Devils Tower to Lead SD July 11, 2022

Devils Tower to Lead SD

July 11, 2022

Last night there was an epic hailstorm.  I was out editing pictures and realized that it was getting really dark.  I hurried over to my tent and started buttoning it up. You could see the lightening bouncing off the hills around Devils Tower. Last tent peg in and I dived in just as the first of the drops started down. Within a few minutes it turned to hail coupled with 50-60 mph winds.  The tent was just shaking.  I was afraid that it was going to knock branches off the huge cotton wood tree I was under, fortunately it stood up and I was okay.

This morning I was keen to get on the road early as I wanted to get my pictures printed. Today was the last good opportunity to get pictures printed for a couple of weeks.  So I was on the road at 6:52. I crossed the road from camp and got flat.  The puncture was caused by one of those little steel wires.  Fortunately, Anders our bike mechanic was right there, and he helped me. I was on the road at 7:05.

I was on a mission now as I wanted to get down to the town of Spearfish to get the pictures printed. It was 60 miles down the road.  Again, fortune was smiling on me and a good tail wind helped me down the road. I was in a Walgreens in Spearfish by 11:50 am.  It took just an hour to get 250 pictures printed. The staff in Walgreen’s were great.  The pictures are fabulous.  Smiles everywhere.

With the pressure off and only 29 miles to go, I was looking forward to the ride up Spearfish Canyon.  It is a long climb with a steep finish at the last 5 miles, but it is so beautiful. We also had a great day for it.  The temperature was about 75F and with a few puffy white clouds in a brilliant blue sky.  In 2014 Jos and I had to take cover under a large tree for about 20 minutes when a cloud burst hit. 

Here in Lead, I climbed the notorious 89 steps to get to the grass football field above the school.  It is the highest point around.  From up on there the night sky is absolutely spectacular.  Packing luggage up the steps is a big job but so worth it.

Another amazing 89-mile day with 5250 feet of climb on this amazing tour.

Terry

PS:  don’t forget to watch the great YouTube video posted by Tomim0 (see the link on the side panel)