South
Dakota Trip:
June 27 – July 10, 2007
Wednesday June
27, 2007 7:30am The group met at
Loves gas station in Anna, Texas
(north of Dallas). It was raining a lot. We geared up and headed north on Hwy 75 to Sherman
and turned west on Hwy 82. After a
couple of miles we were out of the rain and the day turned nice and sunny. We turned north on I35 and crossed the Red
River into Oklahoma. At Pauls Valley
we turned west on hwy 19 and headed to Chickasha. The many rivers and creeks we crossed were
out of their banks due to all the rain over many days, it was some of the worst
flooding in Oklahoma
history. After a fast food lunch we rode
north on hwy 81 till we hit I40. We turn
west on I40 for about 17 miles before turning north on 281. At Watonga 281 became 51A/58/60 which we
followed until Carmen where we turned west on 45 for 12 miles and then north on
281 to Alva. When we turned at Carmen
the “bottom fell out” and we had to gear up as it rained hard for the last 25
miles. We spent the first night at Alva.
Miles
ridden – 363
In Oklahoma at end of the first day,
more rain! Oklahoma scenery from
Hwy 19
Thursday June 28, 2007 7:30am As we loaded the bikes it was raining
lightly (it had rained lightly all night).
We head toward Kansas on
hwy 281 all the way to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. We took the “scenic road” hwy 160 (scenic
according to the little dots on the map).
It was pretty country but, it was one of the straightest 41 miles I have
ridden! There were some hills but only
one lazy swooping S curve. At Coldwater
we turned north on hwy 183 till we got to Greensburg. We turned right and rode through Greensburg. The town had been devastated by a tornado on May 4, 2007. The town was wiped out and 9 citizens were
killed. What looked like it was a nice
rural town was in ruin. It was very
sobering. We turned back around and head
west to Mullinville.
Our V-Rod rider was in desperate need of gas. After filling up we took hwy 400 to the
historic town of Dodge City. At Dodge City
we visited the gift shop at Boot Hill and watched the noon “gun fight.”
After lunch we stayed on hwy 400 and road to Cimarron
where we turned north on hwy 23. At Grainfield we
filled up. You can ride a lot of miles
without seeing a gas station! We turned west on 123 then north on 83 towards
Oberlin. We remain on 83 and crossed
into Nebraska. Approximately 80 miles later we stopped for
the night in North Platte, Nebraska. We visited the Fort Cody Trading Post (NE
corner of 83 and I80) and the 20th
Century Veterans’ Memorial at Iron Horse Park (SE corner of 83 and I80). The memorial is awesome! Fort Cody is a neat tourist stop. Both are worth stopping to visit. Miles ridden – 431
Richard and I on Train at
Boot Hill in Dodge City, KA Veterans
Park in North Platte, Nebraska
Friday
June 29, 2007 7:30am Cool temperature but clear skies.
Heading west on I80 we made great time to Ogallala where we hit the
Western Trails Historic & Scenic Byway, Hwy 26. We could see Lake C.W. McConaughy
off to the right, very pretty. We
experienced some noticeable changes in elevation. At Bridgeport we turned north on the 385 – Gold Rush Byway. At Chadron, NE I had problems with my gas cap. A
screw on the bottom must have fallen into the gas tank and now it would not
latch properly and I could not get it off the tank again. A nice guy at the local cycle shop was able
to get the cap off, see the problem, and replace the screw for me – boy that
was a close call. We stayed on 385 and arrived in Hot Springs early afternoon. We decided to take the scenic route up to
Lead, SD where we had rented a big house for the next 6 nights. We road north on 385 until we reached Custer State
Part then we turned on hwy 87 i.e. The Needles Highway. Wow!
What a ride. We saw bison and
prairie dogs and a lot of great county. The Needles Highway has three one lane tunnels that must be
approached and entered carefully. It was
a great ride. 87 intersects 385 at Hill City so we turned north on 385 and headed to
Deadwood. At Deadwood we turned west on
hwy 85 for the 1 mile ride to Lead. It
was a great day of riding. Miles ridden – 396
The first tunnel heading
North on Hwy 87 The Needles as seen from overlook on Hwy 87
Here comes the rest of
the group riding through the last tunnel, i.e. “The Eye of the Needle”, on
Hwy 87.
You need to honk and make
sure someone is not coming from the other direction.
