Things to see in MN/the Dakotas/Montana

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

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iMooniac
Hi all,

Headed west in the Mooney again next week to see my brother in Portland and visit some other family and friends in Idaho and Montana.

This trip, my son is 4.5 years old so we're going to try to keep the legs reasonably short and stop and see things along the way. He's fine spending longer in the plane (he just did a 3.8-hour leg from DC to Milwaukee with me a month ago) but it's nicer to have more things to do.

On the way out, we're going to visit Fagen Fighters at KGDB, the Mammoth Site near KHSR, family at KIDA, and maybe looking for one more stop in Idaho/Oregon between KIDA and KHIO.

We'll be heading up to Boeing Field from there, probably stopping in the area of 65S-KGPI to visit friends and do some sightseeing, and then... I don't know yet.

Breaking it up into three 2.5-hour legs would put us at roughly 4U6 Circle Town, (eastern) MT and 8D3 Sisseton, (far eastern) SD which I may visit anyway due to their dirt cheap fuel. Breaking it up into four 1.8-hour legs would put us at roughly BFE (Zortman, MT), Bismarck, ND, and Litchfield, MN.

Of course, on a long trip, you can deviate quite far from the great circle path and not add significantly to your flight time, so I'd be happy to hear about any sort of attractions in those states that are either on or within (4-year-old) walking distance of airports, or are reasonably close to airports with ground transportation.

Thanks!
 
Nothing much to see in KBIS. Do you want to stop by KRAP? Nothing much to see in ND other than me, but I don’t live there anymore.
 
I’d fly through the Badlands area, maybe by Devil’s Tower too. I don’t know the route planned, but a Yellowstone overflight would be nice too.
 
WannFly said:
Nothing much to see in KBIS. Do you want to stop by KRAP? Nothing much to see in ND other than me, but I don’t live there anymore.
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:(

wanttaja said:
Fargo has a nice little aviation museum:

https://fargoairmuseum.org/

Ron Wanttaja
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True. If you really like air museums, though, you need to hit the one at Ellsworth (near KRAP), the one at Minot (walkable from the FBO if the courtesy car is gone), and the one at Fargo. Each has its strengths.

If you want to stop and smell the roses, there are some pretty cool places to check out along the way. If you just want to make tracks, then choose your stops for fuel prices. I don’t think I’d go to Circle for either goal, but I don’t know their fuel prices. In that area, I’d rather stop at Glasgow, mostly because I want a good steak dinner and there is a place there that is second to none.

I posted some more ideas for stops in the western Dakotas in another recent thread.
 
WannFly said:
Nothing much to see in KBIS. Do you want to stop by KRAP? Nothing much to see in ND other than me, but I don’t live there anymore.
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Hah! Well, I'm planning on a bit of a loop, so planning to be quite a bit further north on the way back when I'm looking for stuff to do.

asicer said:
6V4/Wall Drug Store?

Disclaimer: I've never been there, only read about it from here:
https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/824431-99-places-to-take-your-family-in-the-united-states
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That's also more on our westbound route, but we've done that before. It is a good stop! It's a reasonable walk from the airport, though I've also used the local airport geezer's motorcycle and gotten a lift in a gator someone happened to be driving by. There are plenty of curiosities and food options to choose from. But, trying to mix it up a bit this time... And probably gonna be further north on the retun trip.

sourdough44 said:
I’d fly through the Badlands area, maybe by Devil’s Tower too. I don’t know the route planned, but a Yellowstone overflight would be nice too.
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Yellowstone is awesome - Specifically, the Grand Prismatic Spring. I've flown over that a couple times. It's the most alien sight I've ever seen from an airplane...

iamtheari said:
True. If you really like air museums, though, you need to hit the one at Ellsworth (near KRAP), the one at Minot (walkable from the FBO if the courtesy car is gone), and the one at Fargo. Each has its strengths.
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Hmmm, interesting... We stayed overnight in Minot on the last trip but didn't go to the museum. My wife also suggested the Scandinavian Heritage Museum there. https://scandinavianheritage.org That might not be a bad place to spend a night again.

I posted some more ideas for stops in the western Dakotas in another recent thread.
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So, I went through all nine pages of your recent posts and couldn't find it. Got a link, or some additional info I could use to search for it?
 
Another cool thing to see is the International Peace Garden. Like the park, the airport (S28) straddles the border. The problem is that I don’t know if you can get from the airport to the park due to the border situation. I haven’t flown there personally as yet.
 
iamtheari said:
Another cool thing to see is the International Peace Garden. Like the park, the airport (S28) straddles the border. The problem is that I don’t know if you can get from the airport to the park due to the border situation. I haven’t flown there personally as yet.
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I went to peace garden last year in the middle of pandemic, by car. Border wasn’t a problem, you technically cross the US border, but don’t cross the Canada checkpoint.
 
