Solstice ride…Rapid City to Kadoka
I feel much better following two solid days of rest in Rapid City. It’s good to follow doctor’s orders. Today was 113 miles with a bit over 4500' of climbing.
Today we cycled through Badlands National Park. This was my 2nd visit in a years time, as Amy and I hiked through the park in June ‘21 during a road trip to do some mountain biking with Ben and Whitney in Montana. It was just as awe inspiring the 2nd time around, what with the beauty of the cliffs and crevices, lending itself to something of a lunar landscape. Again, the pictures I’ve included are inadequate in expressing the raw beauty of the place. Perhaps they’ll whet your desire to make a road trip to the area as well. With Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, the ongoing work with the Crazy Horse monument, it’s well worth the trip.
And The Badlands aren’t bad at all. They are astounding in the display of raw, austere beauty. Mother Nature is at her best with her creation on this landscape. Begun over 70 million years ago when the region was covered by a warm shallow ocean, and continuing even now as the buttes and ridges lose over an inch to natural erosion every year. Each year reveals new finds of prehistoric fossils of sea creatures from 60 to 70 million years ago, and fantastic land mammals from as early as 10 to 15 million years ago. Makes one realize that our time is just a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things.
It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, only 93* with 30% humidity and a gentle northerly breeze to blush your cheeks. Withered we were at the end, nonetheless. Until next time…
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