Not do dis S. Dakota, but I think you'd be wise to drop it. We live in Colorado and drove there to see Mt. Rushmore. It was disappointing. A long drive through unremarkable scenery. You will be seeing such amazing geology and gorgeous vistas, that this S. Dakota piece will be anti-climactic. Trust me-- spend more time to linger in Washington, Vancouver, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado! (Even that itinerary sounds too ambitous to me.)

Mt. St. Helens, if you go to the closest visitors center, is 3 hours from Seattle.

You know, if you are craving some mountain scenery on the way back from Vancouver, you could go via Abbotsford and Hwy 547 to Hwy 542 to the end of the hwy at Heather Meadows/Artist's Point in the Mt. Baker area. There's some fantastic scenery there, and it's not nearly the long drive the NC hwy is.
Here's what it's like:
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze47hqb/w...n2003/id3.html

Hi Suze

Probably we won't 'hit' Portland - it's just on the route from Mt St H to Walla Walla - which is en route to Yellowstone (certainly not a day trip from Seattle! I would like to see the Palouse area, that's why we're going that way.

Hi Maureen

I'm not keen to see Mt Rushmore (not sure what all the fuss is about - leave the granite as it is, I say! - but husband would like to see it. Not worried about the unremarkable scenery! Sometimes it's that kind of stuff which sticks in your mind (once you've forgotten the tediousness of it, that is!)

Maybe it is a little bit ambitious, but not as ambitious as our original plan - which was to do the coast-to-coast!! Can't do that now, as our son now has a job (hallelujah!) - so only so much holiday time. Then we were going to do a Seattle-Yellowstone-Seattle loop, but thought the Seattle-Denver a little more varied. Want to try to do this while we still can ....

Thanks for this, Christy (beautiful!). I've added the link to my page of links!! I'm logging the trip planning on here if interested.
www.braininajamjar.co.uk/rockies.html

Lots to do yet - but I must get on with some other 'work'.

Wildblue I wanted to mention that Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are in the Mount Rushmore area. With your geology interest you might want to take a tour. I found both caves to be interesting and the tours informative. With its rolling grasslands, South Dakota has a different kind of beauty . We only spent an hour or so at Mt. Rushmore before visiting Custer State Park and driving the Needles Highway. This was a very enjoyable and beautiful drive. Rolling hills, lakes & herds of buffalo. We were pleasantly surprised. You can google if you are interested.

The Palouse is worth visiting, if it's not way out of your way. It is amazing and I don't know if there is anywhere else in the world like it. The sky goes on endlessly, with white, puffy clouds near the horizon. The earth is like golden sand dunes covered with waving wheat.

We just dropped off my daughter at college in the Palouse and stayed at a B&B called the Union Creek Guest Ranch, which is near Colfax WA, in the heart of the Palouse. They have a website and you should contact them if you are thinking of staying, with all of your questions. It's a very cool place to stay and less than $100/night for 3. It's a large house and the downstairs is for guests. There are two bathrooms on that level. The owners are very friendly and staying there was like staying in a home. It's a working ranch with wheat and cattle. They have lots of horses, a trout pond (too low for fishing right now), and hunting in season. They have dogs and cats and a talking parrot. We saw lots of deer in the fields and you could hear the coyotes at night. You have to drive a few miles on a gravel road to get there, but the road is in good repair. Still, I don't think I'd take my Masarati down that road, if I had one. We had a great time and will definitely stay there again.

Ooh yes, caves would be 'my thing', if we have time!! How long are the tours? I'm thinking of dumping badlands now, in favour of 2 nights in Estes Park - so Mt Rushmore etc would be a rush - but I look forward to the prairie landscape and buffalo! I've just printed out a map of Custer State Park!

Orcas - do you have a URL for the website? I can't find it, doing a search.

Here it is:

http://www.unioncreekranch.com/

Check out the National Park Service website www.nps.gov for park information, cave tours & hours. The tours we took were relatively short, probably between 1 - 2 hours. We toured Wind Cave mid to late afternoon before heading to our hotel, did Mt. Rushmore & Custer the next day and then visited Jewel cave the next morning before heading home to Denver. The above website (if you haven't found it already) should also be useful for your other park stops.