June 13th, 16th, 17th

Monday: We woke up in the Inn and went down for a continental breakfast which was oh so much better than our usual fare of granola bars and penut butter. We decided we would stay in the Black Hills and check out the scenery for a day or two more. We saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave, and hiked Harney Peak. It's the highest point in all of South Dakota, which has an amazing view of 5 states! We stayed in Hill City every night storing our trailer in the Inn we stayed at  the first night, but after that we camped within walking distance in the woods. The whole stay was amazing and we highly recommend your next summer adventure to be there!

Thursday:  We headed out, sad to leave but ready to get back in the saddle. Okay we weren't ready for the pain~  but there's some things you just can't change, and that saddle pain does not go away until you get off the bike again. We made it to Rapid City, hungry and tired from all the hill climbs. We found a super good mexican grill and refueled. Dayne asked a nice BestBuy worker who was on his lunch break if he was going to finish the rest of his chips and dip, and ate it happily when he said it was no problem. We had the wind at our backs and headed across the flat grasslands. After riding in rain for a couple hours we decided to stop and found a nice field that seemed free of cows and other livestock, pitched the tent and were soon fast asleep.

Friday:  Waking with the sun at 630 AM  we made breakfast, which consisted of instant oatmeal we snatched from our continental breakfasts days earlier and granola bars. We made it to Badlands national park in great time with the wind at our backs. At a gas station right outside of the park we met Sitting Bear and Anthony Braveheart, two very nice, very drunk Native Americans. They were very adamant that we get a picture with the two of them and then  we said goodbye as they drove away, luckily in the opposite direction we were headed! The drive through the park was awesome, There are tons of crazy dirt hills much like Goblin Valley in Utah. We rode until sunset which was at 8:15, which is really early for this time of year, Later we heard it was due to the fact we were just miles from the time zone change. The problem with setting up camp so late is that you can't tell for sure if there is livestock about.  We wondered if we would wake to cows or horses sniffing us out  whether they might clumsily walk over the tent in the night. Luckily it was livestock free and we slept like rocks.

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