We
started a bike ride this morning by heading south through Spearfish
Canyon which is very scenic. We stopped and walked on a short path
to Roughlock Falls where the water is super clear. We had a great
map with different colored routes which made it quite easy to follow
the loops. After going through Lead we headed SE to Silver City,
missed a turn and ended up talking to a couple of guys about CanAms.
We swung around the bottom of the “blue” loop and headed north to
end up in Sturgis where we had lunch and shopped a bit.
The
big motorcycle rally in Sturgis does not start until Aug 4th
but there are thousands of bikes around the area already. We drove
back through Deadwood and then up to I90 for 17 miles back to
Spearfish.
We
stopped at a WalMart because I am making Terry throw away a couple of
pairs of decrepit shorts and he needs replacements. Of course he
found 3 pairs and I found nothing. Between drinks & dinner prep,
I did a couple of loads of laundry. We were really close to the
laundry room so I could easily walk back & forth which made it
nearly painless.
July 28th – Mon –
to Keystone
Chief
& Deb (from VVV) are workcamping at Spokane Creek RV just out of
Keystone. We had already planned to come here so we made a
reservation on Saturday and had our replacement credit card sent to
the RV park.
When
we made our reservation, the employee said we would be getting a
confirmation email. What she didn't tell us was that it would
include driving directions and not to use the GPS. We didn't get the
email and didn't think much about it. Of course we used the GPS and
realized we were in trouble when we drove a short ways on a road with
a sign about low, one-way tunnels and Wanda announced in the middle
of nothing that we had arrived at our destination! Luckily we found
a little road where Terry could turn around and when we got back to
Keystone & had cell service I called the park for directions. It
was still a winding narrow road but at least we were confident that
we would get there.
We
saw Deb as soon as we arrived and Chief came by just as we parked.
We made arrangements to go for a bike ride when Chief & Deb got
off work. Joe, also from VVV, is here and joined us for the ride but
first we went for lunch here at the park where Deb is cooking. Deb
ended up not going on the ride.
We
rode part of the Iron Mountain Road which is well known for curves,
hills, pigtails & tunnels. This is the road that we started on
to get here! We stopped at the third tunnel to get a picture of Mt.
Rushmore framed by the tunnel. We stopped in Hill City - where the
main street was lined with motorcycles – and had a beer &
watched people. Then we returned via Keystone for another
refreshment stop (yes, we were drinking & driving but with lots
of time between) before taking the road back – Playhouse – that
we ended up using to get here.
Terry
got out chairs and I made “snacks for dinner”. Joe joined us but
Chief & Deb had a meeting to attend. Lovely day!
July
29th – Tues
Chief
& Deb are working today so we had breakfast here at the park and
went riding with Joe. We entered Custer State park just south of
here and in a few miles were in the middle of a huge buffalo herd. I
say “in the middle” because they were on both sides of the road
and constantly crossing the road. It was a little nerve wracking
being on the bike instead of safely in a car. We got great pictures
before the traffic jam moved and we were on our way again.
We
drove the big loop of the park and stopped at a visitor center. We
saw a few pronghorm antelope, people feeding donkeys and a prairie
dog town. We stopped at Blue Bell lodge for a very nice lunch and
then got rained on a bit as we rode the Needles Highway before we
ended up in Keystone at the same bar as yesterday. This time Joe &
I had Irish coffee to warm up before heading back to the park.
We
had a late dinner and a quiet evening.
July
30th – Wed
Chief
& Deb had the day off so we went riding with them & Joe.
First we all had breakfast at the little restaurant here at the
park. I had a yummy breakfast sandwich made with a biscuit just out
of the oven while Terry had his biscuits covered with sausage gravy.
We
first went south to Hot Springs and stopped to check out a couple of
tourist sites. Then we rode west & north to Custer City. We had
a beer at a bar with sawdust on the floor and then walked a few
blocks to a grocery store where we got steaks & other stuff for
dinner. On the way back we went into a T-shirt shop and Chief got a
shirt.
My
camera battery ran down when we got to a very scenic area of the
Needles Highway yesterday so we returned that way to get pictures.
The small stopping area by “the Needle” was packed but we
squeezed in so I could get pictures. This area is also congested as
there is a low, narrow one-way tunnel right there. There were a
couple of climbers preparing to rappel down a cliff and people were
watching them as well.
Back
at the park, I husked our corn, put together a salad and we went to
Chief & Deb's site for the serious business of drinking &
eating. Of course Joe joined us as well. After dinner, we went to
watch people playing horseshoes. Terry brought our buddy burner so I
got to tell people how to make one while he was playing a game of
horseshoes.
Another
wonderful day!
July 31st –
Thurs – to Colorado
We
packed up, dumped the tanks and then had breakfast at the RV park
restaurant before we headed south. Once out of the Black Hills, the
landscape was quite flat. We made a stop for fuel and then a late
lunch just north of the Colorado state line.
We
were planning to go just north of Loveland and continue east but the
GPS wanted to take us on a big loop north first. Terry asked at a
service station when we stopped again for fuel and they said the
canyon roads weren't open because of the major flooding last year. I
had been looking unsuccessfully for an RV park so now we headed to a
park east of Loveland. We got the last available site and can only
stay one night.
We
wiggled into our site and luckily could park far enough back that we
didn't have to unhook the truck. We relaxed outside with a drink &
computer games and then I made a light dinner.
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