After twenty eight days we had our first encounter with rain. Leaving Rapid City we had to deal with it for …. oh … about an hour. Then it stopped and was replaced by a cloudy chill.
Working our way through the Black Hills via Deadwood and Cheyenne crossing we took 85 north to Belle Fourche. On the way there we noticed signs for the “Center of the States” or more specifically the “geographical center of the United States”. This monument was created after Hawaii and Alaska joined the union, requiring reconsideration of the previous center (for the lower 48 states) that was somewhere in Kansas.
Center of the USA in Butte County VRBO near Huelet?
This, of course, was explained to us by a gentlemen we met at the monument. He went on to quiz us as to the ‘eastern most’ part of the United States (and the ‘western most”). We mistakenly mentioned Maine and Hawaii. Not so. Both points are in Alaska in the Aleutian islands. Semisopochnoi Island is at 179.7734 degrees East and Amatignak Island is at 179.14718 degrees West. These islands are either side of the international dateline. Useful knowledge not doubt for any aspiring Jeopardy contestants.
Leaving Belle Fourche we followed WY-24 to Hulett, taking us through rolling hills and buttes – with the occasional severely rustic fixer upper here and there. After Hulett it was on to Devil’s Tower (the climactic venue from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind).
Rejoining US-14 we took a coffee break at the Phillips station in Moorcroft, where we met two gents on BMW GS’s from Cold Lake Alberta. Both obtained their bikes from Brian Kiely a former member of Canada’s Trophy GS Team. They were travelling together to visit the Badlands National Park, after which they would part ways – one heading towards Quebec and the other reversing towards Washington state. It was refreshing to see fellow Beemer drivers after weeks of nothing but Harleys.
After a short turn on I-90 we continued north on US-14 toward Clearmont. This stretch of road was a pleasant surprise. We expected something akin to western Montana, but found a great road winding its way through buttes and valleys, rolling hills and ranchlands – as well as a massive mine.
Arrived without incident in Sheridan and checked into our hotel for the evening. No ‘restaurants’ were within walking distance, however there was a deli down the hill at the Conoco station that met our needs (and provided a bit of entertainment vis-a-vis the other patrons.)