South Dakota - Rapid City

I was so looking forward to the cooked breakfast advertised at the motel we were staying at. I was thinking it would be bacon, eggs and hash browns. Instead it was biscuits and gravy, a dish that seems unique as breakfast food in the USA. The 'biscuit' is what we would call a scone that you then pour over with a hot substance with the texture and appearance of something that resembles what the cat spewed up, sat in, then skidded backwards over the plate swishing it's tail. I went for continental instead.

We left Pierre at 8:30am and headed south on Highway 83 and linked up with Interstate 90 West. The day was already warming up at that early hour which was a sign we were in for a hot one. The ride was only about a two and a half hour run to Rapid City, but with the change in time zone to 'Mountain Time' we gained an hour.

Our route took us past Badlands National Park, so we turned off the interstate and went in via the west entrance to do the 30 mile scenic loop that would connect us back with the interstate near the town of Wall. After miles of rolling prairie grassland, the stark, desolate landscape of the Badlands was like we had been transported to the moon. We had to take our jackets off as we entered (the day got to a high of 98f (37c). About 3 miles from the east entrance where we would exit the park an orange and silver Ultra Classic whizzed past us down the hill closely followed by two Triumphs. It wasn't until they were going past that we realised it was Dave, Mary, Maurie & Evan!

After exiting the park we stopped at the town of Wall, home of the Wall Drug shopping complex where you can purchase Western and Native American souvenirs. After an 'all you can eat' buffet lunch we made our way down the interstate to Rapid City and checked in to our motel where we will be based for the next four days. After we had settled in and changed we walked down to the lobby where we found Dave, Mary, Maurie & Evan just checking in. It was good to be reunited with our fellow Kiwi travelers. We also met up with Trevor, Liz & Dave from Ashburton who also sent their bikes over in the same shipping crate as us.

We headed out for some drinks and dinner at a bar and grill next door to the motel. Tomorrow - Sturgis!