#9 It’s A Dry Heat

Welcome To The Pilot

From Mitchell to Spearfish the thundering cycles rumbled down every street and highway in brigades. We were still seeing and woefully hearing the continuation of Sturgis Bike Week.

On our way to Spearfish we stopped for gas at a Pilot. Big mistake!! Usually, Pilots are great places for RV’s to fuel up. This time though, I’m shocked that we got in and out of the station without seeing a fistfight. The RV’s and motorcycles were crooking, curving, batching and blocking the entrance and exit. One of our friends got behind a woman who would not move her car away from the gas tank. She was waiting for her pizza to be cooked. Pam and I felt very fortunate to leave there with gas and without a scratch. Sorry I didn’t take a picture.

Spearfish

It was a sigh of relief when we arrived at the Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort. Some people went for a drive (I just finished a ride so no ride for me), some hightailed it to Walmart for supplies and we went where we could shrug off the heat and stress of the day.

Some of our pals showed up at the Spearfish Brewing Company too. It was a perfect way to end a long day of driving.

2 Scenic Drives Today

Spearfish Scenic Loop

It was a beautiful early morning drive. We didn’t take the whole loop. We had an11:00 commitment but we drove as far as we could in the time available. We even took a couple small hikes.

Our first big sighting was up the loop a fair piece. Even by 9:30 in the morning there were plenty of cars stopped at the overlook to catch a glimpse of nature at its best. Welcome to Bridal Veil Falls.

Wish you could here the sound of cascading water gushing down the mountainside. It is breathtaking.

Our next stop included a short hike and a magnificent view. I’m sure you know that pictures cannot possibly capture the true beauty of nature but me and my android do the best we can to bring you a taste of what we are enjoying.

I love watching the water run briskly over the rocks on the mountainside. It is one of my favorite ways to relax. I could easily sit on one of those rocks all day and enjoy the serenity and sounds of the mountain stream or in this case the Spearfish River. Pam, pick me up later.

There was another spot called the Devils Bathtub. I couldn’t let that go without popping out for a look. I had just enough time to jump out of the truck, take a peek and hop back in before we had to scoot back to the campground, join the clan and start our trek to Custer State Park.

Head em up, move em out

We all left the campground together in assorted vehicles. In fact, Roger rode his Harley. We decided to drive the truck so we could take little Lucca with us. We knew it was going to be a drive in search of wildlife and it was cool enough, 70’s, that Lucca would be fine if we had to leave her in the truck.

We had a well thought out trip plan for our adventure through the Black Hills, Custer State Park and the Needles Highway. There were a couple important stops along the way. The best laid plans as they say… DETOUR! due to construction. Well golly, look where our detour took us. Well you can’t pass by a place like this without trying their samples.

Okay, so where the heck are we and where are we going? Pam looked over the map with Mike so we somewhat knew the all new travel plan. After a semi quick stop at the Naughty Wines/Sick N Twisted Brewery, we boarded our vehicles and off we went to… who knows. I hope Pam does. I know, I’m the navigator but at the moment, I’m the follower.

Welcome to Needles Road in the famous Custer State Park. It’s called Needles because… no idea really. Maybe it’s the small eye of the needle tunnels we are destined to pass through. Switchbacks and three tunnels make this road a destination. Above you see Dave and Susie’s jeep going through the first tunnel. We are next. Wait until you see the next two. Because the road is curvy, narrow and edges along the side of a mountain, Needles Road is a fun adventure for motorcyclists.

Tunnel 2 is up ahead but there seems to be a jam up to enter so we have to wait. As you noticed, the tunnels are quite narrow so it’s a one car at a time affair and traffic approaches from both sides.

Will our big honkin’ truck fit into that tunnel. This is no joke, the tunnel is narrow. Pam has to bring in the side mirrors to squeak our truck in and out. I had to hold in my stomach and Lucca curled into a ball and laid in the floorboard.

We made it through unscathed. Good driving Pam.

Unfortunately, tunnel 3 was a video that I wasn’t able to upload. Feel free to ask to see it next time we are together.

After our tunnel ventures, we continued on the Needles Road until we came to an overlook where we could stop and take a breather (and a beer for some of us) from tough driving. There was a nice little hike along side the road. We enjoyed the break and the diversion.

I know we said Lucca’s hiking privileges were revoked but it was a short hike and actually she did quite well. I think she was happy to get out of the truck and so were we.

The group decided to adjust our route and extend the ride to include a short loop on Iron Mountain Road. Actually, our friend Justin in Sarasota texted me to say we had to get on 16A and take that loop. I mentioned it to Dave, the lead jeep on today’s exploration, and he was up for it. We are so glad.

What the heck is the stoppage ahead?

A giant herd of buffalo in the road.

Buffalo hanging out in front of our truck. You want to get out and move them? No. Me neither.

Well hello handsome.

There were 100’s of buffalo or bison not sure, on both sides of the street, in the street and up close and personal. As I sat in the passenger seat with the window down waiting for the thundering herd (not thundering really, sauntering, sunbathing, relaxing, protesting cars) to clear a small path for us, in the corner of my eye I saw something. To this point, all the buffalo were in front of us. However, I turned my head to the right to look out my side window and two buffalo were standing right beside me. Oh Sh__!!! Up went the window.

After about 20 or 30 minutes of waiting, a couple brave or stupid motorcyclists moved ahead of our truck and started revving their engines. It took some heavy revving but eventually the buffalo moved just enough for us to get our truck through the herd. That was a lot of buffalo.

Not too long after the buffalo, we had another sighting.

A small herd of antelope was enjoying a rock filled swale. Most were enjoying it. There was one who thought the grass was greener and crossed the street.

And not to be dismissed due to their size, I must include this little guy. There were tons of them but they are sneaky. They pop up out of one hole, run and charge down into another. I had to be quick.

There is Mr or Mrs or Ms prairie dog sitting on top of the burrow mound.

Along the way, through Custer State Park we made one more stop. I’m not sure what town we were in but Dave remembered this place from the last time he was in the area so it became a destination.

I’m embarrassed to admit, Lucca did get an antler for the ride. But I am sure these are all antlers that were shed.

We left the campground at 11:00 in the morning, drove all day, stopped for dinner at a lodge outside of Deadwood, SD and arrived home around 9PM. It was a long day of driving but worth it. Pam and I saw more wildlife in one day than we did for the entire 2022 out west caravan through Yellowstone and several other National Parks.

Glacier National Park is our next and most anticipated stop. We will be there for five days so I hope you will come along…

I will leave you with one more stunning view of the day’s passage.