Monday, July 07, 2008
Rapid City to Interior, SD 75 miles
Got an early start to beat the wind shift. We cooked along at 20 mph early on and made good time the first few hours. After the wind shift we slowed to around 14 mph. All and all a very nice ride. The Badlands have bare sandstone hills and they are something to see. Not a lot of row crops in this country.
We saw a large Snapping Turtle slowly crossing the road. Very slowly. I tried to hurry him up with a little push from my bike tire and he damn near bit it off. I ended up grabbing him by the tail and dragging him off the highway. He didn’t want the help and was mad.
We actually rode to what is called Cedar Pass in the Badlands National Park, a few miles out of Interior, and stayed in cabins at the Visitors Center. You can tell this place is controlled by the Interior Department. We payed various rates to get in the park depending who was working the gate; a husband and wife can ride together on a motorcycle and pay $7 but if they come on bikes it’s $14 unless there is a different person on the gate who let 3 of our bikes in on one ticket. The restaurant is open from 9AM to 4PM and would be out of business in a free market. For the first time EVER we had to wait till the 3PM check in time. Turns out they only have one set of sheets for each bed and have to wash and dry the sheets before making up the rooms. I just can’t wait for Federal Health Care.
We saw a large Snapping Turtle slowly crossing the road. Very slowly. I tried to hurry him up with a little push from my bike tire and he damn near bit it off. I ended up grabbing him by the tail and dragging him off the highway. He didn’t want the help and was mad.
We actually rode to what is called Cedar Pass in the Badlands National Park, a few miles out of Interior, and stayed in cabins at the Visitors Center. You can tell this place is controlled by the Interior Department. We payed various rates to get in the park depending who was working the gate; a husband and wife can ride together on a motorcycle and pay $7 but if they come on bikes it’s $14 unless there is a different person on the gate who let 3 of our bikes in on one ticket. The restaurant is open from 9AM to 4PM and would be out of business in a free market. For the first time EVER we had to wait till the 3PM check in time. Turns out they only have one set of sheets for each bed and have to wash and dry the sheets before making up the rooms. I just can’t wait for Federal Health Care.
