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Each person on the trip should consider buying a National Parks annual pass for $80 before you go. We usually buy one at Cuyahoga Valley NP. They’re available other places and on-line. There has been a lot of press coverage indicating admission fees for many of the parks you’re going to visit are increasing to $70 EACH next summer, so you’ll save a bundle by having the annual passes. Also, it’s a lot more convenient at the park gates. Anyone 62 or older can get a lifetime pass for $80. Otherwise, like me, you need to buy one each year for $80. They are good for 12 months from whenever you buy it.

We did SD and WY in 2016 and CO in 2017. Your itinerary is fairly aggressive but you’re going to be on a lot of great roads in SD and CO. We went to Crazy Horse’s place but it was a rip off in my opinion. Save the bucks and get a photo from the road. Deadwood has a ton of small casinos and the historic district is a fun place to walk around. They do re-enactments of gunslingers shooting it out in the street several times a day, and there’s always “interesting” people walking around. The super 8 is a little further south from the historic district, but I think they have trolleys that your can ride into town for a small fee. In deadwood, go to the top of Mt. Moriah and see the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. Pikes Peak will be cold at the summit. It was 36 / wind chill 26 at the top near the end of July last year. Mt Evans will be about the same. We did 4 corners just to say we did it, but it’s pretty lame too. Mesa Verde NP near Cortez has the cliff dwellings, which are about 20 miles in from the park enterance. The park poiice run radar on the road leading to the cliff dwellings so don’t go blasting thru the NP. Million Dollar highway was great... Just avoid the sheer cliffs with no guardrails. Black Canyon of the Gunnison is worth seeing also. Sorry for the long babbling post. Mrs Wahoo and I may go back to CO either in 2018 or 2019. We loved it there.

Also worth a stop in Telluride if you havent been before.

Hi Mike, I have been a V-Strom owner since 2004. Givi makes a great assortment of top cases as well as another company called Shad. Most are easily mounted to your rear rack so if you find a used one for another bike keep in mind they are easily installed. Top Boxes are great for touring and commuting but just remember to keep the weight down to a minimum especially if you are doing any off asphalt because the high weight can cause some stability issues for new riders. I had a Givi luggage on my 04 and had no issues. Take a look at the V-Strom site: http://www.stromtrooper.com/ The folks over there will tell you what you should do, what you need to do, how you should ride and of course give you at least 500 options as to what is available for your bike even if you did not ask. Also you will receive a lot of opinions of what the V-Strom can't do or should not be tried. Blah Blah Blah. Check out the V-Strom Rally at Ironhorse lodge. http://www.stromtrooper.com/events/396298-2018-eastern-v-strom-rally-stecoah-nc-may-17-20-2018-a.html My Givi Top Case, "empty" on the Dragon 2008

I think you'd be surprised what you can do with a minimum amount of tools. Could always borrow some tools to help you complete a project.