{"id":16836,"date":"2015-07-28T17:48:47","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T21:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16836"},"modified":"2015-07-28T20:12:40","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T00:12:40","slug":"day-17-monday-july-27-hill-city-to-hot-springs-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=16836","title":{"rendered":"Day 17. Monday, July 27 – Hill City to Hot Springs, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"

Go east, \"IMG_0638\"<\/a>to go north to go west into the wind<\/em> to go south, and that’s just the first seven miles to get us back on the Mickelson Trail.\"DSCN5011\"<\/a> \u00a0By the time we had climbed a couple hills to get us back on track,\"DSCN5007\"<\/a> we’d forgotten the 55\u00b0 it was when we started at 6:30 this morning. \u00a0After close to 400 pictures yesterday of fields and steams, “we” tried to be more judicious with the camera. \u00a0As we passed more campers waiting for the big rally,\"DSCN5008\"<\/a> we hoped\/prayed we’d seen the last of the motorcycles. \u00a0Nothing against the riders, but their gathering of 1.5 million people next week in Sturgis, has wrecked havoc on our course and finding a place to stay.<\/p>\n

For the first few hours, we paralleled the highway;\"DSCN5029\"<\/a> traffic wasn’t too bad at this early hour, but it was still noticeable. \u00a0Seventeen miles \"DSCN5020\"<\/a>and over two hours of climbing\"DSCN5028\"<\/a> through the beautiful countryside,\"DSCN5017\"<\/a> we finally reached our first climb to 5900 feet.\"DSCN5050\"<\/a> \u00a0We caught a quick glimpse of the Crazy Horse Memorial\"DSCN5044\"<\/a>then\u00a0took a turn away from the highway and enjoyed a quiet, \"DSCN5049\"<\/a>shady six mile coast down\"DSCN5056\"<\/a> to Custer.\"IMG_0658\"<\/a> \u00a0A quick liquid refuel and we began another climb,\"DSCN5092\"<\/a> only three miles (5320′) and much easier. \u00a0The constant stream from yesterday\u00a0was replaced by amazing rock\u00a0formations\"DSCN5062\"<\/a> in the middle of incredibly green fields.\"IMG_0654\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pulled into the saloon at Pringle\"DSCN5123\"<\/a> for our lunch break, only to find them closed on Mondays. \u00a0Thankfully, the owner was there and could offer us something cold (water) to drink. \u00a0As we rested, a cowboy with a hat brimmed as wide as his shoulders strolled in. \u00a0Discussing our route, he said, “That’s a far bit on a dirt road.” \u00a0Having finally left the dusty trail, we had been looking forward to some pavement; twenty miles of dirt road was not part of our plan. \u00a0A highway was our next option;\"DSCN5131\"<\/a>the amazing rock formations continued.\"DSCN5134\"<\/a>We rolled up the highway\"DSCN5140\"<\/a>and past a hill struggling to regain green after a fire.\"DSCN5145\"<\/a>We reached an\u00a0almost treeless plateau\"DSCN5154\"<\/a> of the Custer National Park and Wind Cave State Park; a remarkable topography change from the last two days.
\n\"IMG_0677\"<\/a>The three amigos<\/em> were anxious to tell us of their victorious gunfight and the best saloon in the park.\u00a0They were quite chatty, but the wind was picking up and with no trees to protect us,\"DSCN5161\"<\/a> we needed to push on. \u00a0One last cattle guard crossing,\"IMG_0682\"<\/a> a downhill into the wind\"DSCN5165\"<\/a> and we finally\u00a0reached our town at 1:30.\"DSCN5171\"<\/a> \u00a0A quick stop\"DSCN5178\"<\/a>for\u00a0food\u00a0and a\u00a0cold beer, then a tour of just a few of the many sandstone buildings in town.\"DSCN5185\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 The day had gotten HOT, dry (15% humidity) and dusty, we were happy to duck into A.C. \u00a0It was only a couple hours later we heard the rumble of thunder. \u00a0An hour later, an incredible hail,\"IMG_0691\"<\/a> wind and rain storm came in and raged at our doorstop. \u00a0 We began to wonder if it would stop, so we could\u00a0get dinner. \u00a0A brief break in the rain and lightening and we briskly walked past flash flooding \"DSCN5194\"<\/a>and road closures\"DSCN5190\"<\/a> to the closet place a half mile down the road. \u00a0An easier pace back to our hotel, revealed a beautiful, yet a bit tumultuous, sky.\"IMG_0703\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t