Stampede!

Brant the weather weasel made it sound like a fine riding day.  Do I trust him?  No, I don't trust any of 'em.  He was calling for a 30% chance of rain in the Custer area between noon and 3:00pm.  Of course, Custer is where I want to go, because we haven't had a Black Hills Burger & Bun Co. burger yet this week.  We decided to go for it.  It is supposed to be in the mid-70s in Custer for a high today.

It was absolutely gorgeous on the way to Custer...

On Playhouse Road, we came up on this 5th wheel.  There was another one in front of him, as well...

Snail's pace for the last two miles of this road.  They both turned the same direction we were headed on Iron Mountain Road (well after the low, narrow tunnels than they would NOT be able to get through)... one turned off into a campground, the other went straight, so we turned off on the west part of Playhouse Road.  This is crappy road surface, but at least we wouldn't be riding at 10mph.

On this stretch of road, I asked Joan to point at the road...

On my scooter forum, there is a douchebag who doesn't have a scooter, and thinks scooters are unsafe, but brags that he "takes curves at 90mph while dragging his finger on the road."  I said "douchebag, but I meant: dumbshit.  I will be Photoshopping Joan's finger so it drags on the road and posting it on that thread.  Yes, sometimes I am just entertaining myself.

We turned off Playhouse road onto Needles Highway, heading south...

No plan to go north through The Needles area.  This was more of a detour to get around the slow-moving RVs.  For the record: there are other roads that would be much better for RVs, that wouldn't be so many tight curves and narrow two lane (they were frequently over the center lines, especially in the curves).  But, they are on vacation.

Once back to Hwy 16, we pulled over so Joan could place our order on-line for Black Hills Burger & Bun Co...

She is so happy, she is dancing!  I decided to get in on the "dragging a finger" joke, too...

From there, it was Highway 16 through the rest of Custer State Park and into the town of Custer.  We found parking on a side street where there are a couple picnic tables in front of the County Courthouse.  Joan went to set up our picnic stuff on a table in the shade, while I went to get our food...

Yes, I am masked up.  There is a crowd in front of the restaurant, waiting to get a table...

I was 6th in line to get to their front desk.  Most people were putting their name in for a table.  When it was my turn, the young lady went to the kitchen and brought back our food; already paid for, including tip.  I worked my way through the crowd, down the block and across the street to meet my Honey for lunch...

This works good for us.  It was packed inside the restaurant, but we had plenty of space and were in the lovely outdoors.  I could even keep an eye on the scoots from our table...

After lunch, we headed out of town and back into the park.  We decided to go through the Wildlife Loop.  Traffic in the park was heavier than we've seen it this season.  We turned onto the road for the Wildlife Loop and had to wait in line to point at our season passes for the park.  We didn't see anything for the first few miles, and then - traffic...

Hard to see in that wide angle photo with the GoPro, but stopped traffic as far as we could see.  We thought there might be some good wildlife viewing once the traffic started moving.  We were wrong.  After 20 minutes with no moving, we decided to turn around and head back on the same road.  This van had the same idea...

... and then came across this buffalo on the side of the road.  Since they were in the wrong lane, we couldn't see around them.  And then...

A HUGE herd, and they were moving fast.  That same van again, going the other direction...

The driver was hollering "Stampede!  Stampede!  Turn around!  Get out of the way!"  Well, that was one option.  Instead, we chose to snug up close to the pickup truck and let him provide "interference" for us...

Again, the GoPro doesn't show just how close they were (we were literally right up on the bumper of that pickup in front of us.  There had to have been several hundred buffalo, with lots of mommas with calves.  I wouldn't call it "a stampede," but they were moving right along, and running between the cars.  We sat for at least 5 minutes while they ran by, looking for the best "break" between vehicles.

That was enough "wildlife" - it was getting hot, and I was feeling the need for some breeze.  When the buffalo got out of the way, we were able to get moving.  We'll do the whole wildlife loop again another time when it is cooler.

Back through the park and onto Iron Mountain Road.  I suggested a stop at the Iron Mountain Road Store, where I knew we could get some shade.  Re-hydrated with the ice water we brought, and hoping for some ice cream in the store... nope.  On the bright side, no traffic through all the fun curves on the way back to the resort.  Well, one slow down where there were cows on the road...

