2012 Trip "Out West" - Tue, Day 11 (Hill City, SD to Lead, Deadwood, Spearfish, Keystone, Custer & back to Hill City, SD)

Another early rise at 5 am and walk downtown to get a cup of coffee! Here is the sunrise in Hill City this morning!!

After more coffee and muffins in the lobby of the Lantern Inn I headed out towards Lead and Deadwood. Just had to stop at Boondocks along US 385. I got a great parking spot and some good photo opportunities!!

 My modern motorcycle with old gold mining equipment in Lead, SD

The gold mine PIT in Lead, SD. This is one gigantic PIT!!

No pictures of Deadwood. I did ride through town. I just never can "get into" Deadwood. A lot of history there, BUT it is the most commercialized town in the Black Hills, especially with all its gambling casinos. No parking anywhere except meters. A lot of tourists too. Anyway, no pics of Deadwood!!

 Osprey nest in the old mining town of Silver City, SD. Great motorcycle road on SR 321 off of US 385 into Silver City. Lots of tight curves!

Took the Old Hill City road (SR 323) over to Keystone. This is a neat motorcycle road (lot's of those in the Black Hills!!). Charlie put me onto this road years ago. It basically follows the tracks of the old Black Hills railroad, as a matter of fact, it crossed the tracks at least 14 times in the 10 miles!! I had to wait for the train to pass at one crossing.

Downtown Keystone. I like Keystone. It is a real old downtown with a lot of character. Only problem it is the prime town for Mt Rushmore so you get all the tourists that stay in Keystone!!

I like this side view of ole George!!

One more piece of rhubarb pie from The Purple Pie Place in Custer, SD on my way back!!

Didn't have any rain at the Lantern Inn but had a really neat rainbow. You could see the various colors and it was so wide too. The pics don't do it justice as usual!!

My Lantern Inn "neighbors" from Victoria, British Columbia. They were some neat folks. They were touring the Black Hills in their car. They had flown to Saskatchewan and rented a car. Funny, he said he was starting to get used to and actually like the sound of all the Harleys in the parking lot!! They came to Victoria from Germany in 1966. He is a retired plumber. We probably talked for a at least an hour. Talked about the socialized medicine in Canada. Said his wife only had to wait for 8 months to get a knee replacement under the socialized medical plan in Canada. They were given one Doctor to go to and that was his waiting list time. Nothing they could do about it!!

My last walk downtown Hill City for this year.

Leaving out in the morning to head back East! Plan to go back though the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Came through the Sand Hills back in 2005. Just looking for an alternative to I-90 across South Dakota. I have done that ride on I-90 several times and it gets old fast!!!

2012 Trip "Out West" - Mon, Day 10 (Hill City, SD to Sturgis, SD & back to Hill City, SD)

Got up at 5am Mountain time this morning. Trying my best to maintain my Eastern time schedule so it won't be so hard riding back east towards the end of the week!! Did a brisk early morning walk of about a mile to get a cup of coffee at a Exxon station downtown that opens at 5 am. Tasted pretty good!! Beautiful morning in Hill City. Did have coffee and a muffin in the lobby of the Lantern Inn later in the morning too. All the bikers headed out about the same time going in all different directions! I decided to head up to Rapid City and take in Black Hills Harley Davidson first and then head on over to Sturgis for the day. Decided to take Sheridan Lake Road all the way to Rapid City. It was a great ride with very little traffic. I was surprised at the number of rider/bikes at Black Hills Harley Davidson. There were a lot of bikes there! (That's my bike in the lower right!)

They also were have some good sales. Again bought a couple of shirts for half price. Not a bad deal. I am sure they would all go back to "normal" HD pricing before the end of the week and the official start of Sturgis week!! Talked to a HD salesman in the bike tent. He told me they would sell at least 400 bikes in the next 10 days our of that tent. It amazes me the number of riders that go to Sturgis and trade/buy a bike! A lot of the vendors were already open so I did a lot of window shopping but didn't buy anything else.

Headed on west on I-90 up to the Sturgis area. Had to stop by the Full Throttle Saloon first. Not much going on there but a lot of preparation work!!

Next stop was downtown Sturgis!

Here is where I parked. As I was leaving my bike a guy came by and was looking at my bike close, so I walked back by and spoke to him. He was just admiring my bike and liked the color. He was from Ontario, Canada and was down for the week prior to Sturgis riding the Black Hills. We talked bikes for awhile and I headed on down the street checking out the vendors and bars!!

Always like to go by One-Eyed Jack's Saloon!

