Sunday, June 9th, 2013
It was cloudy and cool ( 14 deg C or 57 F for my metrically challenged friends ) when I left Chamberlain but after an hour it became sunny, windy and warm. There were severe wind gusts and although the bike handled them very well, I had to lean down to keep myself from being blown off of it.
I made good use of another time change an hour west of Chamberlain because I had a lot of sight-seeing planned.
By 12:30, I had reached the Badlands of South Dakota and I spent several hours riding through the Badlands and stopping to take pictures. The Badlands are aptly described in Wikipedia as ” sharply buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest undisturbed grass prairie in the United States “. They are very interesting.
After leaving the Badlands, I rode through Rapid City to Mount Rushmore. I hiked the trail in front of the mountain and I asked to see the Hidden Hall of Records built into the mountain but I was told that it was not open to the public. The detail in the carvings are very impressive and they depict 4 people. Without looking it up, who knows their American history and can tell me the names of the 4 men depicted on Mount Rushmore?
I left Mount Rushmore and rode to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It isn’t finished but I was very impressed by the scope and dedication of the people to the memorial.
I then topped off my day by riding through the twisting mountain roads which included numerous hairpin and 270 degree turns that made for a challenging and interesting ride.
By this time it was very late, so I opted to call it a day and find a room in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Ralf Hamm 