Date is good, what about location

[The Yeti]

Well, here's what I found out:

SHERIDAN LAKE, NORTH COVE GROUP SITES
Max 25 people = $50/night
Max 100 People = $150/night
Max 60 people = First come, first served/no rates available online

No showers, no electricity, no RV hookups, vault toilets....kinda "rustic" I guess you would say. But, we could probably get away with the "max 25" option, and if there is at least 10 of us, that's only $5 per night per person. I can book for Thursday-Sunday if anyone plans on coming early...if we are sure no one is coming on Thursday, we can just book Fri-Sun.

Apparently it's only $2.50 per person/per night in the Badlands, but you gotta pay $10 for a park pass.  Might be something to consider...would definitely be new scenery.

Anyway, if anyone else has any bright ideas, let 'em rip!

[The Yeti]

What? No comments all day?!

My $.02 - The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to appreciate Fish 'n' Fry.  Showers, real bathrooms, electricity, beer, beer on tap, free beer on tap, diner (mmm, breakfast), expensive firewood...what's not to like?  ;-)  Seriously, we could just make one of the days (say, Saturday) an official "southern hills tour". I don't mind riding an hour or so on slab to get to some new scenery, some might not feel the same though.

I'm beginning to think that FnF might be our best bet again this year...unless, excess has an "in" at Wild Bill's and can get us a better deal $$$ wise.  Should I give the folks at FnF a call and see what kind of deal we can get, or does someone else want to contact them first?

[fringefan]

Brian is the one that negotiated the original $6 rate with the previous owners and that is part of teh reason they did not give it last fall because he the new owner did not know we where coming.

[The Yeti]

OK, I spoke with Michelle at FnF, what a nice gal! They are willing to give us a rate of $7 per person, per night for tent campers. $19 per night for RVs. What do you guys think?

[Sportfaller]

thumbs up all the way! FnF and a southern hills tour!  winner winner barley-pop dinner

[jacin theis]

FnF sounds good to me too. Just waiting for the time to come. Can we pay when we get there, or do they reqiure a prepayment for a set number? Thanks to all who have made the calls and got the info out. this is pretty impressive for such a loosely organised group. Looking forward to riding.

[The Yeti]

Can we pay when we get there, or do they reqiure a prepayment for a set number?

You pay when you get there for the # of nights you plan on staying, that's it!  Oh yeah, and everyone is required to buy a bundle of firewood!  ;-)

thumbs up all the way! FnF and a southern hills tour!  winner winner barley-pop dinner

Well, that's two positive reviews..anyone else care to chime in?  I told Michelle at FnF that I would give here a final decision by the end of the month, so we still have some time to decide.  But, I would like to get a decision as soon as possible so I can get the word out on ADVRider.

Just waiting for the time to come.

Dates are June 17-20. I plan on being there Thu (afternoon) - Sun (noon). 

[Hank]

Since I'm not even sure I'll be there, my opinion shouldn't matter much, but the price (this time) and conveniences of the FnF sound good to me.
It would be nice to go further south, but yeah we can just ride down there.

[Sportfaller]

I can bring up a pickup load of firewood thurs. night..... free

[The Yeti]

I can bring up a pickup load of firewood thurs. night..... free

Well, last time we were there, we went out and gathered some wood and the owners made us get rid of it...no outside wood allowed.  Something about bringing in bugs...probably just want to sell their (expensive) bundles.  Not sure if this would be allowed or not if it's properly dried and split...I'll call them and find out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

OK, talked with Michelle...she said that they normally wouldn't allow it, but would let us do it (cause we're special!  ) if I could assure her that the wood came from the Deadwood/Northern hills area.  The reason they don't allow outside wood is because of pine beetle infestation, makes sense I guess.

So, where is your wood from Josh?  Deadwood, right??  ;-)  What would you be out $$$ for the wood?  We could all chip in and split the cost! Thanks for doing that, I hate camping when you have to be conservative with the campfire. 

[numb41]

I will vote 'aye' for the FnF, fwiw.  Just how expensive is a bundle of wood anyway?  I am on vacation, I can't imagine a bundle or two of wood would kill my experience.

[Sportfaller]

most places a bundle is 5 or 6 bucks for 5 small pieces that you'd burn in 10 min.  Its a little bit of a racket, IMO.   I'll probably not be camping thurs night, but figured I might come up and chill, could easily bring wood up, free.  Working in the logging industry (forester for the sawmill in Hill City) I have an endless supply of firewood, and trust me, I'll be the absolute LAST person to be dragging bug infested wood around the hills, my entire job has revolved around gettin rid of the little bastards the last 2 years.

[grubbie]

I am more than happy to chip in for whatever is needed. I am not sure if I will be coming thursday night or friday yet. I will be pulling a camp trailer, just need to know if I have to make reservations of my own or what. No big thing either way, but would like to camp with you guys or as close as possible.

[rdstrain1949]

FnF sounds good to me.  Also need to know about RV reservations.

[fringefan]

I like it,thanks Yeti. Always thought the issue last time was more of a miscommunication but I thought he should have made it right instead of sticking it to most of the group and giving the deal to only a few.

Bottom line is it is close to everything needed and since it has rained almost every year the shelter is worth the cost alone and add in the fact they have let us use the grill when needed. The accomodations are tuff to compete for this purpose and even though I would never personally choose to pay to camp right off a highway for myself I have not found another place in the hills that fits the bill better than Fish n Fry.

If anyone could figure how to put adds up on this site I am pretty sure we could get a better deal than we have by letting them advertise. I know google has a program but my lack of interest in fine technological details has put it on the back burner but I am open if any of you have that type of interest?