Day 50: Beautiful Mickelson

TREV:
Although we had dreaded the climb out of the Hanna campground, it turned out to be easier than expected after breakfast and washing clothes at camp. We got right back on the Mickelson Trail and rode, rode, and rode through ever more beautiful countryside. The great thing about a bike path on an old rail line is that rail is usually laid to be as flat or gradual of an incline as possible. The trail meandered up and down, around creeks and through tunnels. We decided it was time for some music so a portion of the trail was spent listening to some B. Seger which is hands down the best traveling music EVER.

After a bit a fellow rider caught up with us and we started talking with Don as we rode. He lives in Rapid City and rides the Mickelson quite a bit so he was a wealth of information. He knew all the mile markers, scenic stops, and elevation climbs. We stopped several times with him and finally parted ways after Mystic. We exchanged information and he invited us to stay at his place if we made it to Rapid City.

We rode into Hill City, famished and looking for a cold beer which landed us at the Bumpin' Buffalo. I convinced Steph that while in South Dakota ..., and we ordered Rocky Mountain Oysters along with our meals. They were a little chewy but mostly soft and just tasted like any generic deep fried white meat, especially with BBQ sauce. I had expected testicles to have a little more wow factor. Shouldn't they either be disgusting or give me some sort of masculine animal drive? Kind of lackluster if you ask me but I guess that bucket list item can now be checked off, thanks Joel for the insistence. We wandered the town, tasted more sweet wines, and hopped back on Mickelson to get to the Oreville campground.

A nice evening at camp had us munching on fresh peppers and indulging in mini wine bottles purchased at the grocery store in Hill City. We washed clothes and for the first time strung up my cord as a clothes line. I love her for many more reasons but it's been great to have Steph suggest small improvements in my practices that I'll continue to use through the trip. Up until now I have either been drying them on the bike or between the mesh tent and fly overnight. So with everything taken care of we crashed in anticipation of Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore tomorrow.

STEPH:
We started out the morning with oatmeal mixed with dried apples, cranberries, and a special ingredient Trev has discovered which takes oatmeal to a whole new level - peanut butter made with coconut oil. Yum. I originally thought we'd be able to get an early start, not realizing how much actually has to get taken care of in the morning, but after making and eating breakfast, cleaning the dishes, cleaning our faces, brushing teeth, breaking down the tent, packing up our panniers, loading the bikes, washing clothes and attaching them to our bags to dry, filling up water bottles, and applying sunscreen, two hours easily slipped by.

The scenery was gorgeous today along the trail and while it was hot and we did do some climbing, it was a very pleasant ride.  We had the scent and shade of pine trees and crossed many winding creeks (or maybe the same one?) as we made our way to Hill City and on to Oreville campground.  I was surprised that such a beautiful place existed in South Dakota, a state that was pretty much off my radar until we started planning this riding rendezvous.  In a way, the Black Hills remind me of the Emigrant Wilderness in the Sierras, minus the huge granite boulders. My favorite stretch today was after dinner on our way to the campground. The sun was low in the sky, the temperature perfect, and Trev and I rode side by side talking as the trail passed under our tires.  I think I can get used to this!