South Dakota Ride Day 3 - The Badlands

August 23, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Sunday Morning - Hot Springs, SD. Well - pooh - It was time to head in the general direction of home. Note to self: Three days is not enough time to explore the Black Hills of South Dakota properly.

Part 1 - The ride into Wall, SD

The first leg of our journey homeward took us north (yes, north) to Rapid City again. Not too far out we rode upon a horrific accident. A mini-van pulling an enclosed trailer had rolled and flipped hard on the roof of the driver's side. We are thinking they fell asleep or ran upon deer or antelope on the highway. The state patrol advised us to ride slowly by on the shoulder. Needless to say, we hope it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was a sobering start to our morning.

Otherwise, the ride in comparison to yesterday's ride along the same route proved a bit more interesting today, but only because ominous clouds were hanging low on the horizon. We had a splattering of rain as we turned east (yes, east) on I-90 heading in the direction of the town of Wall with every intention of riding through the Badlands before turning south and west again for the long haul home to Colorado.

All along I-90 Wall Drug had erected colorful and amusing billboards and signs advertising its wares, free ice water, 5 cent coffee, homemade donuts, free coffee for veterans, free coffee for newlyweds and so on... The terrain was gently rolling hills and grassland. If one travels long enough along this sort of highway the likes of Wall Drug starts sounding like paradise. Of course we planned to stop - hot coffee and donuts sounded like a good idea.

Wall Drug is an American success story. In 1931, Dorothy and Ted Hustead purchased a drug store in Wall, South Dakota and lived in the back of the store. In the first few years, business was not what you would call brisk. In 1936, Dorothy had an idea to advertise free ice water to travelers and then soda and root beer... you get the idea. Wall Drug is now a large tourist attraction spanning almost one whole side of Main Street, with plenty of shopping (it's like a mini mall but much more fun), a restaurant that will seat 530 people, a cafe/coffee shop, a traveler's chapel, a western art collection, souvenir shop, vintage photos lining every spare inch of wall and a huge play area (known as the back yard) with a good many photo props. People still think it's fun to take photos of their children and each other sitting on a giant jackalope or buffalo or in a stage coach. The Husteads passed on in the late 1990's but the business is still run by family.

We wandered through the shops and the back yard, scanned the photograph collection, had a sip of ice water from the well that started it all, and admired the art collection and museum quality carvings and statuary including many old west characters scattered throughout. We had a couple of cups of really good, serve yourself five cent coffee and the homemade cake donuts were fresh and delicious.

Yes, even if you have no reason to be out on I-90, it's worth the drive just to experience Wall Drug and the small main street it presides over. The other side of the street is lined with small shops and a cafe or two. An Old West Wax Museum sits on the corner. Just before you head off into the Badlands, there's a Wounded Knee Museum. One could easily spend a whole day on the tiny Main Street of Wall. I was thinking the whole time, Mom would love this place.

Part 2 - Riding the Badlands and homeward bound

Unfortunately, we didn't have a whole day to spend in Wall. After topping off with gas, and putting a call in (finally got a signal!) to the Folks and chatting with Dad for a few minutes, we headed into the Badlands.

The Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway is approximately a 30 mile drive on SD 240 which cuts through the middle of breathtaking formations of Badlands National Park. The byway follows the natural contours of the Badlands escarpment (ridges and cliffs) weaving in and out of the native grasslands. There are plenty of paved pullovers and viewing platforms all along the way. We happened upon a small mountain goat at one such stop and I took a few good stills and some video clips. Friendly tourists from Indiana who had traveled by car all over the northwest offered to take our picture and we returned the favor. The ride through the park was spectacular, although the day had turned hot and windy. I took lots of photos and a few video clips.

It's impossible to describe the rugged rock formations, the myriad colors of the striations, buttes, gorges, and basins - other than to say - we understand why this area is named The Badlands. So I'll let the photos do the talking. A short slide show and a mini movie follow.

Badlands Ride – South Dakota – August 2009

We stopped at the Visitor Center before leaving the park. We cooled off and drank plenty of water while we browsed through the souvenirs and the informational dioramas. As I said, it was hot and windy so we checked the straps holding the jackets on the back of the bike and rode off down Hwy 44, across the White River to Hwy 2 and west across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The roads were long and seemingly never ending. The hot wind howled the whole way. Settlements with little claim to modern civilization dotted the road with nothing but lots of road in between them. Life on a reservation is so very foreign from what we know.

Now, I mentioned the jackets because when we got to a stop in the road known as Sharp's Corner, we decided to check the map. No jackets. I'm guessing we had covered about 50 miles or so. We decided the straps had snapped and the jackets flew off the back. With the wind howling like it was, we did not notice. We knew it was a long-shot and we didn't much want to ride those roads again, but we rode back the way we had come and back again to Sharp's Corner before giving up the search. Ouch! Someone likely came along, saw them lying in the road and adopted a couple of slightly worn leather jackets. Not only is that a costly loss but we had many miles to go and now we would have to ride without jackets. Bummer! We stopped for gas on the reservation - the choice was regular or regular. But we had rocket fuel additive.

There was nothing to be done about it, so we rode on and on and on through the winding roads of southern South Dakota and across northwestern Nebraska, finally (and I have to add gratefully) stopping for fuel and supper at Arby's in Chadron, Nebraska. This area was supposed to be scenic but it was more of the same grasslands with a few more trees and a couple of rock outcroppings. I had put the camera away a good ways back because the sun was obscured by clouds and the lighting was bad for photos. We made the stop in Chadron a quick one as the skies ahead didn't look friendly and with clouds on the western horizon, there would be no twilight. It would be dark soon.

This time of day in this area is notorious for thunderstorms of a particularly wild n woolly nature. We pulled on our hoodies. So far, it was warm enough and for a short time, dry enough. Most of the road home out of Nebraska, into Wyoming was windy and rainy. We stopped alongside the road not too many miles out of Chadron and pulled on the rain gear. We rode in rain most of the rest of the way in. Along a mile-long stretch of I-25 in Wyoming, we encountered a slushy sleet and it turned cold. The rain gear worn over hoodies and chaps, kept us warm and dry so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. We made several stops along the way at rest areas and for coffee at a convenience store in Wheatland and again at the Flying J Truck stop in Cheyenne. By the time we reached Cheyenne we were ready to ride the 40 miles left in our journey home and get there.

We arrived home about 1:30 am, slightly damp and weary from the 672 mile ride home, at least half of that in foul weather but exhilarated by the whirlwind trip to South Dakota and back. Says Mr Tim, my numbers man - 1388 miles in three days. Will we do it again? I'm thinking you can bet on it.

Stay tuned - the next few posts will have the movies.

Wall Drug - Wall, SD
Badlands National Park - South Dakota