Yesterday was my last day in Minnesota for quite some time. Abby was helpful (as she was the last time I left) by taking a photo (at the right) of me and my rig, before leaving - Thanks for the photo & packing help, Abby! I left Minneapolis around 9:30 in the AM and started driving to Rapid City, SD. It wasn't until about 10pm that I entered the city. At least I have my TomTom to help guide me this time! Much easier to find my way around.
By the way, I believe I forgot to mention another part of this adventure... My parents heard that I was going to go West, and stay with my relatives in Oregon for a while. My grandpa lives about 30 min. from my aunt & uncle out there; well, he's not getting any younger, so they want to see him, too. Basically, I'm caravaning with my parents for a little while (left, with Rushmore in the background).
This means we're staying with family, friends, and relatives along the way quite a bit because they don't want to camp as much as I do. The photo to the right is my parents driving in front of me, trailering their scooter, driving into Chamberlain, SD. It was gorgeous, for at least a minute...
It was unfortunate that we drove through the badlands after the sun went down last night, but to make up for it, today was a really great day of biking around the black hills area. Before leaving around 1:30 (we're now in Mountain time which is an hour earlier than MN) this afternoon I planned out a route which is at the right. Riding time without any stops was something like 2 hours 2 minutes. Perfect.
The first stop was at the Pactola Resovoir which was pretty.
It wasn't too big of a deal to me, but I do like this self-portrait that I took while there... I like self-portraits.
Next, it had been a long time since I had last seen Crazy Horse, so I was quite interested in seeing what kind of progress had been made. There was a 20 minute introduction-ish film, though I wasn't at first excited to watch, it ended up being really interesting.
The Crazy Horse monument and its story are awesome. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend going. The people building it (mostly a family carrying on their father's project) refuse to use government money which means that it's completely supported only by people who are interested in it and they remain in complete control. So, that was the first stop. After that, I wanted to cut through Custer State Park which went straight into the Black Hills National Park and led to Rushmore next (didn't stop there but saw it from other locations anyway)... Simply incredible overall.
In the Black Hills National Park, there were some curves that were practically doubling-back on themselves, they were so tight, 15 mph. I guess they were called the Pigtail Bridges (left and right photos). There was another section of road called the Needles Highway which would have been cool to see, but there is only so much time in one day of biking an area. It was exhilarating, really, quite spectacular to be so close to everything on my motorcycle.
What a way to see the country up close and personal; I know, a bicycle or something would be even closer, but we all know how unathletic I am! Anyway, there was one buffalo right next to the road (I didn't slow down too much for him), tons of deer everywhere, a herd of goats at one point, and tons of other wildlife. Did I say exhilarating? Exhilarating.
The parks were beautiful. I can't wait for more along the way. It did get a little bit chilly, so I'll probably be sporting my chaps in the near future... Sweet...
Anyway, I'm finishing up my day with this little blog bit and a bit of work as well. I hope you have enjoyed my adventures as much as I have, here's one last photo for you to enjoy from today!
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