Motorcycling Road Trips:

2025 Great Plains crossing recap#

Posted 2025-07-14

Crossing the plains to get to family and friends territory

This was the second year of this journey for the Blackbird and me. I was reminded that Nebraska and Iowa's back highways cross majestic agriculture country, but its vast expanse makes for an endurance test. Too much of the route is long, straight roadways, whereas the motorcycle craves winding ones. On the bright side, the newly-added cruise control confirmed its worth in spades, and excellent weather conditions prevailed.

Time with family and friends in Wisconsin and Minnesota

About family and friends time I'll simply say it was good for the spirit -- and everything I look forward to in this annual trip. The sort of "anchor" event each year is going with one of my sisters to two rural Wisconsin cemeteries: one where my mom's parents and about three generations of my grandfather's family are buried and the other where my parents, my dad's sister and husband, and my dad's parents are buried -- not to mention pretty much all ancestors on my dad's side of the family from the time the family immigrated to the United States from Norway around 1850. These people tower over my fond memories and my ethos, so pausing quietly at their resting places each year is a fitting way to recenter.

Re-crossing the plains to return home -- Badlands and Lakota lands bonus

Day 1 was a study in US Highway 14, an east/west gem that crosses through many different ecosystems. The highway also happens to be a sort of Laura Ingalls Wilder route, taking one through Walnut Grove, MN -- setting of "On the Banks of Plum Creek" -- and De Smet, SD -- setting of "Little Town on the Prairie" and others. Here again, a whole lot of arrow-straight roadway was involved, pitting fatigue against joy. I noted many hawks prowling the roadside on the first two-thirds of the drive, whereas on the last third I had to keep watch for the hazard of pheasants darting panic-stricken across the road. I ended the day in Wall, SD, home of the self-made legend, Wall Drug, where I did have a slice of homemade cherry pie, but not a 5¢ coffee or free ice water.

Day 2 was the most anticipated part of the riding, as I planned a route to take me through Badlands National Park along Rim Road/Sage Creek Road and then west across Lakota lands on unpaved and lightly-travelled BIA 2/Riverside Road (about 45 miles) to the charming, population ≈ 130 village of Buffalo Gap, SD -- I had these roads virtually to myself, and they delivered beautiful vistas and a good mix of motorcycling riding challenges. The big skies trotted out all manner of threatening-looking cloud systems throughout the day; they unleashed a slightly hail-ish downpour near Hot Springs, SD and, later, battering crosswind conditions for much of the southbound passage on US 85.

Expedition state of mind

A trip like this by motorcycle is more akin to expedition than just travel, and that is the appeal. Planning and sufficient preparation are critical, and, as one rides, the bike, the roadway, and the surrounding air and weather generate a continuous flow of information they need the driver to notice and assess. And so, with the trip over, what stays with me is that sense of a non-trivial expedition whose numerous challenges I met with sufficient poise and skill. Just as important, the array of beautiful rural and "middle of nowhere" places expanded my memory book of inspiring scenes. Finally, kudos to the Blackbird for further burnishing Kawasaki's noteworthy precision and reliability record.

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