We were ambivalent about leaving Alta because we had settled into such a nice little routine but we were excited to continue exploring. We put it off as long as possible and left on June 2nd after lunch. This put us in a time crunch because we needed to get to Devils Tower on the 3rd by 11:00 am to meet our guide to go climbing. We had to go across the entire state of Wyoming and due to the state not having a great road system, there was no straight shot. Of course we did not leave until 1:30 pm so we were already behind the ball. This was not going to be a fun leisurely 4 hour day. We pulled into Buffalo Wyoming around 9:00 pm and spent the night but we still had 2 hours the next morning to make our climb. This meant no sleeping in, we were going to have to be up bright and early (7:00 am) so we could get ready and have breakfast before we hit the road. Buffalo is a cute western town with great architecture and the perfect breakfast diner. We sat at the counter and watched the big short-order cook sling pancakes, and eggs. After a hearty meal we jumped in the car with a minute to spare to get us to Devils Tower by 11:00 am. Putting the pedal to the metal we made it but upon arrival at the National Monument, we encountered some really nasty weather. As we expected, the guide denied us our climb for safety issues due to the rain and cold. We also found out that June is the month for many Indian rituals and most climbers agree not to climb on Devils Tower for the entire month. It was probably a good thing we did not climb; we did not need any curses passed onto us if we had climbed. Therefore, instead we entered the park and hiked the trail around the Tower and pretended we were doing a reconnaisance mission to find our route. It definitely would have been the most challenging climb we have ever done but we could have made it. We thought about waiting out the weather for a day but the forecast was not promising and the Tower needed a full 24 hours to dry out so we bid our farewell to the Tower and said it would have to wait til another day. Our first disappointment.
The drive to Deadwood South Dakota was pretty silent. We kept thinking about making the summit. Fortunately the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. I know what you are thinking-South Dakota beautiful, but it is. The scenic byway through Spearfish is well worth the detour. We can definitely understand why the Harley riders love this area. The windy roads, beautiful mountains, pine forests, and roaring rivers. Then all of sudden we came upon what looked like a movie set. The town of Deadwood is a revamped mining town made into the perfect "kitsch" area. Gambling became legal in this part of South Dakota to encourage tourism and every building in Deadwood was converted into an old timey casino. Not big stakes but as many penny slot machines as you can find. We initially just drove through the town heading for Sturgis. Little did we know that Sturgis is not a very happening town unless the Harley Davidson event is going on. In fact it is downright dreadful. We made a quick stop at the HD store and had a few beers at the local tavern. Unfortunately, South Dakota has not come into the 21st century and still allows smoking so we could not hang out at the bar for very long. It was getting late and we had to decide if we were going to stay in the po dunk town of Sturgis or head back to Deadwood. We flipped a coin and Deadwood won so we headed to the KOA just outside of town and got a "cabin", made our beds and headed to town for dinner and some good old fashioned fun. Upon arrival, we really hit a "dead" town. We went into the first restaurant and literally there was no one there. Every gaming station was empty and three quarters of the restaurant was empty, so we thought we needed to find some more action. Next stop was a sports bar-we thought had to be better-well. . . Fearing nothing was going to improve, we chose to stay and have some pizza and a few beers. At least with no one in the bar we did not have to worry about smoking. After dinner we tried our hand at a few slot machines but the fun was just not there so we headed back to the cabin and called it a night. Guess you can't force the fun!!
After a good night's sleep we rose to a beautiful and surprisingly warmer day. Our venture was to hit Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park. Again we chose to take the scenic route and again well worth it. The sad part is the pine forests have been hit with the bark beetle terribly. The State is very proactive in preventing the disease from spreading so they have cleared as much of the dead trees as possible. This unfortunately has exposed the emptiness of the area. Nonetheless, the rivers, and contours of the road are still enjoyable. Upon arrival at Mt Rushmore we were amazed by the development and park structures built up around the Monument. It is really a shrine to the area. We decided to take the free tour by the Park Ranger and learned all about the history of the monument and the Black Hills. We were throughly impressed and left with a new found appreciation for South Dakota!
The Ranger told us about the Iron Mountain Parkway which would take us down to Custer. It was named after a differnt monument that Borghum, the sculptor of Mt Rushmore, designed in Georgia. This drive is within the top 5 we have done to date. For a back road this was exceptionally planned. In the exact locations they removed an allotment of trees and as you rounded the corner you had a perfect line of vision to Mt Rushmore, even at 5-10 miles away. Also, the bridges were "pig-tailed" so they wound around themselves and were the old fashioned wooden and stone bridges. Roby was in heaven for the next 2 hours. This area was continuing to impress more and more. We hit Custer and familiarized ourselves with the town. Our goal was to ride some trails in Custer State Park. They marketed themselves as being as good as MOAB and we were going to find out since we were Slick Rock graduates. Unfortunately that day we were a bit late in getting into town so we were going to have to wait on the ride until the following day. The weather was cooperating so we decided to camp at the WELIKEIT campground. I think they tried to make it sound like an Indian name. The camphosts were a bit out of the Deliverance but very friendly. We chose to get a covered site because rain was forecasted. We parked at our site and decided we needed to get in a bike ride. We were jonsing for some exercise. One of the Custer State Park entrances was located near our campground and if you ride into it there is no fee, so we figured the five mile ride would be a good warmup for the trail we had picked out. For some reason, we keep forgetting that it is not flat in this area. We should have known better considering the area is called the Black "Hills". The five miles was completely uphill and riding a moutain bike on pavement is not very enjoyable. We kept taking the curves hoping the summit was there but unfortunately they were all "false summits" Finally we came upon the 1 mile sign-praying for some downhill or at least some flat ground, but to no avail-it was just another incline. Finally the park entrance arrived and we had this dilemna because it was a downhill into the park which then meant we had to ride uphill to get out. Should we go or just turn around and have a nice downhill ride home. I had to use the restroom so the decision was answered. We were going in. After the pit stop we hit a nice easy trail along the lake. We decided against the long steep trail not only because we were being wimps but the time was getting late and we did not want to run out of daylight. Other than one nice long uphill, we bombed it back to the campground. After dinner and some light reading we were ready for bed. The bike ride was exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, in picking our campsite we were over a quarter of a mile from the bathroom thus making my midnight run truly a run!! I would have just gone outside but after that bike ride I was not sure if I could hold myself up!!!
The next morning the weather was not cooperating and the week of miserable weather was truly upon us. This nixed our chance of testing out the trails on the other side of the park so we cannot testify as to the legitimacy of Custer's claim of magnificent trails. Another day! We did get in a quick hike to the Cathedral Spires which is another famous area for rock climbing. Just these incredible rock outcrops in the middle of nowhere sticking straight up. The gray skies and cold temperatures put us in a blue mood so we decided to just keep heading east. Made a quick stop in Rapid City to grab some groceries and proceeded toward Wall South Dakota. We had to see what that drug store was all about. You have to understand, South Dakota is famous for being the biggest "kitschy" state- Why do they have a Flinstone Park or a Jellystone Park, or the biggest Drug Store, or a fake gambling town. No one would go there otherwise. Well Wall South Dakota was the epitomy of tacky. Actually there is no purpose for this place to even exist and the restuarants nor the store would be missed if they were just removed from the State. But we had to go check it out for ourselves. We found a nice little cabin for $39. No camping tonight. It was pouring down rain the entire ride from Custer. After checking in we headed to the Drug Store and our five minute tour was plenty. As beautiful as South Dakota was, we were ready to be done with it.
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