Sarah and I finally got away for a week. We went out to the Black Hills to enjoy some hiking, biking, and just plain get away time. It was hot, but we got going early each morning, and then just relaxed the afternoons. Here we are hiking one day in Spearfish Canyon, checking out the numerous water falls that are out there.
The vacation started with the Volksmarch up to Crazy Horse. Almost 6 mile hike up and down, but got up close to Crazy Horse. I got to touch his chin!
We saw plenty of buffalo out in Custer state park. We managed to keep our distance from them though!
We saw deer out hiking up to Little Devils Tower, then off to Black Elk Peak, formerly Harney Peak. That day was about 8 miles total, but took us 4 1/2 hours. Up the mountains, and back down. It was work, but enjoyable.
We spent several days out on the Mickelson Trail biking. These were challenging. You spend many miles going up, then down. We had one stretch of going up 15 miles. It was time for a break after that! But, the views were incredible!
As long as we carried enough water with us, we were fine. We may have spent the week with all the hiking, biking, and sightseeing, but truly many of the things we saw we would not have seen had we not been doing these activities. I took literally hundreds and hundreds of pictures. Words can’t describe what you can see off the beaten path. It made the exercise part of it very relaxing. Even though we were working at it, we took a break when we needed it. The views were amazing. It was a perfect place to get away from all of the busy part of life, and just unwind. We all need to make more effort to do this. The better condition we are in, the more we can see, and enjoy. You don’t know what you are missing out on until you do.
Our last hiking day was at Sheridan Lake. The water was blue, and crystal clear. We saw other water falls off the trails that we did not know even existed. You need to get out and explore. That is how you strive to survive. Push past some limitations and enjoy. Most of the time you will find that those limitations are only in our minds. Our bodies can do a lot more than you think! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of New Streak: #805
