Day 26 - GFRT

Out our window

After a couple light showers overnight we woke up at 6am refreshed and ready to get going. We headed out at 6:45am for the little town of Alva, 14 miles down the road. Not much to see so it was off to Hulett 10 miles away. At a roadside pullout we saw the largest oversized load we have ever encountered. See the previous photo. We got our first sighting of Devils Tower and we could see how the early settlers might have used it as a landmark in their travels. We pulled into Hulett at noon and spotted the local grocery store. We bought lunch and supplies for our campout at Devils Tower. We took lots of photos on the 10 mile gentle climb to the entrance and our KOA campground. We showered and did laundry before relaxing and enjoying the views from our campsite. At 8pm we walked to the KOA office to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind but after 20 minutes the bugs got so bad we left and headed back to the tent for shelter. We are going to ride the 3 miles to the tower and visitors center in the morning so it's off to the sleeping bag.

Devils Tower

An encounter at the Tower.

Oversized load

A load on the way to the tarsands in northern Canada.

Cool'n off

It was a hot one today so the hat coolers are being readied.

Day 25 - GFRT

Aladdin and the old general store

We spent the night in the Thunder Cove Inn out of the overnight rain. We hit the floor at 6am to pack and then to the lobby for breakfast. We visited with two fellows from Calgary, AB. who were touring the western states. Headed out at 8:30am with a ride through Deadwood and then a stop at Smith's grave. Just before the S.O.B. bar we met two local cyclists out for a morning ride. We visited with the couple for about 45 minutes about all things touring. We pulled into Wyatt's campground at 10:30am to check it out and decided it was too early to stop for the day. Off to Belle Fourche for lunch at Hardee's before heading toward the Wyoming stateline. We toured the Aladdin tipple just before a stop at the Aladdin General Store. After wondering around the old store for an hour or so, we had cooled down and were ready for a refreshing drink. We visited with the lady at the counter about the store and the locals. We heard lots of interesting stories. We asked if we could camp in the empty lot beside the store rather than ride 8 miles further to the forest campground and she said "sure, no problem". We pitched our tent and read in the shade until some local cyclists arrived at the store. They were training for a ride in Colorado in about a month. We visited with them until they loaded their bikes for the drive back to Rapid City. We settled in for a good night's sleep as it was very quite over night .

Old mine

Stopped at the Aladdin tipple for a self-guided walking tour and photos.

Moving on

Shortly after lunch we exited South Datota and entered Wyoming, our 4th state on the trike trip.

A shadetree

How many cows can you get under a tree?

It's all in the name

We were told to turn at the SOB bar and didn't quite understand.

From an earlier time period

We have seen many of these old homesteads but without some "TLC" they won't last forever.

Day 24 - GFRT

The cemetery

We took the trolley to the visitor center to catch a tour of the famous cemetery. The bus took us up the hill to a great overlook of Deadwood and the entrance to the cemetery. The tour guide told us all about the history of the town and the famous residents who lived here or just passed through. Some of the more famous are still resting here on a permanent basis. We walked through all the shops and only managed to buy one pair of earrings for Dee to replace the one's lost way back in Oshkosh, Nebraska. Dinner was a pulled pork sandwich followed by ice cream cones. We took the trolley back to the motel. Time to rest and get ready for tomorrow's ride.

Main Street, Deadwood

A view of our walkabout downtown on our tourist day, aka rest day.

