Traveling in the States

[Pibemanden]

I am so fortunate that I will be going to the States for two conferences in around 2-1½ months from now. As for what goes on during those I have things pretty much under control. However between the conferences I have to travel from Minneapolis to Boulder(Very close to Denver) and I have around three days to make the drive. I am driving with a colleague who unfortunately doesn't have a license, so I will be doing all the driving myself.

However to avoid it being just another boring trip across the country I would like some advice on good sights which can be visited fairly quickly(I know that it is a limited time to drive 1500km(930ish miles)). Secondly and most importantly I would like any advice that people might have on traveling by car in general as I have next to no knowledge about how that would work(where to stay, what to watch out for etc.) in the states.

[Guardian 452]

Not the most direct route (according to mapquest) but I would visit the Black Hills National Forrest in South Dakota. Mt Rushmore, etc. Also Badlands National Park in South Dakota

[miltonyorkcastle]

Mount Rushmore is a must-see if you're out that direction, definitely.

As for driving in the states, right side of the road, the stoplights don't turn yellow before they turn green (only before they turn red), and the passer does not have the right of way.

I don't know what sort of allowance you have for hotel/motel stays, but any place with the word 'suite' in the name is going to be a better joint than anything with the word 'motel' in it, though the latter will certainly be cheaper. I'd just do a google search on the cities you plan to pass through and see which hotels have the highest star ratings.

[Olme]

..and not too far from the Badlands is Devil's Tower National Monument.
Made (more) famous in the movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

[Pibemanden]

Thank you for your advice and suggestions

Also an question about practical stuff:
Prepaid phone cards, can I get those with data traffic(I guess around around a GB would be enough for me) included at a reasonable price?

And please keep the suggestions coming, me not knowing that Mount Rushmore was so close to the way we were going just shows how little I know

[miltonyorkcastle]

Prepaid phone cards, can I get those with data traffic

I'm pretty sure you can, though I've not done so myself. My brother uses a prepaid phone of some sort and he has data.

[Alatriel]

You can get a prepaid phone with unlimited calls, texts, and data for 1 month, for $45 including the phone.  Wal-mart sells them.

[merlin34baseball]

There's lots of cool stuff in Colorado. Lower downtown Denver is where most of the good bars and resterants are as well as the sports stadiums. Boulder has a place called the Hill right by Colorado University with the local hangouts as well as Pearl Street Mall (a walking mall) with shops and bars and such, all within walking distance of CU.

I'll post again when I think of more stuff to do in Colorado.

[Guardian 452]

Well if you simply mapquest the 2 cities and it will send you south to Iowa (my state btw) then west through Nebraska. Dont go that way... it will be the most dull drive by the time you make across Nebraska you will want to gouge your eyes out. Tell mapquest to take you to Rapid City South Dakota... thats right close to Mt Rushmore. And once you get about half way across South Dakota you will have a nice senic drive.

[jadewillow]

I live in Denver and have made that trek from MN to CO. All the above are good recommendations. Just bring plenty of Red Bull for Wyoming. Sounds like you will be too early for Sturgis, but if you are around in early August it is a sight if you like people watching. Even if you are early, may still be a good visit. Just don't speed. Got a ticket going 82 in a 75 coming back from Sturgis. And that's Miles Per Hour, not Kilometers

Also come down to Denver for a ball game at Coors field. Much better than Cricket

Good travels!

[Pibemanden]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that suggestions as to what to do in Denver and Minneapolis, in particular things that can be done after 5-6pm would be welcome. Although we only have 1 day in Minneapolis there can still be something that we shouldn't miss while being there... In Denver we have a couple of days, which already includes a trip into the mountains.

[Guardian 452]

In Minneapolis you might as well tour the Mall of America.

[Nehetsrev]

The Minnesota science museum (with the Omnitheater) in was pretty good when I was there as a child.  It's probably one of the best museums in the upper-midwest of the US.  Looks like it's open from 9:30am-9:30pm too.

[Pibemanden]

The trip on Google Maps

I have finally returned home after the trip to the US and a detour to a boarding school in Denmark for two weeks afterwards.

All the advice given really helped me on the way, especially the part about Mount Rushmore and not going through Nebraska. If my guess is correct I would just have been able to extrapolate from going through Minnesota and the first half of South Dakota and never really gotten to see some of the really great nature you have in the midwest and beyond.

The sad part was that I never really had time to actually walk or bike through the areas in question, I would really have liked to have a week or so in the Badlands/Black Hills area to really get to enjoy the sights at close range.

[Guardian 452]

Thanks for the update and I'm glad you enjoyed the scenery!