Side Trip To Devil’s Tower
If the OFMC had just headed straight for our next stop after Spearfish it would have been about a 90-mile ride. That meant this was another time to play tourists.
We went north out of Spearfish toward Belle Fourche then turned west on SD 34 back into Wyoming, now on WY 24, to Hulett. That was our first stop of the day, and because we had been in no hurry to get going, time for an early lunch. We then continued west to Devil’s Tower.
Bill and Dennis at Devil’s Tower.
Up on the monument we could see some climbers, very obviously coming down. They must have started for the top around 4 a.m. or something like that, in order to beat the heat, and now as they came down it was another scorching day. Then we headed back down for a stop at the cafe/bar down on the highway. And ice cream! Riding is all about ice cream, isn’t it?
Rolling again, we caught US 14 down to Sundance and headed south from there on WY 585. Then we picked up US 85 at Four Corners a continued to south to Newcastle, our destination this day. Newcastle’s a nice town but there wasn’t much to do other than walk out for dinner and then hang out at the motel. The place we stayed was nice, run by some nice people, but the potted plants they put out to make things more homey were totally withered with all this heat. I plucked what looked like a ripe strawberry off a vine and it was like cardboard–zero moisture beneath the skin.
The next day was also to be a short ride so again, no hurry heading out. We headed south on US 85 through Lusk and on down to US 26 at Lingle, then turned east to Torrington, our destination. We stopped for a lunch in Lusk–easily the worst meal of the trip–and then for another break in Lingle. No hurry, you know.
Bill was leading as we headed for Torrington. You know what that means, don’t you? We had looked at the map and saw that we would come into Torrington and then turn right at the main street, and go a couple blocks to our motel. I don’t have to tell you what happened, do I? Bill blew right on past the main road and we had to pull off and turn around. Never let Bill lead.
Our accommodations in Torrington were the second seemingly abandoned warehouse of the trip. How do you build a motel and make it look like an abandoned warehouse? Somebody seems to be good at it.
But this was home for the night and at least there was a more than decent Mexican restaurant just down the street for dinner.
Biker Quote for Today
You might be a Yuppie biker if its not fun to ride unless someone sees you.
