We spent a good deal of time in the Sturgis area; as it is centrally located to lots of scenic gems. The town itself in late May early June was almost uninhabited and to walk around the deserted downtown on Memorial Day, (knowing what it looks like from the news during “bike-week”) made us immediately realize how this area LIVES for the yearly Sturgis Bike Rally. Karl kept commenting on how they survive on literally three weeks of business. Later in the month of June it got a wee bit busier - not quite a ghost town, but some of the more prominent businesses, especially downtown hotels and bars, remained unopened until “the season”. I remembered swearing at the TV in August of 2020 during the pandemic with 462,000 (mostly unmasked) wahoos were all crowded together in the bars and shops and the streets and I couldn't believe the Governor allowed that to happen. But when we saw the desolation in the town, I understood it a LITTLE bit more why they were willing to risk their physical survival for their fiscal survival. FYI they are expecting about 800,000 -1,000,000 people this year (especially if the Canadian border opens up). Yep, definitely couldn't pay me enough money to be 'round these parts for that event!! Oh, I must note at this point that S.Dakota (and a lot of the neighboring states) do not require motorcycle riders to wear helmets...I literally cringe when I see them drive by. I am happy when I see the very few helmeted riders and am glad that they are not influenced by the majority into changing their safety habits.
One of our priority day trips on our agenda was to Custer State Park. In the morning we started our day out at Sylvan Lake which is on the way to Custer. It's a beautiful lake with an incredibly scenic walking path around it (which actually requires some climbing as well). Our buddy at Chadron State Park had told us it was a must-do, and other people along our travels had mentioned it as well. We got there early so that Penny wouldn't get overheated. It was a truly beautiful walk and we were only too happy to oblige our pup with some rest stops along the way because we were able to truly take it all in! (And if truth be told - after the climbing up the boulders in the heat I used Penny as an excuse to rest!) As we returned to the parking lot we were struck by how many different state license plates we were seeing. Of course I didn’t take any notes but there were LOTS more different states than we had seen yet; definite evidence that this may have been a scenic gem, but not a hidden gem! So after we all chugged down some water to rehydrate, we were off to Custer State Park.
Despite all the natural beauty we had seen, I was yet to lay my eyes on any wildlife and I was starting to pout! As we drove around I saw a little fawn poke its head out onto the road - but, uh, even Massachusetts has lots of deer...(just sayin')! The scenery throughout the Park was lovely, and when we turned onto the Wildlife Loop Rd we were almost instantly rewarded... BUFFALO!!!!!! (woot woot!!!) Throughout the park there are all sorts of signs to: stay in your car, that traffic MUST yield to animals, and instructions not to feed the animals. We immediately saw why! A large herd of buffalo were munching on the grass near the road and meandered (slowly) from one side to the other, causing a back up of automobiles in both directions. One hairy bull was extremely interested in cleaning the car in front of us with his tongue and was quite thorough in the process!! I included a couple of pics of these big awesome beasts and also a video (make sure you have your volume on). Some of the mountainous curves and switchbacks in the Park were ALMOST as jaw-dropping as the scenery and I was beyond grateful that Karl was driving...YIKES!!!!! On our way out of the Wildlife Loop we came across a bunch of wild burrows. At first I saw a few trotting towards the road up ahead, but then I saw why - some idiot lady was standing outside her car with a carrot feeding them! Everyone who knows me, which is all (or most) of you if you are reading this blog, would've been proud that I didn't yell out to her and swear like a truck driver at her idiocy - but believe you me, it was NOT because I didn't want to or that she didn't deserve it, but I was being sensitive of the cute burrows and didn't want to scare them off (as my loud mouth definitely would have)!
And then we drove up Needles Highway. It is famous for it's curvy windy roads that are closely surrounded by needle-like granite formations that seemingly pierce the sky. It, like so many other things in the Black Hills, was awe-inspiring. We drove through the Needles Eye Tunnel (which was WAY COOL!). If we hadn't watched a You Tube video the day before I don't think I would've been able to let Karl drive through it without tackling the truck keys from him and begging him to turn around! But we fit through this very small one lane section of road that passes right through granite, and the views were worth it! We pulled over and got out at one overlook to TRY to capture the wonder of it with photos but we were again unable to do the beauty and the wonderment of it all any justice. As we walked back to the truck Penny stuck her head out of the window and was wagging her tail excitedly at us. Karl spoke the words out loud that she seemed to be saying "It's about time you came back - what were you doing out there without me???!"...to which he then replied to her: "Very little Ruffie, VERY little..." Truer words were never spoken.
We truly are focusing this trip all around our Penny. We time and plot our walks around the intensity of sun and her mobility that day (as our girl is getting arthritic in her old age). And we chose our tourist activities and eating plans based on whether or not Penny can come. Now that's it's getting really hot we don't feel comfortable leaving her in the air conditioned trailer for very long because although she would most likely sleep the whole time, (after getting over the shock and disappointment that we had left her), we couldn't live with the "what if the air conditioning died" scenario... We don't mind leaving her for a little bit - like we did for the Blues Stomp & Romp Festival at our campground. But there we were able to walk back to check that the AC was still going, and she was then able to join us at night for the evening outdoor concert. So anyway, when you think we are being slouches for not going somewhere or climbing some mountain - we are not slouches, we just love our dog!
OK, other memorable drives included the Spearfish Scenic Byway - which we drove a few times to not only get from one place to another, but to enjoy some walking trails and view some waterfalls. We also bopped around a little in Hill City and Keystone etc...because FYI there is LOTS to do in South Dakota!!!
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