Took it pretty slow and easy today. Weather was isolated thunderstorms, which is totally different here than in CF. First real activity was to take our grasshopper riddled bikes to the carwash and blast those suckers off with the power wash. Back to our cabin due to an isolated rainstorm.
Wall Drug has evolved and it hasn’t taken millions and millions of years to do so. Now, they have 4 entrances along a long block. There are so many shops that you would need days to get through them all if you looked at everything. We started at the far end and shopped while it rained (again). Found some cool stores & some that equal the “crapalogs” I get at Christmas time. Of course, you can’t buy much when you’re on the bikes cuz there isn’t much room to pack (picture Dave smiling). We ended up at Badlands Bar for a beer and some awesome pizza, which gave us the energy to go back to the cabin and take another rest/nap/read.
Evening took us to town for a look-see around town, which is smaller than Readlyn and half trailer park. I suppose some of the people here are just here for tourist season work. We had an Aussie guy selling cowboy boots, a Russian waitress, Italian waiter….
Watched another big storm roll in from the northwest at dusk from our front porch. While Dave was trying to move his bike to a better place in case of hail, I had a grasshopper jump up inside my pants leg up to my knee and freak me out. Dave hasn’t seen me hop around like that before. Ah, nature.
Day Four: 50 mile wind
Fifty miles from Wall Drug to Rapid City on Hwy 90, which is really the only route choice you have that is direct. “I suppose the Badlands have something to do with that,” says Dave.
Wind that made us ride down the road at this angle: //. Wind that lifts the helmet off your head and practically chokes you by the chinstrap. Wind that changes it’s mind: north – no – south; but a steady crosswind to keep you on your toes. Wind that blows your mouth open making it pretty hard to breathe. Wind that makes you work and isn’t fun at all….but we only had to endure 45 minutes. At least we weren’t being pelted by grasshoppers. Hehe
Dave says:
The folks at Black Hills Harley in Rapid City convinced us that the winds weren’t nearly so bad in the hills, so we ventured up Hwy 16 towards Rushmore. We chugged up the twisty road towards the monument and the ride was beautiful. Cool, bright sunshine, fresh air, winding through the Black Hills. Man.
The first thing I saw on the mountain was Washington’s face through the trees – took my breath clean away. We did the touristy thing – took lots of pictures, watched a movie in the visitor’s center about the building of the monument, ate some ice cream and just gawked at the four men on the mountain. It is truly awesome to see with your own eyes.
People come here from all over the world. I was surprised by the number of foreign tongues I heard. Kids come from overseas to work at the park and the souvenir shops too. Lots of them. The British kid selling western wear at Wall Drug. The little Russian girl waiting tables at the Badlands Bar, the two kids making ice cream cones at Mt. Rushmore – Italian? Bosnian? Couldn’t tell for sure…
We motored over to the Crazy Horse monument-in-progress. It’s only 17 miles from Mt Rushmore and is awesome in its’ own right. This thing is HUGE. It’s been under construction since 1948 and probably won’t be finished for another 30 years.
Here is Dave: "I'm squishing his head..."
I really didn't have much knowledge on The Crazy Horse Memorial until this day. This is one of the coolest sites I've ever seen with Native American artifacts from all over the country. bead work, quill work, chief headdresses, eagle feathers, bear claws, etc. Another fact is that this is a memorial of The People...not the government. This monument is NOT federally funded but has been carved with donations from various sources, including private citizens. They say they will never accept federal funds, even though it's slower going. I highly recommend this day to everyone! -Lo
