Day Five ~ Thursday June 30, 2005
Uncle Bill reports:
Day five brought sunshine and (sing hallelujah) very little wind. We left Scott's Bluff and heading for Alliance to see Carhenge. David was particularly interested as he wanted to compare it to the original. We climbed around, of course, for a little while, took some pictures and gave away kazoos. We met some nice folks from Kentucky who, it turns out, went to the same school where Moe teaches. Yet another 6 degrees of separation...
After Carhenge it was on to Hot Springs, South Dakota. Lunch was at a nice little Mexican restaurant. It's a nice little town with the usual crafts and art shops. I did see a very pretty Victorian house for sale on the main drag, but I suspect the commute would be a drag.
And then it was sightseeing time. Up through Custer State Park and Wind cave State Park. We saw buffalo, antelope and prairie dogs. A small herd of mules decided to wander down the road for a bit. One guy had a bit of a standoff with Moe, but, with careful negotiations it all worked out OK. We also got up to see Mt. Rushmore. We hit some really great bike roads, the Iron Mountain road being the best. Great curves and tunnels and the scenery is awesome.
I'd never seen Mt. Rushmore before and it was a thrill to be there. It's pretty awesome.
And then it was on to our final destination, Rapid City. We've got a couple of days of sightseeing and riding ahead of us before we split up and go our separate ways.
We got a call from Loren late in the evening and he is safely back in San Diego. 1300 miles in 23 hours. Kids, don't try that at home.