So this Mega Summer Road Trip is coming along....at least the planning of it is. ;-)
We are up to Day 15 and everything that needs planning(route, stops, hotels)is done. Now I need to work on the return trip. I sure wish I had the whole thing nailed down though at this point.
I do need a few suggestions.....
* Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bbq place around Kansas City MO or heading North into Omaha, NE? That's the stretch of road we'll be on and it will be lunch to dinner time and we can't leave that part of the world without trying authentic KC BBQ, right? 8-)
* Has anyone toured the big touristy sites in WY/SD Badlands? We are headed through there(Custer Battlefield, Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mt., Thermopolis Hot Springs)and need recommendations on where/location to stay. Does it make sense to stay at a central spot for a few days and drive to each thing/area to tourist? Or do 1 night stays and hop from site to site? And how many days do we need to actual see/do these sites? I realize distance between locales out West are longer than out East so I am trying to limit how much driving we do in a day.
* Anybody have any ideas on what to see/do in North Dakota? Nothing springs to my mind except one quick thing we want to see in Fargo.
That's about it for now.
I AM getting a complex though.
First blogger Tanner visited me a few years ago(plus we had dinner with her on 2 of our OC excursons)and then she disappears off the face of the earth.
Then Judy(who's various blogs come and go)decides to end all contact with me.
Now another ex-blogger who I was still in contact with on F/B has given me the cold shoulder. After I knew our route this Summer I contacted her on Facebook and suggested a meet-up if she was available. I didn't hear back for a week or so, so I went to send her another message. She has suddenly quit Facebook and taken her profile down(or blocked me from seeing it, if you can do that). Really? If you didn't want to see me, just say so.
Am I really that awful or annoying a person? *Don't answer that Kim......* ;-)
What am I doing to drive everyone away?
Anyway, that sure made me feel like shit for awhile and I really didn't feel like going on this trip anymore.
But I'm over that now. I can't wait! to get in a car and drive 6 thousand miles with Hubs. *snort*
I think this trip will convince him to go back to work and not be home with me 24/7.....hehehehe
And at the risk of offending and driving away more readers I'll ask again if anybody out there wants to meet-up on our drive out to Idaho(going through PA/Western MD/WV/Northern KY/tiny piece of Southern IN/Southern IL/MO/NE/Northern CO/Southern WY/ Northern UT/most of ID/MT-that's it so far). If so drop me an email privately and I'll see if we can fit that into the itinerary. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a spare box of Giveaway goodies in my car to bestow onto you? ;-)
Ok, I am off to finish packing for the Virginia trip and doing a little shopping before I leave.
What are you up to today?
Sluggy
We are up to Day 15 and everything that needs planning(route, stops, hotels)is done. Now I need to work on the return trip. I sure wish I had the whole thing nailed down though at this point.
I do need a few suggestions.....
* Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bbq place around Kansas City MO or heading North into Omaha, NE? That's the stretch of road we'll be on and it will be lunch to dinner time and we can't leave that part of the world without trying authentic KC BBQ, right? 8-)
* Has anyone toured the big touristy sites in WY/SD Badlands? We are headed through there(Custer Battlefield, Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mt., Thermopolis Hot Springs)and need recommendations on where/location to stay. Does it make sense to stay at a central spot for a few days and drive to each thing/area to tourist? Or do 1 night stays and hop from site to site? And how many days do we need to actual see/do these sites? I realize distance between locales out West are longer than out East so I am trying to limit how much driving we do in a day.
* Anybody have any ideas on what to see/do in North Dakota? Nothing springs to my mind except one quick thing we want to see in Fargo.
That's about it for now.
I AM getting a complex though.
First blogger Tanner visited me a few years ago(plus we had dinner with her on 2 of our OC excursons)and then she disappears off the face of the earth.
Then Judy(who's various blogs come and go)decides to end all contact with me.
Now another ex-blogger who I was still in contact with on F/B has given me the cold shoulder. After I knew our route this Summer I contacted her on Facebook and suggested a meet-up if she was available. I didn't hear back for a week or so, so I went to send her another message. She has suddenly quit Facebook and taken her profile down(or blocked me from seeing it, if you can do that). Really? If you didn't want to see me, just say so.
