Expert Check: Mpls to Berkeley

[lisap]

Hi all,

Thank you so much for the valuable advice - I've spent hours searching old listings and am now so excited to make my upcoming trip!

My boyfriend and I are moving from Minneapolis to Berkeley. Our only time constraint is getting there in time to get a great apartment -- I'm told being there before Aug 1 will make a difference in finding housing.

So, our plan, which I'd like to check with you all....

Monday July 24 (8-10 hrs in car):
Drive from Mpls to somewhere west of Rapid City, SD

Tuesday July 25 (8-10 hrs in car):
Drive from SD to Yellowstone campground (enter park by 7pm)

Wednesday July 26 (3-4 hrs in car):
Free day in Yellowstone until ~ 4pm, then drive out southern exit of Yellowstone and into Idaho (hope to get a few hrs driving in)

Thursday July 27 (10+ hrs in car):
book it as far into Nevada/Cali as we can get

Friday July 28: arrive in Berkeley

How does this look? Any advice?

We've basically decided we'd like to have a little bit of fun in Yellowstone but otherwise drive pretty much straight through without sightseeing. Maybe stop in SD a bit in the badlands area if we'd have time -- I haven't seen mt rushmore or the corn palace in a while. But after Yellowstone we plan to just drive drive drive to get there to hunt for housing.

Earlier this summer we drove from NYC- Mpls and probably went 70-75 mph most of the way.

So, any advice on routes, our plan, etc would be most welcome.

Thanks again!
Lisa

[Robert Schaller]

You're looking at 30 hours on-the-road time (just driving, no stops except rest breaks 10 min every 2 hours) . I figured about 2 hours stop at Badlands, and leaving Yellowstone at 3 PM. Your first night would be just about AT Rapid City (rather than west of it), the third (after Yellowstone) would be around Pocatello. The next day you can probably make it most of the way to the destination. If you stop a little longer for Rushmore and Crazy Horse, etc, that adds a few more hours, but if you limit those stops (not eliminate, but make them quick) you could still make it to Berkeley by the end of the day on Friday. Bob