We didn't have our alarm set. I woke up about 6:45. Jon woke up when I started moving, but crawled back in bed for a few minutes after his rough night. He was sick until around 2 AM when he finally was able to settle down and fall asleep. I was so wiped out that I didn't even notice his numerous trips to the bathroom before he was able to snooze.
I started to put my stuff together, but was taking my time. We were flipping through the channels and found the movie "My Girl" which I hadn't seen in at least 20 years. We watched for a while, but because it's a sad movie I was having trouble. Ever since I lost my parents I don't handle emotional situations very well. I decided to head down to the lobby and partake of the continental breakfast.
The breakfast wasn't fancy. Some toaster waffles, english muffins and coffee. I hadn't had an english muffin with butter in a long time and it was especially delicious.
Just as had happened on my stay back in 2012, outside the lobby were a couple custom cars. There was a 1970 Barracuda, and a 57 Chevy. I'm guessing the same car show was in town this weekend and these cars were part of it. I didn't have my camera with me when I came down for breakfast, and unfortunately when I came back down to load the bike they were gone so I didn't get any pictures.
I went back to the room and finished packing. We loaded our bikes and then checked out of the hotel, ready to hit the road a 9 AM. It was kind of nice not having to rush to be on the road this morning. Jon wanted to be home at a reasonable time, but we only had 430 miles ahead of us today and even though we were going to lose an hour due to the time zone change, it wouldn't be too difficult to be back in Sioux Falls by supper time.
Our first order of business was to ride to Sturgis, SD, home of the biggest motorcycle rally in the world. We were a month late for the rally. Our main reason to go there was to visit the Harley dealer so Jon could get a chip for his book.
Main street Sturgis was a lot quieter this morning than I'd seen it in the past. During the rally it's so packed that it's near impossible to ride down this street. That doesn't stop people from trying, though.
The Sturgis Harley store didn't have much for motorcycle inventory, but did stock some parts and accessories. Mostly just clothes. Jon spoke to the parts guy about a tour pack for the back of his bike. I drank a cup of coffee and browsed. Jon found a throttle rocker similar to mine and decided to purchase it and give it a try. The store was out of chips, though, so Jon got put on the waiting list to be notified when they came back in stock and he could have one mailed to him.
Our next stop was to be Rapid City. Rather than taking the most direct route, which would be the interstate, we decided to ride the back roads. It was a slower ride but much more interesting.
As luck would have it, we found Nemo.
In Rapid City we made our way to the east side and stopped for gas. When we arrived at Deadwood the night before we were tired, so we hadn't bothered to fill our gas tanks. When we left on this morning we both were just below half a tank, so we decided to wait until Rapid City before we topped off with fuel. East of Rapid City we were going to head into a very rural area and I didn't want to get stranded out there without gas, so it was imperative that we fill up before leaving Rapid.
After filling up we took a few minutes to use the bathroom and eat a sandwich. We wouldn't be anywhere accessible to food for a while so I thought it prudent to grab something here. Turkey, cheese and cajon mayo. It was OK. Nothing remarkable. I'm always amazed at how fat my hands look in pictures.
While I ate I made a phone call to the lawn sprinkler company with the hope I could get someone scheduled to come out the next day to fix a leak. No luck. I left a message but knew if they called back I'd be on the bike and wouldn't be able to answer.
One of the things that Jon had been struggling with on this trip was a spot on his forehead that had been rubbing. It started as an annoyance but after a few days had turned into a blister. At some point he finally figured out it was the combination of the helmet and his do-rag. After he took the do-rag off his forehead stopped hurting. The problem may have been solved, but the symptoms would remain for a few days until it healed up.
I can't count how many times I have been across South Dakota on I-90. A lot. And on our way out we had just traveled I-90 already, so we decided to mix it up a little and take highway 44 east out of Rapid City and through the Badlands. Once we were past the Badlands we would then get back on I-90 for the remainder of the trip home, but this would give us something new to see. I had never been down this stretch of highway 44 before.
It actually was a pretty nice ride. The first few miles outside of Rapid weren't too remarkable, but as we approached the Badlands it got more and more interesting.