Am I really that awful or annoying a person? *Don't answer that Kim......* ;-)
What am I doing to drive everyone away?
Anyway, that sure made me feel like shit for awhile and I really didn't feel like going on this trip anymore.
But I'm over that now. I can't wait! to get in a car and drive 6 thousand miles with Hubs. *snort*
I think this trip will convince him to go back to work and not be home with me 24/7.....hehehehe
And at the risk of offending and driving away more readers I'll ask again if anybody out there wants to meet-up on our drive out to Idaho(going through PA/Western MD/WV/Northern KY/tiny piece of Southern IN/Southern IL/MO/NE/Northern CO/Southern WY/ Northern UT/most of ID/MT-that's it so far). If so drop me an email privately and I'll see if we can fit that into the itinerary. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a spare box of Giveaway goodies in my car to bestow onto you? ;-)
Ok, I am off to finish packing for the Virginia trip and doing a little shopping before I leave.
What are you up to today?
Sluggy
It might not be personal. I quit all social media, (time zapper) and it turns out that many people who I didn't warn beforehand took it personally. That wasn't my intent AT ALL.
ReplyDeleteWell the timing of it(if it wasn't personal)was mighty suspicious. lol
DeleteThat's kinda weird. I remember Judy and I think she just had issues. I don't remember Tanner though. I'm pretty sure it's not you ( the therapist in me talking) but what ever issues they have. You are always honest and down to earth so?? Don't let it get to you just smile and enjoy the day:)
ReplyDeleteThat's for the free therapy doc! ;-)
DeleteI know it's difficult but it seems lots of of bloggers have fallen off the face of the planet lately, maybe they are all on instagram now (I never hardly go there, will never post there). Maybe they are no longer frugal or life has had so many changes they don't want to share anymore? I you ever come to Vancouver Island I'd love to meet up!
ReplyDeleteWe have been through Kansas City many times and always stop at Gates Barbeque. It's quite the experience and my daughter absolutely adores the ribs. Here's a link for the top ten places (Gates got #6).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.10best.com/destinations/missouri/kansas-city/restaurants/barbecue/
Have fun! Kansas City is a great town! ColoradoGirl
Hey Denise, I'm still here with you! I just don't want to blog anymore. Nothing personal. Nor do I want to be connected to my old blogging sites. I just want to keep moving forward. That's all.
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Cindi
PS: if we drive the I-84, I-80 way down south, we most certainly will be stopping by. :)
Bloggers come and go...although like you, I often wonder what happened to them. Then I wonder if they wonder about bloggers they used to connect with. Not a good cycle. lol
ReplyDeleteI will never leave you, you might try running now but I will find you. I think it is just coincidence. Some people just have issues. I also think there are people who blog or use social media as a source of communication with the outside world that want that to be the only way they communicate. I think a good many are like that. Well not me, I love people. Are you a people? You will be driving through Riverton Wyoming, where my third daughter was born say hi to the most wonderful people in the world. You will not meet nicer people than the ones in Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteHi Slugmama,
ReplyDeleteWe all love you. You don't know her reasons. But if it is what you think, the adult thing would have been to tell you no. Sorry you felt bad.
Having lived in the Southwest and traveled cross country too many times that I want to count, I am going to give you a tip. Midwesterners close up shop in a lot of places very early. We had trouble in a number of states eating after 8PM. We wanted to get dinner later so that we could continue to drive and then had to settle for McDonalds because nothing else was open. So check hours of restaurants online when you are planning.
I had a longtime blogger friend go ballistic on me, accusing me of all sorts of insults to her and ordering me to never contact her again. It hurt. But, since she had cancer and is probably dead now, I let that go. No, I did not. It still stings.
ReplyDeleteSeveral others just had to much to do and quit blogging. I missed them. However, one just contacted me to catch up this week.
I have made my fb private and go there every few months. One person drove me to that decision, someone I barely know. Yes, you can block one person on fb.
So, the reasons are myriad. It's not you; it's them.
