South Dakota

AUGUST 12, 2010 - DAY 8 - HILL CITY TO YANKTON

This day has been dreaded since it was planned as it was going to be a very long day of riding mileage-wise. There was no way we could fathom everything the day held.

We really enjoyed our stay at The Lodge at Palmer Gulch, just outside Hill City. The towels we extra soft, the rooms clean, the beds comfy, they had a free bike washing station (including towels) and all the people we met were friendly. If someone spoke with you once they would say hello when they saw you again. And everyone enjoyed telling their stories of the road and listening to yours. Case in point: this morning when Angel went out to load her bike the gentleman from Maryland was outside cleaning our windshields for us.

We were excited but dreading the long day and it was already warm at 9 a.m., as evidenced by the beads of sweat that began while loading our bikes. Included in the ride itself were visits to Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Wounded Knee and the city of Burke for a photo op. At least that was the initial plan.

Our first stop was only 4 miles after we began, to take a picture with the National Park sign for Rushmore. Then another few miles and we were there. It is just magnificent. The entire area is. There these rolling hills / mountains covered with pines and these rocks jutting out in spots, shining in the sunlight. And then you look up at one of the large rock formations and there are the faces of four of the most important men in our countries history.

As we pulled out the town of Keystone was only a mile or two away. Here was our third stop, for gas, in only 9 miles. It was filled with bikers at all the bar & grills and looked like a great place to hang out. Too bad we didn't know that before. After we got gas we loaded up on Gatorade and took off. Just after rounding the next corner we saw it, the H-D dealership that we hadn't known about either. There was that brief second of hesitation, wanting to stop, but instead I accelerated. No way I was taking off my helmet and gear again so soon.

Now I should explain here that Angel and I are wearing full riding gear despite the weather. We decided we were gone a long time covering a lot of miles and we wanted to stay as safe as possible. We had thought we would put on our shorty helmets and just wear tank tops all around the Sturgis area, but changed our minds. So we are not those cool looking bikers riding around in shorts, tank tops and tennies ~ there is no helmet law in South Dakota and most aren't wearing one. But we are not the only ones in full gear or full helmets. There is a little bit of everything everywhere. Including the guy today on the interstate wearing only cut offs and tennies.

As we approach Rapid City things aren't looking quite the way they did on the AAA map,so we pull over and check my Google Maps and Angel's Tom Tom. We were just one block from our turn and Angel needed a pit stop anyway. We were on Main Street and I was impressed with their statues on every corner. It appeared they were of U.S. Presidents and other historically important figures. It was really neat.

Before we mounted back up I checked our mileage. This was our fourth stop, fourth time to go through the hassle of taking of and putting on the helmet and jacket. No leaving them on as it was already hot and the closest thing to cool was when you were moving. We had gone all of 30 miles!

Then we hit the road. But once we head out toward the Badlands we see a sign telling us there is roadwork for 125 miles. Time for a stop along the shoulder for a chat. We have over 400 miles to ride, it is at least 100 degrees and we are wearing chaps, jackets, helmets and gloves. So we decide to skip the ride to Wounded Knee, Burke and across the southern portion of the state on Hwy 18. For the sake of time we opt for the Super Slab, I-90.

We take off a little sad that we have to skip things that were on our "to do" list again. Then we pass a sign that tells us we are entering the Badlands. But only a few minutes later we pass one saying that we are leaving. Without knowing it, we are both unhappy and thinking that the one thing we decided to still do was so brief but we would be stuck on this desolate, heat-seeking road for quite a while. We ride on, out in the middle of nowhere, occasionally passing or being passed by other bikers.

With only nine miles to the Interstate we really enter the park. You can tell by the line of bikes waiting to pay their entrance fee. Coming to the park entrance has taken us a bit by surprise but also grateful that there is more to it. But as soon as we enter we stop at the shop, as does everyone else. Air conditioning feels so good. But so many bikers were there that they had run out of cold water. Doesn't matter, it's wet.

When we finally head out we are amazed at the rock formations and find the area strangely beautiful. As we climb and round a corner we see a scenic pull out with a crowd of people, cameras out, standing at the edge. I glance down at the grassland they overlooked and saw a herd of bison. I knew we wanted to stop as we had been looking for them. But I was in the lead and just hoped Angel had seen them too and rode on. She told me later that she felt the same way and was telling herself "picture memory".

