DAY4 - Black Hills

The weather didn't look very promising this morning. A large line of storms and showers were moving up from central Nebraska and heading right into our planned route. We suited up just in case and rode about 140 or so miles to Ainsworth with just a few drops of rain along the way. We continued into the sand hills. It was a cool cloudy ride with clouds hanging low on the hill tops. We decided to stop and remove the raingear. After a stop for lunch at a local diner (Lamplight) in Valentine NE, we continued west and climbed to about 2800 feet as the country opened up to rolling dunes and big sky. In South Dakota, we noticed the sky beginning to get really dark. As we got closer, it was apparent that this monster of a storm would cross our path. We stopped at the hwy 20/61 intersection to Wounded Knee and contemplated the situation. After checking Doppler and talking to a local Lakota Indian lady, we decided to deviate and head into Pine Ridge where we took refuge at a convenient mart.. Doppler was showing hail, so we prepared for the worse and took cover. We were lucky, no hail came, and the storm moved through quickly. We didn't go back to the original planned course, deviating further to the west. Unfortunately, that path was blocked because of recent flood damage about 10 miles out and we had to backtrack to take another road that was under construction. Several Indians were helpful in helping us find our way, and one of them even escorted us on a route around the construction. Just after we got around the construction zone, the sky cleared and the temperatures dropped, probably somewhere in the low 70’s. The sky turn deep blue and white puffy cumulous clouds drifted overhead - a classic Western sky! At last we arrived on the Western rim of the Badlands, and the Black Hills could be seen to our West. A tiring day, but also great ride. We made it, we’re in Rapid City! 1,563 miles by my odo…can’t wait to ride tomorrow in the Black Hills!