Day 22- July 13

Day 22: July 13th 34,057 miles on the odometer

Our first destination for the day is Mount Rushmore. We take both bikes because, at this point, we really don’t trust mine. The artist responsible for creating this monument wanted to make sure it was for all people, and that no one should ever have to pay to visit it. In a perverted way of keeping with his wishes, we can not use the park pass here. We do have to pay $10 each to enter for “parking.” It doesn’t matter that we are only using one space, or that we have the national park pass. This is not biker friendly, not really friendly to anyone at all.
The monument looks somehow unfinished, though it is as done as it will get. It is certainly more finished than Crazy Horse, but after yesterday we still find Rushmore something of a disappointment. The film and museum are good, but not as good as we enjoyed yesterday and at double the price. It probably would have been better for us to have visited Rushmore first and then Crazy Horse. This is the second time this trip we have been very disappointed with national sites that should have been highlights.
The roads are really good here, some downright twisty. We skip some of the better roads because they are located in a state park, and I don’t want to spend the money just to ride the roads. The roads we do ride are good enough for me.
Next stop is the wind cave. It is yet another park where the park pass is useless. It doesn’t cost anything to enter the park, but all the cave tours are for a fee. They are all guided as well. The tour is not particularly impressive, especially after Carlsbad. It is a good place to cool off though. The cave’s main claim to fame is the “boxwork” inside and the hole that blows cold air outside that led to its discovery. I think we would have been better off visiting Jewel Cave instead.
As we leave we spy a bison heading towards the road. We stop alongside others who also want to take his picture. He makes me uncomfortable so I tell Ceci to hurry it up. The big sucker is looking me right in the eye and slowly heading straight for me. I keep the bike running so I can make a quick escape. She gets her picture and we head back to camp.
We dine on fetuccini alfredo with chicken. I make way more than we can eat, and it is not as good as I usually make back home, but it still feels like we are eating like kings. I have also made good progress rebuilding the itinerary. We will not make it to Ohio in time to catch Roy, but at least now we have a route that takes us to New York.
We are having no luck finding a suitable place to call home, so relocation to the Black Hills of South Dakota is out of the plans. Plan “B” is to move to Texas. The town of Texas in New York state that is. This way Ceci can say she still lives in Texas. I have included it in our itinerary.
Today we traveled 83 miles. Again, traveling was not the goal for the day as we finished right where we started. By Ceci’s odometer we traveled a bit further, and that debate continues to rage.