During the night it rained a little, more of a little sprinkle than anything. It was fricking cold though. I'd wake up every hour or two to roll over and try to stay warm. I was tucked into the sleeping bag with just my nose sticking out. The feet were the worst staying chilly all night. I did get up around 3am to pee and left my sweatshirt on. It was a bit warmer but getting up at 5:30am got me a little chill while I was getting packed up.
It was about 35 degrees so it was a bit chilly. Funny thing is that it was pretty much ok even when moving. I did get a little chilly on my thighs weirdly enough.
While heading to the other side (Burgess Junction, about 20 miles away), I had encounters with 3 moose. I didn't have enough time to get the camera out though. They saw the bike and high-tailed it. Still, pretty cool :)
I stopped at one point where I could overlook Sheridan (the east side).
There's even snow!
I stopped at the lake where the warmer lake was smoking a bit in the cold morning air.
Past Burgess Junction, there were signs that the road was a little rough ahead. Looks like they're cutting a new road straight through and the switchbacks are being removed :(
When I got to the bottom, I kept feeling/hearing a thump. I thought something had come undone and pulled over to check. Everything was still tight. I figured it might be the snap on the rain jacket and snapped it. That seems to have taken care of the issue. I did snap a quick picture. Is that rain ahead?
At Sheridan I made the turn to follow Rt 14 instead of taking 90. Very nice road. Nice sweepers and really no one on the road. At 16 I turned north and followed it around to Gillette. It was a bit more sparse that way and the road was a tiny bit more rough but it was still a pretty nice road. And oddly enough, no other bikes. I guess all the Sturgis guys were on 90 :)
About an hour from Gillette, I looked ahead and saw rain clouds. As it started to rain, I pulled over and geared up again. It rained all the way to Gillette.
I got on 90 at that point and headed east. It rained the whole time. I got off at Moorcroft to head north to the Devil's Tower and get a picture.
Yea, it's there somewhere :) I went on down and could just see the base in the clouds. I stopped in at the trading post and rested for a few minutes then got back on the bike and headed on. I figured I might be heading into the sun but no such luck. And the camera battery was running low. Since it's raining, I didn't want to muck with it so most of the rest of the pics are from the Blackberry and over on Facebook (for now; I'll get them when I have more time).
As I crossed over into South Dakota, the rain had basically stopped. I pulled in at Spearfish to call Rita again and felt it start sprinkling again. Man, how depressing. And looking north, it looked like it was going to just get wetter. I grabbed a bite, dressed up again and started on out. Even with the Aerostitch glove covers, my gloves were getting a little damp. Mainly from taking them off when I was getting gas. Even the Aerostich has given way. My crotch was wet and my ass was soaking in water. When I got off the bike and stood up, rain ran down the backs of my legs and into my boots.Yea, it was raining.
On my way north on 85, it just kept raining. A couple of times it faked me out and I took off the covers to let my gloves dry out but within a few minutes, it was raining again. In looking ahead, I could see extra heavy rains. After crossing into North Dakota, I followed 85 east for a bit and hoped the rain was going to be elsewhere but no such luck as 85 turned north again.
In Belfield on 94, I made the left turn to head to Madora. The clouds had broken and I could see the sun. I was going to get a room but with the sun coming out, I went ahead and got a camp site in Sully Creek State Park. The place was virtually empty but the sun was out. There were a few clouds and even lightning. I got my tent up and most of my gear in just as it started to rain again. I got the rest of the gear in and settled in with my book (Issac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy). After an hour or so, I put the book away and went to sleep with the rain drumming on the tent.