The drive from Denver to Hill City, South Dakota was, thankfully, uneventful. We traveled through part of Colorado, Wyoming, and, of course, South Dakota. The land varied a bit, but mostly was fairly empty, even the areas of high population are…well…pretty empty. It’s miles and miles of miles and miles.
My friend Sam says he used to live in the area and that there are some super views, but you generally don’t see them until you come right to the edge of the canyon, etc.
We ate at a great diner along the way. I’m going to brag a bit and say that my buddy Erich suggested Subway, I demurred. We ate at Deacons. If you are ever in Torrington, WY you should try it. Comfort food to be sure, but yum. A farmer having lunch chatted us up a bit and was a great guy, even though Erich and I are at best, outliers.
Then we moved on and came across this:
It seemed to be some sort of shrine to really cheap bikes. We looked and there wasn’t a quality bike among ’em. We stopped at a biker bar next door (the other kind of biker) and inquired, but their answer was mostly, “who cares?”
We moved on.
I wanted to stop at the Crazy Horse Memorial and so we did. Wow. It really is pretty amazing. It’s a tourist stop for sure, but well done. We got to see a bit of hoop dancing, had a retail opportunity or two, and saw this:
And then we were in Hill City.
Erich and I are sharing a room at the Harley Peak Inn. There’s only one bed and so we are sharing it. I’m was on the floor last night trying my camping sleeping stuff, tonight Erich will go for it. We would share the bed, we’ve no qualms about that, but since we sleep at different times, and as it happens, both like the same side of the bed, this seemed an easier compromise. Besides, if I get used the sleeping pad now, I’ll get some sleep the first night in the tent (this coming Sunday).
After a dinner at the Alpine restaurant, only two choices on the menu, one being a filet, we got ready for bed and hoped the weather would be nice this morning. It is. But there was a chance it might not be, this was the cloud formation over Hill City last night:
Lovely, but a wee bit frightening, eh?
Today we are up and ready to get picked up for a ride on the Michelson Trail…about 44 miles of it. Not a long ride, but it should be a good tune up for the coming week. Besides, I have to get used to the geometry of my ‘new’ bike. It’s great, but not what I rode 1725 miles since March 11th on to get ready for the fabulous adventure I’m on right now!
Slower, cheaper, less useful…