The weather was still quite nice in mid-September and I decided, rather last-minute, to take a couple of days off and ride to the Black Hills. I left on Friday the 13th. I opted to avoid I-90 and take a slightly northern route through Pierre, SD. This is Apol's Harley-Davidson in Raymond, which is along the way. My Road King was loaded with supplies and camping gear to make the trip comfortable as I knew I'd be in for a lot of miles in a short amount of time. I even dusted off the ol' windshield and threw it on to reduce fatigue and act as a bug shield.
I was originally thinking I'd camp in Pierre but I got there early enough and still felt good enough that I pressed on towards the Badlands. Here are a few shots of the prairie dog town just outside of the park.
I was able to get a tent site at the
Badlands KOA and set up before it got dark. I was comfy as my tent, air mattress, sleeping bag, and pillow all fit nicely on the Road King since I was travelling solo.
I then took a sunset ride through
Badlands National Park and had dinner at the Wagon Wheel in Interior.
Saturday morning, I packed up and headed through the rest of the Badlands Loop towards Wall.
I ran into a small group of bighorn sheep.
I stopped at
Wall Drug for a late breakfast.
Then I headed up towards Spearfish but stopped briefly in Sturgis.
Freakshow Customs had this pair of awesome Econoline vans out front.
It was vaguely familiar and nostalgic riding around Sturgis. I went to the rally 3 years in a row 2007-2009 but hadn't been back for bike week since.
I exited I-90 in Spearfish and headed down Spearfish Canyon. I saw the small group of mountain goats that live there.
Even though I've been to the Black Hills a lot, I wanted to find some new places this trip. I decided to try
Wonderland Cave. It was located at the end of a not-very-fun gravel road. I didn't think about the fact there was likely a guided tour schedule. I got there 40 minutes before the next tour but it ended up being a nice break.
The cave itself was pretty cool with a mix of formations. Getting to the bottom involved a 130-step staircase, which wasn't bad. Glad I brought a pair of sneakers so I didn't walk it all in boots.
Back on the surface, I headed towards my next camping spot,
Elk Mountain Campground in
Wind Cave National Park. I stopped in Hill City for an early dinner.
After setting up camp, I headed into Hot Springs for a snack. Along the way I saw this buffalo grazing at sunset, something I called a "South Dakota eclipse". Haha. On the way back to camp it was dark so I was going slow. I saw a pair of elk with huge sets of antlers near the road (no photo). It was cool and surprising to see them and I was glad they were not on the road.
Photos from Sunday and Monday are up next.
