Month: September 2015

We woke up to another beautiful day at the cabin, packed up our gear for the eventual trip back home. 

  
Our itinerary for today involved riding through the Black Hills north on 385 toward Deadwood, SD. We rode into Hill City to The 1881 Bank Coffee House for two Americano coffees and bagels for fuel. Typical of the roads through the Black Hills, the route to Deadwood was scenic and filled with twists and turns. 

  
We arrived in Deadwood, SD, a typical Old West town, and the resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. 

   
   
Deadwood, SD was America’s most productive gold mine for over 100 years and today preserves the history of the town with gaming, lodging, dining and tourist attractions, but with a reverence to the 1800’s architecture. 

   
    
   
We had to spend some time at Jerry Greer’s Engineering, a custom fabricator for vintage Indian motorcycles. 

   
    
 
Mount Moriah Cemetery is a steep uphill walk from downtown, and we rode up to the limited parking, many of the spots are difficult to park a motorcycle due to the grade. There is a bus that takes people from the town to the cemetery as well. Once in the cemetery, we saw the graves of Will Bill Hickok (murdered in 1876), Calamity Jane (died in 1903) and Potato Creek Johnny (died in 1943). Calamity Jane was a prostitute, and performed in a Wild West show, and falsely claimed to be Wild Bill’s sweetheart, and her dying wish was to be buried next to Wild Bill, which is where she is today. 

   
    
 
After the cemetery, we rode on to see Devil’s Tower Monument in Wyoming. A beautiful ride with rolling hills, colors of red, yellow and green in the landscape. 

   
    
 
Looming in the distance, Devil’s Tower rises like a pillar from the earth. It is 1267 feet high, 1000 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 200 feet in diameter at the top. It was the first national monument declared by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Today, it is also a popular destination for rock climbers. 

   
    
   
We stopped in the little town of Hulett, WY for lunch of brisket and pulled pork BBQ. 

   
   
We headed north on Highway 112 toward Montana…

   
    
 
We stopped for gas in Alzada, MT, and were educated on the differences in taste and characteristics of pronghorns (American antelope) and whitetail. We drove past many herds of pronghorns, and suspect that there must be a lot of pronghorn steaks in freezers up here…

  
  
  We were tempted to keep riding north to explore more Montana, but our timeframe to get home was tight. We rode back through South Dakota and stopped briefly in the infamous town of Sturgis, SD for gas. 

   
    
 
We stayed on I90 to make as much time as possible…

   
 
We stopped by the South Dakota visitor’s center for a quick stretch, then with the sun setting behind us, found a motel in Kadoka for the night. The Black Hills were visually more than we expected, and we could have probably stayed another 3 days to discover all that the area has to offer. Hooha! J and M

   
 

We woke up to another beautiful morning at the cabin. The park is filled with cottontail bunnies, turkeys that forget that they are a delicacy to many humans. 

   
 
The horse trail was right beside the cabin, and the stables just a short walk away, so we were able to watch some trail riding early that morning. 

   
 
After breakfast, we decided to hike up the ridge near our cabin, a steep hike up, but a more gradual slope carried us down to meet one if the horse trails. 

   
 
With our gear locked up in the cabin and our bike lightened up, we headed out to ride the wildlife loop in Custer State Park first. We saw prairie dogs before turning onto Oak Draw Road, where we were told that we would see buffalo. 

  
We did see ONE (out of 1300) buffalo on Oak Draw Road… (We swear that it was the same buffalo- ‘Larry’- as our first day).  

 
We finished the Wildlife Loop and headed out toward 16A and Iron Mountain Rd: “17 miles, 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails, 3 tunnels, 2 splits and 4 presidents” 

   
   
We stopped at the Norbeck Overlook to snap another photo of Mount Rushmore after a series of switchbacks and 2 tunnels…

   
    
 
More amazing roads and another tunnel…

   
 
A stop for lunch in Keystone, SD at the Ruby House…

  
Then, we got back in the bike for some epic riding down 87 to Needles Highway.  