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Saturday
June 30, 2007 Clear and sunny Departed Lead at 9:30am. We
road to Rapid
City,
turned south on hwy 16 stopping at Reptile Gardens. The Reptile Garden is self proclaimed to have the “world’s
largest reptile collection.” It is a
great place. We watched the three
different shows; birds, snakes, and alligators/crocodiles. After lunch we travel farther south to “Bear
Country.” This is a drive through wildlife park with bears, wolves, cougars, and various
members of the deer family. Since the
ten of us were on 7 motorcycles the owner fired up the tour bus and gave us a
personal tour. It was awesome. At the end of the tour there is a walking
part (just like a zoo) where we saw Grizzly bears, bear cubs…. On the way back to Lead we rode up to Rapid City and road Nemo Road (CR 234) to Hwy 385 just south of Deadwood
where we turned north. We had some
daylight so we rode into Deadwood and walked the streets in time to see a
“shoot out” (reenactment). I found some
great “Black Hills Gold” jewelry so I bought a necklace for my wife since she
had to stay home and work. After a
couple of hours in Deadwood we head to the house in Lead for the night. Miles
ridden – 128
Alligator show at Reptile Gardens. This guy was great! Bears and more bears are at Bear Country.
Historic sites abound in Deadwood.
We stood
where Wild bill was shot!
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Sunday July 1, 2007 Perfect
riding weather! Departed Lead at 8:30am.
Taking Hwy 85 west we road past Terry Peak and Deer Mountain as we head to Cheyenne Crossing, (the best
breakfast in the Black
Hills). We turned north on Hwy 14A, the Spearfish
Canyon Scenic Byway. This was the
prettiest 22 miles of the trip with great twisties
and beautiful scenery. We stopped at Savoy and looked at the canyon where the winter
scene of Dances with Wolves was
filmed but, we did not ride the 4 miles of gravel road to go to the exact
spot. We continued up the Byway and
stopped to photograph Bridal
Veil Falls. This canyon would be a great place to go
hiking! Once in Spearfish we attended Countryside Community Church.
After services we were directed by some locals to Sanford’s Grub and Pub where we had a great
lunch. After lunch we head up Hwy 85 to Belle Fourche (Geographical center of the USA). We
turned west on 212 so that we could ride a few miles in Montana before turning south on Montana hwy 326/Wyomia hwy 112. We intersected hwy 24 at Hulett,
Wy where we stopped for gas and snack. Traveling about 10 miles south on hwy 24 we
turned into Devils Tower National Monument. We
started seeing the Tower miles before we got to it. From a distance it does not look that
impressive but, when you get there it takes your breath away. It is an awesome site with nice trails and
inspiring views. After spending about
three hours at the Tower and the gift shop we headed down hwy 24 to I90. We took I90 east back to Spearfish where we
turned south on 14A and enjoyed riding Spearfish Canyon in the opposite direction. We stopped for dinner at Lewie’s
Saloon and Eatery. Lewie’s has a great atmosphere
with seating on the porch or inside and good food for a good price.
After dinner we were
all ready for a nice evening at the house.
Miles ridden – 228
Spearfish Canyon Road is
awesome! Bridal Falls is a
great place to stop and relax.
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There is not much in Hulett, WY but, you can a coffin. Devil’s Tower is so massive. Notice the red shirt in the
bottom middle. He is from our group.
Monday July 2, 2007 A
little mist/rain in the morning but, cleared off nicely. I had promised my son that I would take him
to Evan’s Plunge, a natural spring swimming pool with waterslides in Hot Springs but, not many of the adults wanted to go
swimming. Half of the group head to the Badlands where they had a great time. Half of us road Hwy 385 south to Hill City, turned east on SH 224 towards Mount Rushmore and Keystone. We road past Mount Rushmore (we would visit
Rushmore the next day) and turned south on Iron Mountain Road (Hwy 16A).
