Have any of you been to the Grand Canyon and/or Mt Rushmore? And places in between?
We are considering an RV vacation this summer so I am looking at different areas.
I figure the cost would be about the same considering if I use my car we would have to eat out all the time and my car is not comfortable for long trips. I would also be renting a diesel RV which gets much better mileage then a gas model. My daughter is 5 and my SD is 13 (if SD decides to join us). I am leaning more toward the Grand Canyon. We can take three to four weeks so we can take our time and enjoy it. It would be my daughter, step daughter, MIL and I going.
My daughter and MIL want to go today if we could. My daughter wants to also spend time camping, but I am not into the roughing it like I did in my younger days.
Don't do Mt. Rushmore. My husband still talks about that as one of his most boring vacations as a kid.
Go online and research the areas around both the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore. What else is there to do and what other attractions are near there. The area around Mount Rushmore has the Black Hills, And a few other places to visit. The area around the Grand Canyon doesn't have a lot ot things to do. You need to drive a few hours to see anything else. I think if you decide on the Grand Canyon you can also drive to the Hoover Dam in the same day, from there you are not too far from Las Vegas.
You should check out Yellowstone.
You don't say how many days you are taking. I would also compare the prices of taking a car vacation and staying in motels/hotel vs RVing. When you consider the amount of gas you will need + the price of parking the RV for a night it might be more cost effective to drive your car and stay in a motel or hotel.
added:
I just found this and thought you may find it interesting.
http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/outrageous-american-roadsid...
Mt Rushmore is lame if that's the only thing you do, but add in Roosevelt State Park, Crazy Horse, Wall Drug and The Badlands, suddenly things get a lot more interesting. Granted I was an adult when I took my massive road trip and hit all those places plus a few more, I still think that South Dakota section was my favorite (outside of Arches in Utah). We didn't camp in Grand Canyon or go down to the floor, I think you have to plan on all that stuff to make the most of your time, but you are rather isolated, whereas Rushmore is pretty close to lots of cool stuff. Even the drive from Rushmore to Crazy Horse was memorable.
What are your kids ages and personalities?
When I was 9 I did Mt Rushmore and LOVED it. But, then again, I grew up to be a Social Studies teacher :)
Could I have lived without being there? U bet.
I've never been to the Grand Canyon, and I think that I would rather do that than Mt. Rushmore (especially considering that Sturgis, SD and Wall Drug are not enough in my opinion, to REALLY make it that great of a trip.)
But, the Grand Canyon--Hoover Dam--great opportunity for lessons about history (the New Deal infrastructure projects, and the environmental impact of our actions--dams have proven very ruinous to the surrounding ecosystems). Sorry, I'll stop lecturing now :)
if you are rving it then you have to go to yellowstone & stay in their campground it is awesome.
If you are not afraid of driving on mountains I recommend Oregon. We circled the state and it was amazing. We flew into Portland and drove down inot the gorge. Stayed a day there. There was a nice little train ride. Then we headed south on the east side of the state. First stop was Timberland Lodge awesome snow in June. next Stopped for cherry's etc that were sold on the side of the road. Yummy. Stayed next in Mt. Bachelor in a cabin ont he lake. From there threw the desert that is also on the east side and down to crater lake. It was still frozen over but later in the summer you can hike down and take a boat ride on the lake. From there down to Medley, kinda summerly florida like but what we did was dip into California from Medley and visited the Redwoods. The trees were huge. Then back up to Oregon to do the west coast. Saw the sea lyons. Stayed in a camp area on the beach area. You see these signs all ove r that says do not turn your back on the sea. I guess you can get these huge 5 feet waves. I never saw one though. Then back up to Portland and home.
I love the Grand Canyon! I took the train from Williams to the top. It was wonderful! I spent the day and took the train back down. Arizona is my favorite state. I can't wait to take my hubby and kids one day. When I was a travel agent I went. I also went to Lake Powell and went on a house boat. It was very relaxing.
I would love to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. I think Jackson WY would be a beautiful place to visit. I got snowed in Pocatelo ID on my drive up. Salt Lake City was nice, they have huge sidewalks!!! I saw the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. I stayed at the Shilo Inn downtown.
Our family is trying to plan a vacation. I want to go west, they want to go on a cruise or Hawaii (boring to me as we live in FL). Alaska or Canada would suit me LOL.
If you go to Mount Rushmore, Make sure you go to Crazy Horse as well, my husband went last summer and brought back great pictures, stories and memories.
