Travel from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas

We drove our coach 209 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading south:

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops:

Sunrise:

Sunrise

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

Spaceship water tower across the highway:

Spaceship water tower

Lots of fields of corn:

Lots of fields of corn

Old car store:

Old car store

Silos:

Silos

Not sure what this was? Perhaps for grain loading?

Not sure what this was?

Tractor:

Tractor

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Truck with hay bales:

Truck with hay bales

More silos:

More silos

We stopped in a large gravel area at this gas station for a bathroom break:

Bathroom stop

Zoomed highway:

Zoomed highway

Welcome to Kansas:

Welcome to Kansas

Zoomed view of the highway, emphasizing some big dips:

Zoomed view of the highway, emphasizing some big dips

Paladin mostly asleep:

Paladin asleep

Fuel and lunch stop:

Fuel and lunch stop

Fuel

Almost 90 gallons for $412; we saved $47 on this fuel up via our Open Roads discount card:

Almost 90 gallons for $412; we saved $47 on this fuel up via our Open Roads discount card

We then parked:

Parked

And had some tasty IHOP breakfasts for lunch:

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

An unusual thing; the napkin-wrapped silverware came with a straw; haven’t seen that before:

Straw with silverware and napkin

Paladin asleep again:

Paladin asleep

Cornfield and pump jack; two great tastes that taste great together:

Corn and pump jack

Paladin asleep yet again:

Paladin asleep

Wind turbine blade:

Wind turbine blade

Large farm equipment:

Large farm equipment

Lake Scott State Park:

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Our site:

Our site

Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA Journey

We stayed at Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA Journey in Ogallala, Nebraska. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A campground that recently became a KOA. A Journey, i.e. high turnover of people passing through. We were in a new section without any landscaping.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-09-24
  • Check out: 2023-09-26
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 77-82°F, lows around 45-49°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Somewhat distant highway noise
  • Train noise with horns
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #46, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Somewhat level, slight side-to-side slope
  • Gravel site about 70 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • No grass or trees on these sites, some on other sites
  • Picnic table
  • Mostly clean site; a couple of minor bits of trash

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located at the rear of the site
  • 40 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 40-77 Mbps down, 1-5 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 20-30 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Closed pool
  • Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop along I-80

We stayed two nights; the $40 rate is after using $50 in KOA rewards. $65/night would have been a bit much for what it is. The newer section of the park is pretty much a gravel parking lot, which is fine for a short stay. If staying longer, I’d look at the patio sites in the front part of the park. The staff were very friendly and helpful and escorted us to our site, which is always a nice touch. Close enough to I-80 to be convenient, but it’s far enough away that you don’t get a lot of noise. We camped at Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

An interactive map (our section is not in the satellite image as of this writing):

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Jenn has started taking a photo of the leveling panel as the coach starts lowering the jacks; this shows that the site was level front-to-back, but unlevel side-to-side:

Leveling

After our first night in Nebraska, we could add another sticker to the states map on the side of our coach:

States map

The entrance:

Entrance

Office:

Office

They have several decorations like this old cart:

Decoration

Dog park:

Dog park

Playground:

Playground

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Laundry:

Laundry

The pool was closed for the season (despite highs in the 80’s; arbitrary season closures are stupid):

Pool

Pool

A very nice skoolie (school bus conversion); fancier than most skoolies:

Skoolie

Skoolie

Other sites; when I walked around, there were only two short-term guests in the campground, two long-term stays, and two staff RVs; later, many of the sites filled up; typical for a Journey park, with high turnover:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Solar panels behind the campground:

Solar panels behind campground

A spaceship water tower across highway from campground:

Spaceship water tower across highway from campground

A basic KOA; fine for a couple of days stay.

Travel from Hot Springs, South Dakota to Ogallala, Nebraska

We drove our coach 232 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Hot Springs, South Dakota to Ogallala, Nebraska.

