Our "Power" Bikes and a Terrific Nearby Trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota

Why are we here? Gee! A very deep question, no? If you are following us, you might have one answer to that question. As full timers, we seek locations that have a beautiful back yard and terrific views. The Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground certainly has all of these!

But there is one more positive attribute added to the mix. The proximity of the 109 mile George S Mickelson Trail. You can find several web sites with information about this trail. Here is one from the South Dakota Game, Fish and and Parks website.

This website starts out with:

Imagine a path where the ghosts of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane still roam; where bicyclists, hikers and horseback riders can explore spruce and ponderosa pine forests; and the very young, the very old and people of all abilities can enjoy.

Are you hooked? You might guess that with our new e (for electric) bikes, we are! On one of our recent rides, we were asked about our "power" bikes. The fellow asking said he had one, but had not seen our type of e bikes. He remarked how nice they were, and asked what brand they were. We were proud to say "M2S - Mountains to Sea". As you might conclude, we are really enjoying (and Lindy is developing LOTS of confidence in mastering hers!) our bikes!

The fee for the trail is $4 a day, or $15 for a yearly pass. After purchasing our new bikes last October, we planned on riding them on this trail. Lindy researched purchasing the yearly pass on line, did so, and we ride as often as we can! And on days when riding is not an option, we walk our hour on the trail!

Our initial goal was to ride the entire length of the trail by transporting our bikes to a trailhead to reach sections beyond our riding capacity (battery!) from the park. We have adjusted that lofty goal!

Mile marker 57 is right outside our park. We have ridden south to mile marker 43, past Custer, and north to mile marker 74.7, the Mystic Townsite. Our "exercise" ride has been south to the kiosk near the Crazy Horse sculpture site. This ride is 12 miles round trip. We do our exercise ride each day, when possible. We set aside days to explore as far as feasible--depending on battery power and how long we dare leave Maddie in the motor home.

The most important thing is that we are having FUN! Our Power Bikes are providing an important tool for accessing this beautiful trail as much as we possibly can during our stay here in the Black Hills!