Nemo Guest Ranch

I see Jeff Wright and crew rode out of Nemo Guest Ranch and had a great time as planned.  The photos looked really fun.  Nemo, South Dakota (to me) is a magical place.  About 20+ years ago my "Sturgis Landlord" by the name of Alva, suggested I take a day and pack up my Kawasaki 250 and ride to Nemo via Vanocker Canyon Road, and ride some trails.  It was about 80 degrees already at 10am when I took off.  I wasn't dressed with proper gear, since I found myself freezing as I rode through the lows and highs of the (then unpaved) Vanocker Canyon Road.  The smell of pine is always with you.  This year there was an epidemic of grasshoppers which covered the roads.  The terrain around you looks like (I call it) miner's rocks.  A land of caves, streams, large rocks, fallen pine trees, pine needles and red colored clay.  Some trees are bare from fires.  It's a beautiful area, but it can catch up with you quick.  I was soon lost after selecting a trail off the main road.  Gold miner stake claim signs read "We Will Shoot Trespassers - Try Us !"  Now I was scared and edgy.  My riding ability was being tested as the trails turned to rough openings, and you had to find the trail to stay on it.  After being lost(and panicked) for about an hour, I came to a main road, and I was only about 2 miles from Nemo. 

I was so hungry.  I rode up to the main building.  It was me, my bike and 50 horses.  No motorcycles.  I was tired and needed water from hulking this "street bike that looks like a dirt bike" through the early morning hills, through fog and grasshoppers.  Black flies are also a problem.  Don't tuck in your shirt !  These flies will get under your shirt, and if they can't get out, they get pissed off and bite the shit out of you, actually taking a small chunk of flesh with them.  It hurts.  Then it itches. 

The Guest Ranch had a sign (written on a paper plate) and nailed to a pole that read: BISCUITS AND GRAVY $5.00 . . The bar has a tree growing on the inside and up through the roof (a main attraction) and I asked what else they had to eat?  She had one of those green order-taker pads flipped open with a pencil ready to write.  I asked, "What, uh, do you have a menu?"  She said, "We got biscuits and gravy." . . . Hmmm, do you have pancakes or eggs?  She said, "Well sir, we got biscuits and gravy, no eggs, no pancakes."  Uh, How about sausage?  Toast? . . . She said it again, kinda chuckled and firmly stating, "We have biscuits and gravy for 5 bucks . . with coffee or water."  I guess I'll have the ________________.  You know it.  It was kinda funny.

After breakfast, I filled my water and took a map.  After a guided direction from a horse rancher suggesting a motorcycle route around Nemo I set out and explored Box Elder Creek and a cave, and some beautiful lookouts.  It was one of the most memorable days of my entire life.  I saw a dead deer that was probably killed & eaten by a mountain lion.  I saw a coyote.  I saw trout - I saw frogs and thousands of grasshoppers.  The beautiful green hills and valleys are anything but black.  The sky is the bluest of blue.  It's just an incredible place on earth. Nemo, SD is a true gem.  The biscuits and gravy were delicious, and stuck-to-my-ribs all day - a great ride.