Aug 6 - Tuesday by hueyland by hueyland

Sturgis 2013 Sturgis 2013

Aug 6 - Tuesday

By hueyland
Aug 30, 2013
290 Photos

hueyland's Gallery

Sturgis 2013 Sturgis 2013

Aug 6 - Tuesday

Aug 30, 2013
290 Photos

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20130806_141945 (up early.. left the others in bed. Off to Rapid City, through Keystone, down to Custer State Park, the Needles Highway, and finally to Mt. Rushmore for an evening show..)

20130806_142803

20130806_143105 (very cool bridge ahead...)

20130806_143109

20130806_143112

20130806_143301 (every roadside bar/restaurant has something going on...)

20130806_143309

20130806_143351 (the first of many tunnels to come)

20130806_143355

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20130806_143406

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20130806_143524 (main st. Keystone, SD... next time we're going to stop here for awhile, but can't today - too much to see!)

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20130806_143604

20130806_143806

20130806_143826

20130806_143847

20130806_143910

20130806_143917

20130806_143959 (entrance to Mt. Rushmore - but we're not going there yet. we're heading down to Custer first...)

20130806_144115 (Birch Trees! we haven't seen anything except Pine Trees the whole day!)

20130806_144134 (entering Black Hills National Forest...)

20130806_144145 (get used to seeing roads like this.... curve after curve after curve, and around every turn is another beautiful sight..)

20130806_144148

20130806_144246 (kinda cool to think that these roads are isolated all winter! wouldn't it be fun to take a snowmobile through them? Or an ATV?)

20130806_144257 (our first switchback bridge... drive under, around, and over)

20130806_144304

20130806_144312 (coming around)

20130806_144315 (almost right over the road)

20130806_144331

20130806_144356

20130806_144403

20130806_144426 (another switchback bridge ahead)

20130806_144519_1

20130806_144523_2 (Straight down off the side of the road - we just drove up those roads down there)

20130806_144526_4 (roads on top of roads with no guardrails)

20130806_144617 (our 2nd tunnel... but this one is much cooler! One lane)

20130806_144624 (you have to honk your horn before entering. This was a problem - my horn is broke!)

20130806_144631

20130806_144634

20130806_144639 (we made it out the other side.. people stop here to look back through the tunnel)

20130806_144717 (looking back through the tunnel...)

20130806_144752 (looking through the tunnel you can see Mt. Rushmore in the distance!)

20130806_144819_LLS

20130806_145832_LLS (we climbed up a rock wall to a lookout area on top of the tunnel for an absolutely stunning view of Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills... there were only two other people who climbed up here)

20130806_150028 (and they took our picture for us!)

20130806_150146 (the granite looks like it is covered in Gold!)

20130806_150151 (I'm on the edge! the entrance to the tunnel is right below me - you can see the guardrail.. and the twisting road up in the background.)

20130806_150156

20130806_150214

20130806_150221 (telephoto!!)

20130806_150229 (looks like a postcard)

20130806_150324 (this is our view... that's Mt. Rushmore back there...)

20130806_150329

20130806_150339 (pretty good zoom on that camera!)

20130806_150354

20130806_150357

20130806_150402

20130806_150419

20130806_150847 (Handfuls of GOLD!!! We're RICH!)

20130806_151020 (shiny rocks litter the ground.. very cool in person)

20130806_151041

20130806_151329 (watch out for this hole!)

20130806_151429 (wish our daughters could feel the bark on these trees.. it fell off in flakes..)

20130806_152622 (that's where we were - up on top of that!)

20130806_152632

20130806_152709 (a very cool stretch of road - single lane!)

20130806_152718

20130806_152727

20130806_152803

20130806_152806 (and the two lanes join back together)

20130806_152816 (yet another switchback)

20130806_152829 (and this switchback leads straight into another tunnel!)

20130806_152831

20130806_152834

20130806_152836 (looking over the edge of the switchback bridge)

20130806_152838

20130806_152841

20130806_152843

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20130806_152920

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20130806_152938

20130806_152942

20130806_152946

20130806_152958 (keep climbing up higher and higher into the mountains)

20130806_153002

20130806_153011 (what an absolutely gorgeous ride... these moments make the entire trip worthwhile. a moment of complete and utter beauty.)

20130806_153039 (climbing out of the woods to the granite tops of the Black Hills)

20130806_153046 (uh oh, storms up ahead)

20130806_153111 (another cool single lane road... amazing)

20130806_153125 (makes you want to just pull over and sit here for hours)

20130806_153213

20130806_153227 (all of the brown stretches of forest are dead trees due to the Pine Beetle... they kill millions of pine trees... what a shame)

20130806_153232

20130806_153244

20130806_153330 (way off in the distance are the Badlands - you can see the brownish edges)

20130806_153332 (the Badlands are about 50 miles away)

20130806_153333

20130806_153704 (a mountaintop lookout)

20130806_153710

20130806_153829

20130806_153946 (we are climbing up there next)

20130806_154033 (people playing in the rocks!)

