(Kim's Perspective)
We woke up 5:45 this morning so we could hitch up and get an early start. We were glad the Sitts finally made it up in time to see and share in the sunrise experience with us. They like to do this bizarre thing called "re-lax-ing" on their vacations. I'll have to Google that word later. :P
After a few last buffalo pics...
...we
were on the road by 7:10 and made our way out of Badlands and on our
way to Custer State Park. The drive was short and leisurely as we
headed down 44 to 79
and finally to 36 into the park.
I wanted to camp at Blue Bell campground since we had previously stayed at Game Lodge on our trip across the country in 2010, but there were slim pickins' at Blue Bell so we headed back to Game Lodge where there were plenty of available sites. We dumped our tanks, filled our water tank, unhitched, and got ready for a MC ride.
Bill had been in contact with Mike, a fellow STOer who lives in Rapid City and who graciously agreed to take us on a tour of the area. Mike arrived at our campsite as we were sucking down a quick lunch and proceeded to pull out his map and give us a little preview of what we would be doing for the day. Gravel roads and double track that leads back to caves and sand mines? Uh...this is going to be cool. :) We left at noon and headed through Custer and as soon as we were out of town, we jumped on the county dirt and gravel roads and took off. Understand this....Mike is on a KTM Adventure bike. We are on Yamaha XT250s which put out a whopping 19 horsepower. Needless to say, acceleration takes some time, so getting too far behind puts you at a severe disadvantage when trying to catch up again. That and the fact that I'm apparently a total sissy or Mike is a nut job for riding THAT bike on some of those trails. I think I may have pointed out to him that he's a nut job in case he wasn't aware. Seriously though, dude's either got some skills or lacks good sense. I'm thinking a combination of the two with a heavy emphasis on impressive off-road skills. :)
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| The Sitts enjoying a sunrise in BNP |
 | ||
| In case you didn't know....this is what HAPPY looks like. |
After a few last buffalo pics... |
| "Kitteh Stalks Tatanka" - Lane's new American Indian name. :) |
I wanted to camp at Blue Bell campground since we had previously stayed at Game Lodge on our trip across the country in 2010, but there were slim pickins' at Blue Bell so we headed back to Game Lodge where there were plenty of available sites. We dumped our tanks, filled our water tank, unhitched, and got ready for a MC ride.
Bill had been in contact with Mike, a fellow STOer who lives in Rapid City and who graciously agreed to take us on a tour of the area. Mike arrived at our campsite as we were sucking down a quick lunch and proceeded to pull out his map and give us a little preview of what we would be doing for the day. Gravel roads and double track that leads back to caves and sand mines? Uh...this is going to be cool. :) We left at noon and headed through Custer and as soon as we were out of town, we jumped on the county dirt and gravel roads and took off. Understand this....Mike is on a KTM Adventure bike. We are on Yamaha XT250s which put out a whopping 19 horsepower. Needless to say, acceleration takes some time, so getting too far behind puts you at a severe disadvantage when trying to catch up again. That and the fact that I'm apparently a total sissy or Mike is a nut job for riding THAT bike on some of those trails. I think I may have pointed out to him that he's a nut job in case he wasn't aware. Seriously though, dude's either got some skills or lacks good sense. I'm thinking a combination of the two with a heavy emphasis on impressive off-road skills. :)
The weather was largely uncooperative and we got nailed pretty good with rain throughout the ride. The temps also dropped from the 70s to the 40s and made for some additional unpleasant riding. After spending quite some time weaving our way along county roads through a large burn area (apparently about 80,000 acres) and scaring cows off the roads (ah...I love seeing free range cattle....they're so cute and....mmmm....tasty), we turned onto a double track 4x4 trail and headed to a cave. The rain had turned the trail into a slippery mess. I was shocked Mike was able to get his bike anywhere. We had some short little "climbs" (for lack of a better word) but there was only one that was especially nasty that gave the KTM some trouble. Beast that it is (about 600 pounds wet) with hybrid-not-designed-for-mud tires made for some entertaining maneuverings. After a few attempts, Mike got through the slippery-as-snot slope and had us on our way to the cave. Being relatively new at the whole off-roading thing, I was challenged more than I care to admit. I hate feeling like I'm a brand new rider again, but 20 years of street riding does NOT translate to off-road riding AT ALL, so for all intents and purposes, I'm pretty much a newbie again. Grrrr. Unfortunately, riding off-road does not often allow for quaint little photo opportunities, so I rarely have any good pics of our off-roading adventures. These will have to do....
