72.3 miles cycling, 2062′ of climbing (1959.4 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.
Another long day out of Buffalo to cover the vast spaces of SD with absolutely nothing except cattle ranches and farms. We did have a wonderful tailwind from the NNE and we sailed through to our first stop at Crow Buttes Mercantile in Redig – the recommendation from Dave the motorbiker we met at the Buffalo City Bar yesterday.
The Mercantile was another roadside oddity, this time with a full chef, though the kitchen was out-of-order (we weren’t going to eat there anyway). Met two couples who told us what to expect this weekend in Deadwood — a town-wide car show that goes on for 4 days. Made us a little worried about how we were going to get a place to stay, but we tabled that, got some fresh water & ice, and headed for a short stop at the Crow Butte historical marker, and then onward. The great tailwind continued and at one point we were averaging 15mph. A testament to the day and the wind that we finished at 14.5mph as by the time we got within striking distance of Belle Fourche the wind had shifted to the East and a cross- vs. a head-wind.
Stopped at a convenience store and refilled water and ice. Dana headed to the campground and I went to the hardware store to get some screws to fix Dana’s straining at the seams panniers. $3.60 and 20 min later, I had the bags repaired. While I did that, Dana went for a walk and came upon and accident scene in the town and had a nice chat with officer Garcia.
Back at the campground, there was a dog across the river just howling and howling like it was trapped on something. When Dana got back, she called the campground owner and he called the police. In the meantime, a local who was walking his two dogs, forded the river and got to the dog. In a few minutes, an officer in a squad car showed up, and another from animal control. The dog had a weasel or ferret cornered and wouldn’t give it up. Paul was the guy who retrieved the dog — and thankfully so else it would’ve been a long, sleepless night listening to the howl. We talked with the officer for a while until he got another call (incl. how to say Belle Fourche — Belle Fooche). All in all an exciting evening.
Rain was expected and I wanted to set up in the pavilion we were in but Dana wanted to be out in the weather. It did rain and fortunately everything stayed dry. Short day to Spearfish tomorrow.
