Needles Highway...

 

 

Not the one that runs between Laughlin, NV, and Needles, CA.  This is the road that runs through Custer State Park and takes you on a winding adventure through the Needles area in the park.  From my perspective, it is the prettiest part of CSP.  I'm not the only one who thinks so: that road is almost always busy on any summer day... with a guaranteed jam where the road funnels down to a narrow single lane tunnel at Needles' Eye.

Things are especially busy on that road with all that is going on in the Black Hills: the Corvette Rally in Spearfish, and the 3-Wheel Rally happening in Deadwood.  Revzilla (they sell motorcycle stuff) sponsoring an ADV Rally at the Buffalo Chip outside of Sturgis.  And all those driving/riding enthusiasts wanting to take home memories of that spectacular road that is Needles Highway.

Truth be told, Needles wasn't the first choice on today's outing - we planned to ride the scoots through the Wildlife Loop in the park.  Well, we did.  But not much in the way of wildlife to be seen - there were a few buffalo about a half mile off the road; the looked like dark brown lumps in the distance.  The Begging Burros were about a quarter mile off the road, with cars parked all over, and hordes of people flocking to them.  We rode past both of those situations, and didn't see any other wildlife on that stretch of road.

From there, north to get to 16A again, then north again on Needles Highway.  We stopped at Hole in the Wall (where we sometimes picnic) to drink some water and eat some fruit.  And, rest our butts.  Then, on towards Needles' Eye again.  Traffic was grouped: 3 or 4 vehicles driving slow, we'd get around them, then come up on another 3 or 4 grouped together going slow.  It didn't really get crowded until just before Needles' Eye, although we got stuck behind a couple on a Goldwing who were moving pretty slow.

Through the tunnel at Needles' Eye - traffic on the other side was backed up for a mile or so; we lucked out on the direction we were traveling.  Congested again as we rode past Sylvan Lake Lodge area, then behind 3 Harleys (two trikes and a cruiser) who were doing about 10 mph less than the speed limit.  Once they pulled off, we had pretty clear riding for the rest of the day.  Through Hill City, on the county road that runs between Hill City and Keystone, then took Hwy 16 so we could stop and fill up fuel tanks.  I got 88mpg on the Vespa, Joan got 102mpg on the Xmax.

I took the Insta360 One X2 along today, only planning to shoot some video on the Wildlife Loop.  As you read above, not much happening there, so it is more about Needles' Highway and some of the scenery and other vehicles on the road today.

I'll be working on the video this evening, and plan to post it here when I'm done.

A lovely day: lots of blue sky, temps in the upper 70s to mid-80s, wind occasionally gusty.  A good day to be out riding.

Here's the video...