Saw this tee shirt in One-Eyed Jack's Saloon and I just had to buy it. It reminded me of the song I have on my mp3 player, "The Road Goes On Forever and The Party Never Ends"!! No doubt, my main theme song I play when I am on my motorcycle!!

It was pretty tame and quiet in downtown Sturgis. Here was a lady making beads in the shade along with her guitar and dog. Looked like she was having a great time!! A lot tamer than some of the "characters" that will be downtown Sturgis next week for sure!!

Have to make the visit to Sturgis HD shop. Didn't buy anything more!

One more visit to a saloon. I did just visit. Saved any drinking, other than water, for the evening when I got back to Hill City!! hehe

Headed back to Hill City on all the nice two lane roads in the Black Hills. Took Vanocker Canyon to Nemo Road to Rimrock Highway back to US385 into Hill City. This was one of the nicest rides on my entire trip. I bet I didn't pass more than 10 bikes/cars on the entire route. Just a beautiful motorcycle ride back the 60 miles to Hill City!!

I did have to stop by the Prairie Berry Winery just north of Hill City and buy a few bottles of the Red Ass Rhubarb wine and have them shipped back to Virginia for me! Did have another wine taste to make sure I liked it though!! 

Several other bikers were there too. Here was one on a Norton motorcycle. It was really in great shape. I sat and watched while it took him about 10 times to kick start it. She had to get off one time when it stalled and he had to kick start it again. Pretty cool bike. I am sure they trailered in!!!!!

After I got back to the Lantern Inn, I picked up a Boulevard Brew from the market across the street. A friend Tom in Missouri put me onto Boulevard beer which is brewed in Kansas City. Pretty good stuff!!

On to The Alpine Inn for dinner. This is a very popular dining spot in Hill City. I can't imagine what it must be like the actual week of Sturgis. It opens at 5 pm and they do not take reservations. I got there about 4:20 pm and waited in line at the inside bar. I got seated within about 15 minutes after they opened at 5. As I was coming out after dinner, I heard them telling people the wait would be at least a hour and a half to get seated!! It is a really interesting "business model" for a restaurant. It really works for them and I am surprised other places haven't tried it. I am sure they are able to keep their costs low and the quality high with the model. They only offer two choices on the evening dinner menu. What size do you want your Filet Mignon and how do you want it cooked? Everything else is decided (except for your drink and if you want dessert). Their desserts are fabulous. I mentioned before, the maid, Barb, at the Lantern Inn makes all the desserts here at the Alpine! They are all excellent!

The standard wedge of lettuce. Nice size and the homemade ranch dressing is excellent:

Here is the main course! Cooked to perfection (medium well for me!). There was NOTHING left on the plate when I finished - but, hey, still had room for dessert!!

This is the bread pudding. It has no raisins or nuts, just pure delicious bread pudding (of course with caramel sauce and ice cream on it too!!!)

So, after that dinner I needed to do a lot of walking to help with the digesting process!! Lot's of bikes and activities going on in downtown Hill City on Monday evening! As a matter of fact, a lot more going on in Hill City than Sturgis today!! That will change next week, but still Hill City has a lot to offer and attracts a nice crowd.

I had walked a couple of blocks when I ran onto the guy from Ontario again that I had seen and talked to earlier in the day on the street of Sturgis (I mentioned him above). That was a real coincidence. He and I both recognized each other at the same time. Keep in mind it is around 60 miles between Hill City and Sturgis too! He was staying in Spearfish. We talked again for a while about Hill City and the Black Hills. Never saw him again in the Black Hills.

Even the dogs were enjoying the sites in downtown Hill City! It was a real fun evening in downtown Hill City!

Had to walk by and take a few pictures in the Black Hills railroad rail yard!

Here were some more of the bikes staying at the Lantern Inn. This was the group from Illinois.

Didn't have to clean my bike this evening!! Did spend the evening smoking a cigar and talking with all the other riders about their day and rides. I was talking to the couple next to me from Minnesota when they said, hey we saw you in Sturgis today! They were eating lunch in a restaurant downtown Sturgis and saw me go by walking down the street. Again that was a real coincidence again!

Early to bed tonight so I could get up again at 5am. Tomorrow would head up to Lead, Deadwood, Spearfish, Keystone and back down to Custer for another piece of rhubarb pie!!!!!

