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.