Petrol 4.09 per US gallon Wyoming
6.24.08 Columbia to Rock Port, Missouri
Leaving Columbia under the threat of rain was a no brainer. No further then 5 miles up the road north then I am making a quick change to the wet gear. And it stays like this for the next 200 miles, rain, lighting and a bit of hail. Finally pulled into Rock Port, Missouri for the night. Seeing that it was still over cast I upgraded myself to the luxury of a cabin. And did I say it rained all night looooong. Its amazing just how nice life can be when everything is dry for the next morning ride.
6.25.08 Rock Port,MO to Thedford, Nebraska National Park
The clouds were heavy this AM and you could almost taste the water in the air but forward I go. Left Rock Port and crossed into Iowa where the ground was saturated with water on both sides. It is estimated that over 2 million acres of farm land alone in Iowa is under water. Look forward to a healthy bump in food prices in the very near future. Crossed over the Missouri River into sunny Nebraska and again initially the farm lands are under water but this cleared up as I moved further west. Looking at the map of Nebraska, Route 2 seemed to be the way to go as it goes right through the Sand Hills(whatever that means) and there is a National Park. Arrive at the NP and my thoughts were to, and I hate to say this, sleep on the picnic table. This was settled with the tent going up in minutes as the mosquito's and deer flies made their presents known. It was a quite night except for the coal trains passing through and I just know that those low life engineers were hitting the air horn a bit heavy knowing that campers were just 200 meters away.
6.26.08 - 6.27.08 Thedford,NE to Hot Springs, South Dakota
I have a feeling that it must be my 6 day socks that bring the bugs in, but I am just guessing on this one.... Packed up and back on Rt 2, which is really quite nice but not a lot of scenery, small towns and as rural as it can get. Got to Route 250 and headed north for the South Dakota border. Crossed the border and immediately was in Indian tribal land. The first tribal town just over the border reminded me of the aboriginal towns that I had passed through in Australia. Run down and in terrible shape. The tribal lands did have one thing going for it, the largest Casino out in the middle of no where and was it packed with cars and buses. And another sure sign of success was the two huge beer trucks heading into the township that I had just passed through. Any way it was route 18/385 north and just a beautiful drive into Hot Springs, SD. It was a camp site for the next 2 nights as the Blackhills/Badlands and Mount Rushmore National Parks were in a days ride.
It was a full day running the roads through the various national parks. I have never waved at so many bikers in my life. And to think that Sturgis is only a couple of hours away(the annual show as much skin as possible bike -a-thon held once a year in Sturgis SD). Buffalo within touching distance but some how they would completely ignore you. The weather was picture perfect for the day regardless of the rain early AM.
6.28.2008 Hot Springs South Dakota to Casper, Wyoming
With a clear night and morning, everything dry, and my 6 pancakes for breakfast, it was time to move on. Out the door to Custer, then Route 16 into Wyoming then heading southwest to Casper across prairie lands as far as the eyes can see. Besides the strong winds out of the northwest at 15 knots trying to push you off the road, the ride was some what humbug but still enjoyable.......to a very small degree. Into Casper it was for the night. Due to the holiday(July 4th) coming up have made tent reservations in Jackson and West Yellowstone for the next week....and can you image that the prices have moved up accordingly!!!!!!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment