City
Created by A Yahoo! Contributor
dakota/montana
Thu 07/13/06 (day 1)
first day, concept of trip
Our idea was to fly one way, rent a mini-van, have a family road trip, and then fly one way home. Our destination was my parents in Montana, and my wife wanted to see the Black Hills, so we ended up flying to Omaha, which was in the general vicinity, to which there was non-stop service, and which was a manageable size (e.g., smaller than MSP or ORD.)
We rented a Toyota Sienna minivan, one way, from Avis, for around $450 (unlimited mileage). It was a great vehicle for this trip.
The group was me and my wife, our three kids aged 7, 4, and 3 mos., my father-in-law (a 73 year old banker from NYC), and our nanny.
Planned Activities
Thu 07/13/06 (day 1)
Fri 07/14/06 (day 2) - Mitchell, Sioux Falls, SD, MItchell, SD
Hotel
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Sat 07/15/06 (day 3) - Rapid City, Mitchell, Interior, Wall, Philip
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Sun 07/16/06 (day 4) - Custer, Rapid City, Deadwood
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Mon 07/17/06 (day 5) - Billings, Deadwood, Crow Agency, Sundance
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We are a couple of French newly retired people and we are planning a trip to South Dakota and Yellowstone at the end of August, so your diary is very useful to us.
Yours friendly. Denise
1. The Badlands is one of my favorite places, too. The weather can be brutal, though. Really, the best time to visit is in the fall, about September/October.
2. The Lakota store in Rapid City you talk about is called Prairie Edge. It's a great art gallery. A bit high-brow.
3. Good job picking Custer State Park. It's one of the best things to add to a Black Hills vacation, hands-down. I'm a bit of a history nut, and if I recall from my reading, state officials were quick to make it a state park because they knew federal officials wanted to make it a national park, and they wanted to retain control. Frank Lloyd Wright loved the Black Hills, and during a visit in the 1920s he suggested the location of the current Sylvan Lake Lodge. It's got a great view of the lake and Harney Peak. My folks got married there.
I'll stop there. But what a great trip! Hope you get to come out this way again sometime.