Mt. Rushmore

From Kadoka, we continued through Badlands, South Dakota. Badlands lives up to its name - a parched landscape of rolling rock formations that probably looked forbidding to the pioneers who were first trying to make their way across the country. If I had read the park guide in the morning, I would have realized that we were within 25 miles of the Wounded Knee Massacre historical site, which I would have loved to see... as it was I didn't know that until we were on the other side of the park. It would have been a 90 minute detour back through that windy, parched landscape instead of continuing toward the more inviting Black Hills.

It's a challenge to get all the motorcyle gear just right. The helmet has to fit snug so that it stays on if you are unfortunate enough to fall off (which I, so far, have not), but not so snug that it gives you a headache, which develops quickly if something isn't exactly right. Mine fits just right until I braid my hair up to keep it from blowing around into a big tangled mat. Add in the braid and I totally change the fit of the helmet. No good. No braid. The leather pants are comforting when you're being blown around the highway by vicious crosswinds, at least if you fall off you'll go a pretty good distance before the road starts biting into your flesh, but just thinking about gearing up in a jacket, gloves, helmet and leather pants when it's 98 degrees outside makes you sweat. As long as you're moving, you create your own breeze to cool you off; if you have to stop, you're counting the seconds til you can get moving again. We have to stop a lot for various road work projects funded by the Obama dollars.

Anyway, by the time we got to the Black Hills the heat was gone, my mask filled with the scent of green forest, and soon our biggest challenge was outrunning a thunderstorm developing from the West. We snagged a campsite just in time for the big drops to come pouring down on us while we set up the tent, then of course the storm just as suddenly disappeared pretty much as soon as we were done. Being so close to Mount Rushmore, we had to make the all-American pilgrimage. We also went to the Crazy Horse mountain sculpture nearby, though, which we thought was more interesting, even though it isn't nearly complete.