Froggy went a courtin'...

If you said, "English language folk song, first mentioned in 1580," you don't get any bonus points, but you really need to audition for Jeopardy... "I'll take 'Folk Songs for $400, Alex."

The weasels were calling for thunderstorms today.  As of 5:00pm, it hasn't happened.  In fact, a cool, comfortable day, with mostly sunshine and a high around 74º.  With the forecast, we decided to take the day off the scoots; when Joan asked me what I wanted to do, I said, "Let's go to Cabela's and see what car dealers are out in that area; have some lunch out; do whatever shopping you need to do."

So, we have a plan.  The area out by Cabela's has become "new car row" - lots of dealers, with room for plenty of inventory.  The Honda motorcycle dealer is in the process of relocating on this road.  No, we don't need any cars or motorcycles, but I did want to wander through Cabela's.  Nothing I needed there.

It's small for a Cabela's...

I just like to look around - they have great mounts (taxidermy), and generally good quality outdoor wear.  Sometimes, they even have shoes that will fit my fat feet.  I looked at a sharp-looking HUK shirt... $69.99... fortunately, they didn't have my size.  ;-)  Wandering through their shoes, we found a style of Keen's that I haven't seen before - only two sizes left, and one of them fit me!  I take that as a sign that I should go for it.  These have an adjustable back strap and don't have that typical Keen hard, bumpy footbed.  Comfortable.

On the way to the Bargain Cave, we saw Frog Toggs for $19.99.  They aren't the fancy print design, but they fold small and will be great to have in the scoots.  For those not familiar with Frog Toggs: they are rain gear (jacket and pants) that are waterproof AND breathable.  I don't know how the fabric knows the difference between rain and sweat, but these are a big plus over the plastic rain gear that is like wearing a sauna.  These are plain green, but about half the price of the regular Toggs.  Being the candy-ass I am, I will continue to do my best to avoid riding in the rain; but if/when it happens again, we'll be prepared.

Joan saw a range-gear bag (for toting guns and ammo) that was priced right and said, "This would hold all that gear you have for you new little camera."  And, to think there wasn't anything I thought we needed here!

And, the best part: when we got to the register to pay, I asked, "Now that you are owned by Bass Pro, can I use my VIP card here?"  Pleasant surprise: yes... a discount and reward points; nice!

We went out for a late lunch, then did a little shopping, finishing off with a stop at Wally World.  It was Roller Derby Day at Walmart, and there were "blockers" galore in every aisle.  I treated it like a game - bounced off that cart, take out the old lady on the electric cart, bank off the frozen food freezers and get the point!  The crowd goes wild!

We didn't need that much, so it wasn't a big challenge.

Back to the coach in time for Rufus's supper feeding.  And, the sun is still shining!

Eyes in the back of my head...

No, not like what your Mother had.

Joan suggested a "no destination" ride today, which was fine for me - I wanted to try out the Akaso V50 Pro as a helmet cam.  Yeah, I set it up on the helmet once, but haven't tried it in actual use on the scoots.

In order to run the Akaso while on the helmet and see what the camera sees, you set it up as a wifi hotspot and use your phone to operate the shutter release and switch back and forth from stills to video.  Pretty slick in use.

With an empty Ram Mount on the mirror, I decided to try a "regular" camera on that mount, my Lumix/Panasonic pocket camera.  Now to be fair, the Lumix has a Leica zoom lens and is a much more capable camera than the the way less expensive Akaso action cam.  I grabbed a quick shot with the helmet cam, and didn't get the whole "cockpit" in the frame...

My iPhone is on the left mirror stalk, the Lumix is on the right; the Akaso is mounted on top of my helmet.

As a test, I went back and forth between the Lumix and the Akaso...

Lumix above, Akaso below...

The Lumix (glass lens) has more detail than the Akaso (plastic lens).  With images the size I use on this blog, it is mostly insignificant.

I did some video with the helmet cam - NOT as good as when the camera is mounted on the mirror stalk.  With Joan riding behind me, I check my mirrors frequently - the jerky motion of the camera going right, then left as I glance in the mirror makes it less than great to watch.  No, I won't subject you to it here.

