South Dakota-Day 2

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Total Miles: 341

Total Time: 12 hours

We started out this morning at 8:30 a.m. and it was sunny, warm, humid. Today was the day of stops, so even though we did not travel as far yesterday it took just as long. We travled along I-90 W and stopped at a rest stop to take off our coats and get some tourist information. By the way, South Dakota has got to be one of the most windy states I have ridden in, again we were dealing with strong winds.

We drove to Corn Palace which is listed in the 1000 Things to Do Before you Die book. It was interesting and we enjoyed looking at the pictures of years back. We purchased a few items to remember our stop and went on our way. The problem was Steve's GPS gave out again so we could not find I-90 and the temps dropped while we were in the corn palace so we pulled into a parking lot so Steve could hook the GPS up and I put on my leather coat and gloves. Steve and I argued because he always turns on his blinker to turn before an intersection and then goes through the intersection and turns into a parking lot. I was trying to explain to him why that was dangerouse when he began to swear (he swears a lot) so I got frustrated and turned off our headphones not to listen to him. We were able to get back on the road and back on I-90, which at this point I am so sick of see prairie grass.



We are on our way to Wall Drug and the Badlands and it became even colder so only 15 miles later, Steve pulled over into White Lake, which is a ghost town basically because Steve wanted to put on his warm clothes and get gas, but there was no gas station open on Sunday. We stopped at a small cafe, White Lake Cafe and had lunch. The food got 3 motorcycles and 3 on service. We did get a free piece of cake because it was the owners birthday. Before we got to White Lake, I had to run over a dead raccoon because the car ahead of us covered it up and it was too late to avoid it. I went over it and heard bones crunching, yuck!!!

We still needed to get gas so we went 4 miles up the rode and stopped to get gas. We rode in grey, cold and windy weahter for approximately 24 miles and then the sun began to come out which we were very grateful for. To say that I-90 is incredibly boring is an understatement until we got to Chamberlain area and we crested the hill and saw the most beautiful hills wiith the Missouri River running through it. Due to the fact that I have the bladder of a 80 year old woman I had to use the bathrrom so we stopped at Al's Oasis. This is a small collection of gift shops, restaurant, gas station and grocery store. The views there were gorgeous! We purchased a small gift for our daughter and got back on the road.

Now South Dakota's speed limit is 75 MPH, which means we were moving along at 80-85 MPH, which would not be so bad but we were doing it in high winds on a motorcycle. I was being thrown all over the place. At our next stop for gas I asked Steve to slow down a little because of the wind. He complained but agreed. We met two nice bikers from Minnesota, Keith and Jeff who basically planned the same trip we did. We shook hands and hoped we meet up with them again, they were cool dudes. Back on the road again.

We took 131 exit to get to Badlands National Park and used the bathroom and then drove to the park. It cost $10 per bike to drive through the park, which at first I thought was high until we got in there. This is the most beautiful sight and the road winding through the hills and valley was perfect to ride on a motorcycle. It was nice being able to slow down and enjoy some scenery and not deal with wind. We saw prairie dogs sticking their heads up while we rode by.

Once out of the park we headed to Wall Drug, famous for its ice water. We ate at the Wall Cafe, which was somewhat of a disappointment. The food was overcooked and the service was minimal. I give both of them 2 motorcycles. We walked around Wall Drugs and got an ice cream but truthfully we were both so tired we just wanted to get to Rapid City so we left pretty quickly. We got back onto the road and had 50 miles to go until we got to our hotel. The GPS sent us to the wrong spot, imagine that so we had to find the hotel. We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn on Mall Street. To say we were bitching at each other is an understatement because we were both tired and wanted to get there.

The hotel finally appeared and in a pretty remote spot, this is a problem on a motorcycle because now we have ride everywhere than being able to walk. However, this is a brand new hotel and very clean and well decorated. I had booked us a room with a whirlpool bath in the room, this comes in handy after riding all day. The room is large and beautifully decorated. My enviroment is very important to me so I always choose Hiltons or Hamptons because the beds are comfortable, service is impeccable and the rooms are lovely for the price. They also have beds that can be adjusted for firmness which is nice for couples who like different levels fo firmness in their mattress.

Unfortunately, the pool is incredibly small and cold. The problem with such small pools is you get 5 noisey kids and the pool is full. We sat in the hot tub with 8 other people when it dawned on us that we have our hot tub in our room so we bought some drinks and snacks and headed to our room. We watched Couples Retreat, drank and relaxed. Tomorrow is Mount Rushmore, keep reading for all our adventures.

This hotel is

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Comments

[Sherlyn]

Sounds fun! Except the arguing... stop that and enjoy the trip! You are in some beautiful country! Try to see Mt Rushmmore at night with the light show! Awesome! As usual, be safe!!