Well last nights storms weren’t tornado producers, but they did unleash plenty of rain. Some parts of South Dakota got over 8 inches (20cm) overnight. This morning it had cleared where we were, but the temperatures had dropped.
After breakfast we headed out to the town of Deadwood about 70 miles away, unfortunately the temperatures continued to drop and we drove back into the rain. By lunch time we were down to 8C (47F) and torrential rain with strong winds.
The scenery was superb, despite the weather, and the driving was fun on mountain roads with many turns and hills. Good MGB roads!!
As we didn’t need to be in Deadwood until 1400 we stopped off at a Mans Store …. Harbor Freight and another quilt store!
Deadwood was added to the itinerary as we had a very short trip to our next stop. It was a typical Western themed tourist trap, with 95% of the stores being gift shops. The “highlight” of the day was to be a gun fight in Main St. at 1400!
Main Street Deadwood SD
There was nowhere close by to park so we bit the bullet (sorry!!) and headed out of town towards Hill City SD. The scenery was still good and the weather started to brighten up. We climbed up to 5700′ before descending a little into our destination. We drove over a large dam, to one side was a river on the other Paktola Lake.
Paktola Lake.
We made it to Hill city mid afternoon, but too early to check into the hotel. As the rain had now stopped, we left the car at the hotel and took a walk along the main street. We desperately needed some exercise to burn off beer and desert induced calories.
The main reason for the stop here is that there is a steam engine rail trip that we will take tomorrow morning. As there was a train due in we extended our walk to the station to get some pictures.
The forecast for the next few days looks promising, climbing up to the 30’s (Mid 80’s) by midweek, IF the forecasters are to be believed. After the train trip tomorrow we head out out to Rawlins, Wyoming for a night stop, then down to Utah, our main destination.