A historical town

Up at 5:30am for a bathroom call and noticed that everything was wet, the results of a heavy overnight dew. With only 24 miles to Deadwood I crawled back into the sleeping bag until 7am. Laid everything out to dry in the morning sun and then fixed oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast. The campground owner had just purchased the business and wanted to talk about their plans for the upcoming camping season. With the warmth of the morning sun we packed up and departed at 8:30am. After just 3 miles we broke out the hat coolers as the temperature and humidity are rising fast. Stopped at the Candy Shack for a candy bar and a photo of the gaint rocker/glider. We made it another 3 miles and stopped for a bathroom break and a diet pepsi. We aren'tt exactly setting the world on fire this morning. The clouds are building to the north and it was only 10am. As we pulled into Boondocks the sprinkles started hitting the pavement so we looked for some kind of shelter for the trikes. With them somewhat dry we took in all the displays in the various buildings and then hit the diner for burger and fries while it poured by the bucketfulls. The rain lasted nearly three hours before we could splash our way out of the parking. The road spray was pretty bad and we got plenty wet. A long and slow climb up Strawberry Hill and then a fast ride into Deeadwood. We stopped at the Thunder Cove Inn and got a room for two nights so we could take in the history of the town tomorrow. The hot shower never felt so good. We took the local trolley to Main Street and spotted an establishment with food and music so we stepped right in and took a seat. We had burgers and fries and followed that up with peanut butter fudge ice cream. We took the trolley back to the motel and settled in for a little tv and book reading before turning out the lights.

A cloud burst

A great place to hangout during a three hour late morning downpour.

Just for me

Parking area just for us. Couldn't pass on the rocker photo.

Day 22 & 23 - GFRT

We have arrived

Our train ride wasn't until 10am so no hurry this morning. We visited with the campers nextdoor from Wisconsin who were going gold mining for a week. We wished them good luck and then packed up for the ride to Hill City. Our first stop was the bicycle shop across from the train station. I'm having my rear derailer adjusted while we are on the two hour tour. We saw deer, large rock formations and plenty of rural homesteads. The train went up the first half of the ride and then down into Keystone. Only about 30 minutes to switch the locomotive and take on water before we were underway to Hill City. Some beauitful scenery along the way plus a view of Harney Peak (7242') the highest point in South Dakota. The train made several unscheduled stops due to hot wheel bearings on our car. They applied some bearing oil and then tried it again. Having safely arrived at the station, we picked up our trikes from the bicycle shop and made our way to Subway before heading northeast out of town about 1pm. A long climb to get out of the valley and then a few hills before reaching Sheridan Lake for a break and a few photos. The next stop was Lake Pactola and a tour of the visitor center and the use of the restrooms. The last four miles to Whispering Pines Campground put our total for the day at 24 miles. I bought a 6-pack of ice cold beer to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. Boy, was it tasty and refreshing. Hot showers and laundry before we had dinner. Yesterday, While we were watching the thunderstorm to the north, this campground got 3 1/2 inches of hail. Glad we were not here. Just before sunset we heard a tom turkey calling. I wondered if he was lonely.

Will we, yes or no?

After leaving Hill City this sign warned of sheep ahead but we wouldn't see any today.

The return trip

The views from the tracks were beautiful and made you feel like you could be in the 1880s.

Getting ready

The Black Hills Central Railroad was preparing the locomotive for the morning run to Keystone and back.

A lazy buffalo

Hill City's art of choice for tourists like me to photograph.

Day 21 - GFRT

Rode the buffalo

A lazy morning as we had only twelve miles to the Oreville campground. At 9am we left the motel and rode around Custer to take in the sites and wonder through the stores that were open that early. A slow climb for six miles to the Crazy Horse Memorial and then six downhill miles to the campground. We set up our tent and had lunch before riding the Mickelson Trail five slow miles to Hill City. I rode the wooden buffalo and we made plans for tomorrow's train ride. The trikes just stopped at Dairy Queen on the way out town so cones were the choice for today. I just hate when that happens. We took the highway back to camp as the trail was wet and spongy and uphill in our direction of travel. Today was a short riding day as we cranked out just 24 miles. We read our books and watched a large thunderstorm to our north all evening, but no rain here.

In progress

The Crazy Horse rock carving has made progress since we were here five years ago. Trikes at the forest service campground.

Custer, but not the General

Dee ready to ride and a sign about the age of the town.

