Custer State Park...

 

Another great riding area.  We have options for getting there - decided to take the route that runs us past Mt Rushmore and come into the park via Needles Highway.  I did take a 360 camera and mounted it on my bike to start, then on the back of Joan's bike... I wanted to get some video of the CTX in this pretty scenery.

Joan packed us a picnic lunch and we got out early, hoping to beat the crowds on Needles Highway.  I did grab a few still from the video - they will have to suffice while I work on the video.

A cooler day today, with partly sunny skies.  It was just right with a riding jacket on when we got out before 9:00 am.  Fun curvy roads as we made our way through Keystone and past Mt Rushmore...

You can see George's profile in the image above.  Hwy 244 goes past Mt Rushmore and connects with Hwy 385 near Hill City.  A left, then another left, and we are on the highway that winds its way to Custer State Park.  We stopped at the northwest entrance, bought our season passes, and then stopped long enough to move the camera from my bike to Joan's.

Another first for us when we got to the Needle's Eye Tunnel: no traffic!  Early is the answer.

No traffic from either direction through the tunnel, and no one in front of us for the first few miles on the other side of Needle's Eye...

We were behind a pickup for a while; he passed several opportunities to pull off and let us get around.  I did politely flash my lights at him, and he understood.  Zipping around him, we had clear road ahead of us again.

This is great riding with beautiful scenery.  It also takes us past our favorite picnic area in the park.

We pulled into the Hole In The Wall Picnic Area and had our pick of tables.

With lunch done, I went to fire up my camera again... low battery.  Those photos above are from my phone.  Joan took a selfie before we pulled out...

The rest of the ride took us through Custer State Park, back to the full length of Iron Mountain Road, back through Keystone, then onto Highway 16.  We stopped for gas before heading back into Hart Ranch... I got 75mpg, Joan's Xmax did better.

I took some time to clean up the bikes before putting them away; Joan trimmed up a piece of carpet we had left over from a shelf-lining project, and made a liner for my top case (trunk).

Yeah, yeah, but what about the important stuff?  Rufus was happy to see us when we got home - this was before taking him outside...

That piece of carpet he's sitting on... that's the new liner now in my trunk.

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Happy 21st Anniversary, Steph and Dan!  Yep, just a short 21 years ago, these two youngsters were joined in wedded matrimony.  And now, 21 years later, I still remind Dan: no take-backs!

:-)