A Hill City Adventure

Captain's log. Star date July 5, 2015.

Today's adventure took us into Hill City, which in close proximity to many of the landmarks on our to-do list. We were all feeling a bit peckish by the time we arrived (you know, that continental breakfast) so we were on the lookout for food, of course. We parked in front of a diner, but recalled seeing a billboard for the Mangy Moose and that sounded interesting. We had about 20 minutes to kill before they opened at 11:00 so we shoped, of course!

Eleven finally rolled around and we got our sustenance. John and I shared "Pig Tails," which was a skewered picked of pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and grilled to perfection, then drizzled with barbecue sauce. Yummo!!!

There is a train (The 1880 Train) that runs between Hill City and Keystone and it seems preety cool but tickets are on the higher end of the entertainment budget spectrum. So in an effort to get a better idea of whether we would like to ride it, we took the old highway that runs "next to" the tracks from Hill City to Keystone. All I can say is WOW! The road was awesome and the scenery was gorgeous! One of our favorite sights was two huge slabs of rock that must have fallen from higher up some time ago. Well, someone noticed how close they were to their house, saw the width between them, slapped a piece of sheet metal across them (somehow) and turned it into a garage! To wrap up this leg of the day, we are all in agreement that the train ride will be a great investment and expect to do that later in the SEO.

We got into Keystone (picture Niagra Falls or the Dell's on steroids!) And needed gas. After filling up, Dan had a hankering for peach cobbler or pie. Well, we were next store to a diner so we told him to call over. It sounded like a crank call - they answer the phone and he says, "do you have pie?" Turns out they had peach pie! So he and Michelle shared a slice while John and I shared a slice of cherry.

The plan was to then head to Crazy Horse but none of us could resist the giant Alpine Slide right across the street. After all, it WAS already in the list of things to do! You take a chairlift to the top of what looks like a big bobsled track. You get in these little plastic sleds with a speed control lever and then let 'er rip! What a blast! Michelle stayed at the bottom and took video as we came through "the finish line."

As we are not ones to foil a perfectly well-laid plan, the next stop was indeed Crazy Horse. It impressed me that the project is completely privately funded. That might be a factor in why it is moving along so slowly. When the monument is finished it will be HUGE! Mount Rushmore could fit in Crazy Horse's head! If you have a few minutes to research, the story about the project and the sculptor commissioned to do the work is all very neat.

It wouldn't be a motorcycle vacation without a little rain, you know. Today was our day. Just as we left Crazy Horse, the skies grew black and cracks of thunder surrounded us. We stopped off at a soloon on the far side of Custer to try and wait out the worst of it. They were kind enough to let us pull the bikes up under the awning that covered the patio so we were able to get our rain gear on comfortably. After about 45 minutes the worst was over and we made the trek back to Newcastle. Slow and steady won the race and we arrived fairly dry and without incident.

We sure were glad to have the truck in town, as it was still sprinkly and it was also dinnertime. Well, we forgot that small towns pretty much shut down on Sundays. After trying 3 or 4 different places from one end of town to the other, guess where we ended up? If you said Pizza Barn you win a prize! We are officially regulars over there now.

So hopefully the obligitory rain ride is over and we can continue on our excellent adventures!