   
We stopped at an area where we could hike out for a better view…

   
    
   
A view of beautiful Sylvan Lake…

  
The next stop on the road is the Needle’s Eye where you have to get out and take pictures before heading through the narrow, one-lane tunnel…

   
    
    
    
   
Once through the tunnel, the elevation is over 6000 feet, with Harney Peak at 7242 feet to the left. The Cathedral Spires jut out of the Earth for a spectacular display as you ride past…

   
    
 
One more tunnel to travel through…

  
And a final park area to explore before heading back to the lodge for dinner. 

   
 
A dinner of back angus burger and buffalo steak tips with mushrooms and onions hit the spot after a long day of exploring. The fire and stars finished the night off right. Hooha! J & M

We woke up in our beautiful cabin to the rising sun. We were very happy with our choice of accommodations for our Black Hills explorations. firstly, Custer State Park is in the center of all there is to do in the Black Hills. the camping cabin we reserved was $50 per night, making our three nights less than most hotels. Our cabin had electricity, heat and air conditioning, but no wifi ( you have to use wifi at the lodge). The bathrooms and showers were close and extremely clean, and the laundromat, store and fining lodge were a short walk from the cabin. The cabin locked, so we felt comfortable locking up our things while we explored the Black Hills. Our first morning, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast before exploring the Black Hills. 

   
   
After breakfast and laundry, we headed out for our adventure! 

  
We stopped in Custer,SD for a stroll, coffee and a haircut for Jeffrey! 

   
   
Travel tip: always talk to the locals! Jeff’s hair stylist suggested we stop in Hill City and gave us a great suggestion for dinner! After his haircut, we got back on the road and headed for Crazy Horse. 

  
This monument is amazing. The sculptor began his work in 1948 after being commissioned to work on the monument by the Lakota elders. The project is supported by only private money (the sculptor felt that the government was not to be trusted, as evidenced by the way the Native People were treated) and the work is carried on by his children after his and his wife’s passing. The monument will be the world’s largest mountain carving, with the head of Crazy Horse alone being the size of Mount Rushmore. 

   
   
Next, it was off to Mount Rushmore! The heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln grace the top of the mountain face representing the first 150 years of America. 

   
    
   
After the monument, we headed to Hill City, SD to stroll through the town. We checked out the restaurant suggested to us by the hair stylist, and enjoyed the beautiful day. 

   
   
We got on the road, and travelled to Rapid City via Sheridan Lake Drive, a gorgeous route for the bike with picturesque views. 

   
 
Stopping in Rapid City, we went downtown and stopped by a local bike shop with a unique name…

  
…and we enjoyed the downtown ambiance… 

    
 
We left Rapid City and headed back to Hill City to have dinner at the Alpine Inn. It is a favorite of the locals… It only has three entrees: a 6oz and 11 oz filet minion and a vegetarian spatzele primavera, and only takes cash ( with fabulous prices!) There was a wait,  but after 30 minutes, we were enjoying a delicious dinner, followed by a great dessert list! 

   
 
A sunset ride home back to our cabin, a great fire, and a phenomenal starry night to behold! Hooha! Jeffrey and Margaret

We left Arlington, SD and headed west on highway 14.  

 
We passed through De Smet, SD, known as Little Town on the Prairie. The Ingalls’ family homestead is featured just off the highway. It features the house that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her books in, and is the oldest building in De Smet (1879). Other buildings include a replica of the Brewster School and the first school in De Smet.  

    
    
 
We continued on our journey, and came upon Huron, SD, which claims to be home of the largest pheasant… 

 
Farmland, grain elevators, cattle and grasslands created a peaceful motorcycle ride through the center of South Dakota. 

   
    
 
We stopped in Piere, SD, the state capital for a quick shot if their Capitol building.  

