June 17 Black Hills to South Dakota

Slip outta Hewlett early and start the climb into the Black Hills. The dense fir and pine forests give this range a distinctive dark hue, and historiclly, it was settled and overrun by prospectors in the late 1800's, moving off the plains seeking gold wealth. Today, many towns still exist, tho ranching and tourism have surpassed mining in importance.

I stop in Aladdin (pop. 15) for a fine cafe breakfast and wander through the 115 year old general store (bicycle travel really limits what you might buy, though one gallon size jar of pickles was tempting).

Soon I'm crossing into South Dakota, in a mist. State #5! The Mt. Rushmore emblem on the state entrance sign has been artisticlly marked with bullet holes thru all the president's heads. It must be too tempting a target, but I guess everyone has probably wanted to take a shot at some president at some point. The dust of Belle Fourche appears before the town and I stay just long enough to buy a Pepsi and a South Dakota map. (I felt oddly balanced and in relaxed in town, only to later find out that Belle Fourche is the geographic center of the lower 48 states. Don't have a clue how that was decided, but everyone needs the 15 minutes of fame, right?) I have a fun chat with Wilbert, a handlebar moustachioed rancher, who says that my intended route has "hardly no lodging" and that he needs to "watch his gas guage" when he travels SR 212 east.

But I'm going anywaysee, I don't have a gas guage to worry about) and soon it's just me, my dog, my bike and about 10 conspiring and dancing thunderstorms all around. It's way dark with a south wind blowing in my right ear. I pass Fruitdale and the Belle Fourche Reservoir, then pedal as fast as I can, not daring to look around, and hoping that the lightening I glimpse on every horizon just goes its own way. Whitney's Guardian Angel ruled once again and I arrived safely at Newell, after 67 miles.

Stephanie, the 18 y.o. daughter of the Newell Hotel manager, makes me 3 cheeseburgers for dinner and the world is 'A and OK' again.