Take me back to the Black Hills, the Black Hills of Dakota. This line from a song from the movie 'Calamity Jane' has been ringing in our ears for the last few days.

In 2009 we spent three months touring the USA on our Triumph Sprint ST motorcycle. One of the most memorable parts of that trip was a visit to the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally at Sturgis. We spent a week in the area around Rapid City. The roads on that visit were clogged with riders no matter where you went. There were still motorcycles this time but nothing like our first visit.

Our accommodation for three nights is in Rapid City on the northern edge of the Black Hills State Park and not far from Custer State Park and south of Sturgis.

We spent our first day heading south and driving through the pretty town of Keystone on our way to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. This carving of four president's heads - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln - would be one of the most iconic USA images you could see. The carvings are massive, about 20 meters high and were carved between 1927 and 1941.

The walkway leading to the viewing spot is lined with flags of each state on a column telling visitors when the state was inaugurated into the Union. We arrived about 9:30am and the area was already swarming with tourists.

Next was a drive through the Black Hills State Park along Iron Mountain Road - stunning scenery and a great road. With 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails and 3 tunnels all in 17 miles, this road is right up there with the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee. It would have been great to ride it again as we did in 2009 but today we had to settle for the car.

Custer State Park was next. We drove along the Wildlife Loop Road and saw several herds of buffalo right beside the roadside. There were many small, light brown babies so we guess the herd is doing well in its protected environment.

We were also lucky enough to see an antelope lazing in the grass and a large elk grazing with the buffalo. We continued on through the Needles Highway with more spectacular scenery and tunnels. One section is called the Eye of the Needle - a very narrow gap between the rocks that looks like the eye of a needle. We drove onto the town of Custer for a wander around. Kerrie has her eye on another piece of Black Hill Gold jewellery but so far, she had restrained herself - don't think that restraint will last more than 24 hours!

Crazy Horse Memorial was next. We were curious to see how much progress had been made on this enormous project since our visit in 2009.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a massive rock carving of the Indian Chief Crazy Horse sitting on his horse. So far all that is complete is the face eventhough the carving started in 1948 - there is no projected end date, I guess it will take as long as it takes! We doubt that we will see the finished project at the rate that it is being carved.

The project does not only include the rock carving, but the Indian Museum and Indian University of North America as well. The Crazy Horse Memorial receives no federal funding, visitors pay $12 each to enter and that funds the project.

We drove on through Hill City back to Rapid City for a pancake dinner at iHop - Greg has been hanging out for this and he wasn't disappointed!

Next morning we visited Bear Country USA. We have been lucky enough to see black bears in the wild on a previous trip but thought we would check out this drive through wildlife park to see some more. WOW! not only did we see many black bears but wolves, elk, antelope, and several other American animals - well worth the $16 entry fee.

We then drove north to Deadwood, the historic town where Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back of the head and killed during a poker game. We visited the site of his death and his grave in the Mount Moriah Cemetery where he is buried next to Calamity Jane - his supposed girlfriend???

Next on our sightseeing tour of the Black Hills was Spearfish Canyon. This road winds between sheer cliffs, complete with waterfalls on the way to the town of Spearfish.

Finally we returned to Sturgis. We hardly recognised this town. In 2009 the streets were lined with motorcycles - today we saw six! We wandered past the hardware shop that had been a temporary tattoo parlour where we both got tattoos in 2009. Yes, Kerrie fainted!

We then visited the Harley Dealership but it just wasn't the same as when the Black Hills Rally is on. This town will be soooooo different in August when the 79th Black Hills Rally is scheduled.

On our way back to our hotel we stopped in to the Black Hills National Cemetery to pay our respects. As usual this cemetery was beautifully maintained as all military cemeteries are.

We returned to Rapid City after a full day of being a tourist to plan where we will head tomorrow.