Maintenance & Restoration

AC0GV · 01-23-2023, 03:49 PM

I spend every January planning my summer road trips, at least one trip every month. I have come to the point in my life where I like to stay in the mid-west, no more coast-to-coast trips. Having now been to all of the lower 48 states I’m planning my summer Midwest trips.
South Dakota is my favorite to return to almost every summer/fall. This year maybe I'll get to the bison roundup. It is the state that just keeps on giving and is very RV friendly. But if you are planning YOUR South Dakota trip, be sure to consider adding Wyoming. Devil’s tower is just across the border only another 125 miles from the Crazy Horse / Mount Rushmore area.
Federal entrance passes https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm (some are free) can save you some money if you travel to many federal sites (Crazy Horse is not a federal site). I carry the senior pass and it has saved me a lot of entrance fees. It has been especially helpful when returning to a site on multiple days.
I hope to see you in July at the second annual Scamp Home coming rally, the only actual reservation that I have made so far.

Dennis mn · 01-23-2023, 05:41 PM

We have been in the Black Hills a couple of times, where we missed the Bison roundup by just one day. Learning the date too late. We love camping in SD, and have gone a bit further, into Wyoming. We have not begun planning our trips yet, however.

jerrybob · 01-24-2023, 11:34 AM

Yea......we loved Devil's Tower.....also.....make sure to drive thru the Badlands.....the rock formations are beautiful. Have fun....safe driiving.

AC0GV · 01-24-2023, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerrybob

Yea......we loved Devil's Tower.....also.....make sure to drive thru the Badlands.....the rock formations are beautiful. Have fun....safe driiving.

There are at least two campgrounds on the Bad lands loop, one in the federal area and one at Interior. I stayed at the latter, I did not find out if I would have been charged to enter the federal area the second day, as I left early and there was no one at the entrance as I passed, Also I would have used the senior pass for free entrance anyway.
It's also worth stopping at the old homestead at the Wall end of the loop to honor the many courageous homesteaders, especially my grandparents, who unknowingly made history on their South Dakota homestead so many years ago.

sokhapkin · 01-25-2023, 03:42 PM

The combination of words "trip" and "planning" sounds crazy to me... When I travel, I never know where I will spend a tomorrow' night.

AC0GV · 01-25-2023, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

The combination of words "trip" and "planning" sounds crazy to me... When I travel, I never know where I will spend a tomorrow' night.

… I never go camping just to go camping, I ‘m almost always attending some event. The Scamp is just a place to stay while on the way, the problem is finding a place to camp. It has gotten harder and harder to stay the night without reservations especially in the east. I do not like a schedule; I like to stop whenever I see something interesting. The problem with that is paying as much as 60$ to park for a few hours. Now that the pandemic is over, I hope things get less crowded and think RV prices will drop. Although the building of a new very large campground near my house would indicate otherwise.

sunnyone · 01-26-2023, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC0GV

… I never go camping just to go camping, I ‘m almost always attending some event. The Scamp is just a place to stay while on the way, the problem is finding a place to camp. It has gotten harder and harder to stay the night without reservations especially in the east. I do not like a schedule; I like to stop whenever I see something interesting. The problem with that is paying as much as 60$ to park for a few hours. Now that the pandemic is over, I hope things get less crowded and think RV prices will drop. Although the building of a new very large campground near my house would indicate otherwise.

What’s the story on the new campground?

AC0GV · 01-26-2023, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnyone

What’s the story on the new campground?

Just 6 miles from my boondocking lot, officials plan to have about 1,000 camping “stalls”, whatever that means. Other buildings include a stage, sound stage, production building, venue buildings, a shower building, and entrance booths. Mostly the future site of Country Jam U.S.A. it was annexed from the Town of Wheaton into the city of Eau Claire a few months ago. The new grounds are located west of Highway T and south of 20th Avenue in Chippewa County Wisconsin. The proposed site plan includes eight permanent structures, the largest of which is a 37,000 sq. ft. 650-sesat event center. Other anticipated developments in the area include a hotel, a convenience store, and a restaurant.Construction is underway and they hope to be open in the summer of 2023. I think the limit is three multi day events per year.