As we inched our way eastward we continued to have tire-related adventures. We were headed for the Black Hills of South Dakota where I had enjoyed a bike tour with my Pagosa bike touring buddies last year on the Mickelson Trail. I liked the area very much and wanted Kelly to see it so we thought we would spend a few days exploring. For those of you unfamiliar with the western states, there is a lot of 'nothing' between the small towns dotting the landscape and [horror!] not much cell phone coverage in between those towns. You don't want to be caught in the high prairie without a spare tire or you could end up going 'old school' ie: hitch hiking to the next town for rescue. So, we considered ourselves very lucky when we found we had another soft tire on the trailer and happened to be across the street from a gas station in one of the few towns we had passed through that day. After our last trailer blowout in Nevada we had picked up some tire pressure sensors so we could know when a problem is developing. These are great as when a trailer tire is losing pressure [we have a dual axle on the trailer] the first sign that there is a problem is when you see tire parts flying through the air in the sideview mirror. Anyway, we were able to change the tire and pressure up the rest of them at the gas station. We still had no spare but it wasn't far to Casper, WY where we intended to spend a day and do some much needed chores [laundry, oil change etc.}.
I think the motto of Casper, WY should be 'Casper...it's nicer than you expect'. And it was. We were holed up in an RV park which happened to be right on the Platte River which is very nice in this part of the world and not the 'too thin to plow, too thick to drink' Platte River as it is known farther east. There was a very nice walk/bike trail running right next to camp which we enjoyed between chores. That said, there is not much else to tell about Casper so I won't.
Chores done, we packed up early and were ready for a relatively quick run to our next stop in Custer, SD. Not so fast Buckaroo. We got about 10 miles out of town and saw we had another soft tire, this time on the truck. Really! Now it's Sunday and we need a tire repair! In Casper! While I changed the tire [again...I'm getting pretty good at this now] Kelly found a Firestone dealer who happened to be open so we dropped the trailer at a closed truck weigh station and headed back to Casper where we found the tire was bad and we needed a new one. Luckily, they had one in our size so we walked around downtown Casper while they did their thing. Our tire luck has been a good news/bad news joke in that, while it would have been nice not to have any tire issues, they have all happened near towns and were fairly easily taken care of. Thank you travel gods. I'll sacrifice a hot dog to you at the next camp.
Having arrived in Custer, SD, we set up camp and set out exploring the Black Hills. Our camp spot was conveniently located right near downtown Custer and directly on the aforementioned Mickelson bike trail. We were able to get a few bike rides in and enjoy 'All' that the town of Custer has to offer, which is basically a bunch of tee-shirt shops and the other touristy stuff that seem to be the same everywhere. Their running joke here is 'Don't pet the fluffy cows' [Bison] Har!
Kelly and I took a bike ride up the Mickelson trail to the top of the next pass where you can find the monument to Crazy Horse where they have been sculpting his likeness into the rock [like Mt Rushmore] since 1948! Our thoughts were 'needs some work'. The original artist has since died and his son has taken over the project. Kelly suggested the kid was probably on his cell phone all day instead of getting at it with the old hammer and chisel like he ought to be. Kids today!
We also must confess to doing some touristy things as we went to see Mt Rushmore and went to Bear Country wildlife park. I had been to Mt Rushmore on a solo trip I did in the late 70's when there was, basically, a parking lot at the base and you stood there and said 'Yup, there it is. I thought it would be bigger.' Now there is a major development with multi-level parking, huge stone entries and the ever-present concessions stands where you can purchase 'don't pet the fluffy cows' tee shirts [that joke never gets old] and the rubber tomahawks I would have loved when I was a kid. While I am not thrilled with the whole Mt Rushmore thing I do find myself wondering 'how did they do that?' They had to do the carving up close but couldn't see the whole picture from their perspective. Did they have Gutzon Borglum sitting in a tree a hundred yards away going 'No, the nose is too big. Take another whack with the hammer.' I just don't know.
We also went to Bear Country. This is a wildlife park where you drive your car through various fenced-off enclosures and can view elk, deer [big treat...we have them in the yard at home], wolves, cougars, reindeer [so they claim...didn't see any] and bear roaming around outside your car. I know it sounds schlocky but we actually enjoyed it. Our favorite part was at the end where you get to walk around penned areas and look at smaller, less lethal, critters hanging out in their 'natural' habitat. The best was the young bears who can be viewed tirelessly wrestling, climbing and engaging in other bear activities. I know it sounds goofy but we really enjoyed it.
The whole Black Hills area is filled with touristy cabins, more RV parks than I've ever seen and billboards advertising all of it but, somehow, it comes off as kinda charming in a nostalgic, Americana kind of way. And, the whole area has some of the most beautiful terrain we've seen anywhere on our trip with lush, green meadows and interesting rock outcroppings everywhere. If you get the chance, I highly recommend a visit.
After Custer, we headed north to the town of Spearfish, SD. This town is a gem! It's a smallish town [pop. 13,000] which is home to Black Hills State University. We set up camp in the City Park which is very well maintained, very green, and has a lovely arm of Spearfish Creek running through it. We were lucky enough to be here during the weekend of their annual Art Festival in the park and could walk to the festivities from our camp. Spearfish has a very nice old-downtown area and some very good restaurants and a homemade ice cream store that I couldn't stay away from.
Just down the road from Spearfish is the town of Sturgis, home of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, where this little town of about 7000 people are visited by up to 1-million [that's what they expect this year] motorcycle riders for a week in August. Kelly and I were luckily there before the event but, walking through downtown, it is hard to imagine the scene this must be. All through the downtown area are huge, apparently hastily constructed, eating and drinking establishments which are, basically, roof structures sheltering open-air drinking spaces. And talk about tee-shirt shops! Competition must be fierce as they were practically giving them away. We were looking for a sleeveless leather vest with a Harley Davidson emblem for our impending grandson but, alas, none were to be found.
We were ready to leave S. Dakota and wondering 'Where should we head now?' We had some plans to camp along the great Rails-to-trails bike paths that we had been on during our cross country bike trip in 2012 but not sure what else there was to entertain us while crossing the great plains. A bit of research into Minnesota attractions turned up the following can't-miss attractions [I am not making this up]. We could stop by the Spam Museum, see the largest statue of the Jolly Green Giant, wonder in amazement at the World's Largest Ball of Twine or wander through the House of Balls. Sign me up!
No road trip across eastern S. Dakota is complete without stopping in at Wall Drug. This attraction is a huge business in the town of Wall, SD in middle of the empty plains which exists for no apparent reason other than to be an un-apologetic tourist trap. Wall Drug has been enticing thirsty travelers on the I-90 interstate with offers of 'FREE ICE WATER' since 1931. The billboards advertising ' Full size dinosaur', ' An 11-ft Jackalope' and 'a 6-ft rabbit' start 40 or 50 miles from Wall in either direction. We counted no less than 65 billboards as we made our approach from the west.
It should be noted that several states, apparently, make a boast of homing the largest ball of twine. These states are all in the great plains. Driving through the area, I'm guessing that there is not a whole lot else to do and endlessly wrapping twine in a ball is as entertaining as anything else.
Onward to the Great Plains!
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