2012 Trip "Out West" - Sun, Day 9 (Lusk, WY to Hill City, SD)

Today would be a light day on riding. It would only be about 130 miles on to Hill City, SD where I would be staying for the next three nights. I had called and made reservations at the Lantern Inn in Hill City. I have stayed there before many times over the years. This time would be a little different!! Charlie and Janet had owned the Lantern Inn for 33 years. They had bought the place when they were 29 and just starting a family. They were/are two of the nicest people you could ever meet!! The Lantern Inn was always reasonable in price and extremely clean!! Everything was so stable and predictable at the Lantern Inn. Even the cleaning lady, Barb. She has been there many years and she also makes the desserts at the downtown Alpine Inn in Hill City and does night time cleaning at the civic center in Rapid City. She is a hard worker and also a very nice person! If you ever wanted advice on a road to ride or a place to go in the Black Hills, Charlie always had a great recommendation. Also, if you ever needed/wanted to know anything about Col George Custer, Charlie knew more about him than anyone I have ever met. He was a real history buff on Custer! Janet was great too, she even did my laundry for me one time!! Anyway, to make a long story short, Charlie and Janet SOLD the Lantern Inn just a few weeks ago, retired and moved permanently to Grand Junction, CO (They had been "wintering" there for several years anyway.) I was interested in meeting the new owner and see what, if anything had changed. At least I was going to give it a try!

Since it was a short ride and I had stayed up late taking to the Australian guy last night about his new Harley, I decided to take my time, eat breakfast and try the custom omelettes at the hotel. They were great. Interesting, the lady in the picture below was the one making the omelettes that morning and she was the same lady that was working the front desk the evening before and had brought me the beers at the bar! She was a hard worker and always seemed to be around. It was a nice relaxing morning with some great food and atmosphere.

It was an uneventful ride up to South Dakota. Not a lot to see, but plains and straight roads until you get to the Black Hills. My first stop was in Custer, SD at the famous Purple Pie Place!! I have not had any better rhubarb pie than at this place. I even had rhubarb pie along the Alaska Highway in 2010 and I don't think it was as good as here. They even have a neon sign advertising their fresh rhubarb pie. Any you just can't have it without ice cream either!!!

This was my first "lunch" in the Black Hills!!! It don't get any better than this!!

Yes, the after lunch picture!! Man, that was GOOD!

They even have a purple HOG out front of the store!

Got to Hill City and checked into the Lantern Inn. The new owner's name is Drew. He is a young guy and seems very nice (although he is NOT another Charlie!!). Nothing has really change yet and Barb is still the cleaning lady. So I was comfortable for the next three night, BUT I really did miss seeing Charlie out in the courtyard and Janet in the lobby every time I went by!

The other two bikes in the section next to me were a couple from Minnesota. They had trailered down (that is their red truck beside my bike). She was still a little hesitant riding (she didn't want to ride to Black Hills Harley shop in Rapid City because she didn't want to ride on the interstate. I showed them a route I take that never gets on the interstate all the way to the HD shop.). There were around 15 other bikes there at the Lantern Inn all three days I was there. The other big group was from Illinois. A group of very nice guys!

Lantern Inn

I was done riding for the day so I spent the rest of the day talking to folks and walking downtown Hill City. Always note the buffalo statue at the entrance to the town!!

Of course had to stop by the Hill City Harley shop. They had a lot of sales going on and I picked up a nice dealer tee shirt for 50% off!!

The Mangy Moose was active as always. They had a live band playing most days there with a good crowd. A really nice biker bar!

There were a lot of bike downtown, but not too many for it to be crowded. I have always like Hill City. Nice town and always a nice group of bikes there. Not too many, just enough to keep it interesting for the week before Sturgis!!

They even had a wine tasting going on at a shop beside the Mangy Moose. They had Red Ass Rhubarb. I just had to try it and it was really good. It had even won a bunch of awards. Wine and rhubarb, a combination of my favorites!! I took care of having some shipped back home the next day when I visited the Prairie Berry Winery!

As I was walking to town the old steam train was just pulling out heading to Keystone.

Funny, they were even advertising the Red Ass Rhubarb wine on billboards coming out of town!!

Dinner that first night was at Desperados downtown Hill City. I was going to eat at the Alpine Inn, but they were closed on Sundays! No big deal, I would definitely be at the Alpine for dinner on Monday evening!!! Desperados was good, but the Alpine is something else!!!!!

I had a great buffalo steak complete with beans and a biscuit!! It was great and the service was too!

Buffalo steak for dinner!

That was it for the day. Spent the evening cleaning the bike, talking to all the other bikers at the Lantern Inn and planning my day for tomorrow to head up to Rapid City and Sturgis.