the time Borglum’s son Lincoln completed the work in 1941, roughly 450,000 tons of rock had been blasted away to create the 60 foot high faces. Today one of the world’s largest and most recognizable sculptures attracts 3 million visitors annually. The parking area Information Center has details on each day’s events; you can pick up self-guided audio tours here or in a building across the way. The paved, half-mile Presidential Trail has an exhibit on area Native Americans and takes you beneath the sculpted heads. The Lincoln Borglum Museum, directly below the Grand View Terrace, has exhibits and shows the film Mount Rushmore: The Shrine every 20 minutes. In warmer months, check out the ranger talks in the Sculptor’s Studio or the 45 minute evening program with a ranger presentation, the film Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy,
and the dramatic illumination of the faces to the sound of the National Anthem. There aren’t any picnic or camping facilities, but there is a restaurant, a gift shop, and Mount Rushmore History Association bookstores.
Stop #10
Name: Custer State Park
Address: Custer State Park, SD
Stop #11
Name: Crazy Horse Memorial/Mount Rushmore National Monument
Address: Crazy Horse Memorial/Mount Rushmore, SD
Stop #12
Name: Devils Tower National Park
Address: Devils Tower National Monument, WY
Stop #13
Name: Buffalo Wild Bill Cody
Address: Cody, WY
Stop #14
Name: Yellowstone National Park
Address: Yellowstone National Park, WY
Stop #14a
Name: Yellowstone National Park cont.
Stop #15
Name: Aaron and Kimberly Home
Address: Pocatello, ID
Stop #16
Name: Mormons Tabernacle
Address: Salt Lake City, UT
Stop #17
Name: Patrick, Tasha, and Chelsea Home
Address: Westminster, CO
Stop #18
Name: Arches National Park
Address: Arches National Park, UT
Stop #19
Name: Sana Fe, Roswell
Address: Sana Fe, NM Roswell, NM
Stop #20
Name: Brantley Lake State Park
Address: Brantley Lake State Park, NM
Stop #21
Name: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Address: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Stop #22
Name: South Llano River State Park
Address: Junction, TX
Stop #23
Name: Missions Concepcion, and The Alamo
Address: San Antonio Texas
Stop #24
Name: The French Quarter
Address: New Orleans, LA
Stop #25
Name: ESPN Wide World of Sports
Address: Kissimmee, FL
Dates: 2015-04-07 to 2015-05-26
From: North Port, FL To ESPN Wide World of Sports, FL
Estimated Fuel Costs: $2703.54
Total Trip Length: 6906.8 mi
Total Drive Time: 110:55
Start #1
Name: Home
Address: North Port, FL
Name: Drew and Moey's Home
Address: Noblesville, IN
Stop #2a
Name: Barbara Williams Home
Address: Anderson, IN
Name: Stan and Debbie's Home
Address: Fort Wayne, IN
Stop #4
Name: Becky's Brother/Sister-In-Law's Home
Address: Des Moines, IA
Name: Hard Rock Casino
Address: Sioux City, IA
Name: Badlands National Park
Address: 20695 SD Hwy. 240 Interior, South Dakota 57750
Website: http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm
Phone #: (605) 4335361
Description:
People are drawn to the rugged beauty of the Badlands. These geologic deposits contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed
cat once roamed amid what is now the park's 244,000 acres. Today you’ll find an expanse of mixed-grass prairie that’s home to bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferret. Surrounding the prairie lands are colorful buttes that consist of sediments first deposited 60 million years ago by the inland sea and shaped by wind erosion over a half million years.
Exhibits in the Ben Reifel Visitors Center at the main entrance highlight all the natural and cultural history. For a good overview, check out the short Land of Stone and Light film, and don’t miss the Fossil Preparation Lab, where you can see paleontologists at work on recent park finds. A bookstore sells a variety of titles related to the park as well as postcards, posters, and other souvenir items. The visitors center is also a good place to find out about the seasonal ranger-led talks and tours and gets information on various trails. If you’d rather drive than a hike, you can follow one of three routes: the Highway 240 Badlands Loop (paved, two-way road); the Sage Creek Rim Road (gravel); the rougher Sheep Mountain Table Road. Also near the main visitors center are the Cedar Pass Lodge, which has hotel rooms and cabins, and the Cedar Pass Campground, which has RV sites with electric hookups as well as tent sites. Both are operated by Forever Resorts, which also manages the Badlands Inn (just outside the park). If you’re planning a visit to Badlands from Rapid City, consider stopping at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, which is off I-90 en route to the park.
Stop #7
Name: Sturgis Largest Bikers Bar
Address: Sturgis, SD
Stop #8
Name: Deadwood
Address: Deadwood, SD
Stop #9
Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Address: 13000 SD Hwy. 244 Keystone, South Dakota 57751
Website: http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
Phone #: (605) 5742523
Description:
“There is not a monument in this country as big as a snuff box,” said sculptor Gutzon Borglum before setting out to give America a grand memorial. In 1927, he began carving the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt into a granite outcropping atop Mount Rushmore. The project took almost a million dollars, 400 workers, 14 years, and loads of dynamite. By the time Borglum’s son Lincoln completed the work in 1941, roughly 450,000 tons of rock had been blasted away to create the 60 foot high faces. Today one of the world’s largest and most recognizable sculptures attracts 3 million visitors annually. The parking area Information Center has details on each day’s events; you can pick up self-guided audio tours here or in a building across the way. The paved, half-mile Presidential Trail has an exhibit on area Native Americans and takes you beneath the sculpted heads. The Lincoln Borglum Museum, directly below the Grand View Terrace, has exhibits and shows the film Mount Rushmore: The Shrine every 20 minutes. In warmer months, check out the ranger talks in the Sculptor’s Studio or the 45 minute evening program with a ranger presentation, the film Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy,
and the dramatic illumination of the faces to the sound of the National Anthem. There aren’t any picnic or camping facilities, but there is a restaurant, a gift shop, and Mount Rushmore History Association bookstores.
Stop #10
Name: Custer State Park
Address: Custer State Park, SD
Stop #11
Name: Crazy Horse Memorial/Mount Rushmore National Monument
Address: Crazy Horse Memorial/Mount Rushmore, SD
Stop #12
Name: Devils Tower National Park
Address: Devils Tower National Monument, WY
Stop #13
Name: Buffalo Wild Bill Cody
Address: Cody, WY
Stop #14
Name: Yellowstone National Park
Address: Yellowstone National Park, WY
Stop #14a
Name: Yellowstone National Park cont.
Stop #15
Name: Aaron and Kimberly Home
Address: Pocatello, ID
Stop #16
Name: Mormons Tabernacle
Address: Salt Lake City, UT
Stop #17
Name: Patrick, Tasha, and Chelsea Home
Address: Westminster, CO
Stop #18
Name: Arches National Park
Address: Arches National Park, UT
Stop #19
Name: Sana Fe, Roswell
Address: Sana Fe, NM Roswell, NM
Stop #20
Name: Brantley Lake State Park
Address: Brantley Lake State Park, NM
Stop #21
Name: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Address: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Stop #22
Name: South Llano River State Park
Address: Junction, TX
Stop #23
Name: Missions Concepcion, and The Alamo
Address: San Antonio Texas
Stop #24
Name: The French Quarter
Address: New Orleans, LA
Stop #25
Name: ESPN Wide World of Sports
Address: Kissimmee, FL
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