THE MAKING OF A BIKER CHICK - The Badlands

I kind of left you hanging with Part I of this story. I was in the middle of having a heat stroke, threatening to shoot my husband and trying to put the thought processes together in my sun-fried brain that would enable me to find the nearest airport P.D.Q. Fortunately for all concerned it got much better from there. We rode into the Badlands on a wing and a prayer. I can't speak for the others but the prayer playing in my head was, "Please, God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away!"

We didn't have a real itinerary or reservations for any over-night stay. Our plan was to ride like the wind and be free like birds. By the seat of our pants, if you will. We rode into a campground near the Badlands which rented cabins sometime late that same afternoon. They had no vacancy. I was trying hard not to panic. I quickly went from the free spirit, biker chick that I was trying to be to the actual mid-life pampered princess that I really am. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Free bird, schmee bird! I mean, planning is a critical part of any vacation, right?

The people at the campground were kind enough to recommend a nearby motel that included a cafe that was famous around them there parts. What is it about the west that makes me think I should talk like I'm in an old western movie? So, anyway, we made a call and two rooms were available. We thanked our new pardners at the OK Corral and rode off into the sunset. OK, the sun wasn't really setting but you get the idea.

We arrived at the Circle 10 Motel having nothing on our minds other than cooling off in any way possible. The Circle 10 at first sight is nothing to get excited about but it was everything we needed and more. It was clean, it was cool, there was a pool and there is a little cafe there that was definitely a diamond in the rough. The motel is run by a very friendly couple. Mr. C10 runs the motel and Mrs. C10 runs the cafe. We arrived there late afternoon. Upon check-in, Mr. C10 told us about the cafe. We barely listened as we were obscessed with cooling off our over-heated body parts.

We hit the pool immediately after unloading our STUFF into the rooms. Once we had a chance to cool off, our brains started working again. Mr. C10 walked through the pool area and we asked about the dinner menu? He said he didn't know if Mrs. C10 had decided yet. What? It was after 4pm and the cafe would be opening soon. It was hard to have any great expectations about the meal awaiting us but we were seriously in the middle of nowhere and didn't possess the energy to go foraging for food.

I'm so glad we stayed. I don't know how she did it. When you think that at 4pm there was no plan and at 6pm we were offered very impressive choices in a simply charming setting. I'm sorry to say that I didn't write it down (I wish I had been blogging then) and can't remember exactly now what the choices were. *sigh* I do however remember that I had a crisp salad and tilapia with rice sauted in a delicious lemon butter sauce. And.there.was.beer!

After dinner, we changed into some light riding gear sans helmets and took a short drive into the Badlands. It is quite breath-taking. I'm sure my pictures will not do it justice but here are a sampling of shots that I took along the way that evening and the next morning. Some are taken from the bike as we are crusing.

That's My Harley Stud's helmet in the lower left corner. He's always sticking his head in the way!

MHS and the Biker Nazi love to take pictures of their bikes. Personally I like people in my photographs. ...Men..?

The Saint standing dangerously close to the edge.

If you are interested in learning more about the Badlands and how they were formed, click here.

The trip got even better after this. Stay tuned for the next episode where we visit Mount Rushmore.