July 30, 2019

#177 Vail

The entire entry for Vail is about what wonderful skiing can be had in Vail.  Guess what?  I don't ski.  So, I went in the summer (on the 4th of July, actually) and it was hot, hot, hot.

Also, this is where I learned that altitude sickness is real.  A lesson that was reinforced in Aspen the next day.

vail

July 10, 2019

#176 Sturgis

"For one week every summer, the small town of Sturgis hosts the largest motorcycle rally in America... Main street is the place to be - every bike buff should check out the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame."

There is no way I'd actually go to "Sturgis".  I hate crowds and I hate noise; and according to my Airbnb hosts you can't actually go anywhere once the crows descends.  So, I went before the rally and counted the Motorcycle Museum and went to a couple of less flashy establishments in town.
sturgis

The museum also had this cool bike.  It was like a little game inside the not-so-exciting-for-me world of motorcycles.
canadabike

July 8, 2019

#175 Black Hills

"Named for the dense shade of their ponderosa pines, the Black Hills of South Dakota have for centuries been considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux, once the most powerful tribe in the west."

I drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway one night after dinner; Dances With Wolves was shot here.
spearfish

I took Iron Mountain to Mount Rushmore.  Mount Rushmore took 14 years to complete.  Washington's eyes are each 11 feet wide, and his nose is 26 feet long.  Lincoln's sports a mole that is 16 inches across.
rushmore

From Rushmore I visited Prairie Berry Winery.  They have a great selection of semi-sweet wines and free tastings of five. They also have a wonderful kitchen and a deck to enjoy.  Their sister brewery is just down the hill, but their ciders are not good. I had a delicious open faced chicken salad sandwich with a Caesar salad side.  
prairieberry

From lunch it was Crazy Horse Memorial, slowly taking shape in the granite, that memorializes the greatest Native American warrior chief.  Then it was down Needles Highway.  Needles is a truly awe-inspiring drive, but also terrifying.
crazyneedles 

From there, it was back to Custer State Park and its Wildlife Loop.  I had enough time to drive it both directions and was rewarded with a lot of bison sightings.
custer 


I ended the day with a Rainbow Alert
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July 6, 2019

#174 Badlands

"General Alfred Sully described it 'hell with the fires burned out,' and to the Lakota Sioux and 19th-century French trappers and explorers, it was the Mako Sica and "les mauvaises Terres" - the bad lands.  Frank Lloyd Wright wrote that 'what I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious other-where...'"


badlands

The Badlands are populated with bison and bighorn sheep; I got to see both. There was a little group of sheep down in the grassy area in the middle of a switchback.  I drove around the switchback to the parking area so I could take pictures of them from above.  When I finished and started walking back to my car I heard what sounded like rocks (like gravel) kind of falling down the cliff over my car.  I turned around and bam!  there were two little sheep up on the cliff.  One, of which was standing on top looking right at me.
badlandcritter

And last, but not least Wall Drug and a surprise stop to buy new tires!

I'll be honest, I hate shopping...in any form so Wall Drug was actually a nightmare.  But I did buy some really delicious fudge. And no, I didn't get a free glass of ice water.  Thanks, but I've got water in my car - "I like cold water, but not freezing cold water." 
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I'd also decided that I was going to buy some Black Hills gold while I was there.  I've loved since I saw Kelly Dayley's wedding ring and so to buy some while actually in the Black Hills was a must do.
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Also, the tires.  While i was in Oregon, my TPS came on and my front left tire needed a patch.  Right then I knew: I'd be buying tires sooner than later.  I started through the Badlands scenic loop, and I started on the far side (away from Wall, SD).  So when, not far in, my TPS pinged again, I got really nervous.  My gps said I was probably 30 miles away from a tire shop, so I high-tailed (and by high-tailed, it seemed like 30 hours) it to the first auto shop in Wall.  

The guy told me the patch was bad and that he didn't carry the right sized tires to replace them, but he also said it seemed like a slow leak, so he recommended that he re-fill the tire so I could go back and do my sight-seeing.  Then, come back on my way out of town and he'd fill it again to get me to a shop he recommended in Rapid City.  It was a little miracle, that I'm extremely grateful for.  
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After I got to Rapid City and got my tire changed, I was able to still do some Black Hills sight-seeing, and getting dinner at a fabulous little pizza place - where I met a great couple and ended up eating with them. 

All in all, what could have been a disastrous day, ended up being a pretty fantastic one.