July 8, 1981 to July 10, 1981
Spearfish, South Dakota
Gateway to the Black Hills
Statistics:
July 8, 1981 - Alzada, Montana to Spearfish, South Dakota (with a brief ride through the SE Corner of Wyoming) - 48 miles;
July 9, 1981 - Spearfish (Day Off) - 0 miles;
July 10, 1981 - Spearfish (Day Off) - 0 miles;
Description of Events:
July 8, 1981: We left Montana today. Another state down but the progress comes with bittersweetness. The land was rugged and the conditions were sometimes harsh. However, the people by and large made our time there memorable beyond measure. We will always remember Big Sky Country!
Paul was up early (5:00 AM) but I didn't stir until 6:30 AM, likely due to having had to get up during the night to secure the tent. The good news is that he is feeling better... again. A good sign that I hope holds up.
All of the wind brought in cooler air. So much so that the high temperature for the day was 34 degrees cooler than yesterday, 72F, as compared to 106F! We actually began the day with our sweaters on, whereas yesterday morning, I began without a shirt on.
After breakfast at the incomparable Alzada Cafe, we rode 3 miles down the road (US-212) and entered Wyoming, our 5th state so far. There was only a sign that said "Leaving Montana" in this isolated border with the Cowboy State. US-212 cuts diagonally across (in a NW to SE direction) this NE corner of the state, providing a travel corridor between Montana and South Dakota. Very few other roads provide any accessibility to this remote area of Wyoming. On some of the ranch signs we passed, their addresses were listed as Alzada, Montana.
The only Wyoming town we passed through on this road was named Colony. It had two Bentonite Clay Plants, only one of which listed its address as Wyoming. There was a truck stop, but its address was Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Rodney Dangerfield would have a good time here with his "can't get no respect" bit. When we reached the South Dakota border, after a mere 20 miles, there were signs for both states, so we paused for photos.
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From the state line, it was 14 miles to Belle Fourche, which proclaimed itself as the geographical center of the USA. The terrain was wide open and provided a good view of Bear Butte, which was once part of the Cheyenne lands. It is still considered a sacred place by Native Americans.
Belle Fourche was a town of tree-lined streets and houses close together. It differed markedly from the Montana towns we had passed through. After a pause there, we rode to Spearfish, which we had been hearing about for a while. Upon arriving, it was clear that it is a crowded tourist town. Lying at the NW edge of the Black Hills, Spearfish is kind of a gateway to them. We ran a few errands in town and then checked for a chapter of my fraternity at Black Hills State College but came up empty on the latter task. Paul began to feel lousy again so we looked for and found a room in a guest house for $12.00 a night. It is located on the main drag in town and we decided to stay there.
Since we arrived, got situated rather early in the day, and I was not feeling badly at all, I let Paul rest and busied myself with working on my bike... again! I got the brakes working really well, put a new back tire on, and stopped the gear skipping (ghost shifting) that had been occurring occasionally. The new back tire is a Michelin Chevron 50, rated the all around best tire in Bicycling Magazine... we'll see. I now have the opportunity to compare 3 different brands of tire that I used in the rear on this trip. They are, Schwinn LeTour, Specialized X, and the aforementioned Michelin. Thus far, the Le Tour is my favorite. We'll see if the Michelin can measure up as the miles go by. The IRC High Racer that I run on the front, has been bulletproof.
We're in a holding pattern, here in Spearfish, that depends upon Paul's condition. Our next goal is Mount Rushmore, 64 miles away.
July 9, 1981: Day Off in Spearfish, as Paul continued to battle the ailment that was affecting him. There was nothing in the journal about what we did that day.
July 10, 1981: Paul must've been feeling a bit better because we left the guest house, planning to camp in Spearfish Park for the evening. All that is left of his ailment is a residual cough. The park had gas grills, on which we planned to cook our dinner. However, a group of Forest Service Engineers (about our age) were having a picnic and they invited us to join them. We played volleyball, drank a few beers, and socialized with them It was a lot of fun. A fellow name Greg invited us to stay at a house where he, his wife, and small child were living. We gladly accepted their offer of hospitality.
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I ended up spending quite a bit of time with a young lady in the group named Julie-W. She was 24 and an engineer, from Kentucky. We got along really well. When the picnic ended, we went downtown to check out the night life in Spearfish. We danced several Bluegrass numbers at a place called the Back Porch. I walked her home and then went back to Greg's place to meet up with Paul and crash. The next morning, I stopped by Julie's place to get her contact information before we headed out. She is a really nice girl and this gives me a good excuse to return to Spearfish when this trip is over.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 2,857 miles (4,598 km)
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