…And then things go awry

After such a long time in the truck, we like to go on a vigorous hike to get the body moving again; this time to Black Elk Peak SD Highpoint Trail in the Black Hills. 7.8 miles with a 1000+’ elevation gain (from 6000+’ already) taking us past amazing granite towers rising out of the hills with a historic stone firetower at the top (no longer in use, but open to public).

We got there early in the morning and set off. The trail glittered, it was a beautiful clear day. We stoped at the first vantage point (not too far in) and exchanged photo taking with another couple.

Not a particular rocky point, but as I turned to head back to the trail, I rolled my ankle pretty good. In my head I was thinking “oh no, I’ve ruined everything, if this is as bad as it feels, the rest of the trip is a washout” and then I calmed down and waited and it was fine enough to continue. We kept going, knowing as soon as I took that boot off, it was going to blow up. The vistas were stunning, cathedral spires, and the topmost firetower views. Also noted the devastation of the pine beetle and massive tree loss. Flies buzzed everywhere, the trail was getting busier and we were happy to take a less trafficked trail back down.

My favorite picture – this rock formation made me think of Grumpy Cat. Which was just about how I felt at the bottom of the trail.

Grumpy Cat , the mountain

On the way down we stopped to replenish our energy with a very chewy bar. I bit in and felt something hard – only to find it was not a misplaced nutshell in the bar, but my crown. Ugh! At least I didn’t swallow it. We packed it away and dragged ourselves to complete the last few miles. Wiped out but exhilarated.

Returning to camp I began a search for a dentist in nearby Rapid City. Most were closed Fridays and those that weren’t couldn’t squeeze me in – we were scheduled to leave Sunday – so waiting until Monday would not work and who knew what schedules might look like for the holiday week. . Annette from Carpenter Dental must have sensed my desperation; she talked to the dentist on schedule for Friday and got me in. They were FABULOUS and I was repaired. Took this picture of my ankle there, it (the right one) was swollen and tender, but not bad enough to miss out on plans. Took in a few sites and lunch at the local (heavily advertised) brew pub and get advice from a lady we crossed paths with to eat the quarter pound chocolate chips cookies (we passed).

Carpenter Dental saves the day
the right ankle
Firehouse Brewery

On the way back, we stopped to see Mt. Rushmore. I’ll just put it out there, we weren’t that impressed. I almost forgot to include it in this post. Yea, it’s amazing to think about how that got created and fascinating to look at; but once you look at it, there just isn’t that much more to do there. There was some work going on, so not everything was open and we didn’t do the hike because it was like 96 degrees and humid there, but even then – the hike didn’t really look that interesting. There were people working on Teddy Roosevelt’s head. That was cool.

We got back to camp and hit the George S. Mikelson Rail Trail on our bikes thinking it would be easy. It was on the way out, because THAT was all downhill!!! We did get to see a ton of white tail deer on the ride, making Brian very happy.

Pine pollen was everywhere at the campsite – everything was covered in a coat of thin green dust, but by that point we did not care. We sat right in it and ate a quick bite, showered and fell exhausted into a deep sleep knowing we had a relatively relaxing day ahead visiting Moccasin Springs Spa in Hot Springs, SD for a massage and the mineral baths. Delightful. But our plan was to stop at Wind Cave National Park on the way back and see the Cave. As we left Hot Springs and checked the website, there was an alert posted that the elevators were down & there would be no Cave tours that day. You can’t see the Cave on your own. So we stopped by the park and saw some exhibits, but now the Cave. Oh well, it was a nice day anyway and we had a roaring campfire and the stars were out in droves.

We left the next day to trek to Bozeman, MT where we are now. On the way, we stopped off for a visit to Devil’s Tower in WY. Did the trail around the base – you can see a couple of climbers on the picture on the top right.

We continued on to Bozeman – where we are until we head out tomorrow for Brian’s niece Ashley’s wedding in Lake Arrowhead, CA. a great town, we could almost be convinced to live here. But then the snow, and that people refer to it as BozeAngeles because so many people are moving here; but I really like it here. Brian had a head on collision on the mountain bike trail with a young dude, but walked away unscathed, I did not join that part of the ride, thankfully. We caught the World Cup during a rainstorm today – packed to empty as soon as the women were victorious! Enjoyed a couple of much needed yoga classes too.