National parks that we have visited.
We visited Wind Cave National Park a few times. Unfortunately the caves themselves were closed because the elevator was out of order, so we weren’t able see them, but the surface was still enjoyable, with bison, hikes, and more.
Map:
Entrance sign:
Bison:
Visitor center:
Cave map:
Bison:
Loop road:
We went for a hike on Rankin Ridge Trail:
Lookout tower:
A bison strolling along next to the road:
One-lane bridge:
We’ll have to visit again to see the caves!
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 132 miles from Badlands, South Dakota to Hot Springs, South Dakota. With a fun picture-in-picture of the view from our truck being towed behind our coach.
We drove our coach 132 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Badlands, South Dakota to Hot Springs, South Dakota.
Here’s the map route, heading west then south:
An interactive map:
As mentioned yesterday, I added a mount for my 360 camera to the truck; it’s a magnetic mount, but I also secured it with three tethers, out of an abundance of caution:
The camera mounted on the truck; I thought it would be fun to record the view from the truck on travel day:
The truck connected to the coach (aka toaded); ready to go:
After leaving the campground, crossing White River:
Badlands:
Cowboy Corner in Interior, South Dakota:
Badlands:
A prairie dog town:
Bison:
Roadworks:
I caught a stowaway wasp:
Leaving Badlands National Park; the Badlands was good:
The roads were not so good (using my max-zoom technique to show the bumps):
Big sunflower field going to seed:
Dinosaur:
Travel center lunch stop:
The camera was still there (I took it inside to secure and charge it during our lunch stop; check out today’s travel video for the fun footage):
Questionable food choices:
Onward:
The Mammoth Site:
The city of Hot Springs has some nice historic architecture:
Our destination:
Our site:
Our coach:
Again, check out the travel video in the next post for a combination of the usual coach dash cam footage plus the 360 cam perspective from the truck. An unusual view!
(And if you haven’t yet subscribed to the Sinclair Trails YouTube channel, please do so. It doesn’t cost anything, but will help me build my channel, which will let me do more with it.)
A series of clips of timelapse video from my 360 camera as we explored Badlands National Park.
We visited Badlands National Park several times while staying nearby. Badlands was good lands; we enjoyed exploring the park.
Here’s a map; most of the scenic stuff is in the North Unit:
An interactive map:
Relief map in the visitor center:
Exhibits in visitor center:
Pressed penny:
Badlands:
The Stronghold Unit visitor center:
Back to the North Unit:
RVers camping on the top of the wall:
Big horn sheep:
Cows on the road:
We enjoyed the badlands.
We drove our coach 127 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Spearfish, South Dakota to Badlands, South Dakota.
Here’s the map route, heading southeast:
An interactive map:
Leaving our site, in a cloud of dust from the gravel:
Leaving the campground:
Heading east on I-90:
Rapid City exit:
A fuel stop at Flying J; we don’t get a discount there, and have to go in to pay, but it was more convenient to our route:
Almost 82 gallons of diesel, a bit over half a tank:
We parked our coach, with the generator running so the ACs would keep it cool, and went in to have lunch:
At the Country Market restaurant in the Flying J:
Menu:
Breakfast for lunch; a little underdone:, but tasty enough:
We had a choice between continuing on I-90, or going on SD-44; we opted for the highway, since we generally prefer them to freeways:
A sea of sad sunflowers, done blooming and going to seed:
Entering Badlands National Park:
Roadworks; driving on gravel isn’t particularly enjoyable in our coach, so we kinda regretted our choice to come this way (we knew that there was roadworks, but didn’t expect a lack of paving):
A prairie dog town (one visible by the fence):
An old cabin and pond:
Interior, SD, population 94:
White River:
Our destination:
Guided to our site:
On his recommendation, we untoaded (unhooked our truck from our coach) before reaching the site, then followed separately:
Parking in our site:
We also visited the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
The South Unit is easier to get to, and thus more popular, but in our opinion not quite as interesting. Still scenic, though. This post is about the South Unit; see yesterday’s post for the North Unit.
Here’s a map:
An interactive map:
Entrance:
Info signs:
Info signs:
Display:
Gift store:
Exhibits:
Jenn and David:
Prairie dog town:
Wild horses:
Bison:
Wild horses:
Hike:
We visited the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
The park is split into the North and South Units. The North Unit is a bit more remote and less popular, but in our opinion more scenic. This post is about the North Unit; see tomorrow’s post for the South Unit.
Here’s a map:
An interactive map:
The entrance:
Info signs:
The Visitor Center is just a modular building:
Heading into the park:
Bison:
A viewpoint:
Nice rustic scenery.
We drove our coach 80 miles, about 2.5 hours of very scenic driving, from Yellowstone, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming.
Here’s the map route, heading east:
An interactive map, with potential stops; we had lunch at Newton Spring Picnic Site, and got some fuel at the Sinclair station:
We paused bringing in the slide to let the pooled rain drain off:
A GIF of checking the brake controller; the air brakes of the coach triggers this piston that pushes the brake pedal in our truck for proportional braking assistance:
Checking the truck lights:
Another check, moving the coach forward a couple of feet to engage the tow bar and make sure the truck wheels turn freely (reversing GIF):
Leaving the campground; starting the Bluefire app for coach info:
The coach GPS mistakenly said “No Recreational Vehicles Allowed” again inside the park:
Yellowstone Lake:
One of the last glimpses of a geyser:
And a bison:
And deer:
A very scenic drive on the way out of the park:
Leaving from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park:
The scenic drive continues outside the park; rather Utah-like:
We stopped at Newton Spring Picnic Area for lunch:
Lunch:
Paladin sitting on upturned dining chairs:
Onward:
Three tunnels by Buffalo Bill Reservoir:
Cody:
A fuel stop at a Sinclair station; not needed, since only down a third of a tank, but gives us peace of mind, since there are no truck stops along this route, other than stations like this:
Unexpectedly, the fuel pump stopped at $75; 16 gallons doesn’t help much. So we did two of these to get mostly full:
Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum:
Downtown Cody:
Our destination:
Pulling in to our site:
Some video footage of the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park, from our visit in 2023. See the accompanying blog post for lots of photos.