Traveling across USA via Greyhound

Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 08:03 AM
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Traveling across USA via Greyhound

On Tuesday I leave for Portland, OR from Baltimore, MD via Greyhound bus.

First half of the trip is from Baltimore to Minneapolis, MN where I will stay for a day to explore/sleep in a real bed/take a shower.

Second half of the trip is from Minneapolis to Portland via South Dakota/Wyoming/Montana/Idaho/Washington.

Wondering if anyone here has done this trip, either on Greyhound or driving, and if there is anything of note in these towns that I can see during my layovers:

SIOUX FALLS, SD
RAPID CITY, SD
BUFFALO, WY
BILLINGS, MT
MISSOULA, MT
COEUR D ALENE, ID
SPOKANE, WA

Also, any great sights from the road (other than the obvious scenery of these Northern states)?
Any input would be appreciated!
dennispickcom is offline  
Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 09:00 AM
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Other than saying that Missoula is a great place, my response has to do with logistics.

You will want to take lots of water and a good stash of snack food. Bus stop meals can be terrific (rarely) or terrible or meh. They are seldom healthy, and they often come at odd times.

Aspirin/Advil, band aids, anti-diarrhea medicine, Ocean nasal saline spray. It is very dry out west. Prescriptions for all the prescription drugs you might have with you. Dumb to take dope.

Staying clean is not simple. Wet wipes, wet hand towels like they give you at the BBQ, paper towels, and a small disinfectant spray for any toilet you have to sit on.

Some kind of secure money belt or around the neck wallet to keep your stuff from walking when you are asleep. Zipper locks for suitcases and backpacks. I live in a tourist area and could literally steal an iPhone six days a week from people who have them hanging out of their luggage or back pockets or on the seat next to them. I might get a couple of Nikons or Canons a week if I wanted to work at it.

Keep your phone charged. Text someone every day. Be very skeptical about stories that involve someone needing to borrow money to get home. Wear protection if you have sex.

Lucky you!

I hope you hear from Daniel Williams here on Fodors. He is a Canadian who goes amazing places by public transportation and apparently a very nice person who shares his wisdom.
Ackislander is offline  
Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 10:23 AM
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Why not fly or take a combination of Amtrak trains? Greyhound would be my last choice of travel.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 12:23 PM
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I agree with jamie99. Take a Northeast Regional from Baltimore to Washington Union Station. Take the Capitol Limited Washington to Chicago. You have a 3+ hour layover in Chicago before getting on the Empire Builder.
Compare the price for Greyhound against a 15 day USA Railpass. One thing I hate about bus service in general is the one bathroom in the back that usually smells horrible.
At least on an Amtrak train, you have the choice of several bathrooms in the coach car.
Minneapolis would be a good place to take a 24 hour break from the Empire Builder on the way to Portland.
I've been on all of these routes at one time or another in the past 16 years.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 12:43 PM
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Since the OP leaves in 48 hours my guess the Greyhound tix have already been purchased and it's a little late to be looking at flights/trans.

I haven't been to all those towns but a coupe things to look for:

In Billings there are several really good museums and the Little Big Horn monument is about an hour out of town.

Rapid City -- Mt Rushmore is a little over 20 miles out of town. There are probably local tours.

There are a TON of museums and galleries in Spokane.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 02:11 PM
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You couldn't have paid me to do that even when I was much younger, but I wish you lots of luck. Hope you'll let us know how it goes. (I, too would/have take the train.)
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 05:45 PM
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Hi dennispickcom,

Thank you Ackislander for referring to me as a possible source of help. Indeed, I will consider taking the bus in North America when it fits my goals and sometimes I even find the experience can have its enjoyable moments. However, I'm not much help to you since the only leg of your journey I've ever done by bus is Baltimore as far as Cleveland. This ride was pretty in parts of western Maryland & Pennyslvania; the one I took was ~8 1/2 hours leaving Baltimore at 1pm, with supper stop in Pittsburgh.

