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Unless something really hits us in the face, I am thinking, right now, the trip is between Costa Rico and the Black Hills area. I think it is in a little place called Lead. I know it is about an hour from Mt Rushmore and very near Deadwood. Is late Sept too late, will it be really cold by then? We have to either go the last week of Aug or not til the 22nd of Sept. We have obligations most of Aug and the first couple of weeks of Sept.
I drove through South Dakota and Wyoming once in September, and as I remember, the weather was lovely. Also uncrowded. Saw Mount Rushmore, the badlands, and lots more.
Would you be flying out somewhere and then driving, or what?
If the budget was high enough, the Rocky Mountaineer train that operates through the Canadian Rockies would be a big win. There are several routes, but they do Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Vancouver. I've always wanted to do this, but the prices are fairly high. The two-day Vancouver-Kamloops-Banff-Lake Louise-Calgary route starts at about $1000 pp.
I've done it, and it's fabulous. It will be cool but not cold and very uncrowded that time of the year. You'd fly into YYC and rent a car for the drive to Lake Louise. Frankly I'd probably go to Banff and just make a day trip to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake (which is the prettier of the two and worth the extra 20 minute drive). There really isn't much to do at Lake Louise. The town is really tiny (we're talking like 200 residents tiny), and there are few dining options other than the very expensive Fairmont and a couple of holes in the wall. It's less than an hour drive from Banff.
In one day's time you can drive to Lake Louise, take the gondola up the mountain for some spectacular views (keep in mind that it will be 20-30 degrees colder up top than at the base!), drive across the way to the Fairmont and have afternoon tea with a view, walk around the lake shore, drive up to Moraine Lake, and then back down to Banff in time for dinner.
You could spend another day driving to the Athabasca Glacier and take the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre Snowcoach tour onto the glacier. Very, very cool and well worth the tariff. We took a peak at the restaurant there for a late lunch, but decided it didn't look appealing and waited the 75 minutes or so to get back to Banff and eat there.
There are numerous lodging and dining options in Banff, I love the Rimrock, with the Fairmont in second place--mostly because some of the Fairmont rooms are quite undesirable, plus it's really large and can be a very long walk to some rooms. The standard Rimrock rooms are 100 s/f or more larger than the standard Fairmont rooms, with much nicer bathrooms.
While in Banff there are the hot springs, a nice village to browse in, a Gondola, I can't remember everything, but we didn't have time to see/do everything we wanted to.
ok, we made our choice, depending on availability of course. We told our daughters: 1-Black Hills. We will get to see so much, the resort (if you can call it that) is in Lead so we will be about an hour from Mt Rushmore. It is only a couple miles from Deadwood, which seems like a really fun place to spend a little bit of time. Our second choice is Lake Louise area. Maybe not Lake Louise, but the region. 3rd is Mesquite. We are a little gun shy about Costa Rico, because of the long flight and hubby has to watch out for blood clots. Otherwise it would be our second choice.
Now, let's hope the girls can pull it together.
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I think it is interesting no one suggested New England. We have done it a couple of times already, but there is still so much to see.
Oh, yes, we will be flying to wherever and then renting a car, but will probably do a couple of day trips using tours.
ok, we made our choice, depending on availability of course. We told our daughters: 1-Black Hills. We will get to see so much, the resort (if you can call it that) is in Lead so we will be about an hour from Mt Rushmore. It is only a couple miles from Deadwood, which seems like a really fun place to spend a little bit of time. Our second choice is Lake Louise area. Maybe not Lake Louise, but the region. 3rd is Mesquite. We are a little gun shy about Costa Rico, because of the long flight and hubby has to watch out for blood clots. Otherwise it would be our second choice.
Now, let's hope the girls can pull it together.
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I think it is interesting no one suggested New England. We have done it a couple of times already, but there is still so much to see.
Oh, yes, we will be flying to wherever and then renting a car, but will probably do a couple of day trips using tours.
