Wednesday 6/16 - Left Ohio in the interstate dust as we continue to strive towards The West. Today was the first totally dry day we have had in weeks. We needed it badly as our spirits were getting as damp as our Kwik-Kamps. Nothing eventful or picture-worthy today... we just motored and watched the corn-laden countryside roll by. Overnighted in the Motel 6 in Mitchell, SD.. where the most interesting thing we could find was a plastic dinosaur (see pic).
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday 6/17 - Ok - more sunshine. Now this is more like it. We cruised across SD today. As we approached the Badlands, the stiff winds we had been battling became very strong across the prarie. Very strong. Without doubt the worst cross winds and gusts I have ever had to deal with on a motorcycle. But no rain! We were bouyed as we left Rapid City and headed into the moutains to the KOA at Deadwood... the dry rarefied air laced wtih pine scent was uplifting.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Friday 6/18 - Wow - what a perfect day! The morning broke clear and crisp here in Deadwood KOA. At about 5250 feet ASL, I thought it might get down to freezing overnight, but when I checked upon rising it was a pleasant 46. After consulting weather.com, we decided to avail ourselves of the wonderful conditions, and stay two nights here so we could ride the Black Hills today unfettered by trailers. Given that we had no reservation for the second night, we were obliged to move to a different site however. No problem since it was only about 20 feet away. We completed the move and were on our way by 9:30 - headed to Mt. Rushmore. What a thrill it was to be back in "God's Country". The Black Hills are absolutely wonderful - stunning vistas, streams and lakes under a cobalt blue cloudless sky. Having trekked and slogged our way across many flat states to get here, I think my senses were very keen - I have to say that the natural beauty and ambiance of this place literally brought tears to my eyes.
Leaving Keystone, we climbed up towards the monument. I was surprised to see the Presidents from some distance away. We stopped at the first opportunity to take photos of the bikes with the monument in the background, then proceeded on to spend several hours admiring the monument and the new facilities.
The second venue of the day was Crazy Horse Mountain. More on that in my next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment