Day, uh, what day is this? Sturgis: Day 5
August 04, 2008
It’s Monday shortly before 7 a.m. and, again, I thought vacations were for rest. I am getting up like it’s the first day of school and I got new clothes to wear.
The problem here in this southwest corner of South Dakota is, there is so much to see. So many rides to take. Again, I go with the history. It is day 5 (second full day here) and I am already feeling the anxiety of NOT getting everything in. Since we are three days from home, there was some discussion in planning this trip if we were leaving Friday or Saturday. It’s Saturday now, for sure.
For the second straight night, we were awaken in the early morning hours by the wind. The little camper was pitching a bit and last night we left the window open to enjoy the cool air. The blinds clattering on the windows could have waken the neighbors, 6 miles away.
This morning’s wind was accompanied by a majestic lightening storm. It was over Bear Butte when we came in last night. No rain all day yesterday, just a few sprinkles. Even the sprinkles are huge. Think quarter size. The lightening seems to add to the specialness of this place.
The coffee tastes good this morning. It must be about 62 degrees. We are within viewing distance of this one great, stand alone mountain east of Sturgis. I don’t know if the mountain is called Bear Butte, but today, my mission is to find out. Anyway, this morning, there is a huge cloud covering the top of Bear Butte.
I read somewhere yesterday that a lot of the peaks are only accessible by foot. I also read where you can take “an easy two-mile hike” up one. I suggested it to the husband.
“Let’s go,“ he said.
OK, I didn’t really think this through. Maybe I don’t have the right shoes.
I did a “You’re kidding me,“ yesterday when I learned that the highest peak between the Rockey Mountains and the Swiss Alps is HERE! In South Dakota? Go figure. It is Harney Peak. We saw it by train yesterday. Sitting atop is a forestry tower that twice was struck by lightening and burned to the ground a hundred years ago. It was rebuilt with stone—something that is abundant here—and is no longer manned as a fire station.
Riding through Spearfish Canyon yesterday I did notice dead trees. The husband says there was a fire in 2006, the year he was here, and the grass is beginning to come back.
We had fire thoughts when we first saw our campground, where the grass had been cut. There is a directive of “no open fires” at the campgrounds and I understand fully. This whole place could go up! Which, we half expected last night, what with our propane leak (we thought) and all. Boom! And to think, we had the cooking oil wedged down there next to the hot water heater when we sprang a leak two (was it three?) days ago. I plead the fifth there. I didn’t know that thing was a hot water heater. We have no smells today.