Another reason I'm not too helpful is my rule of thumb is that I won't take a bus (or travel coach on a train) for an overnight when I'd prefer to be sleeping. I did some night buses in my 20s and I learned that I'm not a happy camper since I can't sleep when vertical and find it's awkward feeling like one is disturbing fellow passengers who are trying to sleep with lights from my electronic devices at night. Consequently, I've felt like there I am, in the dark, nothing to look at, tired but unable to sleep; for me, it's a terrible trapped feeling. That said, I do have friends who manage to sleep on buses, so hopefully you're like them, as Baltimore to Minneapolis will definitely involve some night bus travel.

(Longest on the bus I've planned to do in last 15 years has had me leaving somewhere in the morning and arriving at my destination at night. I'm generally ok during the day on the bus reading my book, doing puzzles or looking out the window at the passing landscape.)

To add to ackislander's suggestions, I'd recommend bringing toilet paper and one of those portable power chargers for your phone as sometimes those plugs don't work on the bus. I usually make sure to have plenty of trail mix too.

Best wishes, Daniel

PS Sleeper cars on a train on the other hand I love. I have opted for this numerous times for overnights but it's expensive.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 03:50 AM
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Well, Daniel, I think your advice is advice worth having, even if it is limited and slightly negative. I have the same problem sleeping while sitting up that you do.

My assumption has been that the OP isn't nearly as interested in getting from Baltimore to Spokane expeditiously or even comfortably as he is experiencing a swath of America from a pretty basic level.

He is doing what I would do if I took a similar trip: stopping in a hotel in a city every other night or so for hot showers, a comfortable bed, decent food, and some local sightseeing.

Some people just like riding public transportation. When I am in Boston, I ride the T pretty much everywhere and am increasingly venturing on to MBTA buses, which i never used during the many years I lived there.

My bus use is partially driven by admiration for the young writer who blogs as "MilesontheMBTA". He explores routes not only in Boston but elsewhere in New England. His circumnavigation of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, Providence to Providence, by local bus is awesome.

I have also spent days (cumulatively) riding buses in London and especially Paris. Find a likely route, get on, ride to the end of the line, return, preferably by a different route. Sometimes scary, but infinitely more interesting than riding underground once you have explored the stations.

TLDR: sometimes it's the journey, not the destination.
Ackislander is offline  
Old Jul 24th, 2017, 04:13 AM
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There is a very big difference between city buses and long distance buses. Also between the long distance buses in different countries. In some parts of South America they come with reclining or even lie flat seats and edible meals. I don't think Greyhound is in that class. In the US I (solo female) would also be worried about whether the bus stations were in safe areas.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 06:52 AM
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Ackislander--

I agree that the journey by long-distance buses can be interesting, although sleeper trains are my preference. I'm fine doing buses on routes where trains are not available, such as across Newfoundland earlier this summer and from San Antonio to Mexico/Guatemala the past two summers. My requirement has been to plan to be in a bed at the end of each day, which I would recommend to dennispickcom if he still has the flexibility to do so.

While mostly the Mexican buses have gone very smoothly, last year, I took what was meant to be a 14 hour bus ride from Puebla to Tapachula, Mexico. Due to teacher's (political) blockades in Chiapas, the bus had no choice but to park in Arriaga at the western end of the state overnight. The next morning, we had to take a bus to a blockade, walk through it, and then wait for two buses to continue on Tapachula, sometimes on slow-moving dirt roads to avoid more blockades. I ended up not sleeping for 33 hours; even though the experience was interesting at times (atypical bonding and conversation between passengers, gorgeous scenery, glimpse into Mexican politics & life in Chiapas), at times due to exhaustion and uncertainty, truth be told, I wanted to cry .
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 08:08 AM
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I'm pretty sure this person leaves tomorrow, a little late for suggesting alternative arrangements!

I only know Spokane (I'm in Seattle) but can't really think of anything "of note" to see there, honestly.
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