I didn't make it that far tonight, just to Rapid City.   I figured it'd be nice to have a short day though, and get started early tomorrow since I lose another hour.  

Today was a lot of fun (though I wish I'd thought to put the camera on the bike through Spearfish Canyon).  There were lots of very scenic roads (and sadly, the subsequent slow drivers).  Most of the ride was forested -- pine smells throughout.

Crossing into South Dakota

Spearfish Canyon (Hwy 14A)

When I was a little kid, I always loved the movie Calamity Jane. My mom and I would watch it -- and other musicals of questionable cheese factor -- all the time. In fact, when I auditioned for a singing role in my middle school's production of "Grease", I sang "I Just Blew In From The Windy City" ("we got more life in Deadwood City than in all of Illinois!"). So naturally, I had to stop in Deadwood to see the final resting places of James Butler Hickok and Martha Jane Burke.

Deadwood, SD

Wild Bill's grave

Calamity Jane's grave

I stopped for lunch at the Mt Rushmore Brewing Company in Hill City. I couldn't pass up local beer, but of course I was on the motorcycle, so the server creatively poured me one of their sampler glasses (essentially, a tall shot of beer). It was a very good amber, made better by an excellent spicy buffalo meat chili. The restaurant also had full cell coverage, allowing me to be a total nerd with my hiptop and highlighted map. Truly, my life gets no better than this.

After lunch, my first stop was at the Crazy Horse monument -- one of my main reasons for taking this route through South Dakota. I remembered visiting the monument with my parents in the mid-1980s, on one of our family road trips. My dad liked to stop at all of the historical markers and places of "significance" along the way -- I'm fairly certain we visited every place in eastern Montana where General Custer's horse drank from a stream or took a nap. At any rate, Crazy Horse was one of Dad's favorites.

I watched the video at the tourist center (Dad would be so proud) and wandered around the museum area for a little while. Crazy Horse's face hadn't been completed when we were there last, so it was stirring to see that blatant example of progress.

1/34 scale model (with the hillside in the background)

Crazy Horse Memorial

Mt Rushmore was different than I'd remembered. I remembered a gift shop with a window overlooking the monument, but it isn't set up like that anymore. It was starting to drizzle, and was getting quite warm, and I started to get frustrated from walking around trying to find the museum area of the monument. It really annoys me when it's incredibly easy to find a gift shop, but you need a map and compass to find anything historical (there's Dad talking again, I think).

My scavenging was worth the effort, though, as the museum was having a book signing that day. Don "Nick" Clifford had written a FAQ-type book about his experiences as a worker on Mt Rushmore and was there promoting. I bought a copy, which Mr Clifford cheerfully signed, and I got an unfortunately very backlit photo of the two of us together. Living history.

Mt Rushmore

Leaving Mt Rushmore, I took what is probably my favorite photo of me from the trip.

Mt Rushmore from Hwy 244

I had a great conversation with Robert at the Rapid City Best Western front desk tonight while I was uploading photos in the lobby.  We watched the Simpsons on the lobby TV, but he switched channels afterwards to the History Channel and we watched a show on bootleggers and moonshine.  The phone kept ringing, but in between, we got to talking politics and people in general.  He was very well-versed in current events and fun to talk to (though I always seem to stutter when talking to anyone obviously intelligent, making me feel like a bit of a troglodyte).

177 miles today; 1658 miles total.

Next Day --> June 2: Rapid City, SD - Worthington, MN