Again, the wide angle on the GoPro is less than great at showing this.  The cows just stood there, unlike the buffalo; still, we rode slowly between them.

One more "Whoa!" moment before we got home: coming around a curve on Spring Creek Road, my back tire slipped on one of those nasty tar snakes.  No harm, other than that "Oh, shit!" feeling as my hind end tightened up on the seat.  Back to the motorhome, unscathed.

A good day of riding.  Rufus was ready for some attention... well, ready for a treat.  Me, too... we have ice cream in the freezer.  :-)

Patio time...

The rain eased up this morning, leaving things smelling fresh and a bit more humid.  We made a run into town (no, we didn't run, we took the car) for a Hardee's breakfast sandwich and some light (as in: picked up some salad kits) grocery shopping.

Joan usually does the shopping on her own... I may have embarrassed her when I sneezed just as we were pulling up in the car... and by the time we got inside Wally World, I had to ask; "Do you have a Kleenex?"

"You can't take your mask off in here."

"Then there will be snot dripping out from under it shortly."  Yes, I removed one side of my mask long enough to blow and wipe, with no one anywhere close by... TMI?

When we got home, the weather was getting downright glorious, especially compared to yesterday.  We decided Rufus needed some grass time, then some patio time...

What's that?  It looks like a professional head shot?  Yeah, I still got it.  Most days I don't recall where I put it.  What was the question?  ;-)  Just kidding; most of the time I am as sharp as a... um, a... what do you call those pointy things?  Yeah, I'm kidding again.

The three of us enjoyed the outdoor time, under the awning.  We watched people go by, walking their dogs.  "Why are they in such a hurry?" Rufus asked.

"I don't know, buddy; that's just the way dogs and dog-people do it."

"I'm glad I'm not a dog."

"Me, too, Ruf... me, too."

:-)

Rainy Days and Wednesdays...

No, not the Carpenters' song.  The weather weasels are predicting heavy rain and thunderstorms for today, through tomorrow, making for Flash Flood Watches throughout the Black Hills area.  The entrance to Hart Ranch is over Spring Creek... we have seen that creek out of its banks in the past - it can happen fast.

But, as of mid-afternoon, the way it is playing out has been moderate rain at most, with periods of no rain.  Definitely not a scooter kinda day.

I got some music files from Mark yesterday.  Also received a new mixer than was on sale for "one day only."  Really.  A heck of a buy.  No, I don't need a mixer right now, since we are traveling "music equipment lite" this summer.  But: "a heck of a buy."  I didn't figure I'd get the opportunity to record any tracks to send back to Mark, but I went for it during one of those breaks in the rain.  Yes, the noise of the rain on the roof of the coach would get picked up.

Joan decided it would be a good time to do laundry, so I had the place to myself... well, with Rufus, of course, but decided it would be a good time for a nap.

I set up the new mixer and ran a mic and a guitar through it and into my Spire Studio...

The bedroom of the coach has the most "soft surfaces" so that was the temporary set-up.  I am liking the new Yamaha mixer... plenty of control, but it all makes sense.

I got the second track recorded before the "outside commotion"...

That looks like a pond, but it is the road just over from our site; an obvious low point that collects water.  These two boys were already wet from the rain and riding their kick scooters through that major puddle.  It, of course, progressed... riding through it wasn't enough - they had to sit and lay in the puddle.  Then, the got some dog poop bags (there are dispensers around the pet section of the park) and filled those with water... not exactly water balloons, but the "war" was on.  Joan and I laughed - they are being boys and seemed to be having fun with the current "water feature."  It progressed to throwing their shoes across the "pond" like skipping stones.  Left to themselves, boys will be boys.

It is entertainment while I am uploading files.  Well, trying to upload.  Seems that Dropbox had been rock solid before I paid for additional storage... now that they have my money, the uploads are frequently met with "Something went wrong on our end."  Well, then fix it!

With the rain and heavy overcast, it never got out of the 60s today.  Some rumbles of thunder, but all in all, better than the weasels make it sound.  It may be a couple days before we get a change in this weather pattern.

The new neighborhood...

Yeah, it looks a lot like our previous neighborhood.  Except the only tree near us is on the north side of the coach and will not give us any shade.  That's why we have an awning.  The move went easy.

