Day 21 – Snake Creek Recreation Area to Chamberlain, SD – Final

47 miles today – 1019.6 total miles

In the middle of the night we were woken up by thunder and lightning. We made a dash for the bath house. By the time we got there, we figured out that most of the thunderstorm was going to miss us and we were just going to get drizzle. We headed back to camp for some more sleep. Not long after we were awoken again with a strong wind buffeting the tent. Keith put in ear plugs so he wouldn’t hear it and we went back to sleep. By morning things were calm again.

This morning we started our day with a 400 foot climb out of the river valley (the north rim is lower at this point than the south rim). By the time we reached the top the winds had picked back up again. Only this time they were from the South and we were heading North! Can you say “tailwind?” and to top this off, much of the day was a gently sloping downhill. We made great time and had a fun ride. Much of the time we traveled between 15 and 20 mph! A great tailwind like this one makes all the headwinds worthwhile.

We reached Chamberlain at about 1:30. As we descended the last long hill into town, we found Uncle Wes and Aunt Lois waiting for us! We were really excited to have finished the trip!

It was a fantastic trip and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!