This is a great road! There are twisties, pigtail bridges, one lane tunnels (two of which
frame Mount Rushmore), scenic views, and wildlife. We stopped several times for photos. At the south end of Iron Mountain Road we turned west on hwy 36/16A. After about a mile four of the group turned
south on Custer State Park’s Wildlife Loop Road. (They later visited the Crazy Horse
Memorial and Mount
Rushmore). My son and I stated on 36/16A until it
intersected 87 south, we then turned and head toward Hot Springs. We saw buffalo and semi-wild donkeys that roam
Custer State Park. Once
we got to Hot
Springs
it was time to swim. After swimming for
2 hours my son and I headed back to the house in Lead. We took Hwy 385 through
Pringle (not much there), Custer, rode past the Crazy Horse Memorial (did not
stop due to time), and Hill City – approx 102 miles. Just west of Deadwood Hwy 385 ends and
intersects Hwy 85/14A. We turned west
and rode 1 mile to Lead. Miles
ridden - 225
Mt. Rushmore as seen from one of the tunnels on Hwy 16A. The Presidents from another
overlook on Hwy. 16A
Buffalo in Custer State Park. Wild donkeys in Custer State Park.
Tuesday July 3, 2007 It was a very pretty day. The group once again split up into two groups. My son and I along with 5 others head south
on hwy 385 to Hill City.
Three miles past Hill City we turned east on hwy 224 and headed to Mount Rushmore. This
is a great road with a lot of curves.
Traffic was heavy due to the fact that the National Parks Service’s
fireworks display takes place on the night of July 3rd instead of
July 4th. The park was
crowded but, still well worth the visit.
It is quite a site!
Mt. Rushmore from inside the park. Looking up at the Presidents from park trail.
After we left the
park we rode the Iron Mountain Road (hwy 16A). Even though my son and I had
ridden the road the day before it was still an awesome ride. The tunnels, the pigtail bridges, the curves,
and the scenery made the ride awesome. While riding through Custer State Park we had to stop for a large heard of Buffalo to cross the road. Our group eventually
turned south on hwy 87 and met up with the rest of our group at Wind Cave
National Park for a tour of Wind Cave. Wind Cave is one of the largest caves in the world and
has the most boxwork formations in the world. Wind Cave was the first cave to ever be designated as
a national park. It is not exceptionally
pretty and colorful but, it is amazing and well worth the time and money to
visit. After the tour we headed up hwy
385. We stopped in Custer and had one of
the best, if not the best, meal of the trip.
We ate at Cattleman's Steakhouse & Fish Market. The food was
great and the service was awesome. They
had a great assortment of deserts. After
a great meal we head up hwy 385 and made our way back to lead. It was dark and there were several deer near
the road. Riding at night is not
advised. Miles ridden - 185
Waiting on the buffalo, they
do not get in a hurry. Wind Cave is know for it’s unusual “boxwork”.
Wednesday July 4, 2007. Another pretty day in South Dakota. After
breakfast at Cheyenne Crossings five of us headed out to visit Jewel Cave. We
rode Hwy 85 south to Four Corners,
Wyoming and then Newcastle, WY. At Newcastle we turned East on Hwy 16 for about 15 miles
until we reached the Jewel Cave National Monument. This
is a great cave and is the second longest cave in the world. After the tour Don, Richard, and I head to Cheyenne, WY. We rode Hwy 16 back to Newcastle then turned south on Hwy 85 to Lusk – about
60 miles. At Lusk we turned west on I20
for 10 miles, then turned south on SH 270 for 35 miles to Guernsey, WY and 15
more miles till we intersected I25.
Right before I25 it started to rain.
Once on I25 we traveled south to Wheatland where we stopped for lunch
and gas. Leaving Wheatland we thought
the rain was far enough to the west that we could miss it but, we were
wrong. We had to exit at Chugwater and gear up.
We stayed a head of the hard rain and just got a few drops on us. We entered Cheyenne and the rain was behind us and headed
east. It was a big storm but, we missed
the rough part of it. That night we
watch the city’s July 4th fireworks. Miles
ridden – 368
Jewel cave is massive and so
pretty. Road
side overlook on Hwy270 in WY.
July
5, 2007 Pretty
day, clear and sunny. My friend stayed at Cheyenne to meet up with another friend who had the
truck and trailer. They were then
heading straight back to Texas and home. Richard and I travel
south on I25 until Wellington, CO. We
turned south on SH 1 and rode to the north side of Ft. Collins where we turned west on SH 14 and head
toward the Cache La Poudre Wildness Area. It was an awesome ride! The Cache La Poudre River flowed beside the road most of the way until
we neared Cameron Pass (10,276 ft).
We saw a lot of rafters on the river, we saw water falls, and we road
through one mountain tunnel. We stopped
briefly at Rustic, CO. for a drink and a snack.
