South Dakota Trip

Got in to South Dakota at 10:00pm last night. Picked up a rental car and drove an hour to Hot Springs. Midwest is currently having a heat wave. Windows on the Air BnB were open and it was nearly 80 degrees at midnight! .

Going to cruise around town and the outskirts today...

Try to behave.

Love,
Dad

 

Your boy was there last week...... You're too late!

 

He packed his bags last night, pre-flight. Rental car, 9am. And he’s gonna drive to the edge by ten.

And I think it’s going to be a long, long time. Til Acton bring him round again to find he’s not the man we think he is back home, oh no no no. Fuckin stop it man. Stop it, man! Get your ass back here and share some loam.

 

Okay!
So the flights went pretty smooth to get here. The airports were ghost towns.
We flew out of Bakersfield supah economy and believe me supah economy is supah economy!

Flew united to Denver with a 3 hour layover (went pretty fast) then from there to Rapid City.

Rented a car and drove an hour south to Hot Springs. Been in a Midwest heat wave since we been here. Humidity does not seem too bad. Was awaken late last night to a thunderstorm and it poured for a while. Cleared up by 8:30 am the next morning. Awesome!

Been on the road solid the last two days looking at property. Found several. Houses are cheap, property is expensive (comparatively). The town of Hot Springs is a pretty cool little place. They actually have an intersection with traffic lights!
There is no fast food, but there is a Subway, Pizza Hut, Ace Hardware, a place like Home Depot on the outskirts of town. The rest seems to be small businesses other than, Wells Fargo, and a South Dakota Bank. Gas is $2.01/ gal Diesel is $2.17. It’s a slow pace and you can’t be in a hurry when dealing with people. Friendly as all get out. Everybody waves at everybody while driving. Roads outside of town are all 55, 65, and 70 mph.

So far seen plenty of deer, antelope, Buffalo, and a family of wild turkeys. Most of the property out here is 1, 5, 10, and 20 Acre parcels then you get into large acreage up to 1600 acres that’s mostly cattle ranges.

Found a 10 acre parcel right at 4100 feet with a full 360 panoramic views for $76k. It’s about 10 minutes out of town. It’s REAL tempting. We would build a 900 foot cabin with a loft on it. Being a builder I would do the septic, trenching, footings, framing, drywall, siding, and drywall. Some of the finish work as well.
On the plane leaving Bakersfield...



Denver layover. Yeah, a ghost town...


Businesses on the left and a stream runs right through the entire town. Waterfall on the right with a walkway you can walk, jog, or ride your bike on. We are staying in an Air BnB above a coffee shop on the left.


Day one in Hot Springs and we roll up on this. You can actually ride trails in their neck of the woods...


Mom and the kids...


What a bunch of Turkeys! There is about 6 baby turkey’s in that pic. Good luck finding them! They camouflage well!

 

But there are no mountains in South Dakota!!!
I’m confused

 

South Dakota is the Switzerland of the US, financially speaking. Mikie needs a place to launder the IMTB cash pile.

 

Mickelson trail is a singletrack that is 111 miles long and runs through the middle of the Black Hills. It networks to hundreds of offshoot trails. A 25 to 30 mile ride could net you 4K of climb. What more do you want?
Here is a 15 mile singletrack with over 3600 feet of climb.


How about this?

 

We got the Lakers!

 

An ocean view?

 

It’s ok we’ll keep it to ourselves...

 

Zero interest.
But don’t panic, we are building a loft, you can stop by...

 

Would I be allowed to poop in the house?

 

Who said there’s gonna be indoor plumbing?

 

I thought we were moving to Idaho?

 

He said We.


LOL @UPSed We

 

Change of plans. Idaho has been overrun with those dahm Californian’s!
Oh wait...

 

Yup! The Voodoo clan is thinking about South Dakota as well.

 

No.

 

Perfect for your e-mtb. You won't disturb anyone, and no one will care!

 

I’ve never been to SD, but I did watch Little House on the Prairie. Pa had to chop a lot of firewood to survive the winter...

 

Ok, I had to look it up. Good news: the weather is surprisingly good. January is cold, but only Denver cold, not Edmonton cold. Bad news: Mickelson trail is a gravel biker’s dream, 111 miles of rail trail.

 

In what universe is this BAD news?????

 

On my way!

 

Mikie advertised it as 111 miles of ST.

In what universe is “not-Edmonton-cold” GOOD news?

 

Yep me amigo has been scoping things for me also cuzz we think so dang much alike. CA is gonna be impossible for me to stay before too long. Wifey has pretty much had it with the folks that control our state and the costs of staying here. She needs to live close to her family but I don’t. She is a city girl who’s a country girl at heart and doesn't even know it. Me I’m a country boy trapped in the city and don’t require much. Nick has no idea what it would be like and how much more fun he could have living in the boonies but dad ain't dead and can damn sure show him. I'm ready not to work 60 hours a week just to have a pot piss in and a window to throw it out from. Miguel already found me out a place on 23 acres that is completely way beyond bomb digity and totally ready for me. My current place could rent for more than enough to pay it's own bills plus the mortgage on a prime SD location. Lots to consider but I'm ready to unwind a bit.

 

It's not Edmonton cold.....'nuff.

 

Mickelson is a connector trail with lots of spur trails off it as well as tons of bonefide singletrack connectors. It is State maintained bike and hike specific trail, bonus. Only sections of it have a gravel type texture, but it is mostly native soil for the area it’s in. It is a gravel bike haven, but key is, it is a connector to so many other trail systems, making trail options pretty endless.

Talking to the locals they say that everywhere else people blow the winters out of proportion in Hot Springs. Funny, they said don’t ask a Californian about how cold it gets in South Dakota, ask a South Dakotan! The winters, based on what most people said are no different then where Cathy and I live now. Ever once in a while it will get a kick azz arctic blast cold, from Canada, but hey... I’m an imtb-Canadian so take off eh?!

 

On a mountain bike forum.

 

Your universe is a bit too narrow.