KC BBQ... Where do I begin... Gates, Zarda, Joe's (formerly Oklahoma Joe's) would be my top three... Native Kansan here...
ReplyDeleteReally??... you're skipping Iowa completely??... when I offered you a meal... ?
ReplyDeleteOh and Robb said there were no good deals in Ft. Collins for hotels. We stayed at the Super 8 on Centro Way.
Perhaps the 3D world is not allowing them the time to do any online shenanigans. I take nothing personal here and have only met 1 blogger live and in person, though 2 live very close to me. I plan on meeting both this summer
ReplyDeleteSorry about your bloggy friends, Sluggy. I would go with the theory that it's not you, but something going on in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what your route is in Wyoming and SD based on your map. Distances can definitely be deceiving when you are talking travel out west. I do think you would need to plan to stay over in a couple different places to see everything you want in WY & SD. We drove from Cody, WY to Rapid City, SD in one day with a detour to Devil's Tower. I want to say that the entire detour to DT took about 2.5-3 hours ... it's a ways off 90 to get there, so that took quite a bit of time. We looked at the small visitors center, used the restrooms and took the Tower Trail around the base (about 1.3 miles, but you definitely don't have to take the trail to get a good look at DT). It made for a very long travel day, but worth the stop IMO. Definitely take binoculars so you can see climbers if it's a good day ... it's pretty neat.
We actually stayed in Keystone for our time in the Rapid City area and used that for our home base for a couple of nights. We went to Badlands National Park, Wind Cave, Mt. Rushmore, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and a couple of touristy places for the kids. I think, like most things, you can take as much time as you would like. We went to Mt. Rushmore twice (the parking pass is good for more than one day) ... early one morning to take the trails and see everything before it got super crowded and then in the evening another day to see the lighting. They have a nice visitor center with a lot of information (again, bring binoculars). We visited the Badlands and MMNHS another day ... Badlands Nat'l Park is really scenic with lots of stops where you can get out and just gaze in wonder and they also have a nice (air conditioned) visitor center. MMNHS visitor center is right by the Badlands entrance and it's free, so definitely worth a stop (check out the website ... we visited the Delta-09 site, but could not get tickets for the Delta-01 tour).
It looks like your plan has you driving through North Dakota on 94? Teddy Roosevelt National Park south unit is right off 94 and a great place to see prairie dogs (and maybe bison ... we saw bison poo, but no bison). Also, the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck is pretty neat (free admission, but there is a place for donations). We stopped at the visitor center in Fargo where you can get your picture taken in plaid flannel hat in front of the woodchipper. :)
Happy planning!
North Dakotan here. I second the vote for Teddy Roosevelt National Park....we live about 30 miles from the South Unit and visit regularly. If you do the park loop, you'll have a good chance at seeing bison and wild horses. You'll also be passing one of the first sculptures on the Enchanted Highway as you head west on 94, you may want to stop there and take a look, although driving the whole thing will most likely be out of your way. http://www.ndtourism.com/best-places/7-ways-be-awed-enchanted-highway
DeleteThe World's Largest Buffalo resides in Jamestown, ND http://discoverjamestownnd.com/what-to-see/world-s-largest-buffalo-monument/ Haven't seen it myself, but you might like to stop.
I read along but don't post, I enjoy reading what you're up to! I live in the KC metro area and I would recommend Jack Stack BBQ or Joe's Kansas City BBQ!
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that a lot of bloggers that regularly post have not posted lately and there's one in particular that I'm very worried about. I also miss your "cousin's" blog. I know that some people are avoiding social media because of politics and I can't say I blame them. Your trip looks very interesting. Hubby and I drove Route 6 through PA, OH and up Michigan to the U.P. back when we were young'ins. His brother was stationed in the Air Force up there somewhere. We visited the locks at Sault St Marie and took a ferry to Mackinac Island and saw the Grand Hotel where they filmed "Somewhere in Time." It was pretty there.
ReplyDeleteI agree, politics are likely to blame for part of it (not yours, just politics in general)
DeleteWe love you in CT Sluggy!
ReplyDelete