7/13-Tate _ine!

Yes, Tate _ine! But first we gotta get there. 

I said goodbye to Linda this morning, and headed into Sundance. It was mostly downhill. 

The town is down there

Good morning turkeys!

In Sundance I went to the Sinclair and got a yogurt drink, a Bai Coconut drink (for snack time), and a few other supplies. I know what you are thinking, what, no chocolate milk? I decided it was too early for chocolate milk, plus I might have been overdoing it a bit on the dairy. 

Heading out of Sundance it was back to wide open spaces. 

Oh no, not another day of nothingness!

Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before I was back on pavement and climbing up a 3+ mile climb. Well, the climb wasn’t so great…but there were signs of civilization. 

At the top of the climb, the pavement ended. 

And back to trees!

The next climb was not too far away, but I enjoyed the descent. Nearly as soon as I turned onto a road called Grand Canyon Rd, the big climb of the day started. 6.75 miles with an average grade of 4%. Strangely, it wasn’t that bad. It might have helped that I stopped and had a chocolate cream pie and the coconut drink. Calories are helpful in these situations. 

I was pedaling along when I went by a cattle tank with water  flowing from a pipe. I turned around and grabbed a liter in my filter bag. It fit in the frame bag. 

I would only drink it if I needed to. 

I finished the climb and was just starting to descend when I came upon this sign. 

Look closely. It says Tate _ine.

Yep, I crossed into South Dakota! State number 5! And, I’ve never been to South Dakota before, so check another state off the list!

Linda had given me three Cuties. I had one for breakfast. The second one wasn’t good, but I had the third one to celebrate making it to a state I haven’t been to. 

Cutie time!

I think there was more downhill than I’d climbed because I went down down down. I went by a Dances With Wolves film site, but there were a ridiculous amount of people there, so I didn’t stop. The next attraction was Roughlock Falls. I did stop there and walk to the Falls. 

Kinda nice. 

There was a trail that went all the way to Spearfish Canyon Lodge, but it seemed most people drove there. I continued down the road to the Lodge. There was a restaurant called Latchstring. I decided to get some lunch since I didn’t have too much further to go. I had a good chicken salad sandwich and fries…and lots to drink (that cooler weather day didn’t seem to materialize…still scorching hot).

After lunch the next thing was Cheyenne Crossing. Even just that few miles and I was already parched again. Also, my Garmin said I had another 2.6 mile climb! I pulled into the place at the Crossing and got a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water. I dumped my remaining electrolyte drink as it was very hot. 

Back on Wanda, I headed up the climb. There was construction, and it was one lane with a light. Of course I couldn’t make it through on one light cycle, but I was close. 

I stopped after reaching the other side because there was this niggling thought in my brain. Wait, I thought I was supposed to go right at Cheyenne Crossing. I pulled out my phone to look at the route. Sure enough, the route went right, but my Garmin said to go left. Ah crap! Dana has routed the detour to Deadwood! But I don’t want to go to Deadwood. I turned around and rode back down what I had just painstakingly climbed.

Now I didn’t have the route on my Garmin, but it was pretty straightforward to Hanna Campground. I had two miles to go. 

Today’s deer sighting on Hanna Rd

I pulled into the campground. There was a lovely shaded site on the creek. Donna, the camp manager came and collected my $12 (thank you Senior Pass).

My neighbors are from Minneapolis! Drew is a cyclist, but not a bikepacker (yet). His wife is Emma. Drew was interested in my set up. 

Today was 45.5 miles (should have been 44.5). Tomorrow I should get to Hill City. I will stay in a motel because I don’t think there is any camping. Then I can charge everything up for the Mickelson Trail.