Oh, right....back to the cave. It was cool. We had to shimmy down backwards into the hole where there was a 10 foot ladder waiting for us. We didn't have our awesome tactical flashlights or even headlamps with us, so we had to rely on Mike's light to see where we were going which, when in the pitch dark, is harder than one would imagine. I was able to capture a few shots with my phone...
...and, after crawling out into the daylight (huh, who knew overcast skies were so bright?!) we were soon on our way again. The trip down was infinitely more challenging for me than the trip up. Let's just say gravity was the victor on approximately two occasions. :) As I've said before, those little bikes are awfully sturdy, and I was able to put it back in its appropriate (i.e. upright!) position and it was good to go - no damage at all.
The weather started to clear for us and the sun started chasing off the storm clouds and warming us up to a tolerable temperature. We pulled over to let Bill dry out his shirt and we all basked in the warmth of the sun for a bit.
 |
| Mike's Trusty Steed |
We rode to the sand mines and Bill and Mike headed up the short ascent to the mine entrance. I had had enough rocky climbs for one day, so I opted to park my bike at a grassy area at the bottom of the hill and started the walk uphill. Bill came back for me...without his helmet....which I gently scolded him for with a "where's your helmet?" rhetorical/nagging type question. A sweet gesture no doubt, but I declined his offer for a ride to the top and just hoofed it the rest of the way.
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| O'Hara's Taxi Service |
...and headed back down the hill. Me on two legs and Mike and Bill on two wheels.
At the bottom, I geared up and we headed back the way we came.
The last stop of the day was a U.S.F.S. fire tower. The F.S. employees who work in the tower apparently have all the necessities - bed, stove, fridge, microwave, heat.
The one thing they seem to lack is human companionship....which Bill and I quickly concluded when we attempted to wrap up our conversation and be on our way. Mike had managed to escape before the Vietnam War stories started. You can't just diss a veteran but we also knew Mike needed to get back home so we slowly inched our way towards the door and quickly said goodbye.
We followed Mike along the county roads and finally inched out on pavement outside of Custer where we said our goodbyes. It was really nice having someone to show us around and it was particularly cool that he took time away from his family on a holiday to do it. Another positive STNO experience. ;)
Bill and I drove back and got to the campground around 6pm. The Sitts stopped over shortly after we arrived and we chatted for a bit about our days. They had spent their afternoon at Mt. Rushmore and had returned an hour or so before we did. We were both freezing cold (the weather had turned from warm and sunny back to cold and miserable) so Shele hooked us up with some hot chocolate. Nom. We ate dinner and then took hot showers. The Sitts had a fire at their site and Bill went over for a bit while I worked on securing reservations at RMNP and Rifle Gap. Normally, I'm not a fan of making reservations, but RMNP had limited space and with the upcoming weekend, I figured it was best to get reservations at Rifle Gap, too. The internet connection was painfully slow and, before I knew it, Bill was back and ready for bed. I apologized to Shele for missing the campfire, but I think everyone was happy that we had reservations and wouldn't have to take time to hunt for sites at our next two destinations.
We followed Mike along the county roads and finally inched out on pavement outside of Custer where we said our goodbyes. It was really nice having someone to show us around and it was particularly cool that he took time away from his family on a holiday to do it. Another positive ST
Bill and I drove back and got to the campground around 6pm. The Sitts stopped over shortly after we arrived and we chatted for a bit about our days. They had spent their afternoon at Mt. Rushmore and had returned an hour or so before we did. We were both freezing cold (the weather had turned from warm and sunny back to cold and miserable) so Shele hooked us up with some hot chocolate. Nom. We ate dinner and then took hot showers. The Sitts had a fire at their site and Bill went over for a bit while I worked on securing reservations at RMNP and Rifle Gap. Normally, I'm not a fan of making reservations, but RMNP had limited space and with the upcoming weekend, I figured it was best to get reservations at Rifle Gap, too. The internet connection was painfully slow and, before I knew it, Bill was back and ready for bed. I apologized to Shele for missing the campfire, but I think everyone was happy that we had reservations and wouldn't have to take time to hunt for sites at our next two destinations.
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