The day dawned bright on us in Deadwood. After a crummy, “Continental” breakfast at the “Super 8″ in Deadwood, Jax and I were glad to get on the road again. Our change in plans had the five of us taking a detour over to visit Sturgis before heading off to Mt Rushmore. We were just too close to not ride over and visit Sturgis. Fortunately, it was the week before “Bike Week” so we were going to miss the crowds and wildness that can and does happen in Sturgis…

As we left town leading our small pack of bikes, Jax reminded me that we hadn’t had a chance to ride through Deadwood and get some pictures so we pulled everyone off to the side of the road and let our friends know that we were headed back for pictures but would try to find them in either Sturgis or Mt Rushmore and back around we went:

Welcome to Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood, as most of you know from the HBO show of the same name, was born from the Gold Rush days in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There’s a lot of history here and it’s another place where we’d love to spend a few days poking around. Here’s a look at the “Bullock Hotel”. Nice old buildings abound here in Deadwood.
Bullock Hotel - Deadwood, South Dakota
Here’s a look down the street:

Street in Deadwood, South Dakota

And here’s the Deadwood History and Information Center:

Deadwood History and Information Center - Deadwood, South Dakota

After viewing and shooting a few more of the sights we’re off to:

Sturgis, South Dakota

You guessed it – Sturgis, South Dakota. A place as steeped in motorcycle tradition as… as… well, as Harley Davidson! We rode our Yamahas into Sturgis with our heads held high (knowing full well that bike week wasn’t until next week!). We’re not saying that it gets wild during Bike Week here in Sturgis but check out one of the official sponsors:

Official sponsor at Sturgis

And, how would you like to get invited to the “Knuckle Saloon”?

Knuckle Saloon - Sturgis, South Dakota

And they probably don’t really need to call in troops so this image is probably just a coincidence!

Military truck - Sturgis, South Dakota

Anyway, after purchasing the required T-Shirts and patches we were off to new adventures; Mt Rushmore! Due to the (often misplaced) confidence our fellow travelers had in our TomTom GPS, Jax and I were again in the lead…

Mt Rushmore, South Dakota

Somehow, though, we managed to find the place and get paid and parked. Mt Rushmore was pretty crowded with tourists as might be expected, I suppose. And we’d all seen tons of photos and descriptions of the place. Still, it’s one of those places that you just have to experience for yourself and we’re glad we did. The sculptures were somehow both bigger and smaller than we’d expected. Sometimes, when you’ve heard so much about a place, it can seem less when you actually get there. Not so with Mt Rushmore. It looked exactly like we expected it would and the day was just beautiful. Of course we had to get the requisite pictures and then stop in at the gift shop for t-shirts and patches!

Jax and Zippo at Mt Rushmore, South Dakota

After lunch with our friends we finally parted ways. They were headed home and Jax and I were off to ride the Needles Highway and points south. The Needles Highway is one of the most beautiful and twistiest rides we’d hit yet on our trip. Beautiful rock formations, a road that pigtailed back over itself, and narrow tunnels through high rock walls abound on this highway. A definite must ride, in our book. Here’s the Zipsicle in front of one of the “Needles”.

Zipsicle at The Needles, South Dakota

People were actually “Bouldering” or climbing these rocks! Why don’t they choose a nice, safe, sport; like Motorcycling!!??

Jax and Zippo at Mt Rushmore, South Dakota

Where this car is we’re going to go, too… Looks like a very tight fit:

Car at The Needles, South Dakota

We figured it’d be best to follow this jeep – let them clear the way!

Following the Jepp at The Needles, South Dakota

Definitely not the place for our 35 foot motorhome but the bike fits in just fine…

The Zipsicle in the tunnel at The Needles, South Dakota

Many curves ahead and terrific scenery:

Scenery and curves at The Needles, South Dakota

And, more tunnels:

Another tunnel at The Needles, South Dakota

Then, the pigtail. A road sign like this one really captures your attention when you’re riding a bike!

Pigtail curve at The Needles, South Dakota

Yep, that one lane bridge is where we’ll be shortly:

Pigtail bridge at The Needles, South Dakota

 

Simply wonderful landscapes abound here and and this is an extremely fun motorcycle road. If you get the chance you really should ride this road (just leave your RV at
home, like we did!).

Wonderful landscapes at The Needles, South Dakota

As we were leaving The Needles Highway we got our first, few sprinkles of rain. Not enough to really wet the windshield or make us don our raingear but just a taste of what it might have been like had it really rained. We drove on down through Custer National Park where we saw a beaver cross the road, a turkey alongside of the road, as well as numerous antelope. We also saw our first Bison beside the road:

Bison in Custer National Park, South Dakota

From CNP we rode on down into Wind Caves National Park where we bought some more t-shirts and patches (UPS is our friend!).  We also hope to return and visit both of these parks in more detail…

Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

We rode south through the park and down into Nebraska. In Nebraska, we again turned west to Lusk, Wyoming where we spent the night in a great Best Western Motel. It was pretty nice. While we only rode 243 miles today we’d spent a lot of time stopped and looking and it was growing late and we were tired. As we finished registering, the lady behind the desk asked, “Can I get you each a cold bottle of water?” I thought Jax was going to leap over the desk and hug her! The owners of the motel had also recently installed a motorcycle wash station. If you get a chance to spend the night in Lusk, Wyoming we can highly recommend the Best Western there…

Ride safe,
Zippo and Jax