Saturday, June 04, 2011

Worthington Minnesota to Rapid City South Dakota

We awoke to a fine day in Worthington. I checked the tires and added a couple of pounds to two of them. Not bad since I haven't adjusted them since before we went to North Carolina. I removed the bad pressure sensor and then, when I checked the other dually tire, couldn't remember which sensor was which. I had a 50% chance of getting it right but didn't, and had to swap them. After breakfast, we were rolling by 7:15. When we pulled onto I-90, the GPS said turn left in 403 miles. Not a lot of challenge navigating out here.

Welcome to South Dakota

This is the land of billboards

And large cow art

The chrome mud flaps on this rig almost blinded me when the sun hit them

At least South Dakota doesn't use concrete dividers

Water standing in a field

The Missouri River at Chamberlain South Dakota

World Famous Al's Oasis where I learned to eat prime rib rare back in 1980

Who says the prairies are flat

Or the prairie roads are straight

This was one muddy beat-up wreck

Little house on the prairie

You can just see the Harley crosswise in front of the jeep

I almost hit an SUV in the next lane while watching the pilot dust the ditches by flying below the level of the road

Eat good? So much for proper grammar

We saw a sign at the exit to Pierre saying that traffic was restricted to locals only because of flooding. It seems the Missouri River is set to overflow its banks in the state capital.

 We decided, since we had picked up an hour moving into the Mountain Time Zone and were way early, to use our Annual National Park Pass to take a free tour of the Badlands.

Badlands National Park Photos













After stopping at the Visitor Center, stamping the passport book, viewing a movie about the Badlands and taking the 240 loop through the Park, we rejoined I-90 at Wall.

Wall South Dakota

The rodeo is in town

I can't see how the ape hangers on the second bike could be comfortable

Black smoke from near Ellsworth AFB, source unknown, but an air show was underway today

We arrived in Rapid City which, after 400 miles of prairie, seemed like a madhouse. We found the WalMart on Lacrosse St and, after moving around, found the only almost level patch of ground in the parking lot. The only drawback was that it was right beside the street. I am starting to hate loud pipes.

We had supper at the Golden Corral next door and then bought a new folding table at Wally World. Other rigs started to roll in including one of the tiniest trailers I have ever seen.

Not much room in this one

Red sky at night

I worked on the blogs and solved the mapping problem. It seems that Google Maps chokes on the WalMart in Escanaba, Michigan. Maps have now been corrected. We'll be up early tomorrow to get to Lead, park the RV for the week at the bowling alley, unload the bike and go for a ride.

Today's Route (415 motorhome miles):


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