Hunted: Custer,SD to Cheyenne, WY

Bloggin' at the Triangle Ranch the morning of our departure to Cheyenne

After saying our goodbyes to our new friends at the Triangle Ranch, we made our way southwest towards our next bed & breakfast—located outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming and overlooking the Curt Gowdy State Park— the Windy Hills Bed & Breakfast.

Our journey today took us back through the Badlands, Rapid City, Mount Rushmore, and ultimately through Custer State Park, Black Hills, South Dakota. The route we chose consisted mostly of secondary two-lane state and county highways, as we wanted to experience the sheer beauty of South Dakota, away from the Interstates and the heavier traffic that exists on them.

To be on the safe side, we made sure we had a full tank of gas and drinking water for the remote part of the state that we were going to be driving through.

On the way to the park, we came across a herd of cattle

Lisa and I found the park to be one of the most beautiful wildlife locations that we have seen in a good while, which have wild Buffalo as residents, among a host of other wildlife native to the North West.

Lisa and I got treated to a pretty intense thunder-hail storm that pelted us with malt-ball size hail.

We were hoping to experience some Buffalo, but the only thing we had seen were signs warning visitors not to approach them, since they can be 'very dangerous,' a warning sign that one should take very seriously.

You Got Brass

Having managed to not get killed by these gentle giants (who once roamed the west in awesome numbers), we decided to continue on our way to Cheyenne as the sun was setting and we had many more miles to go, yet. Our Magellan GPS navigator informed us that our expected travel time from Custer to Cheyenne was a five hours and five minutes, which would have put us into Cheyenne at around 0135, the following morning.

With the help of our Escort Passport 9500i, we managed to reach the city limits at 2340, ahead of schedule by nearly two hours!

Once again, I was a little concerned that our travel would take through the evening and the darkness that could make very vulnerable to a sudden police radar or laser speed trap. I didn't want to make the same mistake that I had just done in New Jersey, so I made a concerted effort to stay absolutely alert and cognizant of my surroundings.

That was a good thing too, as I stumbled upon trooper running instant-on 35.5 Ka off on the shoulder. At the time I spotted the officer's reflectorized striping on his rear-bumber, I was traveling in excess of 120. I got the vehicle down quickly and soon after we were pelted with a strong instant-on blast of 35.5 Ka.

Later we made it onto Interstate 25 south towards Cheyenne and again were treated to another instant-on blast, this time of K-band radar, from an patrol vehicle traveling in the opposite northbound lane. In this instance, the Passport 9500i, alerted to his presence prior to me coming into his range when he could get a speed reading on me, and again we were traveling in the triple digits.

So there you have it, the Escort Passport 9500i certainly saved our hide more than once over the last several days of traveling in the Northwest. I am still not entirely pleased with its signal ramp in certain circumstances, however, it is an excellent radar detector and one that I recommend, having put some serious miles on it (and at times) at "eye-popping" speeds.

I wouldn't necessarily drive or encourage anyone to drive well in excess of posted limits, particularly around populated and/or heavily traveled roadways, however, in this part of the country, the roads are often very sparcely traveled and the views unobstructed for miles.

In my opinion, Montana, had it right when they used to allow travel at these high speeds: "Safe and Prudent." I wish other sparcely populated/traveled states would (re)consider the same. When the nearest population center is a hundred or more miles away, getting there and back at a mere 55mph, 65mph, or even 75mph can take a good bit of time and I believe, "speed" done prudently, in and of itself, is not inherently unsafe.

In the meantime, in this "politically correct" society, at least it's comforting to know that there are devices, like the Escort Passport 9500i, which can serve to protect you if and when you are fortunate to find the open-road.

Here are some videos from our day's journey:

There's nothing like bringing a herd.

South Dakota State Trooper Running Moving Instant-on Ka

Bob, The Speed Trap Hunter