As we got out of the park and to the interstate there was a sign about road work. To be honest, there has yet to be a road, highway or interstate in any state that hasn't had road work. But we do have to say that the friendliest and best looking DOT worker is still the one that was out on Hwy 88 in California! But I digress. We grab the frontage road and head east, riding faster than the cars beside us on the interstate and without other cars on the road.

We stop in Kubota for fuel and food. It wasn't all that crowded inside the restaurant but we overheard the waitresses complaining about all the work due to all the bikers. Don't think they usually have much business except every August.
We plan our next gas stop in Chamberlain, 125 miles down the road, and that will leave us a little over 150 to Yankton for the night. It is already 3 p.m. when we pull away.

With the pitcher of water we drank with lunch we make a pit stop about half way to Chamberlain. All the bikes at the gas station are parked on the shade side and everyone is drinking lots of water. The clerk is from Yankton and tells us we still have a long ride ahead. We notice that the clock says 5:20 p.m. and realize that we have crossed another time zone, losing an hour. Before we can jump back on the bikes a SD Highway Patrol officer stops by and Angel asks if we should stay on the side road. He advises us to hit the interstate and comments that he is happy to see us wearing helmets. He claims the road is back open, but we hadn't known it was closed. He explains a couple of bikes went down and they weren't wearing helmets. I knew what that meant and Angel found out when she asked if everyone was ok. I think it was a bit shocking to her to suddenly realize there were no survivors.

When we arrive in Chamberlain to gas up I realize I no longer have my ATM / credit card. After searching everything a few times I give a call to the Happy Chef back in Kubota (thank you Droid and Google!). Sure enough they had found it on the floor when it fell out of my pocket. Thankfully I had some cash, rooms were already reserved with the card, and I know the card, expiration and security numbers by heart. The manager said he would mail me the card to my hotel next week in Pennsylvania. I figured that would be the easiest since we will be there a whole three days.

We haven't seen much more than farmland out here, but we did pass places like the Tractor Museum, the South Dakota Hall of Fame, the University of South Dakota and signs for the Corn Palace. While still on the road I have decided that despite only seeing a portion of the state, and with no disrespect meant to South Dakotans, I could skip everything east of Rapid City.

Back on the super slab we keep pushing on. We watch a beautiful deep orange sunset in our mirrors, then pull off at a roadside restaurant in the middle of nowhere-ville, yet again. The young girl working there was frazzled like the earlier waitresses due to the influx of customers. It was just about closing time but they let us eat, she also provided us a pitcher of water, and we gave her a $5 tip, which was about 35%.

When we walked outside we were attacked by mosquitoes. I couldn't get my gear on fast enough, despite the night heat, before being bitten. I could still scratch my arm through my jacket but the bites to my ear and butt were just something I would have to ignore.

As we looked at the night sky we could see a large cloud to the northeast, lighting up non-stop with lightning. We weren't nearly as concerned about rain as we were the lightning. We jumped on the super slab and headed east, trying to get to our turn off to head south before the storm did.

It was a race but we won. But as we headed south on Hwy 81 we found another small, two lane road with no street lights and very few cars. Once the road had a couple of switchbacks and when we faced east again we could see the lightning. We were happy to keep it in our mirrors rather than in front of us.

We finally arrived in Yankton at 11 p.m. We were thrilled to find our room had an outer door so we could ride up and unload. Then we moved the bikes back to the front doors and under the overhang to stay dry for when the storm arrived. We noticed a couple of small crickets in our room and figured they'd gotten there when we opened the outer door. But after getting showered and settled in we noticed a lot more - on the walls, lampshades, and piled in a corner. We checked our beds and they were clean. But I think it was the cicada flying over Angels head that really bothered us. Well, her more than me. As she swatted at it with her pillow I was just glad it was on her side of the room. Nice friend, huh?

Once she knocked it down and out I asked if she wanted to pack up and go to another hotel, away from this one. She looked at me as if I were insane. We decided to just sleep with the covers over our heads tonight to keep them off us. We were too tired to really do much more.

Today's stats: 13 hours and 420 miles