I80 info

[ctpd814]

We are heading west and will be taking I80 through Illinois and Iowa. I was just wondering if anyone has traveled through lately and know of any problems I should watch out for.

Thanks for any info.

[chuckster57]

If things haven't changed since our cross country trip in '09, you can't take I80 through the city of Chicago. You have to take the loop and pay a toll at the end. I remember feeling like a sardine in a can, sharing the road with semi's. DRW is wider and I was towing a 35' fiver.

How far out west are you going? Seems like I80 is in perpetual construction (repair) mode in Wyoming. East and westbound traffic will share one side for miles on end.

[ctpd814]

We are heading to Hill City SD. We are taking I80 to the west end of Iowa and then north on I29 to I90. You are correct about I80 skirting Chicago and there is only one toll booth.

[W.E.BGood]

Here is the link to http://511ia.org/ , the Iowa DOT road conditions & alerts site...very handy, easy to use, constantly updated. :wlcm:

[chuckster57]

Make sure you stop at the famous hill drugs in Hill City.

[ctpd814]

W.E.BGood thanks for the web site. I found that they have a smartphone app and added it to my phone.

Chuckster57 are you talking about Wall Drug? We stopped there when we went through a couple of years ago. Very interesting.

[buckeyebobhockingcamper]

the corn palace in mitchel south dakota was pretty cool,wall drug was a tourist trap!!!
also a cabelas in mitchel,sd.dont forget deadwood sd,thats where kevin kostners saloon is ,lots of western reenactments,

[chuckster57]

Yeah, that's the one. If your going to go to deadwood,might as well go to Rushmore. I liked Crazy Horse, and can vouch for the buffalo stew and Indian fry bread.

[ctpd814]

We will be going to Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Deadwood, Spearfish Canyon, the Badlands, and Sturgis. The other possibles are Needles Hwy and Devils Tower. We have visited most of these a couple of years ago but enjoyed them enough to do it again.

[koko]

Devil's Tower is one of our favorites. Has a great trail all around the base. Or, if you're crazy, you can scale the side! It's exciting and safer to stand at the bottom and see all those tiny little bodies way up there!

[vampress_me]

If your going to Devils Tower, another stop may be the Vore Buffalo Jump. It's right off I90 between the Beulah and Aladdin exits. It's a sink hole that was used by the Native Americans for many years for hunting buffalo. You get to go down to the bottom of the sinkhole and see all the bones from the buffalo and the excavation that goes with it. Yeah, I know, I'm weird and find things like that interesting. It's $7/person now to see (I remember when it was free…), but is still interesting.