May 11 - Deadwood, Sturgis, & Rapid City, SD
One disadvantage to being over a mile high (5,480' to be exact) is the weather. Mid-May is approaching quickly and we woke up this morning to a temperature of 1C (that's 34F for our friends south of the border) and a snow squall. Hard to tell from this picture but the wind was also blowing, so the wind chill was......wait for it...... -8C (18F)!
As our destination for today was Rapid City, only 40 miles away, we decided to drive up to Deadwood and Sturgis and then head down I90 to Rapid City.
Just before Sheridan Lake, we grabbed a coffee at a roadside coffee bar. Heading up Hwy 385, we stopped at Sheridan Lake and enjoyed our coffee.
The weather was warming but the clouds looked very foreboding. A short ways up the road, the weather socked in and we were in the midst of a major snow squall. Fortunately the snow wasn't heavy, but when the temperature hit 2C and the display started indicating ICE, I became a little concerned. At a slightly reduced speed (although with Ali in tow, we never go that tremendously fast anyway), we entered the historic town of Deadwood, SD.
I guess Deadwood is getting ready for the tourist season 'cause the main road into town was dirt! Construction crews were all over the place.
We drove the main street of Deadwood then headed down Boulder Canyon for Sturgis.
In Sturgis, well, I guess it is much more exciting when the annual motorcyle rally is happening 'cause today it was just a normal sleepy little town.
On the way from Sturgis to Rapid City, we passed the Black Hills National Cemetery.
We checked into the Rapid City RV Park at the top of the hill, got set up, then had a rest. We were both tired.
We then headed into downtown Rapid City to view the "City of President's" statues. These are really well done – we strolled up and down checking out the statues on each corner.
We also walked through Main Street Square and marvelled at its artwork.
That's it for today. We headed back to the park and settled in for the evening.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the Air and Space Museum out by Ellsworth AFB.