Here’s the map route, heading southeast:

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops:

A rabbit watched me pack up:

Rabbit

A stream of water from slide topper as we brought in the slides, from the rain we had during our stay:

Stream of water from slide topper

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

Leaving the campground

Hot Springs:

Hot Springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs

US-385:

US-385

A bridge over a river:

Bridge over river

Rail crossing:

Rail crossing

Entering Nebraska:

Entering Nebraska

A seemingly endless long straight highway:

A seemingly endless long straight highway

Zoomed view:

Zoomed view

Another rail crossing:

Another rail crossing

A lunch stop; we took up several parking spots in the back of the parking lot:

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Hay trailer:

Hay trailer

So many fields of corn:

So many fields of corn

US-385 highway disappearing into the distance:

US-385 highway disappearing into the distance

We paused for a bathroom break in an empty weigh station lane:

We paused for a bathroom break in an empty weigh station lane

Another zoomed perspective:

Another zoomed perspective

Jail and Courthouse Rocks:

Jail and Courthouse Rocks

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Broadwater:

Broadwater

Silo:

Silo

My gosh, it’s Oshkosh (but not the famous one):

My gosh, it's Oshkosh (but not the famous one)

Long coal train:

Long coal train

Oh look, more corn. So much corn:

Oh look, more corn. So much corn

Another hay trailer:

Another hay trailer

Not your ordinary town!

Not your ordinary town!

Welcome to Ogallala:

Welcome to Ogallala

We were going to fuel here, but most of the lanes were closed, with a huge line, so we bailed:

We were going to fuel here, but most of the lanes were closed, with a huge line, so we bailed

Our destinaton:

Our destinaton

Our destinaton

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Replacing fuse for solar controller

Our coach came with one solar panel on the roof, and we had a couple more 190W panels added shortly after purchasing it.

Early last year I noticed that the solar controller was not receiving a charge, showing the moon icon during the day, and no amps coming in. I got NIRVC to look into that at my next service appointment, and they fixed it by replacing the fuse.

Recently, when the campground we were at had a power cut, I noticed that the problem had recurred:

Solar controller not receiving charge

I removed the panel and found the fuse:

Fuse

Fuse

The fuse had indeed blown again:

Fuse

I didn’t have any mini fuses, so I bought an assortment from Amazon:

Fuses

Since it had blown twice, I figured that the increased capacity of the two extra panels was the cause, and decided to upgrade the fuse from 25 amps to 30 amps, since that is what the controller is rated at. I have no idea if that was the appropriate choice; if anyone has any guidance, let me know:

Fuse

The solar controller is now working, with the sun icon and showing 11.6 amps coming in (on a somewhat cloudy day):

Working solar controller

The controller re-mounted:

Working solar controller

Good to have that working, especially with a week without hookups at the Balloon Fiesta coming up.

Iron Mountain Road

Another very scenic and curvy road is Iron Mountain Road, that connects the Mount Rushmore area and Custer State Park.

An interactive map:

Bison:

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

There are three narrow tunnels on this road:

Tunnel

Tunnel

Tunnel

One-way road:

One-way road

Another tunnel:

Tunnel

Tunnels

Tunnel

Pigtail loop road:

Pigtail loop road

Low narrow tunnel:

Low narrow tunnel

The third tunnel:

Tunnel

This tunnel has a view of Mount Rushmore:

Tunnel with view of Mount Rushmore

Pigtail loop road:

Pigtail loop road

Pigtail loop road

Pigtail loop road

Peeks

Pigtail loop road

Pigtail loop road

Pigtail loop road

One-way roads:

One-way roads

Mount Rushmore view:

Mount Rushmore view

Mount Rushmore view

Mount Rushmore view

A fun drive.

Custer State Park

Perhaps our all-time favorite state park (so far) is Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

A map:

Map

Entrance sign

Tunnel:

Tunnel

Tunnel

We had lunch at Sylvan Lake, then did an impromptu hike around the lake:

Sylvan Lake lunch

Sylvan Lake:

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

GIF of a hidden waterfall behind the lake:

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Custer State Park

Another tunnel:

Custer State Park

Tunnel

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Tunnel

Tunnel

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Bison Center:

Bison Center

Bison Center

Bison Center

Bison Center

Bison Center

Bison Center

Wildlife Station Visitor Center:

Wildlife Station Visitor Center

Wildlife Station Visitor Center

Wildlife Station Visitor Center

Wildlife Station Visitor Center

Bison:

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Bison

Pronghorn:

Big horn sheep

Prairie dog:

Prairie dog

Bison

Visitor Center:

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

“Bison Poo” snack:

Biso Poo

The Needles Eye:

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

The Needles Eye

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Cathedral Spires Trail hike:

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Cathedral Spires Trail hike

Legion Lake Trail hike:

Legion Lake Trail hike

Legion Lake Trail hike

Legion Lake Trail hike

Legion Lake Trail hike

Custer State Park

Custer State Park

Tunnel

Bison

Bison

A most excellent park.