After today, it is supposed to be rainy Wednesday and Thursday.  How rainy?  Thanks for asking.  The weather weasels are already predicting Flash Flood Watch both days.  Seems they are pretty sure of that forecast.  And meanwhile at our home in Texas: Flood Warning; inland and coastal.  So, that's fun.

So, are you going to get some scooter time in before the rains come?  Well, you're just full of questions today, aren't ya?  Probably not.  The motorhome is in need of a bath.  We've been here a month and the timing hasn't worked to get the coach exterior cleaned; it has been too hot, too haily (I made that word up), or too perfect so we're going for a ride.  Warm and sunny today, but Joan is planning a grocery run, so I'll have time.

And then time for a shower and a nap.  A guy has to plan the day's events.

Another big move...

Time flies when you're having fun... or dealing with insurance crap... or really having fun, like getting out on the scoots.  Tomorrow is "moving day" for us again - this 9 day stay really has gone fast.  We're in a part of the park we tend to stay away from (lots of families with kids), but it has been nice.  Rufus didn't have the big grassy area behind like our last site, but he has done fine with more walking along the street.  In the site we'll be on for the next 21 days, we have a corner lot, so a really big "front yard" where he can meander, on his leash.

Moving about 3 blocks seems like it should be nothing compared to traveling 1,800+ miles to get here.  When we are in "full travel mode," everything is stowed and secured for making miles.  For this short move, we will do our usual unhooking from utilities, but we move "one conveyance at a time" as I explained in a post 9 days ago.  That's how it works here at Hart Ranch: as a member/owner, you are allowed 21 days out of 30 on a site.  Then, 9 days "out" or with our membership, we can buy the 9 days in.  But, you have to move.  There are a few seasonal sites where you can stay for several months at a time, but you put your name in a lottery for that.  Not an issue for us.

In travel mode, I can hook up or unhook utilities in about 15 minutes.  For some reason, when we know we don't have hours of travel ahead of us, it seems to take about 4 times that for these short moves.  And then that same time to set up at the new site.  In travel mode, we aren't putting out chairs and tables, the grill, the sunscreen that attaches to the awning, the windshield cover, etc, etc.  We push a button to level the coach, and if it isn't perfectly solid, it's no big deal because it is just for a night.  When spread out and living large, we put down blocks under the jacks and try to make this as solid as a moving conveyance can be.  It all takes time.  We have the time.

We went for a treat today: Olive Garden for lunch.  I have some friends who think Olive Garden is the "McDonalds of Italian food," but we enjoy it.  We haven't had it since we left Arizona.  No, we didn't dine inside - not ready for that, yet.  But, we did "curbside pickup," which means they bring it out to the designated parking spot you are in.  And for some reason, this process takes way longer than getting your food when you dine in.

No matter - the food was good and the lunch portions are big enough that we will have leftovers this evening.  It is one step closer to "normal," although I think it will be a long time before things really are normal again.

I also went into the Hart Ranch Lodge today to pick up mail... we had three packages that were waiting for us.  In normal times, you would go into the Lodge and to the mail room window.  There might be several people in front of you in line.  And many other people at the front desk, making reservations.  Now, the Lodge main door is locked.  There is someone at a side door that allows you to go inside, one person at a time, and only to pick up mail.  Mask required, use the hand sanitizer on your way in.  No, it doesn't feel "normal."

Still, being here at Hart Ranch is good.  Easy to stay socially distant.  The motorhome is our home away from home.  When Mother Nature isn't beating us up, the scooter riding is great.  Rufus loves to walk in the grass here.  We sleep good in the motorhome... well, most of the time.

Joan had her hair tied to the side with a scrunchie when she went to bed.  She had a neck ache when she got up this morning.  She said, "You don't know what it's like to sleep with a big lump."  I couldn't keep my mouth shut.  I'll let you know what hospital room I'm in if you want to send flowers.

;-)

Scooting along...

This is the reason we are here.  Well, riding, and getting away from south Texas for a while.  We have had a couple warm days here, but very little humidity.  And Hart Ranch is a delight. 

Today was forecast to be a high of 83º, low humidity, and mostly sunny.  Single digit breeze.  It was in the upper 70s when we geared up and headed out.  I mentioned the "tar snakes" a post or two ago - here's what they look like...