If you have questions about the Black Hills, feel free to ask!
I used to visit Black Hills every Friday and Saturday night about 3 AM (7 yrs as a truck driver (DEN to Buffalo and Rapid)), also frequently via motorcycle and napsack.
There is lots to see and in a very compact region (that can have terrible traffic / weather). Go off-season and enjoy the place at your pace.
ok, we made our choice, depending on availability of course. We told our daughters: 1-Black Hills. We will get to see so much, the resort (if you can call it that) is in Lead so we will be about an hour from Mt Rushmore. It is only a couple miles from Deadwood, which seems like a really fun place to spend a little bit of time. Our second choice is Lake Louise area. Maybe not Lake Louise, but the region. 3rd is Mesquite. We are a little gun shy about Costa Rico, because of the long flight and hubby has to watch out for blood clots. Otherwise it would be our second choice.
Now, let's hope the girls can pull it together.
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I think it is interesting no one suggested New England. We have done it a couple of times already, but there is still so much to see.
Oh, yes, we will be flying to wherever and then renting a car, but will probably do a couple of day trips using tours.
Sounds like a great choice!!! After you get back provide a full trip report.
... My vote would be Costa Rica for beautiful beaches and it would be more "exotic", unless you both want a quiet golf vacation, then Mesquite. But perhaps Black Hills as it would be really pretty in the fall and make your husband happy, and I have also heard from friends Lake Louise is really pretty. All options sound pretty good, but Mesquite is really nothing that exciting, more of a quite retirement town. Also Mesquite late August/ early September might have daytime highs around 110 degrees so factor that in as well. It is almost as hot as Las Vegas ...
I'm kind of on board with that ^^. IF you want a tropical vacation (personally, I wouldn't), go for Costa Rico. I've heard great things about it and Belize. I'd pick the Black Hills just because I've never been and it's a good time of year to go. If you're OK with being on the move, go there because you will have to see the sights to fill the days — I don't think even your husband wants to stare at Mt. Rushmore for five days. Plus, there are ten casinos in South Dakota. South Dakota Casinos
If you'd rather tank out and relax in place, go for Lake Louise. It would be possible to do them both if you don't mind driving. I think it would be about a 15-hour drive between Mt. Rushmore and Lake Louise and I'm sure you'd see beautiful country. Fly to South Dakota, rent a car, see the Black Hills then take a couple of days to meander to Alberta and spend your last two days at one of those fancy resort hotels staring at the beautiful scenery. Have it all.
By the way, you have GREAT KIDS! Happy anniversary.
I'm kind of on board with that ^^. IF you want a tropical vacation (personally, I wouldn't), go for Costa Rico. I've heard great things about it and Belize. I'd pick the Black Hills just because I've never been and it's a good time of year to go. If you're OK with being on the move, go there because you will have to see the sights to fill the days — I don't think even your husband wants to stare at Mt. Rushmore for five days. Plus, there are ten casinos in South Dakota. South Dakota Casinos
If you'd rather tank out and relax in place, go for Lake Louise. It would be possible to do them both if you don't mind driving. I think it would be about a 15-hour drive between Mt. Rushmore and Lake Louise and I'm sure you'd see beautiful country. Fly to South Dakota, rent a car, see the Black Hills then take a couple of days to meander to Alberta and spend your last two days at one of those fancy resort hotels staring at the beautiful scenery. Have it all.
By the way, you have GREAT KIDS! Happy anniversary.
We do have great kids, probably the best. I guess they are making up for the headaches we suffered when they were teens. At least that is what they tell us. They really were not that bad then either. They may have done things I wouldn't want to talk about, but they were smart enough to keep them from us, til they were adults and survived everything.
As for Belize, we have been there a few times, but only on cruises: we were not impressed at all, but this is what makes the world go around.
No, we will not spend 5 days staring at 4 deceased presidents.
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After you get back provide a full trip report.