Day 20 - GFRT

In the Black Hills

Once again it was raining when we got up. We had the continental breakfast which consisted of bagels with peanut butter and orange juice. We were slow leaving the motel because we were waiting for the rain to stop and the roads to dry a little. We had planned to take Hwy 18 to Edgemont and ride the Mickelson Trail to Deadwood, however, we figured the limestone trail would be soft and muddy from the recent rains. We checked the map and decided Hwy 385 to Pringle would be a better choice. This route took us through Wind Cave National Park and the free roaming buffalo. At the park entrance the we stopped to put on our cold weather gear as the temperature was on a downward slide. We stopped at the park visitor center for the park stamp and then on down the road toward Pringle. We had lunch here and checked the trail and in fact it was soft and muddy. From Hot Springs to Pringle we climbed roughly 1,500 feet. The ride to Custer was slightly uphill with a nice downhill into town. Checked into the Black Hills Mile Hi Motel about 5:00pm after covering 32 very scenic miles. Dinner was from the Dairy Queen which was just across the street.

Old wagons

We saw these wagons just before Pringle where we had a large burger and fries for lunch.

Wind Cave National Park

We saw this big fellow just across the road from the park sign. What a treat.

Change of route

We decided to not ride the Mickelson Trail because it would be too soft from the recent rains.

Day 19 - GFRT

Sandstone buildings

We had rain showers overnight with the last one ending around 6am. We dried our tent and packed up after a breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana. We left at 7am with an uphill ride to the South Dakota state line nineteen miles to the north. After entering South Dakota there was road construction for about fifteen miles but the pavement was new and smooth. Traffic was very light so we had no problems getting though safely. Dee did have an accident but it was related to getting to a roadside pee spot. She didn't see a construction stringline and tripped on it and fell down in the roadbase. Scrapped up her palms and her knees, cut her eye brow and bent her glasses and bruised her hooter. She landed really hard but came up laughing and continued about her business. She said the worst part about the fall was she tore her tights. After a little cleanup we headed down the the road to Oelrichs for a rest break and to check Dee's condition under better conditions. Everything will heal in good time so we had a diet pepsi and some peanuts before heading on down the road. Great ride to the turnoff to Hot Springs where we made a restroom break and got a cold drink. Only five miles to the Best Value Motel where we stayed five years ago on our first trike trip. When we went to check in the owner remembered us and we had a great visit about our various trips. Dee's bruise is taking on a little color and should be real pretty in a couple of days. The town has lots of these sandstone buildings which were built around the 1900's. We had planned to meet some old friends but they have grandkid committments and we understood. It was raining as we headed out on a walk to find Chinese food. After traveling 55 miles today we hope for a sound sleep tonight.

Nothing has changed

On our 2009 trike trip we stopped here for hot chocolate and to warm our fingers and toes. Nothing had changed inside the store in five years.

To run or stay

We crossed into a new state today. Some of the antelope didn't want anything to do with us but this guy just stood still and watched us ride by.

Day 18 - GFRT

Tacos or a salad?

We were awake by 4:45am so we packed up and rode about one mile to McDonald's for breakfast. After hot drinks and a sauage mcmuffin we headed for Chadron at 5:30am. We rode this segment in our 2009 trike trip but then the weather was not good. The conditions on that ride were snow, cold and lots of headwinds so hopefully we will be able to enjoy the ride this time. At about 10:30am we pulled off the road and had a tuna and cracker lunch from our food bin. Back on the road to Pine Ridge where we made a photo stop. From here it was mostly a twelve mile downhill to Chadron. We saw pheasant and antelope both in the fields and along the road. What a great 55 mile ride today. Once in town we aired up all our tires and went to Wal-Mart for supplies. It was about one mile to the campground and a nice shower and a grassy campsite. The west wind dried our clothes in no time. Off to Taco John's for a beef taco salad, we needed some greens. We read outside until dark for the first time in a long time. Good night all.

Last stop in Nebraska

Eagle's Rest Campground just west of Chadron.