Ride Report 2019 Black Hills, Grand Teton Mtns., Rocky Mountain Ntl. Park

[DK Custom]

Mary and I have been looking forward to this trip for over 5 months!

Tomorrow we leave for the Black Hills!!!


This year we're doing a lot of things different from previous years.

You can see many of our previous years Ride Reports at this LINK.

Here are a few of the changes we've made this year:

1. Instead of one 40-50 day trip, we're making two different 20-25 day trips.

2. More riding in less days. See how we're saving $ & time at this LINK.

3. The first trip this year we're splitting our time between riding and visiting with Family (sans motorcycle) in Idaho & Wyoming.


We'll be riding around the Black Hills...Needles Highway, Mt. Rushmore, Custer National Park, Badlands, Deadwood, Devils Tower, Spearfish Canyon and more.

Then we're headed over to The Grand Teton Mountains.

After that we'll be spending a week with family in Idaho and Wyoming.

Wrapping it up, on the way home we're planning on doing some riding in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.


Mary still has the same camera, we've replaced the Drift video camera with a GoPro, and we've added a drone to the mix.

We will be posting photos (and hopefully videos) regularly during the trip.


We've loaded up all our groceries, Bike, tools, etc. and we're chomping at the bit to get on the road.

A few pics-

Loading the bike into our "Home" away from home. It sits in the removable wheel chock...





...then gets strapped down in all 4 corners...






...Ready to roll!






As you can see, even with the bike in this little trailer, we still have access to the fridge, bathroom, kitchen and bed.





This rig will get us to where we want to ride quickly, comfortably, & for less $. Once there, the bike is off-loaded and we have better accommodations than a motel, for a fraction of the cost.

Will post again once we're in the Black Hills riding!

Kevin

[DK Custom]

Kevin

[DK Custom]

We have been in the Black Hills for a couple of days....after meeting up with Bill in Souix Falls on Friday.

However, where we're camped (until Thursday morning) has no cell service/internet. So the updates on the Ride Report will be sparse until we get somewhere with service.

I will try and get started with the actual daily Ride Report tomorrow...we'll see.

Been having a great time, went to Deadwood & Spearfish today. Rode Spearfish Canyon twice!

We could move to where there is internet...but we are camped right next to a stream that leads into a small lake...all only about 30 yards from us.



Here's a photo-





Kevin

[Toejam503]

If you're looking for another highway to ride, in the hills, check out "Iron Mountain Road". It goes south out of Keystone SD. Lots of 10mph curves and hairpins. Vanocker Canyon Road and Nemo Road are good rides, too.

[DK Custom]

Originally Posted by Toejam503

If you're looking for another highway to ride, in the hills, check out "Iron Mountain Road". It goes south out of Keystone SD. Lots of 10mph curves and hairpins. Vanocker Canyon Road and Nemo Road are good rides, too.

Thanks man!

Kevin

[DK Custom]

Day 1-

We left late in the afternoon, headed up the 55.

First stop was at Boomland. We've been stopping here whenever we're in the area for close to 2 decades.

Mary likes the big selection of hot sauces and various canned items.



Leaving there we continued north, toward St. Louis. Thousands of acres of flooded farmland!

Late afternoon we ran into a "first" in Missouri. A dust storm! Cross-wind was 30-40 mph and everyone slowed down to 45-50, not just from the wind, but also the reduced visibility as dust was thick across the interstate.

No Photos, I was busy and Mary was nervous. lol

After getting clear of that, we found a rest area to spend the night...but not before Mary got the first cloud (and sunset) pic of the trip.





Day 2-

No photos for today. Not sure what we were thinking.

Ran thru Missouri and got into Iowa. Big chunks of 29 was closed due to flooding, so we took a different route. Ended of traveling thru many different country lanes to get north, around the flooding.

Finally ended up on 34. Even it was closed heading into Council Bluffs and Omaha!

Picked up the 29 north of Omaha and stopped in a rest area just outside of Sioux City for the night.


Day 3-

Headed to Sioux Falls and met Bill on his 2016 Tri Glide. Sharp ride.

We had a good visit, covering a variety of subjects. Super glad he made the trip down to meet us. Good people.

After our visit we headed west on the 90. Bill had recommended we stop at the Chamberlain Rest Area, just east of the Missouri River.

We did. 50 foot tall Native American Indian "Dignity" Statue there-





Inside the visitor center/rest area is a Lewis & Clark Museum. Very interesting. We spent about an hour going thru looking at all the exhibits and reading info on their expedition.







Leaving the rest area we crossed the Missouri River...






...and settled in for the long road across southern SD toward the Black Hills.






When we got to the Badlands we drove thru the park, but took very few photos...






...our plan was to stay on a bluff above the Badlands...






...we could have camped right here, and then taken the bike and ridden thru the Badlands the next day...






...but there was rain in the distance, headed our way. We did not want to get stuck here, 1 mile down a "road" that turns to mud when it rains.

Here's just a little taste of the mile dirt road to the bluffs...




...some of the ruts were much deeper, where folks before us had gotten stuck.

So, we headed to yet another Rest area for the night. Mile Marker 100. Got a great sleep.

Continued in next post.


Kevin

[DK Custom]

Day 4-

We left out of Mile Marker 100 and headed for our camp site, passing thru Rapid City, Sturgis, Deadwood, & Lead.





We got to where we're staying for a few days. Base Camp.

After setting up, took a little walk around...





...yep, it's cold, high 40's.


But we took a little ride around, checking out the immediate area...






...then got the drone up in the air for a bit different perspective...







...a little closer...






...and a bit closer still.




This is a great area. Quiet, no other folks around, surrounded by woods, and can hear the stream from our front door.

But there is no cell service, no internet, just us and nature.

Will post more as time allows. Been sitting in this parking lot, 6 miles from camp, long enough.


Kevin

[DK Custom]

Day 5-

Our first morning at "base camp" for the Hills.

What a great place. This pic was with morning dew still on the windshield...






...it was still in the upper 40's when we went for a little 15 mile putt around the local area. Here we are headed back to camp to get ready for a day out, exploring the roads between Cheyenne Crossing, Deadwood and Spearfish.







As we were getting ready to leave for the day, you can see the hail falling...







...Mary got a photo of me looking at the stuff, thinking, "WHAT is this, and why isn't it melting?" lol







On the road now. There are miles of nice sweepers (and some tighter curves) between camp and Lead...







...there is nothing like flying through roads like this, what a great place to ride...








..."look ma, no hands".







There is some road work going on around Lead & Deadwood...getting ready for the Sturgis rally.







Riding down the main drag in Deadwood. We parked and did a bit of walking around the shops...







...then headed back the way we came, toward Spearfish Canyon. Neither Mary nor I wanted to go into a hole in the side of a mountain, seems like riding a motorcycle is Much Safer than that. lol





Much more coming for today, will post as time permits.

Kevin

[sportsterpaul]

Thanks for posting these, Kevin, and what an idyllic spot to camp. Drone shots were unique. I think you have already validated your decision to take your home with you!

[Toejam503]

I've been to the SD Badlands a few times. Unless you get down into it and hike, everything looks pretty much the same. I guess in some spots, when you look North, you can see the ND Badlands, Haha. They call them a "Great Plains" state because you don't know if you are seeing 30 miles or 100 miles.
Spearfish canyon is 35mph thru the whole thing and has GREAT sweepers, same with Boulder Canyon and Vanocker canyon. ENJOY, ENJOY!