Buffalo to Belle Fourche, South Dakota Monday, August 2, 2021
I stayed at the Tipperary Motel last night and was on the road before 6 AM.
At White Butte I had noticed my first sagebrush, a real sign I was in the West. I picked off a leaf and crushed it, just love that smell.
This morning, as the sun rose on my left, my shadow was projected into the fields on my right, it was cool to see it dancing along. An old rider of the purple sage.
I continued to listen to the Crazy Horse book and got a thrill when I saw these mountains rise up over the horizon, could these his sacred Black Hills?
Uh, no. They were the Crow Buttes, but still historic, the scene of bizarre battle in 1822. https://www.everythingsouthdakota.com/highway-85-road-trip-harding-county/
They also marked the only food stop in 72 miles, the charming Mercantile Diner, run by Becca, who served up a mean biscuits and gravy. Originally from Indiana, she and her husband Scott had visited this place and fell in love with it, buying it and fixing it up, she had many stories about long-distance walkers and bikers, and about her own struggles with ovarian cancer.
Zoom in on the sign by the stairs 
Becca
I spent way too long there, 90 minutes, chatting with her and customers, I still had 50 miles to go. Fortunately, the shoulder was in good shape the whole way, and the heat and wind not too oppressive. The hardest part was listening to the sad, sad end of the Crazy Horse story, when the great leader turned himself in to the Fort Robinson agency to save his people from annihilation, only to die in a scuffle as they tried to put him into a jail cell. His cousin, Little Big Man, pinned his arms as he was bayoneted by a soldier. Dustin Hoffman he wasn’t. I was glad no one could see my tears.
15 miles out of Belle Fourche (pronounced Foosh) I saw this curious sign.
Once I got into town, I found a little park that commemorated it
So Kansas was where the center of the Lower 48 was, recently commemorated in a controversial Super Bowl commercial, featuring Bruce Springsteen https://youtu.be/L2LJpicgA2E
The sign said the actual spot was where that first sign was pointing. I found it on the web, glad I hadn’t added 15 miles of dirt roads to see it in person.
Cairn by the road 
The actual spot 
Benchmark
The Sturgis motorcycle rally starts in four days, the closest I will get to it is tomorrow morning at Spearfish, 22 miles away. There were only six Harleys in the motel lot today.
Distance 72 miles, 4,794 total. Time 10 hours with stops. Elevation gain 1,958 feet
©️ 2021 Scott Luria
The Ends of the Earth 
I shared this particular blog on my Facebook page because you are in my Mother and brother’s part of the country. My daughter and I will be out their in mid August, although we’ll be flying vs cycling. I so enjoy your blog. Happy trails.
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