The town of Scenic (if you can call it a town) sits right at the edge of the west side of the Badlands. I remember my 9th grade Civics teacher had a penchant for referencing Scenic, SD in his lectures. Now I could say I've been there.
Highway 44 goes straight through the middle of the Badlands. It was pretty cool.
At the town of Interior highway 44 branched south. We headed north on highway 377 to catch I-90. Interior is another pretty small town, but it did look a little bigger than Scenic.
At a camp ground in Interior I spotted an old-style standing merry-go-round. I hadn't seen one of these in years. When I was a child there was a park in Sioux Falls that had one of these prior to the safety nannies removing all the fun equipment.
A few miles north of Interior we ran into the entrance gate for the Badlands National Park. I hadn't realized that the highway goes through the middle of the park. I pulled up to the booth and the guy informed me that motorcycles were $10. I pulled out my wallet and handed him the money and lamented that I hadn't realized this road went through the part of the park you had to pay to see. He asked where we were heading and I told him we were going up to the interstate and then heading home to Sioux Falls.
He looked at me for a moment as if he were trying to figure out whether I was a liar, then asked, "You're not heading west towards Wall, are you?" I confirmed that we weren't. He handed me my money back and said, "If you're just passing through up to the interstate then go on. But if I see you turn on the side roads I'm sending the park rangers after you."
I thanked him and reassured him that we wouldn't be turning. Then Jon and I pulled away and into the park. I gave Jon a thumbs up in triumph over my little feat of social engineering that saved us $20.
The park is pretty. It would be worth paying the $10 if one was going to stay for a while and see all the sights.
North of the park we hit the interstate and headed west. This is where the boredom started as we had 250 miles of non-scenic interstate riding ahead of us. Jon took the lead so he could use his cruise control. I followed behind him and tried to stay tight within three or four bike lengths. This is pretty much what I saw for the next four hours:
In Murdo we stopped for gas and some snacks. I grabbed a granola bar and some almonds. We stood and ate our snacks when a couple bikes pulled up. Their riders got off and we struck up a conversation. They were from Nashville and had been out on the road for five days so far, planning to be out for about 3 weeks. They were also heading to Yellowstone, so we shared stories. They were relieved to know that they day they were slated to arrive the temps were supposed to be in the 80s, about 40 degrees warmer than what we experienced.
Back on the road, not much had changed. South Dakota has some scenic areas, but the east half of I-90 is not one of them. My wrist was getting tired of not being able to use the throttle lock and my back was sore from not having a backrest. My left shoulder, which has given me fits the last few years, was achey, but not excruciating like it had been on my trip to Alabama the previous year. I think the slightly slower pace we took on this year's trip helped keep it in check.
Our next stop was in Mitchell, SD for fuel. Only an hour left until we were home so I texted my wife to let her know my ETA. I was getting hungry and considered buying a candy bar, but they were $2. I wasn't hungry enough to eat a $2 Snickers so I decided I could wait for supper at home.
We hit the road for the last stretch. I notice Jon bumped up his cruise control setting a couple mph. We still were getting passed pretty regularly so we weren't speeding excessively, but I could tell he wanted home as much as me.
Finally we reached Sioux Falls. We pulled off the interstate and stopped at the point where we each would go our separate way home. Jon gave me the throttle rocker he bought earlier in the day because he decided he didn't like it. We said our farewells and I told Jon to start thinking about where he wanted to go next year. My hesitation about him joining me on my historically solo motorcycle trips had passed. We had a great time and I would certainly be willing to team up with him again.
I rode up the street to the gas station nearest my house and made my final gas stop. I like to top off the tank before I go home so I have a final accounting for how much petrol I used on my trip. Also so the next time I take the motorcycle out for a ride I don't have to immediately fill it up.
Another mile down the street and I was home.
As I pulled into the garage my son Tyler came out to meet me. He's still at the age where he's glad when I come home. And I'm smart enough to recognize that it won't be long until he's a teenager and won't want much to do with me, so I'd better savor these moments.
See the summary of the trip...
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This page last updated on 06/28/2018