White River, SD to Burke,
SD
92 miles
"You know the quick way to get the pump off? Just give it a good wack!" [Win Westervelt to Rob Christian, both of whom lost tubes as a result of following this advice]
Last year's journal entry for today indicated a day which might be a low point for the trip. Yet despite more than doubling the total number of flat tires for the trip (2 for the first 25 days, 3 today), it was a pretty good day. We had mostly a quarter tailwind except when we rode more towards the south, and except for 10 miles or so near the end, the pavement was better than we expected. We emerged into a flatter version of the Great Plains, with a little more agriculture than before. We had lunch in the town of Winner, and we are spending the night just outside Burke at the Rooster Tales Lodge, which is great (pictures below).
Here is the hillier terrain earlier in the ride:
These are hay bales, but they make you think of buffalo at first glance:
More countryside:
Rob Christian makes the best available use of his inner tube, one of
two that ended up with broken valve stems:
We work on Win Westervelt's flat tire (Mark Bazerman, Deb Klein, Win
Westervelt, Sandra White (with camera), and Rob Christian):
Flater countryside:
Dinner at Rooster Tales Lodge (Aaron Huether's head, Mike Weston, Deb
Klein, Brian Holsenbeck (mostly hidden), Mark Bazerman, Rob Christian (leaning
back), Win Westervelt (very hidden), Sandra White (very hidden), Chuck
Blair, Joanne Blair, and David Blair):
Brad Hutchison and his wife, owners of the Rooster Tales Hunting Service
(605/775-2236 or 605/775-2989):