Wilson Price Hunt Trail (‘Astorians’) 1811 — 1812

Day 12: August 24th, 2006 Mobridge — Lemmon

Beside the motel is the Grand Oasis, where I will have breakfast. Unfortunately the coffee service is pretty slow, so I walk back to my motel a bit disappointed. The weather is cloudy and windy. Hopefully it does not start to rain. Around nine I check out and drive over to the gas station. Half an hour later I am back on the road again.

Highway 12, SD

Another time I drive over the Missouri River on this interesting bridge.

BIA4, SD

BIA4, SD

BIA4, SD

Then I continue on the smaller highways and backroads.

Backroad, SD

Backroad, SD

Backroad, Grand River, SD

Backroad, SD

Backroad, SD

Backroad, SD

Finally I am stopped again by a gate and private property…

W Bullhead Rd, Grand River Valley, SD

W Bullhead Rd, White Shirt Creek, SD

On my detour I hear a bad weather warning rolling in via my CB radio.

Highway 65, Grand River, SD

Only for a short distance I follow the paved Highway 65 over the Grand River, until I am back on gravel roads again.

On backroads I continue in the direction of Isabel.

The clouds slowly disappear and now there is plenty of sunshine. But it still stays pretty stormy. The humming sound, which I hear all the time, is starting to worry me. Therefore I stop around half past twelve mountain time at a mechanic in Isabel.

This one is currently at lunch. But the one across the street should be there. This guy has at least 600lbs and he takes a look at my car. First I ask him to check the fluid level of my front differential. I have to show him how to take off the skid plate!

The oil level is okay. So we take a look at the transfer case. Taking off the skid plate is almost too much work for him. Due to his body size, he is not able to pick up again a screw, which has fallen down on the floor. For that reason he has a steel stick with a magnetic tip.

The transfer case is a bit low and we fill up a bit with my oil. When everything is put together again I say thank you and try to hit the road as fast as possible after I did my payment.

Morristown Rd, SD

Morristown Rd, SD

Morristown Rd, Grand River, SD

Morristown Rd, Grand River, SD

The humming sound is still there and is really worrying me pretty much, But maybe it is just from the CB antenna and the wind, that blows around?!

County Rd, SD

County Rd, SD

Again, I continue on backroads.

Livestock, Keldron Rd, SD

On Keldron Rd I have again some livestock beside the road.

Suddenly I end up another time in the middle of a farm, while my map shows the road runs straight through. So I turn around again and try to find another route. This costs me again some extra time.

Dewitt Rd, Lemmon Lake, SD

Lemmon Lake, SD

Dewitt Rd, SD

Continuing on backroads, I reach Lemmon Lake. After a short break I drive on to Highway 73.

Around 6pm I arrive in Lemmon, my destination of today. I almost wanted to drive on, because I was not able to find the motel. But then I find it quite a distance out of town. The village itself is pretty small. But they have a promising looking steakhouse. So I check in around half past six.

Because the steakhouse is open until 10pm, I first check my video taping of today. Then I leave the motel. Benny’s is one of these typical small town restaurant and the food is okay. Around a quarter to ten I pay and drive back to my motel.