Mount Rushmore Ride

Snowdog

New member
I got back last week from this years long ride. Three weeks total, four days out, a few days in Rapid City SD, three days to Schrieber Canada ( not on a lot of maps),
three days to Fort Dix NY via; Sault St Marie, North Bay and Ottawa, a few days in Lake Placid then Home.
It was a gentleman's tour meaning I did not camp, but did suffer lousy internet in many hotels, just to keep things rustic. The hotels I used were not expensive and were chosen mostly on price and not being listed on the "Bed Bug Registry" The AC worked in all the rooms I got, a good thing as it was in the 90's almost every day, a surprise to me, as the weather statistics indicated it should be in the 70's (the reason I picked early June for the trip).Oh well, I survived .
My daily mileage ranged from 250 to 450 miles between hotels making for several long days in the saddle. The problem with the long days is not having time to stop to visit a lot of interesting historical sites I passed. Next year I will go back to my tourist pace 200 mile days.
 

Snowdog

New member
Mount Rushmore

Due to the daily distances, I stayed mainly on the Interstates. Rt 90 from the Boston area to 86 in NY. 86 wasn't the fastest route across NY, but, I hadn't traveled it and it turned out to be an interesting road that stayed high above the valleys making for scenic views to keep me interested. I stayed in Sayre PA the first night, just over the NY border, I was back on 86 in the morning.
My next stop was Amherst Ohio, this section was nice through NY, Ohio through Cleveland wasn't much fun. I was hot and cranky and road construction increasing. I was glad the AC worked better than the internet at my hotel.Treated myself to a steak for dinner. Off to Joliet IL in the morning.
 

Snowdog

New member
Actually, I have a new scooter. On my Gaspe Peninsular ride last year,I had the same load on my Sport. GIVI top and side cases with a duffle bag across the seat. If you look at my posts here from last year you will see a pic of the Sport loaded.IMG_0605.jpg
 
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Snowdog

New member
Joliet was a night stop only, and a bigger city than I expected. As usual, the AC worked (it was hot on the road) the wifi did not, at least not well enough to be useful. Unfortunately,there was a lot of construction on this leg, but the speeds never got low enough to take side roads.
I kept my eyes open for Jake and Elwood, they must still be in jail, I didn't see them. A lot more farm land, I enjoy that. In New England you see a lot of trees, which gets old fast.
 
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Snowdog

New member
The ride from Joliet IL to Sioux City Iowa was long and hot. I think one of the longest days in the saddle for the trip. I wanted a picture at the Mississippi, yet didn't see a scenic vista to pull off on and wasn't so spectacular at that crossing. The terrain changed slowly from flat plowed fields with little islands of trees , a farm house roof poking through most , to rolling hills, grass covered to hint of cattlehiding in the draws. Traffic between towns is lighter now, I like that and the freedom to let my eyes wander. The hotel in Sioux City was the dirtiest of the trip and my room in the basement passed bed bug check regardless, so I stayed. The young man on the desk turned out to be from New Hampshire, I guess he followed a young lady to this prairie city. He said it was cold and windy in the winter.
 

Snowdog

New member
The billboard highway. I didn't expect the signs all the way across South Dakota for Wall Drug . There were others such as Firehouse Brewery ( I think) some of their signs included a real fire truck.
Anyway, I enjoyed the grasslands, I could live there if I thought I could find work, beautiful!! The free range cattle there sure have plenty of room. Again it was a long hot ride, I went through the "bad Lands" going West, took a few pictures, and decided I would come back on a cooler day if I had time.By the time I reached Rapid City, I was pretty well parched!! My hotel had lemonade in the lobby and I lost count of how many I had until I felt recovered.P6080937.jpg
 

bicyclenut

Member
Driven across South Dakota many times to Badlands/Black Hills area, never on motorcycle, but, YES, those Wall Drug signs are all along the road. If you are doing any riding in area lots of nice roads. Ride through Custer State Park but watch out for animals and buffalo on road. Deerfield Road out of Hill City is a nice winding road with low traffic and some nice stop offs as I recall. Plenty to see and do in that area between Black Hills and Badlands.

The billboard highway. I didn't expect the signs all the way across South Dakota for Wall Drug . There were others such as Firehouse Brewery ( I think) some of their signs included a real fire truck.
Anyway, I enjoyed the grasslands, I could live there if I thought I could find work, beautiful!! The free range cattle there sure have plenty of room. Again it was a long hot ride, I went through the "bad Lands" going West, took a few pictures, and decided I would come back on a cooler day if I had time.By the time I reached Rapid City, I was pretty well parched!! My hotel had lemonade in the lobby and I lost count of how many I had until I felt recovered.View attachment 1955
 

Snowdog

New member
Mt Rushmore

I stayed in Rapid city for several days , going in a different direction each day. Rapid City was more convenient than I though it would be, and saved packing each day and allowed sleeping late. There were many restaurants near my hotel in walking distance , family type dining , eatable food and not to expensive. My first days mission was MT Rushmore. I was impressed right away by the fun roads
in the hills, E ticket all the way.
Mt Rushmore was free, just cost 10 bucks to park, although the parking pass was was good for several days. Of course bikes get to go to the VIP level of the parking garage. There were bikes from
all corners of the country and a couple from Canada. Interestingly, there seemed to be as many BMW's as Harleys in the lot. Actually, I was surprised at how many BMW's were in the area. I thought maybe they were on their way to the MOA rally, but, it was too early for that.IMG_0681.JPG
 

Snowdog

New member
Mt Rushmore

Mt Rushmore felt like more than a tourist attraction, people looked like they were vacationing, yet, there was a certain solumness , you could feel it.


IMG_0683.JPG P6090992.jpg
 
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Snowdog

New member
When I started planning my trip, I didn't realize how close the Chief Crazy Horse Monument is to MT Rushmore. If you make the trip, you might as well see both. The visitor center at the CCHM is very nice with a Museum, restaurant, and a gift shop with beautiful Native American crafts.

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Snowdog

New member
I wanted to see the "Badlands" more thoroughly, so went back the next day. I had driven through going West and went East for my second visit. I all ways try to drive a nice road in both directions for different views. There were several groups of Big Horn Sheep along the road, but, they always managed to be showing their bad sides when I got my camera out. The prairie Dogs were fun to watch too.P6080973.jpg P6080946.jpg P6080955.jpg P6080977.jpg
 
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