A few more shots from the Lumix...

We stopped in Keystone so I could swap the Akaso from its forward facing position, to rearward.  This gives me one camera looking forward, one looking back...

 The county road from Keystone to Hill City once again...

A Momma and two baby deer decided this was a good time to cross...

The baby above couldn't make up its mind, so ran down the middle of the road for a bit before heading back to the left... away from the Momma and sibling. 

Back to the riding...

I like the camera mounted backwards on the helmet.  The test video was much better, with less jerky movements, as well.

This works much better than shooting over my shoulder with a DSLR.

We stopped in Hill City for gas (87mpg for me, 125mpg for Joan - these numbers are crazy).  And a hot fudge malt at the DQ.

I put the cameras away and left them in the top case for the rest of the ride.  I consider this another successful test of the function of the Akaso and a good way to mount the Lumix on the bike, as well.

Rather than take back roads home, we went for the highways; maybe a few less miles, but definitely gets you back there faster.

The weasels were calling for a big chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, but that didn't materialize.  There will be some grilling this evening, if the weather holds.  A bit warmer today, but another nice ride.

Adaptable...

It is good to plan... even better to know when to alter the plan... especially when it is all about having fun.

The weasels are calling for rain for much of this week.  That means: there needs to be some scooting today, 'cause it is gorgeous today!

Joan made us each a cinnamon roll today; we cleaned up and hopped on the scoots.  There is a plan: let's go through Custer State Park again, maybe have lunch in Custer, then north past Mt Rushmore and stop for some ice cream.  Not a particularly detailed plan, but we're both in.

Some fun curvy road...

On to Iron Mountain Road.  I shot a few videos once again, but not many stills...

Instead of taking the Playhouse Road that takes you more direct to Needles Highway, we continued south on Iron Mountain Road, heading for the town of Custer.  This, too, is a great riding road...

The fun slowed a bit when we caught up with a bus...

You can see how narrow this road is - the bus is over the center double yellow line as it goes around the tight corners.  Rather than ride painfully slow behind the bus, we pulled into a turn-out to stretch our legs and hydrate...

No, I didn't take off, dragging her scooter behind mine - that is Joan doing some leg exercises.

We have a few days left on our Custer Park Pass, so we continued on through the park, and stopped again at the State Game Lodge.  This was another well-timed stop, because there are so many Minnesota plated cars...

We went into the Game Lodge to see if they were still serving breakfast (just after 10:30)... nope.  We wandered around a bit...

Then, back to the scoots and on to the town of Custer...

 

Custer has grown a bunch since we were here last!  They have "buffaloes" like we have "dolphins"...

 

The power of advertising: there was a billboard for Black Hills Burgers and Buns as we came into town - now, that was all I wanted.  We found a parking spot on the street not far away...

 

About a 10 minute wait for a table; before noon and the place was hoppin'.  It turned out to be a good stop: not only were the burgers outstanding, they had cheese curds!

After lunch, we changed the plan: that road was so great, let's go ride it back the other direction!  After a loop through Custer to see what all has changed.  Several big new chain hotels, more RV resorts, The Flintstones park is now Buffalo Ridge Camp Resort (upscale looking), and plenty of new shops in downtown.

Back into Custer State Park...

Signs, signs, everywhere the signs...

Yes, I slowed down for that sign above.  ;-)

Back to Iron Mountain Road...

This campground above is ready for the Rally ($1.50 Beers).

Some things changed since we went through this area just a few hours earlier: there was some kind of construction on Iron Mountain Road.  We did a U-turn and went back to a county road to get around the wait (and the inevitable long line of slow-moving cars)...

Back to Rockerville Road, and a change there: new yellow stripes painted in the last couple hours...

You know the rest: curvy roads, wheeeeeee, take a right onto Neck Yoke Road, more curvy roads, more wheeeeee, then back to Hart Ranch...

We had talked about a stop at Mt Rushmore for ice cream, but taking that County Road (which turned out to be fun) put us beyond Rushmore.  I bought her ice cream when we got back to Hart Ranch... because that's the kinda guy I am.  What?  Yeah, I had some, too.  :-)