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Day 8

We have a full day planned today, packing up....







...then looking for where the end of the jiffy stand is. lol








With all the rain yesterday, I think it partly sank down and partly rain washed dirt over the top.







The rain and hail cleaned the top half of the bike and splattered dirt up on the bottom half. 








It's a great day to ride...








...so we're off...may be back in 10-12 hours! 








We're pretty pumped about...








...what all we're going to see...







...the fun roads we're going to ride...







...the sunny skies, and hopefully some good drone footage.

 

This map shows our plans for the day. Some of the best riding in the country!







Mary got some good cloud pics!








It's gonna be a great day of riding...








...I can tell that already! 








First other bike we've seen so far.








A look back, we have the road to ourselves. 







They're slowing down in the curves, speeding up in the straights (sort of the opposite of what I do)...








...being a curvy road, soon they are behind us.









Some fellow travelers...







...what a great day to be riding!

 

The fantastic riding continues...






...a different perspective. I have no idea how far Mary stretched out for this pic.






Great views everywhere...







...riding the levee...






...it was a bit of a surprise when the camera swung into my peripheral vision!






Oh Yeah! These kind of signs usually mean "a ton of fun ahead"-






It was a bit tempered by these bikes and car that did not share my opinion of the "fun ahead" sign. lol






Beautiful views!

 

Coming up to some nice riding!








This is going to be fun...








...getting closer to...








...hey, that's gonna be us not too far ahead!








I know I've said it a 100 times...I really like curvy roads!








Elevation changes are fun too!









Rocks that can fall down on us, not so much. lol








Ok, here we are...








...my mind quiets on these roads and I just enjoy the 'flight".








Not to offend anyone...but this kind of riding is "heaven on earth".

 

This is gonna be fun...







...gonna ride around it once...








...looking for a good spot...









...then turn around and go back.







Mary in the mirror-









This looks like a good spot.








That dot up in the middle of the clouds...









...yep, that's the drone taking video, here's where we just rode...








...we left it up there and off we rode!








...with Mary taking pics on the bike, while the drone was videoing above.

 

After riding a bit and getting some video, went back to where we started (where the drone took off from). Ground view...








...coming in for landing view...








...and walking back to bike to pack it up... 








...and ride on down the road.









There's always been traffic here...








...with good reason...







...as you will see, if you've not been here before.








There we go...a closer look of the last 3 shots.







After the view of Mt. Rushmore we took this road a second time...








...then turned down a little side road.

 

On down the side road...








...the storm did a number on some of the trees...








...we got about a mile down the road and did not go any further than this. Stopped for a snack and to walk around the woods a bit.









Headed back out a different way, more trees down...









...back on the 2 lane "main" road.







What a great day of riding...







...both for the views AND the curves.








Found another good spot to put the drone up...








Mary's not riding with me this time. She is on the ground flying the drone herself, for the first time...








...she did great, got some good footage following me down the road.

 

We continue on down 16A...








...thoroughly enjoying...







...the perfect riding day.








We cut thru just a bit of Custer State Park...








enjoying the curves...








We have seen quite a few deer today...








...a bit closer look.








Before long it's time to take the Needles Highway...








...for more spectacular views...








...and more "fun ahead" signs!

 

The sign was telling the truth...








...Curvy scenic road...









...hard to beat the enjoyment of roads like this!









Getting closer...








...the road was recently resurfaced...








...nice ride, and there we are!









Mary took hundreds of photos...








Just a few have made it here...








...the views seem never-ending...








...and new around every curve in the road.

 

I know this is getting long for just one day, but we rode some of the most scenic places to ride, and Mary took well over 500 pics, plus the GoPro footage, plus the drone footage...it is getting close to a wrap for the day.


The ride thru these curves...








...brings us to...








...absolutely stunning views...









...so much so that I...









...literally forget about the road for a bit, which is very unusual for me. 








Being able to ride thru...








...these rock formations is...








...a joy and a privilege.







Just amazing that we can enjoy these views!








Ok, where to next?




Doing it old school. Yeah, I finally started using GPS on the TG a few years ago...but on the Sporty and the Softail it is still done the old way. lol








Ok, this way looks like more fun!








Pulled over for a battery change, and to let the slow-pokes get way ahead of me so I can proceed at my preferred pace. 









Back rolling...








...and thoroughly enjoying it...









...but all good roads eventually come to an end.









Time to head back to camp. We had a bit of a hold up at some road construction near Hill City...15-20 minutes...








...but soon we are back rolling.









At 60, I've tried numerous times to figure out what the allure of the open road is, especially curving ones...








...I've not figured it out, but it has been in my blood for over half a century, and it does not get old! I'm just happy Mary likes it almost as much as I do. 

 

Found a few photos...







...that were already cropped....







...and resized...








...that I meant to post from earlier in the day.








What a great ride it has been...








...today has to be one of the most enjoyable days Mary and I....









...have spent on 2 wheels.








We don't know how many years we have left...







...we are definitely making the most of them...








...fantastic scenery, great roads, memorable day!

 

As we head back to base camp...








...we are savoring our last day riding in the Hills.








We have seen a lot of deer today, including a bunch that ran in front of us.

This is the best action shot we got of one.





Headed down to Cheyenne Crossing.








When we got back to camp we...








...put the drone up in the air one last time...
(look at this shot closely, you will see a bald eagle in it...it circled the drone 5 or 6 times before losing interest)







Got a bit of footage riding down...






...out little "private drive".



 Day 9 HERE