Passing over Cameron Pass we could see the Never Summer Mountains. Snow
covered the peaks. Just before Gould, CO we stopped at the Moose Visitor Center. This
is a nice information/nature center.
There is a life sized barbed wire moose in front of the building. After visiting the center we head on toward
Walden. The road hits the valley quickly
and the Michigan
River flows on the northern side of the road. At
Walden we stopped for gas and a snack.
Rain was coming so we geared up. We road SH 125 55 miles to Granby. After
about half way we passed over Willow Creek Pass (9,621 ft).
Once over the pass we were surrounded by mountains. The ride was great. About 13 miles outside of Granby we saw two moose, a cow and a calf. We stopped, of course, and took
pictures. In Granby we stayed at the Inn at Silver Creek. Richard swam in the pool for a long
time. It was a beautiful evening. Miles ridden – 214
Cache La
Poudre river runs
along SH 14. Barbed wire moose
outside the Moose Visitor Center.
A cow and a calf just north of Granby on HwySH 125.
How this for a rockin’ chair? Granby, CO
July 6, 2007 Clear
and cold morning. We checked out and
head to Grand Lake
for breakfast on SH 34. It was cold and
we had to put on our cold weather gear.
We were on the lookout for a “hole in the wall”
place that would serve a great breakfast – we found one at Betty’s Café &
Bakery. As we were riding around the
lake we saw a man water skiing on Grand
Lake! After breakfast we headed east on SH 34
towards Rocky Mountain
National Park. About 3 miles before the entrance to the park
we spot two more moose. We were the
first to stop but, many joined us. There
was a cow and a yearling. They both kept
grazing and walking closer to us and the road.
At one point the cow was about 90 feet from Richard and me. We got some great pictures but, it was time
to head on to the park. The RMNP is
awesome. We stopped at Milner
Pass (10,759 ft) where the Great
Divide is marked. We hiked to a large
patch of snow and played a while.
Traveling on up SH 34, Trail Ridge Road,
we reached the Alpine Visitor Center where we spent some time and could see elk
in the distance. We made our way down
the east side of Trail Ridge Road
reaching heights of over 13,000 ft. The
views were spectacular. We stopped in Estes
Park at The Bighorn Restaurant for
lunch. The Bighorn is one of our
favorite places to eat - great food, especially for breakfast. We head toward Raymond on SH 7 where we
turned south on HS 72. We stopped in Nederland
for some ice cream and a drink. Nederland
is a nice mountain town. Leaving Nederland
we stayed on SH 119 through Black Hawk (town with a lot of casinos) and on to
I70. We crossed over I70 at El Rancho and rode SH 74 to Evergreen then took SH
73 to Conifer. At Conifer we turned west
on 285 until Pine Junction where we turned south on FM 126 heading to Deckers. During the
ride to Deckers and then to Woodland
Park on SH 67 we could see the
results of the Haymen fire that occurred in June
2002. It was amazing how many trees
where killed but, still stood. It was a
great road with a lot of scenic views.
At Woodland Park
we rode HWY 24 into Colorado Springs
to my sisters house where we stayed 3 nights. Miles ridden – 247 While in Colorado Spring I rode about
60 miles.
This moose gets really close! Just south of RMNP. Beautiful
scenery from RMNP.
Standing on the Continental Divide on Hwy34.
Snow in July! Had
to stop for a snowball fight with my son.
Mountains south of the Alpine Visitor Center
in RMNP. More scenery from RMNP.
July 9, 2007 Clear
& sunny day Richard and I took
I25 south to Roton,NM. We turned east on HWY 64/87. We stopped by the Capulin Volcano
National Monument. The ride up the volcano was really neat. We could see so much from the rim of the
volcano. We also walked down into the
vent. After viewing the Volcano we
headed on to Texas. We stayed on SH 87 until Hartley,
TX.
We turned south on SH 385. We past by the famous Boys Ranch Tascosa
before turning east on FM 1061.
We intersected Loop 335 and turned south onto the
Loop 335. Once we
intersected I40 we stopped at a Marriott for the night. Miles
ridden – 354
Look up from the vent of Capulin
volcano. View west from the rim of the
volcano. Notice the parking
lot and the trail leading to the vent.
July 10, 2007 Clear, sunny and hot We rode SH 287 from Amarillo
to Wichita Falls, to Decatur. We turned east on SH 380 and made home to McKinney. What a trip!!
Miles ridden – 360
Total miles for trip
3559