WIND CAVE trip
June 6-12 2021
PART 7
US 16, US 385, and SD 89 team up in Custer, S.D., and that sign shows the Presidents holding big glasses of beer!
This is probably on the way from Keystone back down to Custer, as Mount Rushmore is seen at right. Keystone is the beer that gave us the "bitter beer face" commercials of the 1990s.
A side view of George Washington.
The Presidents are again seen beering.
Back at the campsite, you can see deer moving in from the left.
A deer marches along the road in the evening twilight.
We wake up to see what looks like a wild turkey or pheasant.
The big bird trudges up the road.
East on CR 101 - also known as 7-11 Road, like 7-Eleven (which is the sort of place where people would bubble a lot).
7-11 Road was really one of the trip's roadly highlights, for it was unpaved. But I don't remember much about it - except for it being cool.
7-11 continues.
I don't know how 7-11 Road got its name. Maybe it was named after a person who had a Lucky Seven but was also lucky enough to have a Lucky Eleven. In other words, a cool person.
Still 7-11!
The memorable road that I barely remember continues.
Think. Do. Be.
I think the reason I have such a hard time remembering this beautiful road is that I was still snickering about the woman at Wind Cave trying to blow a bubble with the drawstring of her jacket.
7-11 at SD 79.
The speed limit here on I-90 is a jaw-dropping 80 MPH! The billboard on the right says, "Refreshing!" I'm reminded of the "ahhhhh!" sound they always made in the iced tea commercials.
Wasta! Wasta basta! Wyyyyyyyyyysta byyyyyyyyyysta!
You may recall my 2012 trip that focused on Badlands National Park. Here we revisit that park, and this is likely SD 240, which seems to be a 40-mile scenic road called the Badlands Loop. Unlike most states, South Dakota defines state highways by legislation, and the law on SD 240 makes reference to things like "section six, township one south, range sixteen east" - though it appears as if the official route excludes the stretch through the park. SD 240 was US 16A until about 1980.
This and the rest of the photos in this part are likely along the Badlands Loop.
It's a loop-de-loop! That's an inside joke from the mid-1980s. I was probably lounging around in parachute pants with WCLU on the boom box when I came up with that!
This turnoff gives us a good view of the Badlands.