There's nothing secret about this road. It lies smack at the heart of the T-shirted darkness that is the Black Hills. You know. Jackpines. Mount Rushmore. A stone's throw from Sturgis.
Part of a 238-mile highway that traverses three states, NC 28 begins in Beech Island, South Carolina, and rolls to a halt near Tennessee. It is the only state highway that keeps the same number as it traverses South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina.
The trip plan was pretty simple: Catch Pacific Coast Highway at the top of Oregon and head south about 1,300 miles, keeping the ocean immediately to our right, until we hit LA. Then we'd turn left toward Texas and continue east to South Carolina. We’d head cross-county, but in stages, planning to store our bikes in friends’ garages for a bit and continuing each leg of the journey after short breaks.
Some like the all-night party, the clubs, the shows, and the slots, and in Las Vegas, you can do all that 24 hours a day. Whatever happens in Vegas, so they say. But if you have no great attraction to the glitz, glam, or gambling, there is an entire world within an hour’s ride from the Strip that offers a complete and delightful contrast to the man-made attractions. The face of this city changes every decade, but once away from the burning lights, the clock ticks in geologic time. There’s a wondrous world of wide-open country waiting for exploration just outside the city limits.
The length of a day in the Pacific Northwest varies by almost seven hours between the summer and winter solstice. At the peak of the Northwest’s summer, daylight lasts until near 10:00 in the evening, whereas in late fall and early spring it’s dark by 6:00. Luckily for those who live in the Seattle area, excellent rides can be found within a half hour from the city and are also accessible from the eastern suburbs—no matter what the season.
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