Sturgis Rally Ride into the Southern
Black Hills
There
are fewer Sturgis Rally bikers as you descend south
of Custer. On Hwy 385 as you reach Custer, you'll
come to a stop light in town. Go west (right) for
a short ways until you get to the Hwy 385 or 89 turnoff
which heads south.
This stretch of road goes through a sparsely populated
part of the Black Hills. The mountains and trees slide
by on this part of the Sturgis Enlightenment Ride,
our longest ride at the Sturgis Rally.
Hang
on to your Harley keys at the Sturgis Rally
You'll
go by the settlement of Sanator, which is now home
to the state boot camp for wayward youth. So, if a
juvenile wants to borrow your bike...
You'll eventually get to Pringle, which used to be
and maybe still is the poaching capital of the Black
Hills. A big federal sting operation was done in this
area about 20 years ago to round up poachers who had
been wandering into nearby Wind Cave National Park,
Custer State Park and the national forest to poach
elk and assorted wildlife, meaning mainly anything
they could blast.
Some of the poachers got to spend time in the big
house.
Sturgis
Rally into Wind Cave
Stay
on Hwy 385 and curve around to the east to head towards
Wind Cave National Park. There is no charge to get
into this park.
You'll see a sign leading you to the park headquarters,
and you can make a stop-off there if you like.
There is an interpretive exhibit about the cave and
about the aboveground part of the national park. It's
free.
Wind Cave is know, of course, for it's cave. But the
above ground landscape is quite nice, too. And not
many people go hiking across it.
Sturgis
Rally Intestinal Ruminations at Wind Cave
|
