South Dakota September 1 – 5, 2017 103 miles
Up early on Thursday August 31st to do some laundry before getting on the road. We left Medora, North Dakota and headed for Rapid City, South Dakota. It was amazing how after only a few miles out of Medora the scenery began to change from badlands to grasslands, There were fields of sunflowers, grasslands, wheat fields and large herds of cattle.
We arrived at Cabelas in Rapid City with plenty of time to check satellite feed for the Buckeyes game against Indiana. Buckeyes got off to a slow start but in the end were victorious, 49-21!! GO BUCKS!! This Cabelas even had a corral for people traveling with horses. How nice. Good place for nights sleep.
The morning found us headed for Custer, SD and French Creek RV. Arrived in early afternoon in time for the Friday night potluck at the campground. Diane, the owner of French Creek RV hosts a potluck diner every Friday evening. This Friday she provided pulled pork and kielbasa which we could smell cooking when we checked in. We met a couple, Anna and Steve, at dinner who were avid bikers (tandem) from British Columbia, Canada. We really enjoyed sharing biking tales with them. We had ridden so many of the same trails all over the U.S.
We are camped right on the George S. Mickelson Trail, a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It did not disappoint. The trail is 109 miles long and we road all of our 100 South Dakota miles on this trail. It was packed gravel and had long uphill grades and long downhill grades. One of the days we rode a 12 mile uphill grade. Whew!! Who’s idea was this anyway?
There had been a fire south of Custer and we had a few days of smokey air which caused our eyes to burn. The last day we rode the weather had cooled and it was clear and beautiful. We rode through deep valleys surrounded by high cliffs and all we could hear was the water flowing through the stream. Some places we had to wait for the cattle to move off the trail. Deer were a common site and at times they would just stand and watch us. We also saw flocks of turkey, some looked bigger than Flo.
There were tunnels on the trail which provided a cool respite from the heat. The Mountain Trailhead provided a nice view of Crazy Horse Monument. The terrain was dramatically different from the south to the north. The south reminded us of the high desert while the northern part of the trail was green with ponderosa pines and wild flowers along the trail.
One of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota was our visit to Custer State Park. We drove on the Needles Highway where we saw beautiful spires. The tunnels were narrow and low. Our little Fiat had no problems though. The visitors center has an awesome video narrated by Kevin Costner, it’s a must see.
Driving on the Wildlife Loop Road we saw feral burros, prairie dogs, pronghorn and most awesome of all was a herd of bison. We took a gravel road off the main loop road and drove a couple miles before coming over a hill to the sight of bison for as far as we could see. Awesome! I would love to return next year when they do the bison roundup.
Iron Mountain Road was another treat. This is a winding road which makes some 360 degree turns. The tunnels frame Mount Rushmore. It was a good rest day for us before our final ride on the Mickelson.
- George S. Mickelson Trail