Hello fabulous Fodorites! I have a question for you. Some friends and I are doing a road trip (itinerary below, yes it is a bit crazy!)and I am looking for suggestions on sites not to be missed. The odder the site, the better! We will be visiting the Corn Palace, to give you an idea... Also if you have suggestions for places to stay/eat along the route that 2 architects and an interior designer, with excellent senses of humor, would appreciate, I would be much obliged!
Thanks!
-Sue

8/25 Day 1 – leave Boston, MA
8/26 Day 2 – Niagara (Chicago PM)
8/27 Day 3 – Chicago (Chicago PM)
8/28 Day 4 – arrive Madison (Madison PM)
8/29 Day 5 – Madison / drive to Sioux Falls arrive evening
8/30 Day 6 – Sioux Falls SD. Drive to Mitchell (1 hour) & then to Scenic, SD (no that’s the town name! – 3Hrs) in Badlands NP. PM in Badlands or Wind Cave NP (or Rapid City if SW arriving there)
8/31 Day 7 – Explore Southwest SD – Badlands, Devils Tower or… – PM there
9/1 Day 8 – Southwest SD – Rushmore, Wind Cave NP – possibly get a jump into Wyoming as it’s an 8 hour drive to yellowstone
9/2 Day 9 - Get to / Outside Yellowstone
9/3 Day 10 – Yellowstone – maybe PM on the way to Glacier? Missoula? James G. says the best diner in the world is in Missoula.
9/4 Day 11 – Outside/inside Glacier
9/5 Day 12 – Glacier NP
9/6 Day 13 – Glacier / border crossing?
9/7 Day 14 – border crossing (?) and/or to Calgary
9/8 Day 15 – Calgary & a night in city
9/9 Day 16 – to Banff & explore. PM in Banff
9/10 Day 17 – back to Calgary
9/11-12 Day 18 - 19 through BC to Vancouver

Hi s,

Well, I can't tell what your main objective is for this trip. Is it Vancouver, the only place where you are staying more than 1 night? Or, is it just to drive? Have you ever been to any of these places before? Are you seriously going to just drive through Yellowstone and Glacier?

Hello Dayle
The goal of the trip in one person is moving to Vancouver, so they are driving towards their new home. Getting from A to B, with some sites in the middle. Other goal is I have never done a road trip before, nor have I ever been to this part of the US. So this is a "flavor" trip. Yes, as we are not planning on devoting 4 days to Yellowstone, we will be spending a day there, hitting the "hot spots". (sadly, pun was not intended!) We will be 2 days/ish in Glacier.
Thanks for the reply!
-s

Do you plan on seeing any of the places you mentioned? If so you will need to stop or at least slow down a little.. For example Wind Cave. That takes time as does Rushmore.. Another, you will be hard pressed to drive from the Black Hills to Yellowstone in 8 hours. Eating, sleeping and making rest stops, that takes time as well.. I don't think you are aware or taking into consideration the types of roads and the conditions you will encounter. Once off the Interstate most, if not all, are two lane mountain roads and are not at all forgiving if you make a mistake driving them. Having never done a road trip of this nature before I am sure you want to live to remember it.

Suggestions for the SD/WY part:

Day 6 stop in Badlands or continue to Mount Rushmore evening lighting. I think you would arrive too late to tour Wind Cave.

Day 7 Go through Custer State Park, Wind Cave, maybe up through Hill City to Deadwood. Do not back track to Badlands, Devil's Tower is in Wyoming, it would save road time to stop there on the way to Yellowstone.

Day 8 Devil's Tower through Belle Fourche SD on hwy 34 & 24. Go toward Cody either through Buffalo Hwy 16 or Sheridan on 14.

Day 9 Yellowstone

Know that traffic can be slow through the Badlands, the Black Hills, the Bighorns, Yellowstone and the rest of the mountain areas.

Hi again Sue!

OK, so does the person relocating to Vancouver have only this amount of time to get there? Is there a way to add days to actually make it a trip? Are the other 2 going to help move? Drive a U Haul?

Unless this is a really, really close friend or family member, I'd give them a hug and tell them I'll visit them in the future. Honestly wouldn't want to do this drive for just anyone. You're not really going to be seeing much..