Change Litchfield for Willmar and your kiddo can climb all over a real F-14. Being a Mooney owner yiu might have already been there though.

Custer would be a great stop. A quick airport car ride into town. If you have time do Wind Cave or Jewel Cave but you'll need their car. Plus you can fly by the Monuments (Crazy Horse wins viewd from above).
 
Glacier NP near Whitefish, MT is pretty cool. The 'Road to the Sun' is likely open, so you can take the red bus ride down the road and see the scenery without having to do a bunch of hiking with the kiddo.
 
Black hills info

something I wrote up for a friend a few years ago who was flying to Rapid City


I haven't been to Ellsworth museum in years, but was good then and has good reviews now.

Going east ...
Besides the Badlands, there is a Minuteman Missile Silo (National Park) out near there - I think they let you go through the control room.

Of course, Wall Drug is a can't miss (eye roll) ... if you've never been there before. Otherwise, yeah, more tourist junk.

coming back to Rapid and then SW ...
Around Mt Rushmore, Keystone is a small little tourist town with the typical tourist junk to buy .

If you like steam trains, the 1880 train runs out of Hill City and lets you see some back country. Was featured in a couple of episodes of Gunsmoke TV show.

Between Hill City and Custer, south of Mt Rushmore - Needles Highway - rock spires, tunnels, views of the southern hills

I would add Crazy Horse in Custer. It gets mixed reviews, tourists usually love it, locals kind of roll their eyes. It's been "under development" since the 60s and a lot of local "opinion" on it ...

If you like caves, Jewel Cave, east of Custer is awesome. Family friends (Herb and Jan Conn) mapped most of the known cave. I believe they switched to reservations a few years ago ... not sure what the pandemic lockdown has done there.

East and then decide ... south? or more east and loop back to Rapid City ...

Custer State Park and the Wildlife loop is worth the drive - at least half a day or more.
Custer State Park airport 3V0 - not much to see but at least you can say you've been there!
Game Lodge in the middle of the park was a great place to eat (tourist prices) - was the Summer Whitehouse for President Coolidge.
Further south is Blue Bell Lodge and a drive across a couple of "pigtail bridges"
Continuing south takes you to Wind Cave National Park, then Hot Springs.

Mammoth Excavation site in Hot Springs is interesting if you're into that thing. Wind Cave between Custer and Hot Springs is interesting but not pretty, whereas Jewel Cave lives up to its name. Well, so does Wind Cave :)

Or West of Rapid City ...
Sturgis ... just because "Motorcycle rally" but that's about the only attraction to Sturgis
Lead - Homestake Gold Mine - largest producing gold mine in North America (?) might have to fact check that - now closed
Deadwood - bars, cemetery, historic sites, casinos now I guess
 
gkainz said:
Sturgis ... just because "Motorcycle rally" but that's about the only attraction to Sturgis
Lead - Homestake Gold Mine - largest producing gold mine in North America (?) might have to fact check that - now closed
Deadwood - bars, cemetery, historic sites, casinos now I guess
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The motorcycle museum in Sturgis is actually pretty cool year-round.
 
Crazy Horse -- NOT worth the price of admission. Very underwhelming.
 
iamtheari said:
I would very much like to visit Alaska with my own airplane. I have decision paralysis with Alaska: I want to see everything, can't choose one thing to see first, and thus never go. Having my own plane would give flexibility to cover more of Alaska in less time.
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Let me know if you need company :D
gkainz said:
Or West of Rapid City ...
Sturgis ... just because "Motorcycle rally" but that's about the only attraction to Sturgis
Lead - Homestake Gold Mine - largest producing gold mine in North America (?) might have to fact check that - now closed
Deadwood - bars, cemetery, historic sites, casinos now I guess
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I wouldn’t do Lead unless Deadwood is also on your radar since they’re right next door. Yes there is a large hole in the ground with a very small mining visitor center, but overall not worth the visit by itself. Deadwood can be fun if gambling is your thing. What does make it nice, however, is driving through nearby Spearfish Canyon. I recommend flying into KSPF rather than KRAP at that point, however, since you’re talking quite a drive from (and back to) KRAP.
 
EdFred said:
A 4 year old? Give him some benadryl and bust ass to Portland.
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Oh that’s a tricky one…sometimes they are knocked out, sometimes amped up. And at Kent, how the times flies, 4 years already!
 
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