All the Presidents Were Present

So, just to get you thinking, who are the presidents the monument honors?

We're in Rapid City, South Dakota tonight. As expected, the route was pretty hilly all day. It took us by the Wind Cave National Park, through Custer, to Mt Rushmore, and through Keystone. Of course, in this area there is plenty to see and plenty of other tourists. For those that are keeping track, I got the National Park stamp at Mt Rushmore, but missed the one at Wind Cave. Darn, will have to come back, but probably by some other mode of transportation.

Wind Cave had open range. They told us yesterday to go through cautiously, keeping an eye out for wildlife, especially for wandering bison. We did see one bison, although not exactly wandering near the road, and a plethora of prairie dogs. This is what we had been hearing chirping (barking) for the previous two days. Today they were a bit alarmed by the entourage of bikers rolling through their territory. The bison could have cared less as he grazed on the side of a hill.

Temperatures have continued to be below normal, although no one including me is complaining. We road in a little rain again today, just enough to get the bike dirty again. It was overcast all day and threatening most of the day. It looks like temperatures will change tomorrow as the 90's are predicted and then 100's for the next several days after that.

Mt Rushmore really was the highlight of the day. The route took us directly past the monument. There were many other visitors there. I was there around noon, so no speed records were set today. There was a group of us that arrived around the same time. We were stopped three times before leaving the bikes by people wanting to know if we were really riding across the country? All were very interested in what we were doing, and why. Some people seemed really interested in doing the same thing some day.

Tomorrow we ride to Wall, South Dakota. I expect tomorrow's highlight will be Wall Drug. It will probably provide the evening's entertainment.

I'm still trying to learn names and meet people in the group. Last night, I ate supper with Lois, a rider from Colorado. A few years ago, she and her husband road cross country self-supported. They road the Transcontinental Route which goes through Ellington. Her comment was that the Missouri hills only go up!

It was a good day. Three days closer to Manitowoc.

You tend to think about a lot of unordinary things when you're riding a bike across country. I've noticed an unusual number of motorcylces on the road, particularly Harleys. Of course, we're not too far from Sturgis here. My unscientific traffic sampling during those mind numbing climbs at 4 - 5 mph indicates at least 25% of the vehicles on the road are motorcycles here. Results of the other scientific observation for the day is that it's Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt that you'll find at Mt Rushmore.

See you in Wall ~Lisa