 
The day was beautiful!  

   
We stopped in Wall, SD to walk through the famous Wall Drug, and for a quick bite.

   
   
We arrived in Custer State Park just as the gate attendant was leaving. He pointed us in the direction toward our cabin at the Blue Bell Campground. We had a 17 mile drive along the wildlife loop, where we saw antelope (pronghorns), deer, prairie dogs and a single buffalo. 

   
   
We arrived at our cabin around 7:30 pm, and we had time to finish the evening with a walk to the Blue Bell Lodge for a delicious apple crisp and coffee. Three days to our destination… Hooha! J and M

  

  
We had a wonderful visit with our friends, enjoying a delicious breakfast and talking all things whitetail. (He is the author and creator of http://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com, check it out!). We left Coon Valley, and headed toward La Crosse, finding a wonderful Rustic road with some gorgeous scenery.

   
    
 
We drove through La Crosse, stopping to take a quick pic, then over the Mississippi to Minnesota.  

   
We travelled on Highway 90 to Rochester, and stopped for gas and costume change, with those looming black clouds. 

   
   
 
The sun came out when we landed in New Ulm. Passed by this house with full sized ceramic horses, chickens, and a tractor…

 
 The ride along Highway 14 was field after field of corn, and some soybeans. Every town had a huge grain elevator. It was surreal, driving on a motorcycle, contemplating the sheer volume of corn produced through this region. 
   
 
Highway 14 is the route to Walnut Grove, the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie)! We even drove over Plum Creek! 

   
   
Lake Benton, MN is the final town on 14 before South Dakota. It is considered the original wind power capital of the Midwest, with over 600 wind turbines scattered along the Buffalo Ridge.  

    
 
We made it to South Dakota!!!

  

  

We had a reservation in Arlington, SD at the Pheasant Motel and an amazing dinner at 1481 Grille. The local bison and lamb meatloaf was spectacular!!  

  

 

The restaurant was within walking distance to the motel, and it is always nice to get off the bike and move the legs! We had a nice walk after dinner, and looking forward to an early day tomorrow! Hooha! J and M  
 

  
It has been some time since our last blog post. Since our last adventure a year ago motorcycling around Lake Superior, we have been busy with other things. We did manage to sneak a quick trip to Michigan in the fall, followed by a trip to Florida to visit family, and another family trip to the Upper Penninsula this summer.

 Today, we got our biking muscles back, ready for another HooHa Adventure!! We started out traveling west along Highway 24 in Indiana. About an hour into the ride, the sky before us was black, and we could see lightning in the distance. We changed into rain gear and went north to dodge most of the storm.  

 
As we drove, we watched lightning touch down on the south side of the road, with perfectly blue skies to the north. The ten mile detour through Rensselaer was worth it!  

 
Other than a car with an identity crisis, the scenery along 24 and our detour was pretty much cornfields and soybean fields… 

   
We crossed the Illinois River in Peoria and found a place to get a quick bite. After lunch, we hopped on 74 and headed to Moline and the Great River Road.  

   
On the banks of the Mississippi! We followed the Great River Road on the Illinois side to Fulton, taking a break to see the Dutch Windmill.  

   
We crossed over to Clinton, Iowa to travel the Great River Road north on the Iowa side.  

    
 
The drive was fantastic for a motorcycle, lots of views, twists and turns.  

   
We arrived in Dubuque, IA to get gas and a small break to see some sights.  

    
 
We were staying with friends in Wisconsin, and instead of staying on the Great River Road to La Crosse, we got onto Highway 61, a beautiful rural stretch of Wisconsin passing rolling hills, corn fields and dairy farms. The road sign said “rough road” during a 17 mile stretch to Viroqua and you can feel every bump on a bike!!! 

 
We arrived at our destination in Coon Valley, WI around 6:30pm local time, putting 550 miles on the bike for our first day! Hooha! J and M