Finish: Hot Springs, South Dakota
Distance: 153 miles Total to date: 1753 miles
Campground: KOA Campground, Hot Springs, South Dakota; $39/site with electrical; very nice treed lot with a lot of room. Nice facilities, very clean washroom and shower and pool. Home baked pizza delivered to the site.
Gas: Deadwood, South Dakota 3.17 gal @ $2.759/gal $8.75; Hot Springs, South Dakota, 3.510 gal @ $2.559, $9.02
On Day 5, we went into the town centre of Deadwood and went to the cemetery. There, we saw the tombs of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Wild Bill gained a reputation as a gunfighter and gambler. He was a U.S. Marshall and was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood by an unsuccessful gambler, Jack McCall. The card hand which he held at the time of his death (aces and eights) has come to be known as the "Dead Man's Hand". Calamity Jane, was a cow girl with a feisty reputation. While at the cemetery, Al bought a replica (that's what he said it was) coin for one night at a house of ill-repute. Not sure what Donna will think of that "replica".
Once we left Deadwood, we went down Hwy 385. It was a great ride as the road is very smooth nice with sweeping curves as it winds thru a deep canyon. We stopped for a few moments at the Pactola Reservoir that formed a very nice recreational lake.
Soon, we arrived at Keystone so Al could go see Mount Rushmore. We stayed in Keystone, had a bite to eat and Al bought a cute T-shirt for Rebelle.
Once Al returned from his tour, we headed toward Custer State Park. The road to the park is known as the Iron Mountain Road. This road was incredible. It was perfectly paved, very narrow, very slow, and twisted everywhere. The speed on the road was at times limited to 10 mph and many curves limited the speed to 15mph. It seemed there were 360 degree turns as you looped over wooden bridges again and again. Some of the road was divided into single lanes that were only wide enough for a car. There were single lane tunnels to go thru and from one of them, you could see the faces of Mount Rushmore. It was a bit un-nerving riding this road with a trailer as the road was very narrow and it was hard to see oncoming traffic.
In one section, we encountered a wild herd of buffalo. Traffic had to stop and were not in a hurry getting off the road. As I was slowly passing by a buffalo and a calf and looking down at them on my right, I put my left foot down on the road and it ended up being in a big pile of buffalo dung. I had an instant pooh polish! I had crap all over my foot! Aside from the crap I had to put up with, it was an exhilarating route.
Once off this road, we took the Needles Hwy. This road wound thru the mountainous areas. It too was a slow route and at times, the edge of the road dropped off to the canyon floor below. We stopped to take photos of the "Needles", went thru more single lane tunnels and traversed the very windy curves with care. I didn't look too far to the right as the drop-offs were very dangerous. The scenery was spectacular and the ride amazing. I can see why so many people flock to this area to ride the Black Hills. I talked with an older guy who said he loved riding the area so much that he moved to Rapid City to do it more. These are definitely motorcycle routes that should be on every motorcyclists bucket list.
Once we got out of Custer State Park, we headed down Hwy 385 towards Hot Springs. As we rode this section, we started to leave the Black Hills and the terrain turned to a dry rolling grassland. The temperature shot up to 91 degrees. Near Windy Cave Park, we encountered another herd of wild buffalo. They too would stop traffic and were not intimidated by cars, trucks or motorcycles. It's so interesting seeing nature like this.
We continued down Hwy 385 and stopped at a very nice KOA for the night.
miles to Fort Collins or Loveland Colorado. The temperature is supposed to hit 94 degrees and the landscape will be hilly grasslands. We will be hitting the Rockies very soon.
As an after-note...I think Al was talking with Donna as he finally changed his T-shirt!
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