Friday, Sep 10
Well - today (more like last night) was a bit of a crazy one. We made it back to Sheridan Saturday night about 8:30pm. By the time we were loaded up and heading out of town it was about 10:30pm. We could get a hotel and sleep and then drive back on Sat and early Sun - OR - we could do a three hour drive over to Spearfish SD, crash for a few hours, then do some riding around the Black Hills. Seeing more sights - unplanned for - a bonus!
Double bonus came in about Midnight somewhere in the desolate darkness - a bunch of things were stacked in our favor 1) NO city lights 2) no moon 3) no humidity 4) nice temps 5) we were here. We pulled over at an exit (I was going to say a remote exit - but in this area - each exit was remote) and gazed upward. THE STARS WERE FANTASTIC. Rich - filled. All the way down to the horizon - and they twinkle. Here we had cameras - and thought - do we even try - nope. One fantastic sunset - one fantastic star filled sky.
Clockwise loop
Just behind Mount Rushmore
We didn't stop at the visitors spot for Mt. Rushmore as it was a crazy parking lot. We drove on by. Pictures of the monument are below.
I think these were called the "pigtail bridges" due to their tight 360+ turns. In a short area you need to elevate and head off in a different direction - there were two or three of these right circular bridges. One at least incorporated a tunnel through rock.
Video
Mt. Rushmore Area, Roadside Wildlife
mt-rushmoore-and-animals-a-(320x240-500kbps).mpg
MPG, 14.7 MB, 3 min 20 sec
Click for a larger size (60KB)
The massive parking and visitors structure.
I don't recall it last time I was there (1993 heading out to Seattle with Tom)
Leaving the town of Custer - these are the clouds that faced us. I was fairly certain we would see rain on this grip - but nope - not but a few drops. [but now I recall - we did get some rain back at the Lewis & Clark National Forest - enough to pull the cameras from the handlebars and don the rain top - but it wasn't heavy].
In front of that pickup is what I call a "Motorcycle Sized" pine scent air freshener. They do work.
When I started the bike this morning I noticed a leak as it warmed up. It wasn't from any condensate coming from the exhaust - it was warm - and slippery. Water pump. Do we ride - or not. Well - it's not dripping much - we have two bikes - we have time - we have a car and trailer reasonably close - ride it is. At the half-way point / lunch stop on todays ride (a short ride anyway - only about 200 miles) I'll check / fill the system - only took about 2/3 of a quart. The main concern I had was tire slippage on just about every left turn - just how much slippery antifreeze is getting splashed back on the tire (turned out to be a non-event - there were some markings on the tire sidewall from the liquid but not near enough to cause concern). Fortunately it's not increasing in volume as the day progresses.
Everything is still pretty much in the spot I started with.
Click for a larger size (128KB)
Back at the hotel in Spearfish - bugs galore. Ready to trailer up and process some miles. Straight through from Spearfish SD to IL - we'll get home about 8 or 9am tomorrow morning.
