I hop on I-25 north and am happy to be on any road heading north. It's a quick run up to Cheyenne, WY and I'm amazed at the lack of tall buildings. Fort Collins was this way also. North of town I take Hwy 85 north and probably should have stopped for fuel in Cheyenne. The towns on the GPS look big enough to have fuel, but that's not the case. I almost tape over the low fuel light because there's no way I'm going to be able to turn it off. Finally, Torrington has fuel and food. This should be enough to get me to Hot Springs.

It's amazing at how green Wyoming is. All I can remember is brown flowing grasslands. Now, with all the rain they've been having, the grasslands look like, well, grass. The green of the prairie is only interrupted by the blue of the sky and a thin ribbon of black asphalt.

Hot Springs is a neat little town with a main street facing the river. It would be great to jump into one of their springs if the sun wasn't starting to get low in the sky. I'd like to either camp in Wind Cave National Park or Custer State Park, whichever looks the nicest. I've been to Wind Cave before which has some intricate boxed calcite formations and elect to head up to Custer. On the way north the buffalo are out.

It turns out that Custer State Park is a great choice for the night. The park contains needle like granite formations in a pine forest. One of the original conservationalists walked the path that would become the Needles Highway through the park. He picked a good route. Near my campsite is the Black Hills Playhouse which is showing "The Nerd." This far into the park I'm surprised at the line waiting to get in. I'm going to set up camp and take a quick hike before I hit the sack.

The sun is starting to rise as am I and it doesn't take long to get into the groove. I wish the motorcycles rear end problems would go away once and for all. There is some oil leaking from somewhere that looks to be the breather. I'm going to guess that it was overfilled when it was replaced and keep an eye on it. Didn't I just go through this headache?

The Needles Highway is fantastic, especially in the morning light. There are many one-lane tunnels through the granite mountains and a road that curves around the boulders. Toward the end of the highway is a small lake surround by granite pillars. This is a great park with many camping areas and lodges.