I decided to rest and head out of Spearfish in the evening for an easy ride.
Honestly, not that exciting of a day. The town has a really nice public library that I stayed in for a bit.
When the temperature started to dip, I rode out of town into the canyon and found a nice little dirt trail opposite a creek to setup my tent.
The next morning, my legs felt amazing. Spearfish Canyon is one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've been able to ride.
I stopped after an hour or so at one of the lodges to have some coffee and read a book for a while. Although relaxing, within the hour, the temperature jetted up and once again I was climbing hills in the heat.
And it has been in the mid nineties every day now.
Lead, South Dakota, was the first city I stopped in.
Lead, South Dakota.
They had a brewery (of course), but it didn't open for another hour or so. While wandering around town, I came across the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center.
Several years after the gold mine shut it's doors in 2001, an underground laboratory in the mine was finally approved and funded.
The massive pit.
The experiments conducted in the facility, nearly 5000 feet beneath the surface, focus on dark matter and neutrino research. The sheer amount of earth protects the lab from cosmic rays that may interfere with the experiments.
Such a lucky find. Towards the end of my visit, I had the pleasure of chatting with Tess, one of the staff members at the visitor center. A wealth of information, I enjoyed learning about the history of the facility and talking about the town of Lead. Specifically, how most towns do not fare well when the primary employer shuts down. But in their case, a high tech research facility jumped in.
By now the brewery was open, so I stopped in.
Dakota Shivers Brewing had some of the friendliest people inside. Jack, a motorcyclist enjoying a stout at the bar, stoked some conversation with me. Per usual, it started with a focus on my journey, but quickly transitioned into stories about his travels.
Jack has traveled, worked, and explored all over the world. Australia, Morocco, India... you name it, he's probably been there. Not to mention touring around the U.S. on a motorcycle as well.
Jack, I thoroughly enjoyed your stories. Please email me if you have a chance.
From there, I descended into Deadwood - Lead's touristy sibling. I should have stayed in Lead. Regardless, I watched the daily gunfight outside the Franklin Hotel and cooked up a mediocre dinner in the park.
Well into the evening and close to sundown, I had the most difficult time finding a camp site. There was nothing in Deadwood, due to the amount of people and the narrow canyon the town sits in.
Well, not much changed after leaving Deadwood, aside from the lack of people.
At one of the summits, I decided to cut my losses and camp on the hill. My tent was so slanted, everything rolled to the bottom. I couldn't even sit in the tent without sliding to the bottom.
At least I got another beautiful sunset.
Joe