Road to the 50th Annual Van Nationals

The 50th Annual National Truck-In, also known as the Van Nationals (aka "Van Nats" or just "The Nats") are going on right now and the official start date is today July 5th.  I was there and am already home.  More on that later...  I had a really good trip out there.  I booked campgrounds in Sioux Falls and Custer, SD so I could meet up with some members & friends of Twin City Vans.  I pre-registered for the Nats including 2 early-camping days (Mon & Tue) so my plan was to stay for the whole thing, Mon-Sat.  Before leaving, I put some painters tape on my back windshield so it was clear to the rest of the world where I was headed.  I'd been looking forward to this for a while and was doing a ton of last minute projects on my van.  I left home Saturday July 1st with 98,805 miles on the odometer. 

First day was the easiest (after I finished packing), just an easy 4 hour drive to Sioux Falls, SD.  I had stayed at that same KOA before while moto-camping.  In addition to people from Twin City Vans, a few people from Dakota Street Vans met us there and we went out for dinner.

The next morning, I left early because I wanted to drive the Badlands Loop while the others were heading straight to Wall Drug.  Gas stops were frequent for me as my van gets relatively poor gas mileage.  My singing & dancing Caddyshack gopher was my co-pilot.  Cruise control was a luxury on the long stretches of interstate.

Just before entering the Badlands, I stopped for gas (as usual) and there was a prairie dog town so it made for a good photo op with my gopher & cheese co-pilot.  The prairie dogs were skittish at first but eventually got curious.

I've been through the Badlands many times and it doesn't disappoint.  It was busy, being 4th of July weekend.  The scenery is best at sunrise & sunset (more dramatic shadows) but it's still good even with the sun higher in the sky.

After the loop, I found members of my group at Wall Drug.  I had a quick bite to eat and headed out.

It was hot and my van doesn't have [working] A/C.  I wanted to get somewhere cooler so I headed to Mount Rushmore, which was on the way to the campsite.  My van wasn't liking the steeper hills but it made it.  I grabbed some ice cream and then took a short nap inside my van in the covered parking garage.  It was hot but it would have been much hotter in the direct sun.  After my nap, I jumped on a family Zoom call, live from Mount Rushmore.  Then I had dinner from the cafe.

 

When I got the campsite, most of my group was headed towards Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony but, since I had spent a bunch of time there already, I opted to stay at camp and jump in the pool.

 

The next morning, knowing my poor MPG, I wanted to get a head start but was convinced to wait and go with the group.  It was nice to convoy for a bit.  I never did buy a CB radio so I could only communicate via phone/text.

Eventually, I had to stop for gas and fell behind so I was once again going at my own pace.  When I rolled into Sterling, I went ahead and got a car wash.  I was planning to show my van at the Nats and it had a bunch of dead bugs and campground mud on it.

A few minutes later, I arrived.

Lots more photos tomorrow...