Exploring the Black Hills (part 3 of 3): Deadwood, Devil’s Tower and Sturgis

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