Adventures of Tin Can Lulu

This trip was our third visit to the Black Hills of South Dakota and the second time our friends Mike and Sandy Fox, from California, meet us there. It’s a jammed pack time catching up, reminiscing about the old adventures and making new ones! We stayed at a wonderful campground in Custer with very wide sites and great views of the mountains in the area.

This trip continued to be challenging for us. Earle had a setback with a broken bone in his right hand and is in a soft cast. Then his left shoulder started acting up. This definitely had an impact on our cycling activities and left us with having to find different adventures to partake!

The end of July and the first week of August in the Black Hills is when motorcyclists start converging for the BIG rally in Sturgis. There are hundreds of miles of roadways that are enjoyed throughout the area and thousands of motorcyclists who make the journey to the Black Hills.

We rented a Polaris RZR (four seater) with Mike and Sandy, and explored the Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road and gravel roads around Custer. Great views of Mount Rushmore and the gorgeous rock formations. It was a blast!!

Our next rental was a Slingshot. Boy was that fun! Mike and Sandy drove their Cam-Am motorcycle. Laura drove the Slingshot and the four of us went to Deadwood and the surrounding area. It was a perfect day .. blue skies, puffy white clouds and sunshine!

We climbed aboard the 1880 Black Hills Steam Train and took a ride back in time. Our ride went from Hill City to Keystone and back to Hill City. The views included the vistas of Harney Peak (the highest point in SD) and mining encampments. The train followed the original route of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad laid down in the late 1880s to service the mines and mills between Hill City and Keystone.

We hiked the Mickelson Trail around Custer and Crazy Horse a few times. Mike and Sandy enjoyed the trail and understood why this trail is one of our bicycling favorites.

Great visit and now we need to plan next years visit!!