20130806_154044

20130806_154143 (I am about 1 foot away from death! A sheer drop of about 100 feet... Kim won't come any closer to me..)

20130806_154205 (some people trying to walk along the edges..)

20130806_154339 (another great view of Mt. Rushmore)

20130806_154343

20130806_154348

20130806_154528 (a 'selfie' - a little dark)

20130806_154906

20130806_155221 (and now we go back down! RAPIDLY! these first few turns are very steep and very tight.. AWESOME!)

20130806_155226

20130806_155229

20130806_155232

20130806_155235

20130806_155238

20130806_155242 (you can see the levels of road below us.. two or three levels above us too!)

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20130806_155356

20130806_155413

20130806_155418

20130806_160519 (back down into the valleys)

20130806_160542

20130806_160913 (the first Antelope we have seen...)

20130806_160916

20130806_161353

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20130806_162903

20130806_163035

20130806_163321 (it's raining on the other side of the park)

20130806_163924

20130806_163929 (on the lookout for Buffalo)

20130806_164142 (hey, there's some Buffalo way back there)

20130806_164205 (and then - we come over another ridge and WHAM! hundreds of Buffalo. what an amazing and beautiful sight.. Kim was breathtaken!)

20130806_164214

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20130806_164554

20130806_164613 (a Buffalo road block!)

20130806_164624

20130806_164909

20130806_164931_2 (this monster was only a few feet away!)

20130806_164936

20130806_164942 (uh oh, they are coming straight for us!)

20130806_165237 (got past the buffalo road block.)

20130806_165336

20130806_165340 (hey - there's something back there!)

20130806_165644

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20130806_165741

20130806_165746

20130806_170939 (more Antelope)

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20130806_171128

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20130806_173228

20130806_173445

20130806_173644

20130806_173648

20130806_173729 (another beautiful mountaintop lookout)

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20130806_173812

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20130806_173900

20130806_174145

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20130806_174343

20130806_181324 (the Needles)

20130806_181330

20130806_181335

20130806_181342

20130806_181353

20130806_181455 (panoramic view...)

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20130806_182115

20130806_182128

20130806_182134

20130806_182200 (the Needles highway)

20130806_182204

20130806_182208 (there is a 'small' rock just sitting on top of a large "Needle"... looks like it is ready to fall off)

20130806_182211 (there - up there... just on the edge of being hidden by a treetop)

20130806_182213

20130806_182217

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20130806_182234 (the sunspots kind of ruined this shot..)

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20130806_182256

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20130806_182336 (the road goes right through these giant Granite spires, or Needles)

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20130806_182703 (another tunnel right into the Spires)

20130806_182706

20130806_182708 (this one gets pretty narrow)

20130806_182711

20130806_182713 (the spires are very high... look how small the people are down there!)

20130806_182716

20130806_182723 (outside of the tunnel... we should've stopped here for a few pics.. but it was already late afternoon and we still had to get to Mt. Rushmore)

20130806_182727 (the road just goes right though the granite boulders)

20130806_182731

20130806_182734

20130806_182741

20130806_182755

20130806_183838

20130806_183843

20130806_184530 (another tunnel - pretty small one...)

20130806_184540

20130806_184544

20130806_184553 (leaving the Needles highway)

20130806_184604 (back down the mountain)

20130806_184608

20130806_184613

20130806_184746

20130806_185123

20130806_185424

20130806_190635

20130806_190648 (there's a guy climbing the rock)

20130806_190708 (massive rock face. Mt. Rushmore is on the other side of this)

20130806_190907 (we made it to Mt. Rushmore)

20130806_191648 (the flag laden entrance to the main viewing area)

20130806_191703

20130806_191952

20130806_191959

20130806_192004

20130806_192010

20130806_192353 (more sunspots)

20130806_192357

20130806_203507

20130806_203805 (George had something in his nose... I picked it out for him..)

20130806_205018 (we were able to walk right up under the faces)

20130806_205024

20130806_205029

20130806_205333 (walk right up to the base of the rubble field)

20130806_205338

20130806_205912 (zoom in on the eyeball!)

20130806_205941

20130806_205957

20130806_210010

20130806_210016

20130806_210812 (a gorgeous evening.... wow)

20130806_223030_LLS (the lighting ceremony - they just turned on the lights..)

20130806_223048

20130806_223132 (the lights are getting brighter..)

20130806_223226

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20130806_223422 (they brought down all former and current members of the Military to pay tribute. It was extremely touching as they lowered the flag...)

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20130806_223509 (they folded up the flag to end the ceremony. that ended our day... it was 10:00 pm and we still had an hour ride back to Sturgis...)

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