Very irregular, and slick.  Not motorcycle friendly at all.  As of now, these have been refreshed on Spring Creek Road, the road we take to get to the good riding roads.  It's only a few miles long, so we just slow down on it now.

Coming up to Neck Yoke Road, a Harley went by us before we made the turn.  Riding behind him, is a reminder of how nimble our scoots are...

We had no issue keeping up with the HD; in fact, we slowed our usual pace so we weren't right up behind him.  Don't take that wrong - the Harley Ultra Classic is a great road bike and would be my first choice to go coast to coast on two wheels.  But, it weighs well over 800 pounds, and that is a lot of inertia to push through the tight curves.  We could see him working his brakes much harder than we were.  The bike will do it, but it isn't exactly "flickable," a term often used for scooters.  With a speed limit of 50mph and much slower than that in the curves, the power of the engine is less of a concern than the nimble handling.

He made the turn onto south Rockerville Road and so did we.  We just kept our pace leisurely.

A right turn on the highway into Keystone; we bypassed Keystone, taking the Old Hill City Road instead.  Good curves, a bunch of railroad crossings, since the 1880 Train between Hill City and Keystone runs along here.

We had planned a stop at the grocery store in Hill City.  Coming up to the Hwy 385 junction, we had been following two other motorcycles, and saw the train leaving town...

They had quite a crowd on the train.  With the train past, we made our turn and headed for the store...

Joan went in to get some chili and to see if they had any Caffeine Free Diet Coke (nope); I stayed with the bikes.  I mentioned that splash on the pavement in the parking spot she picked... she thought it was someone's melted ice cream... I think someone puked.  Either way, I wasn't going to park in it.

We rolled through Hill City after leaving the store - town was busy...

Hill City has done a remarkable job at promoting their small town - it always seems to be busy with tourists when we're here.  South of Hill City, we stayed on Hwy385 until the junction with Hwy 244, that runs past Mt. Rushmore.  There were two Harleys behind us at the light, revving their throttles... pretty sure they didn't want to get caught behind "a couple of scooters."

The light turned green, and we were off.

No issue with us holding up anyone.  ;-)  It wasn't long before we caught up with traffic, but the tourists were moving along at the speed limit... one in a row.  We rode past the Presidents, anticipating our turn onto Iron Mountain Road...

There was a full size van (Iowa plates) that turned in front of us on Iron Mountain Road.  It was slow going for a while...

They eventually pulled to the side enough for us to pass - no traffic for a while, since his van had been moving around 18mph, where the speed limit is 35.

We got held up at both splits by another car, but we came to a stop before heading into the splits, to let that car get far enough ahead so we could enjoy those tight curves.  Once around that car, we had clear road ahead...

Until we came up behind a CanAm trike.  I'm sure these can be driven in a sporty manner, it is just rare that we see that...

The trike finally pulled aside so we could pass (double yellow line), giving us unencumbered riding until we pulled into a turn out to re-hydrate...

A Japanese older couple with a 20-something kid had pulled in before us.  The younger guy spoke perfect English and let us know that he would be landing a drone just ahead of where we were parked.  I asked him about it after he landed it - I thought it might me a Mavic Mini, but found out it was an older Mavic Air (prior to the 2).  That would be great for getting some overhead shots on these twisty roads... I think he was using it to get a shot of Mt Rushmore in the distance (you can't fly a drone in a National Memorial area).

Back to the riding, we turned off of Iron Mountain Road onto Playhouse Road...

There were a couple cars in the other lane, but we had our side of the road to ourselves the entire way.  Then, on to south Rockerville Road again...

Same thing: no traffic!  Instead of making the turn towards Hart Ranch, I suggested we go to Hwy 16 where we could top off fuel at a station that sells non-ethanol.  I had ulterior motives: looking at the miles on my odometer and my fuel gauge (just under half), I was estimating fuel mileage in the 100mpg range.  I was wrong.  I got 92.5 mpg.  Joan got 102.5 mpg.  10mpg better than my Vespa.  This is one competition I will never win... but I am not complaining about 92.5.

Back to Hart Ranch.  We got some Rufus time, and Joan made a chili and Fritos snack for us.  The chili is for the hot dogs and burgers I requested for supper, but there is plenty to add in this snack.

A delightful day in the Black Hills.  Looking at weather back home, the rain bands from Hanna have moved beyond our island, but are still making a mess inland.