Day Three

Day three came early with a departure before 5:00 AM to get a picture of the moon at the eye of the needle on the Needles Highway before it sat this morning.  One benefit is I had the road to myself (along with a few deer-but they knew my reputation and stayed clear of my way).

I was rewarded with a stunning sunrise over the peaks.  

The moon was obscured at times and out of position to capture a photo of it through the eye of the needle rock formation but I did capture it between the fingers of the rock spires.

Next up was the Badlands National Park. On the way, I stopped to capture a beautiful symphony of sunflowers.

Departing the Badlands National Park, I stopped by the Worlds Largest Tourist Trap, Wall Drug.

I went on to Sturgis for the opening ceremony to see a skydiver who was supposed to jump off a plane with a flag. The stormy weather interfered and grounded the plane. 

I did enjoy seeing all the custom bikes.  Quite the longhorn on this motorcycle.

  

The beauty of vacation is one can change plans.  I was originally going to do a day trip to Billings MT to visit family but now I am going to leave Sturgis tomorrow and spend the night there Saturday.

I will re-route from Billings to my next stop on the Denver area Monday night. As an added bonus, I may be able to ride Bear Tooth pass again.  Guess you will just have to check the GPS tracker to see which direction I go!

Weather is cooperating, as I’ve been able to avoid the random rain showers. Total miles through three days: 1372.